Movies like Return from the Ashes (1965)
The best movies like Return from the Ashes (1965) are The Truth About Emanuel (2013), The Quiller Memorandum (1966) and Act of Violence (1949). If Return from the Ashes hooked you with its thriller and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPickup on South Street (1953)7.4/10 from 341 votes
- NewestEleanor the Great (2025)Released 2025
The Truth About Emanuel (2013)
A troubled young woman becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to the girl's dead mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Quiller Memorandum (1966)
After two British Secret Intelligence Service agents are murdered at the hands of a cryptic neo-Nazi group known as Phoenix, the suave agent Quiller is sent to Berlin to investigate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisAct of Violence (1949)
A former prisoner of war, Frank Enley is hailed as a hero in his California town. However, Frank has a shameful secret that comes back to haunt him when fellow survivor Joe Parkson emerges, intent on making Frank pay for his past deeds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMan in the Shadow (1957)
In a modern cow town, the powerful ranch owner’s henchmen kill a ranch hand, prompting the sheriff to investigate despite facing strong opposition. He finds an unlikely ally in the rancher's overprotected daughter, but their quest for justice puts them both in danger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Locket (1946)
A dark personal secret drives a young woman to use every man she encounters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEach Dawn I Die (1939)
A corrupt D.A. with governatorial ambitions is annoyed by an investigative reporter's criticism of his criminal activities and decides to frame the reporter for manslaughter in order to silence him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSeeds of Yesterday (2015)
The Sheffield family reveal and go through some home truths as their middle child inherits the Foxworth mansion. The family's ghosts looming over, and more tragedies are in store as the curse lives on.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhile the City Sleeps (1956)
Newspaper men compete against each other to find a serial killer dubbed "The Lipstick Killer".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack Widow (1987)
Federal agent Alexandra Barnes believes that Catherine Petersen is a serial killer who marries rich men and then murders them for their money. But since Catherine is seemingly a master of disguise and has multiple identities, Alexandra can't prove anything with conventional detective work. With no other option, she goes undercover, pursuing the same man as Catherine, and hoping that Catherine will slip up and reveal her true identity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChief of Station (2024)
After learning that the death of his wife was not an accident, a former CIA Station Chief is forced back into the espionage underworld, teaming up with an adversary to unravel a conspiracy that challenges everything he thought he knew.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEleanor the Great (2025)
94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein tries to rebuild her life after the death of her best friend. As a result, she moves back to New York City after living in Florida for decades.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSound of Christmas (2016)
Lizzie is a young piano teacher working at a music school while trying to save enough money for a Steinway piano. The school is gearing up for their major Christmas fundraiser and she has committed much of her time to plan the event. One afternoon, she meets Brad who takes an interest in her playing and asks if she will teach his uninterested teenage daughter. She begins to break through to the young girl, and sparks begin to fly with Brad, but she is shocked to find out that his interest is not solely in her playing, but in the property that houses the music school. She sets out to save the school and the event, but can she work things out with Brad?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFast Girls (2012)
A street smart runner develops an intense rivalry with an equally ambitious wealthy young athlete.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSkater Girl (2021)
Prerna, a teenager growing up in rural India, comes of age when she’s introduced to the sport of skateboarding. As a result, she has to fight the odds to follow her dreams and compete in the national championship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Christmas Shoes (2002)
Two separate stories mesh - in the first, a young music teacher, Maggie Andrews, begins dying of a heart condition and her son Nathan tries to get a pair of Christmas shoes for her before she dies. In the second, lawyer Robert Layton and his wife Kate are slowly drifting apart and the matter comes to a head during Christmas when Kate takes over for Maggie for the school choir.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Rifleman (2023)
A WWII veteran escapes his care home in Northern Ireland and embarks on an arduous but inspirational journey to France to attend the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, finding the courage to face the ghosts of his past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Lady Vanishes (2013)
Young socialite Iris Carr befriends an older woman while traveling solo by train. When Iris wakes from a nap, the woman is gone and other passengers claim she never existed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWon't Back Down (2012)
Jamie Fitzpatrick and Nona Alberts are two women from opposites sides of the social and economic track, but they have one thing in common: a mission to fix their community's broken school and ensure a bright future for their children. The two women refuse to let any obstacles stand in their way as they battle a bureaucracy that's hopelessly mired in traditional thinking, and they seek to re-energize a faculty that has lost its passion for teaching.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPickup on South Street (1953)
In New York City, an insolent pickpocket, Skip McCoy, inadvertently sets off a chain of events when he targets ex-prostitute Candy and steals her wallet. Unaware that she has been making deliveries of highly classified information to the communists, Candy, who has been trailed by FBI agents for months in hopes of nabbing the spy ringleader, is sent by her ex-boyfriend, Joey, to find Skip and retrieve the valuable microfilm he now holds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNo Name on the Bullet (1959)
When hired killer John Gant rides into Lordsburg, the town's folk become paranoid as each leading citizen has enemies capable of using the services of a professional killer for personal revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Ojibway Switchback (2015)
The Ojibway Switchback, a Popular Native American gigolo, is sent to repay a debt for his madam in trade. However, he underestimates exactly what is in store for him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
The Champagne Murders (1967)
A champagne tycoon's partner suspects his partner's gigolo husband of murders he's been framed for.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & drama
Alleluia (2014)
Michel, a murderous womanizer, meets introverted Gloria online and treats her to a whirlwind one-night-stand. Offering herself as an accomplice in his seductive crimes, the unhinged lovers embark on a deadly odyssey amplified by wild sex, unbridled jealousy, and passionate forays into the dark arts.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisA Woman in Flames (1983)
Eva, an upper-class housewife, frustratedly leaves her arrogant husband and decides to enter the call girl business. She lets Yvonne, a prostitute, teach her the basics and both set out for prey together, until Eva starts an affair with Chris, who turns out to be a call boy, as well. Consequently, she moves into his penthouse, large enough for both to offer their services separately.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Golden Whore (2000)
Adrian is a young fame seeker who rents himself out at social events. He cries at funerals, tells jokes at parties and applauds on opening nights. Suddenly, his luck changes and Adrian becomes an overnight smash...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
A Man's Voice (2002)
Paulo, a young gay boy with an abusive mother, meets Tom, a young gay man who makes his money bedding women.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Hold Back the Dawn (1941)
Romanian-French gigolo Georges Iscovescu wishes to enter the USA. Stopped in Mexico by the quota system, he decides to marry an American, then desert her and join his old partner Anita, who's done likewise. But after sweeping teacher Emmy Brown off her feet, he finds her so sweet that love and jealousy endanger his plans.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisConversation Piece (1974)
A retired professor of American origin lives a solitary life in a luxurious palazzo in Rome. He is confronted by a vulgar Italian marchesa and her lover, her daughter and her daughter's boyfriend, and forced to rent to them an apartment on the upper floor of his palazzo. From this point on his quiet routine is turned into chaos by his tenants' machinations, and everybody's life takes an unexpected but inevitable turn.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPeridot (2022)
Gabriel, a young male gigolo, works on Skid Row to send money to his mother back home. He forms the most unlikely friendship with Martha, an elderly woman and renowned author. “Peridot” breaks down the barriers and labels in a deeply ageist culture – a story that exemplifies that love and friendship know no age, race, gender, or label.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Friday Gigolo (1992)
Donald (Simon Yam) is a photographer who on Fridays is gigolo. On one particular friday entertaining his client is Sophia (Yau Yuet Ching), a ravenous rich man's wife he witnesses a murder in the street. Unable to report to the police for fear of her husband (who is soon revealed to be Donald's boss!), so Donald reports it to the police and poses as the witness.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Return from the Ashes?
The closest matches to Return from the Ashes are The Truth About Emanuel (2013), The Quiller Memorandum (1966) and Act of Violence (1949). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Return from the Ashes?
Start with The Truth About Emanuel (2013), the closest match to Return from the Ashes.
What is the highest-rated movie like Return from the Ashes?
Pickup on South Street (1953), rated 7.4/10 by 341 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Return from the Ashes?
Eleanor the Great (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Return from the Ashes?
Yes: The Truth About Emanuel (2013), The Quiller Memorandum (1966) and Act of Violence (1949).
How are movies similar to Return from the Ashes chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Return from the Ashes, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.