20 movies like Nightmare Alley, ordered by similarity : Gun Crazy(1950), White Heat(1949), Little Caesar(1930), The Postman Always Rings Twice(1946), The Krays(1990), Casino(1995), Night and the City(1950), Gangster No. 1(2000), Borsalino(1970), The Match King(1932), Danger Signal(1945), Chicago Deadline(1949) ...
Crime, Drama
USA
1947
111 Minutes
geek mind reader psychiatrist strong man con artist dark incredible carnival hotel chicago con game ambition rise fall 1940s
The rise and fall of Stanton Carlisle, a mentalist whose lies and deceit prove to be his downfall.
Crime, Drama
USA
1950
87 Minutes
Peggy Cummins John Dall Berry Kroeger Morris Carnovsky Anabel Shaw Harry Lewis Nedrick Young Trevor Bardette
sharpshooter pacifist newlywed reporter sheriff sister cool thrilling emotional small town carnival car office building southern california doomed romance armed robbery troubled youth crime spree accidental murder on the run
Two disturbed young people release their fascination with guns through a crime spree.
Crime, Drama
USA
1949
114 Minutes
James Cagney Virginia Mayo Edmond O'Brien Margaret Wycherly Steve Cochran John Archer Wally Cassell Fred Clark Ford Rainey G. Pat Collins Paul Guilfoyle
gangster mother undercover agent fence convict dark intense prison train car hideout factory heist mother/son relationship prison break murder crime fall pursuit 1940s
A psychopathic criminal with a mother complex makes a daring break from prison and leads his old gang in a chemical plant payroll heist.
Crime, Drama
USA
1930
77 Minutes
Edward G. Robinson Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Glenda Farrell Stanley Fields Sidney Blackmer Ralph Ince George E. Stone Nick Bela
criminal dancer love interest gangster melodramatic intense chicago nightclub ambition friendship crime show business dance rise fall underdog 1930s
A small-time criminal moves to a big city to seek bigger fortune.
Crime, Drama
USA
1946
113 Minutes
Lana Turner John Garfield Cecil Kellaway Hume Cronyn Audrey Totter Leon Ames Alan Reed
drifter femme fatale district attorney lawyer restaurant owner tense suspenseful passionate diner courtroom california beach car justice ambition murder affair temptation forbidden love fall
A married woman and a drifter fall in love, then plot to murder her husband.
Crime, Drama, Biography
UK
1990
119 Minutes
Billie Whitelaw Gary Kemp Martin Kemp Susan Fleetwood Charlotte Cornwell Jimmy Jewel Avis Bunnage Kate Hardie Alfred Lynch Tom Bell Steven Berkoff
crime boss twin brother mother older man homosexual dark chilling shocking london club underground alley twins crime ring ronnie kray rise to power schizophrenia reggie kray fall
This fact-based movie follows the life of the twin crime-lords in London's '60s underworld.
Crime, Drama
USA|France
1995
177 Minutes
Robert De Niro Sharon Stone Joe Pesci James Woods Don Rickles Alan King Kevin Pollak L.Q. Jones Dick Smothers Frank Vincent Joe Bob Briggs
mobster henchman wife ex-lover politician con artist confident gritty las vegas casino hotel restaurant office gambling corruption mafia crime rise fall 1980s
A tale of greed, deception, money, power, and murder occur between two best friends: a mafia enforcer and a casino executive compete against each other over a gambling empire, and over a fast-living and fast-loving socialite.
Crime, Drama
UK|USA
1950
95 Minutes
Richard Widmark Gene Tierney Googie Withers Stanislaus Zbyszko
con artist girlfriend wrestler nightclub owner wife designer bleak gripping powerful london nightclub barge river thames gym ambition fraud wrestling deception downward spiral con game
A small-time grifter and nightclub tout takes advantage of some fortuitous circumstances and tries to become a big-time player as a wrestling promoter.
Crime, Drama
UK|Germany|Ireland
2000
103 Minutes
Malcolm McDowell David Thewlis Paul Bettany Saffron Burrows Kenneth Cranham Jamie Foreman Raz Adoti Doug Allen Eddie Marsan David Kennedy Andrew Lincoln
british man gangster crime boss criminal beautiful woman disturbing dark gritty london casino secret headquarters organized crime torture heist gang war rise to power released from prison rise rivalry revenge
Chronicles the rise and fall of a prominent, and particularly ruthless English gangster.
Crime, Drama
France|Italy
1970
123 Minutes
Jean-Paul Belmondo Alain Delon Michel Bouquet Catherine Rouvel Françoise Christophe Corinne Marchand
gangster lawyer old flame henchman ex-convict criminal dark intense engaging tense marseilles, france car horse track crime ring gangsters unlikely allies rivalry murder crime rise
During the 1930s, in Marseilles, France, two small time crooks work for local crime bosses until they decide to go into business for themselves.
Crime, Drama
USA
1932
80 Minutes
Warren William Lili Damita Glenda Farrell Harold Huber John Wray Hardie Albright
immigrant street sweeper entrepreneur actress girlfriend uncle melodramatic dark solemn chicago sweden europe factory small town illinois rags to riches business scheme arrogance success doomed romance
Unscrupulous Paul Kroll, starting as a Chicago janitor, uses graft to finance a trip to Sweden where by trickery he gains control of his uncle's small match factory. By expert manipulation ... See full summary »
Crime, Drama
USA
1945
78 Minutes
Faye Emerson Zachary Scott Mona Freeman Richard Erdman Rosemary DeCamp Herman Brix John Ridgely Mary Servoss Joyce Compton Virginia Sale Addison Richards
con artist rich girl jealous woman mother widower professor suspenseful brooding gripping dark los angeles house murder inheritance greed revenge con game new identity revenge pursuit
A very romantic murderer has plans to seduce, marry and kill a beautiful woman for her wealth, but finds her younger sister to be even better prey.
Crime, Drama
USA
1949
87 Minutes
reporter victim mobster thug businessman informant gritty uneasy fiery dark chicago underworld boxing ring hotel parking garage murder investigation chance meeting love triangle crime abusive relationship
On Chicago's South Side reporter Ed Adams finds the body of a dead girl. Her address book leads to a host of names of men frightened by her death but claiming never to have known her. Adams comes to know quite a lot, dangerously so.
Crime, Drama
USA
1975
101 Minutes
gangster partner woman brutal frenetic bleak melodramatic brooklyn, n.y. chicago street apartment alcatraz prison ambition prohibition prostitution crime ring disease al capone rise rivalry
The story of the rise and fall of the infamous Chicago gangster Al Capone and the control he exhibited over the city during the prohibition years.
Crime, Drama
USA
1941
100 Minutes
Humphrey Bogart Mary Astor Peter Lorre Gladys George Barton MacLane Sydney Greenstreet Lee Patrick Ward Bond Jerome Cowan Elisha Cook Jr. James Burke
detective femme fatale criminal police officer secretary dark gritty brooding intricate san francisco hotel office dangerous assignment shady dealings deception murder greed mystery pursuit temptation
A private detective takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a gorgeous liar, and their quest for a priceless statuette.
Crime, Drama
USA
1947
101 Minutes
Robert Montgomery Wanda Hendrix Thomas Gomez Andrea King Fred Clark Art Smith Richard Gaines Martin Garralaga Rita Conde Iris Flores Edward Earle
young man gangster federal agent teen girl mexican criminal tense raw dark new mexico small town festival hotel carousel crime extortion vengeance investigation murder quest
WW2 veteran Lucky Gagin arrives in a New Mexico border-town intent on revenging against mobster Frank Hugo but FBI agent Bill Retz, who also wants Hugo, tries to keep Gagin out of trouble.
Crime, Drama
USA
1946
105 Minutes
Burt Lancaster Ava Gardner Edmond O'Brien Albert Van Dekker Sam Levene Virginia Christine John Miljan Vince Barnett Charles D. Brown Donald MacBride
gas station attendant detective insurance investigator hitman femme fatale boxer dark brooding gritty powerful small town diner brentwood, n.j. city robbery crime deception love murder mystery
Hit men kill an unresisting victim, and investigator Reardon uncovers his past involvement with beautiful, deadly Kitty Collins.
Crime, Drama
USA
1931
84 Minutes
James Cagney Jean Harlow Mae Clarke Edward Woods Beryl Mercer Donald Cook Joan Blondell
gangster bootlegger police officer veteran friend melodramatic brash gripping suspenseful prison chicago slum nightclub bar organized crime gangs prohibition great depression family dysfunction growing up
An Irish-American street punk tries to make it big in the world of organized crime.
Crime, Drama
USA
1948
78 Minutes
John Garfield Beatrice Pearson Thomas Gomez Howland Chamberlin Roy Roberts Marie Windsor Paul McVey Tim Ryan Sid Tomack Georgia Backus Jan Dennis
lawyer brother gangster investigator secretary rival dark tense new york city bank numbers racket family corruption greed investigation temptation rivalry fall 1940s
An unethical lawyer, with an older brother he wants to help, becomes a partner with a client in the numbers racket.
Crime, Drama
1942
135 Minutes
Massimo Girotti Clara Calamai Juan de Landa Dhia Cristiani Vittorio Duse Michele Riccardini Michele Sakara Elio Marcuzzo
young man wife husband lawyer detective drifter dark tense sultry italy diner highway car courtroom infidelity murder greed crime trials betrayal
A drifter (Massimo Girotti) helps a beauty (Clara Calamai) kill her husband (Juan de Landa) in Italy.
Mystery & Thriller, Crime, Drama
France
1947
110 Minutes
Louis Jouvet Bernard Blier Suzy Delair Pierre Larquey Simone Renant Jeanne Fusier-Gir Charles Dullin Robert Dalban Blavette Claudine Dupuis J. Daurand
singer pianist businessman inspector femme fatale dark cheeky engaging paris music hall murder musicians performance mystery love fall 1940s
Jenny Lamour wants to succeed in music hall. Her husband and accompanist is Maurice Martineau, a nice but jealous man. When he knew Jenny is making eyes at Brignon, an old businessman, in ... See full summary »