20 best movies like Sweet Smell of Success (1957)

List of the best movies like Sweet Smell of Success (1957): Out of the Past, Criss Cross, The Lady from Shanghai, Phantom Lady, The Big Clock, The Asphalt Jungle, 'G' Men, Detective Story, Scarlet Street, The Killers.

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Markimdb: 8
Genrethriller, melodrama, drama, crime, film noir
CountryUSA
Duration01:37

Jeff Bailey seems to be a mundane gas station owner in remote Bridgeport, CA. He is dating local girl Ann Miller and lives a quiet life. But Jeff has a secret past, and when a mysterious stranger arrives in town, Jeff is forced to return to the dark world he had tried to escape.

Markimdb: 7.5
Genrethriller, drama, crime, film noir
CountryUSA
Duration01:28

Burt Lancaster plays Steve Thompson, a man who seals his dark fate when he returns to Los Angeles to find his ex-wife Anna Dundee (Yvonne DeCarlo) eager to rekindle their love against all better judgement. She encourages their affair but then quickly marries mobster Slim Dundee (Dan Duryea). To deflect suspicion of the affair, Steve Thompson leads Dundee into a daylight armored-truck robbery.

Markimdb: 7.5
Genrethriller, drama, crime, detective, film noir
CountryUSA
Duration01:27

A romantic drifter gets caught between a corrupt tycoon and his voluptuous wife.

Markimdb: 7.2
Genredrama, crime, detective, film noir
CountryUSA

A mystery woman is a murder suspect's only alibi for the night of his wife's death.

Markimdb: 7.6
Genrethriller, drama, crime, detective, film noir
CountryUSA
Duration01:35

Stroud, a crime magazine's crusading editor has to post-pone a vacation with his wife, again, when a glamorous blonde is murdered and he is assigned by his publishing boss Janoth to find the killer. As the investigation proceeds to its conclusion, Stroud must try to disrupt his ordinarily brilliant investigative team as they increasingly build evidence (albeit wrong) that he is the killer.

Markimdb: 7.8
Genrethriller, drama, crime, film noir
CountryUSA
Duration01:52

Recently paroled from prison, legendary burglar "Doc" Riedenschneider, with funding from Alonzo Emmerich, a crooked lawyer, gathers a small group of veteran criminals together in the Midwest for a big jewel heist.

Markimdb: 7.1
Genrethriller, drama, crime, film noir
CountryUSA

James “Brick” Davis, a struggling attorney, owes his education to a mobster, but always has refused to get involved with the underworld. When a friend of his is gunned down by a notorious criminal, Brick decides to abandon the exercise of the law and join the Department of Justice to capture the murderer.

Markimdb: 7.5
Genremelodrama, drama, crime, film noir
CountryUSA
Duration01:43

Tells the story of one day in the lives of the various people who populate a police detective squad. An embittered cop, Det. Jim McLeod, leads a precinct of characters in their grim daily battle with the city's lowlife. The characters who pass through the precinct over the course of the day include a young petty embezzler, a pair of burglars, and a naive shoplifter.

Markimdb: 7.8
Genrethriller, drama, film noir
CountryUSA
Duration01:43

Cashier and part-time starving artist Christopher Cross is absolutely smitten with the beautiful Kitty March. Kitty plays along, but she's really only interested in Johnny, a two-bit crook. When Kitty and Johnny find out that art dealers are interested in Chris's work, they con him into letting Kitty take credit for the paintings. Cross allows it because he is in love with Kitty, but his love will only let her get away with so much.

Markimdb: 7.8
Genredrama, crime, detective, film noir
CountryUSA
Duration01:37

Two hit men walk into a diner asking for a man called "the Swede". When the killers find the Swede, he's expecting them and doesn't put up a fight. Since the Swede had a life insurance policy, an investigator, on a hunch, decides to look into the murder. As the Swede's past is laid bare, it comes to light that he was in love with a beautiful woman who may have lured him into pulling off a bank robbery overseen by another man.

Markimdb: 7.4
Genrethriller, drama, crime, film noir
CountryUSA
Duration01:38

An ex-con trying to go straight must face a crazed criminal out for revenge.

Markimdb: 7.6
Genrethriller, melodrama, drama, film noir
CountryUSA
Duration01:50

A gambler discovers an old flame while in Argentina, but she's married to his new boss.

Markimdb: 7.8
Genreaction, thriller, drama, crime, film noir
CountryUSA
Duration01:40

A hurricane swells outside, but it's nothing compared to the storm within the hotel at Key Largo. There, sadistic mobster Johnny Rocco holes up - and holds at gunpoint hotel owner James Temple, his widowed daughter-in-law Nora, and ex-GI Frank McCloud.

Markimdb: 7.5
Genrethriller, drama, crime, detective, film noir
CountryUSA
Duration01:35

Gumshoe Philip Marlowe is hired by the oafish Moose Malloy to track down his former girlfriend. He's also hired to accompany an effeminate playboy buy back some jewels. When the exchange results in the playboy's murder, Marlowe can't leave the case alone, and soon discovers it's related to Malloy's. As he gets drawn deeper into a complex web of intrigue by a mysterious blonde, the detective finds his own life in increasing jeopardy.

Markimdb: 8.1
Genredrama, film noir
CountryUSA
Duration01:51

A frustrated former big-city journalist now stuck working for an Albuquerque newspaper exploits a story about a man trapped in a cave to revitalize his career, but the situation quickly escalates into an out-of-control media circus.

Markimdb: 7
Genrethriller, melodrama, drama, film noir
CountryUSA
Duration01:37

Rosa, the self-serving wife of a small-town doctor, gets a better offer when a wealthy big-city man insists she get a divorce and marry him instead. Soon she demonstrates she is capable of rather deplorable acts -- including murder.

Markimdb: 7.5
Genrethriller, drama, crime, film noir
CountryUSA
Duration01:52

Escaped convicts terrorize a suburban family they're holding hostage.

Markimdb: 7.2
Genrethriller, melodrama, drama, crime, detective, film noir
CountryUSA
Duration01:22

A young promoter is accused of the murder of Vicky Lynn, a young actress he "discovered" as a waitress while out with ex-actor Robin Ray and gossip columnist Larry Evans.

Markimdb: 7.7
Genredrama, crime, film noir, music
CountryFrance

Jenny Lamour sings in a music hall in postwar Paris, accompanied by her husband, Maurice Martineau, on piano. When Martineau notices his wife flirting with an older businessman named Georges Brignon, he follows her to Brignon's house with the intent to kill him. At the house, Brignon is found murdered -- but by someone else. Inspector Antoine conducts an investigation that implicates Martineau, whose planned alibi comes loose.

Markimdb: 7.3
Genredrama, film noir
CountryUSA
Duration01:38

A penniless pregnant woman adopts the identity of a rich woman killed in a train crash.

Markimdb: 7.5
Genreaction, thriller, drama, adventure, crime, film noir
CountryUSA
Duration01:40

Given a pardon from jail, Roy Earle gets back into the swing of things as he robs a swanky resort.

Markimdb: 7.3
Genredrama, crime, film noir
CountryUSA
Duration01:07

Al Roberts, a New York nightclub pianist, hitchhikes to Hollywood to meet his girlfriend Sue. The gambler he's riding with, Charles, unexpectedly dies. Afraid the police wouldn't believe the truth, Al takes the man's identity. In a gas station, he gives a lift to Vera, a woman that knew Charles and blackmails Al with tragic consequences.

Markimdb: 7.2
Genrethriller, drama, crime, film noir
CountryUSA
Duration01:19

A revenge-seeking gangster is sent to prison after being framed for a crime he didn't commit. After seducing a beautiful young woman, he uses her to help him carry out his plot for vengeance, leading him to the crazy pyromaniac who set him up.

Markimdb: 6.8
Genrethriller, drama, detective, film noir
CountryUSA
Duration01:40

An old man and his sister are concealing a terrible secret from their adopted teen daughter, concerning a hidden abandoned farmhouse, located deep in the woods.

Markimdb: 6.7
Genredrama, detective, film noir
CountryUSA
Duration01:35

A young stage hopeful is murdered and suspicion falls on her mentor, a Broadway producer.

Markimdb: 7.6
Genremelodrama, drama, crime, detective, film noir
CountryUSA
Duration01:35

After a woman shoots a man to death, a damning letter she wrote raises suspicions.

Markimdb: 7.5
Genrethriller, drama, film noir
CountryUSA
Duration01:34

Nick Garcos comes back from his tour of duty in World War II planning to settle down with his girlfriend, Polly Faber. He learns, however, that his father was recently beaten and burglarized by mob-connected trucker Mike Figlia, and Nick resolves to get even. He partners with prostitute Rica, and together they go after Mike, all the while getting pulled further into the local crime underworld.

Markimdb: 7.2
Genrethriller, drama, detective, film noir
CountryUSA
Duration01:23

Frank Bigelow is about to die, and he knows it. The accountant has been poisoned and has only 24 hours before the lethal concoction kills him. Determined to find out who his murderer is, Frank, with the help of his assistant and girlfriend, Paula, begins to trace back over his last steps. As he frantically tries to unravel the mystery behind his own impending demise, his sleuthing leads him to a group of crooked businessmen and another murder.

Markimdb: 7
Genreaction, thriller, drama, crime
CountryUSA, United Arab Emirates
Duration02:05

A thriller set in New York City during the winter of 1981, statistically one of the most violent years in the city's history, and centered on a the lives of an immigrant and his family trying to expand their business and capitalize on opportunities as the rampant violence, decay, and corruption of the day drag them in and threaten to destroy all they have built.

Markimdb: 6.8
Genredrama, crime, biography
CountryUSA
Duration01:21

A look behind the scenes at Bernie Madoff's massive Ponzi scheme, how it was perpetrated on the public and the trail of destruction it left in its wake, both for the victims and Madoff's family.

Markimdb: 7.7
Genrethriller, drama, crime, film noir
CountryUSA
Duration01:11

A tough cop meets his match when he has to guard a gangster's widow on a tense train ride.

Markimdb: 7.2
Genrethriller, drama, crime, film noir
CountryUSA
Duration01:36

One night in the New Orleans slums, vicious hoodlum Blackie and his friends kill an illegal immigrant who won too much in a card game. Next morning, Dr. Clint Reed of the Public Health Service confirms the dead man had pneumonic plague. To prevent a catastrophic epidemic, Clint must find and inoculate the killers and their associates, with the reluctant aid of police captain Tom Warren, despite official skepticism, and in total secrecy, lest panic empty the city. Can a doctor turn detective? He has 48 hours to try...

Markimdb: 8.1
Genrethriller, drama, detective
CountryUSA
Duration02:29

    With his wife's disappearance having become the focus of an intense media circus, a man sees the spotlight turned on him when it's suspected that he may not be innocent.

    Markimdb: 7.4
    Genrethriller, drama, crime, film noir
    CountryUSA
    Duration01:41

    Gino Monetti is a ruthless Italian-American banker who engaged in a number of criminal activities. Three of his four grown sons, refuse to help their father stay out of prison after he's arrested for his questionable business practices. Three of the sons take over the business but kick their father out. Max, a lawyer, is the only son that stays loyal to his father.

    Markimdb: 7.3
    Genrethriller, drama, crime, film noir
    CountryUSA
    Duration01:32

    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.

    Markimdb: 7.5
    Genrethriller, drama, crime
    CountryUSA

    A hired killer from Cleveland has a job to do on a second-string mob boss in New York. But a special girl from his past, and a fat gun dealer with pet rats, each gets in his way.

    Markimdb: 6.5
    Genreaction, thriller, drama, crime
    CountryUSA
    Duration01:54

    Private investigator Matthew Scudder is hired by a drug kingpin to find out who kidnapped and murdered his wife.

    Markimdb: 7.4
    Genredrama, film noir
    CountryUSA
    Duration01:45

    In 1953, an innocent man named Christopher Emmanuel "Manny" Balestrero is arrested after being mistaken for an armed robber.

    Markimdb: 7.3
    Genrethriller, drama, crime, detective, film noir
    CountryUSA
    Duration01:35

    A man working for the War Crimes Commission suspects that an important Nazi official has folded himself into a quaint Connecticut town.

    Markimdb: 7.6
    Genrethriller, melodrama, drama, film noir
    CountryUSA
    Duration01:50

    A young novelist, Richard Harland, meets beautiful Ellen Berent on a train where they fall in love and are soon married. When tragedies take first his handicapped young brother, then his unborn son from him, Harland gradually realises that his wife's insane jealousy may be the cause of the tragedies in his life. Yet another shock awaits them all, as Ellen's emotions become uncontrollable.

    Markimdb: 7.9
    Genrethriller, drama, crime, film noir
    CountryUSA
    Duration01:37

    In New York, the boys Rocky Sullivan and Jerry Connelly are best friends and small time thieves. After a robbery, Rocky is arrested and sent to a reformatory school, where he begins his criminal career. Jerry escapes and later becomes a priest. After three years in prison, Rocky is released and demands the return of $100,000 deposited with his solicitor - prior to his jail term.

    Markimdb: 7.9
    Genrethriller, drama, crime, film noir
    CountryUSA
    Duration01:46

    After World War I, Armistice Lloyd Hart goes back to practice law, former saloon keeper George Hally turns to bootlegging, and out-of-work Eddie Bartlett becomes a cab driver. Eddie builds a fleet of cabs through delivery of bootleg liquor and hires Lloyd as his lawyer. George becomes Eddie's partner and the rackets flourish until love and rivalry interfere.

    Markimdb: 7
    Genrethriller, drama, crime, film noir
    CountryUSA
    Duration01:25

    During the campaign for reelection, the crooked politician Paul Madvig decides to clean up his past, refusing the support of the gangster Nick Varna and associating to the respectable reformist politician Ralph Henry. When Ralph’s son, Taylor Henry, a gambler and the lover of Paul’s sister Opal, is murdered, Paul’s right arm, Ed Beaumont, finds his body on the street. Nick uses the financial situation of The Observer to force the publisher Clyde Matthews to use the newspaper to raise the suspicion that Paul Madvig might have killed Taylor.

    Markimdb: 7.7
    Genredrama, film noir
    CountryUSA
    Duration01:50

    Stanton Carlisle joins a seedy carnival, working with "Mademoiselle Zeena" and her alcoholic husband, Pete.

    Markimdb: 7.4
    Genredrama, film noir
    CountryUSA
    Duration01:45

    All The King's Men is the story of the rise of politician Willie Stark from a rural county seat to the governor's mansion.

    Markimdb: 7
    Genremelodrama, drama
    CountryUSA
    Duration01:54

    An uncompromising, visionary architect struggles to maintain his integrity and individualism despite personal, professional and economic pressures to conform to popular standards.

    Markimdb: 6.9
    Genrethriller, melodrama, drama, detective
    CountryUSA
    Duration01:43

    For Miranda Wells, moving to New York to live in Dragonwyck Manor with her rich cousin, Nicholas, seems like a dream. However, the situation gradually becomes nightmarish. She observes Nicholas' troubled relationship with his tenant farmers, as well as with his daughter, to whom Miranda serves as governess. Her relationship with Nicholas intensifies after his wife dies, but his mental imbalance threatens any hope of happiness.

    Markimdb: 7.6
    Genrethriller, comedy, drama, crime, detective
    CountryUSA
    Duration01:52

    Detective Philip Marlowe tries to help a friend who is accused of murdering his wife.

    Markimdb: 7.1
    Genrethriller, drama, film noir
    CountryUSA
    Duration01:32

    A young man, morally destroyed by his parents not loving him and by the fear of being not capable to make his girlfriend happy, rises on the ledge of a building with the intention of committing suicide. A policeman makes every effort to argue him out of it.

    Markimdb: 7.1
    Genrethriller, drama, detective, film noir
    CountryUSA
    Duration01:40

    Paratroopers Captain 'Rip' Murdock and Sergeant Johnny Drake are mysteriously ordered to travel to Washington, DC. When Drake learns that he is to be awarded the Medal of Honor, he disappears before newspaper photographers can take his picture. Murdock follows the clues and tracks him down, where he learns Drake is dead. Further investigations reveal unexpected twists. Rip learns that Johnny had been accused of murder and sets out to find out whatever he can. He falls in love with Coral whose husband Johnny is supposed to have killed.




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