Movies like The Microscope Mystery (1916)
The best movies like The Microscope Mystery (1916) are Wicked Little Letters (2024), The Kid Detective (2020) and Inherent Vice (2014). If The Microscope Mystery hooked you with its comedy and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSherlock Jr. (1924)8.0/10 from 1,238 votes
- NewestWicked Little Letters (2024)Released 2024
Wicked Little Letters (2024)
When the denizens of Littlehampton – including conservative Edith – begin receiving letters full of hilarious profanities, rowdy Irish migrant Rose is charged with the crime. Suspecting something amiss, the town's women band together to investigate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Kid Detective (2020)
A once-celebrated kid detective, now 31, continues to solve the same trivial mysteries between hangovers and bouts of self-pity. Until a naive client brings him his first 'adult' case, to find out who brutally murdered her boyfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInherent Vice (2014)
In Los Angeles at the turn of the 1970s, drug-fueled detective Larry "Doc" Sportello investigates the disappearance of an ex-girlfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Laurel-Hardy Murder Case (1930)
The boys think their days of fishing to feed themselves have come to an end, when Stan's rich uncle Ebenezer dies leaving a large estate. But they soon learn that Ebenezer was murdered and all the relatives, including Stan, are suspects.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother (1975)
After spending decades living in the shadow of his more famous and successful sibling, Consulting Detective Sigerson Holmes is called upon to help solve a crucial case that leads him on a hilarious trail of false identities, stolen documents, secret codes... and exposed backsides.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Cheap Detective (1978)
A spoof of the entire 1940s detective genre. San Francisco private detective, Lou Pekinpaugh is accused of murdering his partner at the instigation of his mistress—his partner's wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & 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 & drama
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 comedy & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies 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 comedy & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Bone to Pick: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery (2015)
A librarian with a sharp mind for murder, Aurora Teagarden is known around her small town as a master sleuth. When her friend Jane unexpectedly dies and leaves Aurora everything in her will, she also leaves a troubling murder mystery haunting her neighborhood. It is up to Aurora to piece together the clues—including a skull, its missing skeleton and a suspicious group of neighbors—and solve the murder before she becomes the unlikely killer’s next victim.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeathtrap (1982)
A Broadway playwright puts murder in his plan to take credit for a student's script.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Caveman's Valentine (2001)
Romulus, a misunderstood musician turned recluse hiding from personal demons in a New York City cave, finds the frozen body of a young drifter in a tree. The authorities, including his police officer daughter, claim the death is accidental. Romulus is convinced the man was murdered by a prominent art photographer but how can he prove he's right when everyone thinks he's insane?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisSee How They Run (2022)
In the West End of 1950s London, plans for a movie version of a smash-hit play come to an abrupt halt after a pivotal member of the crew is murdered. When world-weary Inspector Stoppard and eager rookie Constable Stalker take on the case, the two find themselves thrown into a puzzling whodunit within the glamorously sordid theater underground, investigating the mysterious homicide at their own peril.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSherlock Jr. (1924)
A film projectionist longs to be a detective, and puts his meager skills to work when he is framed by a rival for stealing his girlfriend's father's pocketwatch.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & mystery
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisRiddled with Deceit: A Martha's Vineyard Mystery (2020)
Former detective Jeff Jackson teams up with Dr. Zee Madieras to track down their friend's missing emerald brooch, a thief, and also... a murderer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMr. Monk's Last Case: A Monk Movie (2023)
Monk steps out of retirement as his stepdaughter's wedding turns tragic when her fiancé dies in a bungee jumping accident.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPast Malice: An Emma Fielding Mystery (2018)
Archaeologist Emma Fielding is hired to consult on the acquisition of a castle-like estate that local legend states is cursed. But she finds herself in the middle of a murder case after discovering the body of the archaeologist she was hired to shadow in a secret chamber in the bowels of the huge building. Assisted by her friend, FBI special agent Jim Conner, Fielding must sift through clues and a long list of suspects, each of whom has their own reason for wanting the man dead, to determine who is the killer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & drama
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 & drama
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 comedy & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEl carnaval del diablo (1936)
Spanish-language version of The Devil on Horseback (1936).
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & comedy
Belle of Alaska (1922)
In 1899, Kansas farmer Wade Harkin and his wife Ruth pull up stakes and head for the Alaskan gold fields to make their fortune. When they reach Seattle, Washington, Wade tells Ruth to meet him aboard their ship going north, but when she arrives, she is unable to find him because he is involved in a private poker game.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
One Stolen Night (1929)
When his ne'er-do-well brother embezzles the commissary funds of their cavalry unit stationed in the Sudan, a British soldier takes the blame for him. He winds up deserting his post and joining up with a traveling vaudeville troupe. He falls in love with a pretty young woman in one of the show's acts but finds that a local Arab sheik has his own plans for the young girl.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Miracle of St. Anne (1950)
Series of rushes about cripples appearing in a Bible epic who are cured by a starlet playing Saint Anne.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Pathways of Life (1916)
A girl tends a garden planted with symbolic flowers: red roses for lust and white roses for love. Daddy Wisdom encourages the girl to cultivate the white roses instead of the red.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Jaws of Steel (1927)
Our doggy hero is abandoned in the desert while in pup-hood. Upon reaching maturity, Tin Tin has undeservedly earned the reputation as a killer canine. Thus, the human characters spend most of their time hunting down the dog in hopes of collecting a huge bounty.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Jewess of Toledo (1919)
The love affair between King Alfonso VIII of Castile and Rahel la Fermosa, a Jewish woman.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Kentucky Handicap (1926)
In this horse racing drama, a young man relies on The Kentucky Handicap, a high-stakes race, as he strives for victory against personal or financial odds!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Sanshiro Sugata (1943)
A hotheaded youth in 1880s Meiji Japan apprentices to judo master Shōgorō Yano, trading brute jujutsu bravado for discipline and humility. As Sanshirō matures, he proves judo’s spirit against old-guard challengers—including a deadly duel—while falling for his vanquished opponent’s daughter. Based on the novel by Tsuneo Tomita, son of Tomita Tsunejirō, the earliest disciple of judo.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe New Moon (1919)
When anarchist bombs disrupt the engagement ball of Princess Marie Pavlovna, her fiancé, Prince Michail Koloyar, helps her to escape in a carriage. Then Theo Kameneff, secretly in the pay of a foreign government, becomes dictator and, desiring the princess, issues an edict that all women between the ages of seventeen and thirty-two must register and become state property.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Microscope Mystery?
The closest matches to The Microscope Mystery are Wicked Little Letters (2024), The Kid Detective (2020) and Inherent Vice (2014). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Microscope Mystery?
Start with Wicked Little Letters (2024), the closest match to The Microscope Mystery.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Microscope Mystery?
Sherlock Jr. (1924), rated 8.0/10 by 1,238 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Microscope Mystery?
Wicked Little Letters (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Microscope Mystery?
Yes: Wicked Little Letters (2024), The Kid Detective (2020) and Inherent Vice (2014).
How are movies similar to The Microscope Mystery chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Microscope Mystery, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.