20 movies like A Life in the Balance, ordered by similarity : On Dangerous Ground(1951), One False Move(1991), Vengeance Is Mine(1979), He Ran All the Way(1951), Badlands(1973), Hera Pheri(1975), Appointment With Danger(1951), Cry of the City(1948), The Departed(2006), The Enforcer(1951), The Glass Key(1942), The Maltese Falcon(1941) ...
Crime, Drama
Mexico|USA
1955
74 Minutes
Ricardo Montalban Harry Horner Anne Bancroft Lee Marvin Jose Perez Rodolfo Acosta Carlos Múzquiz Jorge Treviño Jose Torvay
musician ex-girlfriend serial killer beautiful woman son police officer dark brooding tense gritty mexico city pawn shop restaurant apartment festival serial murders father/son relationship false accusations witnessing murder investigation
In Mexico City, a working-poor single-father is mistaken for a serial killer by the local cops but the man's son stumbles upon the real killer and tries to warn the police after being abducted.
Crime, Drama
USA
1951
82 Minutes
Ida Lupino Robert Ryan Ward Bond Charles Kemper Anthony Ross Ed Begley Ian Wolfe Sumner Williams Gus Schilling Frank Ferguson Cleo Moore
police detective sister killer father partner captain dark gritty brooding new york city police station apartment countryside cabin investigation brother/sister relationship murder mental breakdown blindness redemption
Rough city cop Jim Wilson is disciplined by his captain and is sent upstate, to a snowy mountain town, to help the local sheriff solve a murder case.
Crime, Drama
USA
1991
107 Minutes
Bill Paxton Cynda Williams Billy Bob Thornton Michael Beach Jim Metzler Earl Billings Natalie Canerday
drug dealer girlfriend killer sheriff detective son thrilling gritty dark los angeles houston arkansas small town household murder on the run drug trade investigation road trip violence
A small town police chief awaits the arrival of a gang of killers.
Crime, Drama
Japan
1979
128 Minutes
Ken Ogata Rentarô Mikuni Chocho Miyako Mitsuko Baishô Nijiko Kiyokawa Mayumi Ogawa
serial killer wife father madam truck driver ex-convict bleak brutal tense japan city suburbia prison brothel murder manhunt relationships incest investigation mental illness
Chronological exploits of Iwao Enokizu, a murderous thief on the run.
Crime, Drama
USA
1951
77 Minutes
John Garfield Shelley Winters Wallace Ford Selena Royle Gladys George Norman Lloyd Bobby Hyatt Clancy Cooper Keith Hetherington Renny McEvoy Dale Van Sickel
thug young woman mother father police officer accomplice intense gripping city poolside house robbery hostages murder love escape pursuit love 1950s
Nick and his partner Al stage a payroll holdup. Al is shot and Nick kills a policeman. Nick hides out at a public pool, where he meets Peg Dobbs. They go back to her apartment and he forces her family to hide him from the police manhunt.
Crime, Drama
USA
1973
95 Minutes
Martin Sheen Sissy Spacek Warren Oates Ramon Bieri Alan Vint Gary Littlejohn John Carter Bryan Montgomery Gail Threlkeld Charles Fitzpatrick
teen girl killer father bounty hunter police officers boyfriend brooding brutal profound south dakota montana woods house highway car murder escape young love teenage rebellion forbidden love
An impressionable teenage girl from a dead-end town and her older greaser boyfriend embark on a killing spree in the South Dakota badlands.
Crime, Comedy, Drama, Action
India
1975
164 Minutes
Amitabh Bachchan Saira Banu Kimi Katkar Vinod Khanna Sulakshana Pandit Deepa Sahi Shilpa Shirodkar
young man young woman friend best friend father girlfriend amusing gripping thrilling intense emotional moving india city house bungalow restaurant street friendship best friends
Two friends Ajay and Vijay gets separated from each other when they discover secrets about their past in their own ways.
Crime, Drama
USA
1951
89 Minutes
Alan Ladd Phyllis Calvert Jack Webb Paul Stewart Jan Sterling Stacy Harris Harry Morgan David Wolfe Dan Riss Harry Antrim Geraldine Wall
detective witness murderer crime boss henchman suspenseful gritty dark gary, ind. lair investigation undercover operations murder theft dangerous job kidnapping pursuit escape 1950s
When ruthlessly dedicated postal inspector investigates the murder of a co-worker, he finds that the sole witness, a nun, has been targeted by the killers.
Crime, Drama
USA
1948
95 Minutes
Victor Mature Richard Conte Shelley Winters Fred Clark Berry Kroeger Debra Paget Betty Garde Tommy Cook
police detective murderer girlfriend lawyer thief brutal chilling dark suspenseful new york city hospital prison murder theft investigation imprisonment escape fall pursuit mystery
Police Lieut. Candella, longtime friend of the Rome family, walks a tightrope in the case of cop-killer Martin Rome.
Mystery & Thriller, Crime, Drama
USA|Hong Kong
2006
152 Minutes
Leonardo DiCaprio Matt Damon Jack Nicholson Mark Wahlberg Martin Sheen Ray Winstone Vera Farmiga Alec Baldwin James Badge Dale David O'Hara Mark Rolston
mobster criminal cop informant girlfriend wife dark intense gritty tense suspenseful frightening boston police station bar vehicle city apartment secret hideout crime mafia
An undercover cop and a mole in the police attempt to identify each other while infiltrating an Irish gang in South Boston.
Crime, Drama
USA
1951
87 Minutes
Humphrey Bogart Zero Mostel Ted de Corsia Everett Sloane Roy Roberts Michael Tolan King Donovan Bob Steele Adelaide Klein Don Beddoe Tito Vuolo
district attorney crime boss henchman witness detective hit man brooding gritty dark gripping hotel prison insane asylum church apartment building city hired killers investigation murder case organized crime
A crusading district attorney finally gets a chance to prosecute the organizer and boss of Murder Inc.
Crime, Drama
USA
1942
85 Minutes
Brian Donlevy Alan Ladd Veronica Lake Bonita Granville Richard Denning Joseph Calleia William Bendix Frances Gifford Donald MacBride Margaret Hayes Moroni Olsen
political boss government official adviser daughter brother gangster dark suspenseful engaging tense office mansion cabin hospital countryside apartment murder corruption blackmail loyalty
A crooked politician finds himself being accused of murder by a gangster from whom he refused help during a re-election campaign.
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
France|Switzerland
2001
124 Minutes
Stefano Cassetti Isild Le Besco Patrick Dell'Isola Vincent Deneriaz Aymeric Chauffert Viviana Aliberti Estelle Perron
serial killer teenager mother father detective police officer intense bleak raw disturbing beach resort france switzerland road roberto succo crime spree infatuation murder investigation insanity
'Kurt' claims to be a sales rep. He also claims to be English in spite of his heavy Italian accent. Kurt is an habitual liar and a dangerous driver, at the very least. In the south of ... See full summary »
Crime, Drama
USA
1955
105 Minutes
Ralph Meeker Albert Van Dekker Paul Stewart Maxine Cooper Gaby Rodgers Juano Hernandez Wesley Addy Nick Dennis Cloris Leachman Marion Carr Jack Lambert
mike hammer stranger girlfriend police captain scientist roommate uneasy chilling brutal los angeles highway hospital office apartment beach house murder femme fatales atomic age deception impersonation
A doomed female hitchhiker pulls Mike Hammer into a deadly whirlpool of intrigue, revolving around a mysterious "great whatsit".
Adventure, History, Biography, Drama
USA|Czech Republic|Spain
2017
133 Minutes
Charlie Hunnam Rami Malek Roland Møller Nina Senicar Tommy J. Flanagan Eve Hewson Christopher Fairbank Brian Vernel
convict innocent man prison guard prisoner escape artist friend tense bleak thrilling suspenseful incredible intricate prison island prison cell paris french guiana apartment prison prison break
Wrongfully convicted for murder, Henri Charriere forms an unlikely relationship with fellow inmate and quirky convicted counterfeiter Louis Dega, in an attempt to escape from the notorious penal colony on Devil's Island.
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.
Mystery & Thriller, Crime, Drama
Denmark
2018
85 Minutes
Jakob Cedergren Jessica Dinnage Omar Shargawi Johan Olsen Jacob Hauberg Lohmann Katinka Evers-Jahnsen Jeanette Lindbæk Larsen Simon Bennebjerg Laura Bro
police officer ex-cop woman kidnapper villain suspect suspenseful thrilling engaging gripping intense emotional denmark police station kidnapping emergencies investigation murder danger fear
A police officer assigned alarm dispatch duty enters a race against time when he answers an emergency call from a kidnapped woman.
Crime, Drama
USA
1955
82 Minutes
extortionist wealthy man boy father fbi agent criminal dark tense colorado park california prison valley kidnapping prison break ransom accidental death interrogation quest pursuit
Gerry Barker finds a lost boy whose rich father is extorted into paying a ransom for his return but the boy accidentally dies and Jerry goes to prison.
Crime, Mystery & Thriller, Drama
South Korea
2009
128 Minutes
Kim Hye-ja Won Bin Ku Jin Je-mun Yun Mi-Seon Jeon Byoung-Soon Kim
mother widow son suspect police detective defense attorney dark emotional gripping small town south korea shop family home mother/son relationship murder investigation incarceration framed vigilantism love
A mother desperately searches for the killer who framed her son for a girl's horrific murder.
Crime, Drama
USA
1942
67 Minutes
reformed criminal police officer convict dancer clown musician suspenseful gripping spirited stage new york city broadway theater backstage prison christmas prison break performance amateur detectives murder false accusations
Blackie tracks down a wrongly convicted prisoner who escapes during a Christmas magic show.