Movies like A Life in the Balance (1915)
The best movies like A Life in the Balance (1915) are Black Widow (1987), The Lady Vanishes (2013) and Cornered (1945). If A Life in the Balance hooked you with its thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSafety Last! (1923)7.7/10 from 614 votes
- NewestThe Lady Vanishes (2013)Released 2013
Black 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 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 thisCornered (1945)
A World War II veteran hunts down the Nazi collaborators who killed his wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSafety Last! (1923)
When a store clerk organizes a contest to climb the outside of a tall building, circumstances force him to make the perilous climb himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUnion Station (1950)
Police catch a break when suspected kidnappers are spotted on a train heading towards Union Station. Police, train station security and a witness try to piece together the crime and get back the blind daughter of a rich business man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
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 thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisConflict (1945)
Unhappily married Richard Mason concocts a meticulous scheme to kill his shrewish wife so that he'll be free to marry her sister.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisManiac (1963)
When a stranger enters a quiet, country town and is seduced by a sensuous married woman he unwittingly finds himself at the centre of a storm of sexual guilt and murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNightfall (1956)
An innocent man turns fugitive as he reconstructs events that implicate him for a murder and robbery he did not commit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisQuicksand (1950)
Young auto mechanic Dan Brady takes $20 from a cash register at work to go on a date with blonde femme fatale Vera Novak. Brady intends to put the money back before it is missed, but the garage's bookkeeper shows up earlier than scheduled. As Brady scrambles to cover evidence of his petty theft, he fast finds himself drawn into an ever worsening "quicksand" of crime.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisSide Street (1950)
A struggling young father-to-be gives in to temptation and impulsively steals an envelope of money from the office of a corrupt attorney. Instead of a few hundred dollars, it contains $30,000. When he decides to return the money, things go wrong - and that is only the beginning of his troubles.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Unknown (1927)
On the lam, criminal Alonzo hides in the circus as The Armless Wonder—a performer who uses his feet to hurl knives. Alonzo keeps the arms he really has concealed to hide his identity. Meanwhile, ringmaster's daughter Nanon has a phobia of being touched by men, but is romantically pursued by not only Alonzo but the strongman Malabar. Alonzo's desperation to remain with Nanon will only end in tragedy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Lady Vanishes (1938)
On a train headed for England a group of travelers is delayed by an avalanche. Holed up in a hotel in a fictional European country, young Iris befriends elderly Miss Froy. When the train resumes, Iris suffers a bout of unconsciousness and wakes to find the old woman has disappeared. The other passengers ominously deny Miss Froy ever existed, so Iris begins to investigate with another traveler and, as the pair sleuth, romantic sparks fly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies 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 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
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Man Who Cheated Himself (1950)
A veteran homicide detective who has witnessed his socialite girlfriend kill her husband sees his inexperienced brother assigned to the case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYoung and Innocent (1937)
When a young writer is falsely accused of murdering a famous actress, he escapes custody and joins forces with the daughter of a police constable to prove his innocence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Silver Greyhound (1932)
A King’s Messenger has important documents stolen by a female spy. The plot follows the messenger’s uncle as he takes action to track down the culprit, retrieve the papers, and unmask the spy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Smashing Through (1918)
Claim jumper Dave Marco and his boss Earl Foster, a crooked investment broker, hire chemist Ralph Brandon to falsify papers that a certain worthless mine is valuable then convince Ralph's mother to invest all her money in the mine. Ralph’s sister Holly meets Jack Mason, whose mine is actually valuable though not yet profitable, and they fall for each other. Once Mrs. Brandon finds out she has been duped, though forced into silence by the threat of having Ralph’s malfeasance exposed, and Marco attempts to jump Jack’s claim events come to a head until the happy conclusion.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
The Climax (1930)
Young Italian girl wants to become a great opera singer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Batman Dracula (1964)
Batman Dracula is a 1964 black and white American film produced and directed by Andy Warhol, without the permission of DC Comics. The film was screened only at Warhol's art exhibits. A fan of the Batman series, Warhol made the movie as a homage. Batman Dracula is considered to be the first film featuring a blatantly campy Batman. The film was thought to have been lost until scenes from it were shown at some length in the documentary Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
The Wreck of the Vega (1912)
The film was a dramatic thriller based on a real-life maritime disaster. It depicted the tragic sinking of the Vega, a fast Great Lakes ore boat that was driven onto the rocks near the Fox Islands in Northern Lake Michigan during a massive storm five years prior
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
The Wreck of the Dunbar or The Yeoman's Wedding (1912)
In August 1857, the clipper ship Dunbar arrived at Sydney Heads after a long voyage from England, only to be smashed against the jagged cliffs at the entrance to Port Jackson during a severe rainstorm. It remains one of Australia’s worst maritime disasters, resulting in the loss of 121 lives and only a single survivor. This is a dramatic reenactment of the tale.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Conn, the Shaughraun (1912)
Adapted from Dion Boucicault’s classic 1874 play, the story follows an unjustly exiled Irish patriot and the clever vagabond, Conn, who engineers his escape from a penal colony.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Hands Across the Sea (1912)
Jack Dudley, an English farmer, is married to Lilian, who is desired by the evil Robert Stilwood. While Jack and Lilian are honeymooning in Paris, Stilwood frames Dudley for murder and he is sentenced to imprisonment in a French penal colony in New Caledonia. He escapes and is rescued by a British man-o-war.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
One Hundred Years Ago (1911)
Young squire Jasper Hugh Lovel is wrongfully accused of a crime and sent away to the penal colony at Norfolk Island. Back in England, a woman who deeply loves him refuses to give up hope. She successfully works to secure his official pardon. Once cleared, the two are joyfully reunited. The historical melodrama is notable for featuring a dramatic, high-stakes duel sequence.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
The Skull (1913)
Just as the bead clerk and his assistants are closing up the jewelry store for the day, a package containing a very costly necklace arrives by special messenger. The large safe deposit vault has been closed for the night and the time clock set. The head clerk is fearful to leave the necklace in the store and so decides to take it home. His actions have been closely watched by one of the junior clerks, with sinister and stealthy glances.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like A Life in the Balance?
The closest matches to A Life in the Balance are Black Widow (1987), The Lady Vanishes (2013) and Cornered (1945). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after A Life in the Balance?
Start with Black Widow (1987), the closest match to A Life in the Balance.
What is the highest-rated movie like A Life in the Balance?
Safety Last! (1923), rated 7.7/10 by 614 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like A Life in the Balance?
The Lady Vanishes (2013) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like A Life in the Balance?
Yes: Black Widow (1987), The Lady Vanishes (2013) and Cornered (1945).
How are movies similar to A Life in the Balance chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside A Life in the Balance, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.