Movies like Personal Column (1939)
The best movies like Personal Column (1939) are Without Apparent Motive (1971), The Glass Key (1942) and Shimmer Lake (2017). If Personal Column hooked you with its thriller and mystery, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPurple Noon (1960)7.6/10 from 636 votes
- NewestUnsubmissives (2025)Released 2025
- In FrenchWithout Apparent Motive (1971)Also in French
Without Apparent Motive (1971)
A series of murders is committed in Nice on the French riviera. The commissaire Carella is in charge and tries to find a missing link between all these murders.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Glass Key (1942)
A crooked politician finds himself being accused of murder by a gangster from whom he refused help during a re-election campaign.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShimmer Lake (2017)
Shot in reverse day-by-day through a week—a local sheriff embarks on a quest to unlock the mystery of three small-town criminals and a bank heist gone wrong.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe International (2009)
An interpol agent and an attorney are determined to bring one of the world's most powerful banks to justice. Uncovering money laundering, arms trading, and conspiracy to destabilize world governments, their investigation takes them from Berlin, Milan, New York and Istanbul. Finding themselves in a chase across the globe, their relentless tenacity puts their own lives at risk.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack Angel (1946)
A falsely convicted man's wife, Catherine, and an alcoholic composer and pianist, Martin, team up in an attempt to clear her husband of the murder of a blonde singer, who is Martin's wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Seven-Ups (1973)
A tough detective who is part of an elite New York City unit is trying to find out who killed his partner, but uncovers a plot to kidnap mobsters for money.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Night Caller (1975)
A serial-killer frightens Paris by phoning young ladies at night, telling them insults about their lives. Minos, as he calls himself, wants to prevent the world from free women and he targets at first these ones. Commissaire Letellier is given the investigation and he has hard work with the maniac.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOverdrive (2017)
Master car thieves square off against French gangsters in the South of France with money, women and lives all on the line.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInspector Lavardin (1986)
Inspector Lavardin is called to a provincial village to investigate a murder – only to find that one of his ex-lovers is the victim’s widow.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUnsubmissives (2025)
Early 1990’s, south of France. Katy, Hélène, Laurence and Carole have been best friends since childhood. Now in their twenties, they find themselves struggling with hardship and limited opportunities in their sunny small hometown. Despite their challenging circumstances, they have maintained a resilient and cheerful spirit, supporting each other throughout life’s ups and downs. But their lives take a dramatic turn when Hélène, a single mother of three, receives a sudden notification that her welfare checks have been reduced, threatening her ability to support her family.Overwhelmed by this injustice and feeling powerless in the face of societal inequalities, the five women are driven by a fierce desire to change the course of their lives. They make the shocking decision to rob a bank, and soon, commit a series of increasingly daring heists.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFlic Story (1975)
The film story depicts Emile Buisson, following the death of his wife and child, escaping from a psychiatric institution in 1947 and returning to Paris. Buisson, who three years later would become France's public enemy number one, begins a murderous rampage through the French capital.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTwo Men in Manhattan (1959)
Two French journalists become embroiled in a criminal plot in New York City involving a disappeared United Nations diplomat.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWitness in the City (1959)
Industrialist Pierre Verdier kills his mistress Jeanne Ancelin by throwing her off a train. Her husband, Ancelin, decides to take revenge on his wife's murderer, who has been acquitted by justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLast Known Address (1970)
Marceau Léonetti, a competent and energetic officer stops by chance the son of an influential lawyer driving under the influence of alcohol. A few months later, the lawyer falsely accuses Léonetti as being violent and incompetent. As a result Marceau is transferred to a small police station, where he meets young and beautiful Jeanne. Soon they are faced with a tough investigation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisM (1951)
In the city, someone is murdering children. The police search is so intense, it is disturbing the 'normal' criminals, and the local hoods decide to help find the murderer as quickly as possible.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Bride Wore Black (1968)
Julie Kohler is prevented from suicide by her mother. She leaves home with the intent to track down, charm and kill five men who do not know her. What is her goal? What is her purpose?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFor a Cop's Hide (1981)
Victim of manipulation, Cop Choucas is wanted for two murders and searched for by every cop in town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThree Days and a Life (2019)
Christmas 1999, in a peaceful little village in the Ardennes. The life of a young boy named Antoine will soon be devastated by three tragic events : the death of a dog, the vanishing of a child, and a big ravaging storm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShoot the Piano Player (1960)
Charlie is a former classical pianist who has changed his name and now plays jazz in a grimy Paris bar. When Charlie's brothers, Richard and Chico, surface and ask for Charlie's help while on the run from gangsters they have scammed, he aids their escape. Soon Charlie and Lena, a waitress at the same bar, face trouble when the gangsters arrive, looking for his brothers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like this6 Bullets (2012)
An ex-mercenary known for finding missing children is hired by a mixed martial arts fighter whose daughter has been kidnapped.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPurple Noon (1960)
Tom Ripley is a talented mimic, moocher, forger and all-around criminal improviser; but there's more to Tom Ripley than even he can guess.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLe Doulos (1962)
Enigmatic gangster Silien may or may not be responsible for informing on Faugel, who was just released from prison and is already involved in what should be a simple heist. By the end of this brutal, twisting, and multilayered policier, who will be left to trust?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Da Vinci Code (2006)
A murder in Paris’ Louvre Museum and cryptic clues in some of Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous paintings lead to the discovery of a religious mystery. For 2,000 years a secret society closely guards information that — should it come to light — could rock the very foundations of Christianity.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOcean's Twelve (2004)
Despite pulling off one of the biggest heists in Las Vegas history and splitting the $160 million take, each of the infamous Ocean's crew have tried to go straight, lay low and live a legit life... but that's proven to be a challenge. Casino owner Terry Benedict demands that Danny Ocean return the money, plus millions more in interest. Unable to come up the cash, the crew is forced to come together to pull off another series of heists, this time in Rome, Paris, and Amsterdam – but a Europol agent is hot on their heels.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisParis Connections (2010)
At the beginning of Paris fashion week, a beautiful young model is brutally murdered. Investigative journalist Madison Castelli, certain that it is more than the "crime of passion" the French press says, comes to Paris to follow her story.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery & thriller
District B13 (2004)
Set in the ghettos of Paris in 2010, an undercover cop and ex-thug try to infiltrate a gang in order to defuse a neutron bomb.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like this007½ no Carnaval (1966)
British secret agent 007½ is sent to Rio de Janeiro to recover the plans stolen from a new metal alloy. His contact is a taxi driver, who ends up being murdered by enemy agents.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Dobermann (1997)
The charismatic criminal Dobermann, who got his first gun when he was christened, leads a gang of brutal robbers. After a complex and brutal bank robbery, they are being hunted by the Paris police. The hunt is led by the sadistic cop Christini, who only has one goal: to catch Dobermann at any cost.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTurn It Up (2000)
Trying to bootstrap his way out of Brooklyn's mean streets is Diamond, a rap musician. With his long-time pal Gage acting as his manager, he's trying to lay down a demo tape with cut-rate studio time. To pay the bills, he and Gage run drugs for "Mr. B." Inside a week, Diamond's beloved mother dies suddenly, his father appears after an absence of 12 years and wants a relationship, and his girlfriend Kia tells him she's pregnant, asking him if he's ready to be a father. Gage steals $100,000 in a multiple-felony robbery so that Diamond can record a full album, not knowing it's Mr. B's money he's taken. B wants his money, Diamond wants his music, Tia wants an answer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Luck (2009)
Born lucky, Karim Moussa takes to exploiting it instead of focusing on studies. Now a wealthy gambler, he decides to recruit about a dozen lucky people to participate in a deadly game of survival.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Personal Column?
The closest matches to Personal Column are Without Apparent Motive (1971), The Glass Key (1942) and Shimmer Lake (2017). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Personal Column?
Start with Without Apparent Motive (1971), the closest match to Personal Column.
What is the highest-rated movie like Personal Column?
Purple Noon (1960), rated 7.6/10 by 636 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Personal Column?
Unsubmissives (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like Personal Column?
Yes: Without Apparent Motive (1971), The Night Caller (1975) and Inspector Lavardin (1986).
How are movies similar to Personal Column chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Personal Column, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.