Movies like A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen (1942)
The best movies like A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen (1942) are The Glass Key (1942), Framed for Murder: A Fixer Upper Mystery (2017) and The Deep End of the Ocean (1999). If A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen hooked you with its mystery, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Deep End of the Ocean (1999)6.6/10 from 568 votes
- NewestFinal Act (2025)Released 2025
The 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 mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFramed for Murder: A Fixer Upper Mystery (2017)
In the small resort town of Lighthouse Cove, everyone knows that the best man for the job is a woman. And that woman is Shannon Hughes, owner of a construction company and an expert in Victorian home restoration and renovation. Through her renovations she will find clues to uncover the house’s secret past and in turn become an unlikely sleuth to help crack these unsolved mysteries
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Deep End of the Ocean (1999)
A three-year-old boy disappears during his mother's high school reunion. Nine years later, by chance, he turns up in the town in which the family has just relocated.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRide the Pink Horse (1947)
A con man tries to blackmail a Mexican gangster.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Blue Gardenia (1953)
Upon waking up to the news that the man she’d gone on a date with the previous night has been murdered, a young woman with only a faint memory of the night’s events begins to suspect that she murdered him while attempting to resist his advances.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSleep, My Love (1948)
A woman wakes up in the middle of the night on board a train, but she can't remember how she got there. Danger and suspense ensue.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSong of the Thin Man (1947)
While attending a glamorous jazz cruise on New York’s East River, Nick and Nora Charles witness the fatal shooting of a wealthy patron. When suspicion falls on a young bandleader and his musicians, the couple steps in to clear their friends and uncover the real killer. Their investigation leads through a lively world of jazz clubs, radio personalities, high society, and backstage rivalries, where almost everyone has a secret and the next clue may be hidden in the music.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGarage Sale Mystery: A Case Of Murder (2017)
Jenn buys an old reel-to-reel recorder at a garage sale only to find that it includes the sound of a man pleading for his life. When the former owner of the recorder, a retired therapist, is found murdered in a patient’s apartment, Jenn’s investigation leads to other patients whose love lives are more entangled than she was first led to believe.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShadow of the Thin Man (1941)
While attending a major horse race with their young son, Nick Jr., Nick and Nora Charles witnesse a shocking murder from the crowded grandstand. What first appears to be an isolated killing soon leads to a maze of corruption, blackmail, gambling scandals, and criminal intrigue. As Nick investigates, he encounters suspicious bookmakers, dishonest officials, rival gangsters, and a mysterious killer determined to stay ahead of the law. Nora, as always, is never far from the action, bringing her quick wit and fearless curiosity to the case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAbigail (2019)
A young girl Abigail lives in a city whose borders were closed many years ago because of an epidemic of a mysterious disease. Abby's father was one of the sick - and he was taken when she was six years old. Going against the authorities to find his father, Abby learns that her city is actually full of magic. And she discovers in herself extraordinary magical abilities.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDonovan's Echo (2011)
A series of uncanny déjà vu events force a man to re-examine his tragic past, memory, instinct, and future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFallen Angel (1945)
An unemployed drifter, Eric Stanton wanders into a small California town and begins hanging around the local diner. While Eric falls for the lovely waitress Stella, he also begins romancing a quiet and well-to-do woman named June Mills. Since Stella isn't interested in Eric unless he has money, the lovelorn guy comes up with a scheme to win her over, and it involves June. Before long, murder works its way into this passionate love triangle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Paradine Case (1947)
In London, barrister Anthony Keane takes the case of Maddalena Paradine, a beautiful woman accused of poisoning her blind husband. Though happily married, Keane becomes infatuated with his enigmatic client and convinced of her innocence. His obsession clouds his judgment as he builds a defense implicating her servant, André Latour—an act that leads to devastating consequences both in court and at home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTime Without Pity (1957)
Alec Graham is sentenced to death for the murder of his girlfriend Jennie, with whom he spent a weekend at the English country home of the parents of his friend Brian Stanford. Alec’s father, David Graham, a not-so-successful writer and alcoholic who has neglected his son in the past, flies in from Canada to visit his son on death row. David then goes on a quest to try and clear his son’s name while battling “the bottle.”
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAutumn Leaves (1956)
A woman falls for a younger man with severe mental problems.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Thin Man Goes Home (1944)
Hoping for a peaceful visit with his parents in the small town of Sycamore Springs, Nick Charles and his wife Nora soon find themselves surrounded by old rivalries, family tensions, and a mysterious murder. Nick’s father, a respected retired doctor, would much rather see his son give up detective work, but a suspicious shooting quickly draws Nick back into action. As Nick and Nora investigate, they uncover jealousy, deception, hidden motives, and a dangerous secret involving the town’s prominent citizens.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Assault (2014)
After a cheerleader is sexually assaulted by the high school football team, she must overcome her shame and use the evidence gathered from the subsequent social media firestorm to piece together the night that she can't remember in her fight for justice. Based on the true story of the Steubenville, Ohio rape case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnother Thin Man (1939)
Nick and Nora Charles are back - and this time, they have a baby, a wealthy new client, and another murder to solve! Retired detective Nick is enjoying family life with Nora and their young son, Nick Jr., when eccentric industrialist Colonel MacFay asks for protection after receiving threatening messages. When MacFay is found dead at his isolated estate, Nick and Nora spring into action, questioning a houseful of suspicious guests and uncovering greed, blackmail, family secrets, and a dangerous inheritance plot. With their trademark wit and sophistication, the glamorous couple balances parenthood, parties, and peril as they race to expose the killer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMermaid Down (2019)
A mermaid is ripped from the ocean by a fishing crew only to be tortured and to have her tail cut off. A seemingly helpful stranger intervenes, but then locks her away in an institution for mentally disturbed young women, where no one believes she is a mermaid. With no way out, she is forced to count on her survival instincts, and fight for her life at all costs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dark Mirror (1946)
A sister and her disturbed twin are implicated in a murder and a police detective must figure out which one's the killer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Close Call for Ellery Queen (1942)
Amateur sleuth Ellery Queen learns the truth about a businessman's two long-lost daughters.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Ellery Queen and the Murder Ring (1941)
The benefactor of the Stack Memorial Hospital dies after an operation. Ellery Queen investigates when it is revealed the cause of death was murder by strangulation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime (1941)
Several days after one of his company's dams burst, ruining the life savings of several investors, a shady power company president is found stabbed to death. Ellery Queen gets to the bottom of the mystery.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen (1942)
Detective Ellery Queen aids Free Dutch agents battle Nazi spies over a prize of industrial diamonds.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Ellery Queen, Master Detective (1940)
Famed detective and crime novelist Ellery Queen solves a case involving the suspicious death of a rich man whose inheritors fight over his estate.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
The Spanish Cape Mystery (1935)
Ellery Queen's vacation is interrupted when murder strikes next door to his oceanside cabin.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
The Mandarin Mystery (1936)
Ellery Queen solves a mystery involving a valuable stamp.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Final Act (2025)
Detective Ellery Queen sets out to solve a puzzling case following the sudden death of a wealthy businessman.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Cube 2: Hypercube (2002)
Eight strangers awaken with no memory, in a puzzling cube-shaped room where the laws of physics do not always apply.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisCube Zero (2004)
A young programmer whose job is to watch over the reality-warping Cube defies orders to rescue an innocent mother trapped in one of its rooms.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
SnoozefestMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen?
The closest matches to A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen are The Glass Key (1942), Framed for Murder: A Fixer Upper Mystery (2017) and The Deep End of the Ocean (1999). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen?
Start with The Glass Key (1942), the closest match to A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen.
What is the highest-rated movie like A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen?
The Deep End of the Ocean (1999), rated 6.6/10 by 568 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen?
Final Act (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen?
Yes: The Glass Key (1942), Framed for Murder: A Fixer Upper Mystery (2017) and The Deep End of the Ocean (1999).
How are movies similar to A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.