Best movies like Crime of the Century
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
In 1932, the nation was shocked when the 14-month-old son of Charles Lindberg was kidnapped, held for ransom, and murdered. Two years later, Bruno Richard Hauptmann was arrested, convicted, and executed. This film dramatizes the investigation against Hauptmann, the trial, and the execution, painting a picture of a corrupt police force under pressure to finger a killer framing an innocent man by manufacturing evidence, paying-off and blackmailing witnesses, and covering up exculpatory evidence.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 888
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic
Best tv shows and movies like Crime of the Century (1996):
Similar in 79%
Without Evidence (1995)
Plot Summary:
It is based on the true story of Michael Francke, who was the Head of Corrections for the state of Oregon before being murdered. Just before his murder, Francke visits his brother and informs him of a drug ring involving his prison colleagues. When Michael is killed, his brother begins his own investigation into the murder, leading him to more lies and deceit.
IMDB Rating: 3.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Thriller, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: spectacular, independent film, tense, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 82%
And Never Let Her Go (2001)
Plot Summary:
The true story of a woman's suspicious disappearance after ending an affair with a powerful, married attorney.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 699
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 200 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, suspenseful, mind bending, realistic
Similar in 88%
Perry Mason: The Case of the Avenging Ace (1988)
Plot Summary:
Mason defends a man he had sentenced to prison when he was an appellate-court judge. Now, 18 months after the sentencing, a new witness turns up to prove the man's innocence. Mason steps in to defend the man.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 458
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, detective
Similar in 81%
Three Blind Mice (2001)
Plot Summary:
A lawyer defends a man he's known since serving together in Vietnam, who has been accused of murdering three Vietnamese immigrants. Now he'll have to fight against a tenacious District Attorney, and evidence connected to the man's wife.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 286
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: tense, rough, serious, captivating, suspenseful, exciting, realistic
Similar in 82%
Perry Mason: The Case of the Desperate Deception (1990)
Plot Summary:
Perry Mason ventures to Paris to defend a U.S. Marine Corps Captain accused of murdering a man suspected of being a Nazi SS Officer.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 484
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: detective, rough, mind bending, clever, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 82%
Perry Mason: The Case of the Murdered Madam (1987)
Plot Summary:
Perry investigates the murder of a former madam and uncovers a multimillion dollar banking fraud in the process.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 468
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: psychological, detective, rough, mind bending, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 78%
Perry Mason: The Case of the Defiant Daughter (1990)
Plot Summary:
A young woman from Las Vegas wants Perry Mason to defend her father.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 477
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: detective, clever, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 88%
Word of Honor (2003)
Plot Summary:
Prompted by a just-published book that holds ex-lieutenant Ben Tyson accountable for a hushed-up massacre committed by his platoon in a Hue hospital 18 years before, the army recalls Tyson to stand trial for murder. Tyson, confronted by an army authority anxious to save its own face, an embarrassed federal government, and a threatened marriage, and entangled, furthermore, in his own past lives and present sense of guilt, must call on all his cleverness and his own inner toughness to fight his case.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 584
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: tense, rough, serious, suspenseful, bleak, realistic
Similar in 88%
Dead in the Water (1991)
Plot Summary:
Charlie Deegan has almost everything he has ever wanted. He has an important law practice, a beautiful secretary as his lover, and the chance to be appointed to the high court. The only thing wrong with this is that his shrewish wife Olivia, whose father made all the wealth and all the power, is living and that greatly upsets Charlie. So when his lover, Laura, suggests that they get rid of Olivia, Charlie thinks, being a lawyer, that he can create a fool-proof plan. In this plan, he must incorporate a woman named Victoria whom he detests, but she can help him get into the court and be part of the plan for Olivia. But dreams of judgeship, money and Laura makes him proceed. However, things never turn out as planned and he may not be as smart as he considers himself.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 308
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: neo noir, mind bending, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 76%
Her Fatal Flaw (2006)
Plot Summary:
If you think your dating life is hard, check out what happens to poor Laney! Talk about a love hangover: The nice guy this prominent attorney spent last night with winds up being the main suspect in the brutal murder of a Chicago city councilman. If that isn't bad enough, his only alibi is his one-night-stand with Laney. Watch what happens when this talented lawyer puts her career - and her heart - on the line.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 263
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, captivating, suspenseful, realistic, ridiculous
Similar in 85%
Assault at West Point: The Court-Martial of Johnson Whittaker (1994)
Plot Summary:
The story of Johnson Whittaker, one of the first African-American cadets admitted to West Point. Tied down and beaten by his fellow cadets.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 572
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic
Similar in 87%
Reversible Errors (2004)
Plot Summary:
A corporate lawyer's interest in a decade-old murder case is piqued by a new confession that could clear the convicted killer, who sits on death row.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 803
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 173 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, suspense, disturbing, intense
Similar in 89%
Open Doors (1990)
Plot Summary:
Tommaso Scalia is a man who commits three murders: he killed his superior who sacked him, he kills the man who replaced him, and he kills his own wife. He wants a quick trial and an early execution, but an earnest, principled assistant judge looks for a way to save the murderer from being shot, because he does not belive in capital punishment. Although he manages to save the man initially, he will pay a high price for it.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 983
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, disturbing, suspense, political, rough, thought provoking, realistic, political drama
Similar in 78%
The Exonerated (2005)
Plot Summary:
Six people tell their stories on a single subject - how they got wrongfully convicted to death penalty, but later got exonerated.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 463
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, disturbing, suspenseful, mockumentary
Similar in 76%
Whitewash: The Clarence Brandley Story (2002)
Plot Summary:
Based on the true story of Clarence Brandley, a black man wrongly accused in 1980 of the murder of a 16-year-old white high school girl named Cheryl Ferguson. Brandley worked at Conroe High School, where Ferguson was visiting as a member of the Belleville High School volleyball team. Three days after her body was discovered, Brandley was arrested as the murderer. Jew Don Boney, a popular activist and Houston city council member, leads the fight to uncover the truth about the Ferguson murder. Mike DeGeurin, a Texas attorney, is brought in to act as the head defense attorney for Brandley, and is joined by a former minister, Jim McCloskey. The lawyers discover that not only is there a complete lack of evidence against Brandley, but the District Attorney, James Keeshan, has been strategizing with the presiding judge. After nine years in prison, three trials and a stay of execution that saved Brandley's life, justice finally prevails as Brandley is granted his freedom.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 165
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: disturbing, emotional, realistic, suspenseful, tense, serious
Similar in 88%
The Pursuit of Happiness (1971)
Plot Summary:
William Popper is the son of a stockbroker and is thoroughly disenchanted with "the system." So much so that even though he can prove that he ran over a woman in his car entirely by accident, he accepts a sentence for manslaughter.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 430
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: psychological, thought provoking, bleak, serious, realistic
Similar in 77%
Omar Killed Me (2011)
Plot Summary:
In the summer of 1991 an elderly woman Ghislaine Marchal is found murdered in the basement of her home with the message "Omar M'a Tuer" (Omar has kill me) written beside in her own blood. Despite a lack of forensic or DNA evidence, her Moroccan gardener Omar Raddad is found guilty and sentenced to 18 years in a French prison. Shocked by the case, and convinced of his innocence, journalist Pierre-Emmanuel Vaugrenard moves to Nice to investigate, and uncover the truth.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama
Country: France, Morocco
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, touching, emotional, realistic, sincere, serious, gloomy
Similar in 89%
Black and White (2002)
Plot Summary:
Australia, 1958. When a nine year old white girl is found murdered, police are quick to arrest illiterate Aborigine, Max Stuart. Under interrogation Max admits to the killing and signs a statement that will send him to the gallows. With no Court of Appeal established in the country, and with a legal system compromised by intimidation tactics and the stain of institutional racism, the skills of his two gifted but naive defense lawyers are put to the test. Based on a true story.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 861
Genere: Drama
Country: Australia, UK
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, serious, realistic
Similar in 81%
Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy (2011)
Plot Summary:
Based on the events surrounding the murder of British student Meredith Kercher.Hayden Panettiere (Heroes) and Marcia Gay Harden (Academy Award winner for Pollock) star in the Lifetime Original Movie Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy based on the international headline-grabbing story of the now infamous American exchange student accused by Italian authorities of brutally killing her roommate. Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy poses the question of whether Knox (Panettiere), the Seattle honors student accused of murdering her college roommate Meredith Kercher (Amanda Fernando Stevens) in 2007 with her boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito (Paolo Romio) and acquaintance Rudy Guede (Djirbi Kebe), actually committed the crime or was herself a victim.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, captivating, realistic, contemplative, psychological thriller, detective, crime thriller, sincere
Similar in 76%
Unbowed (2011)
Plot Summary:
Inspired by the true story of Kim Kyung-ho, a math professor who was arrested for shooting a crossbow at the presiding judge of his appeal against unfair dismissal.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 662
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: South Korea
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: rough, thought provoking, serious, realistic, tense, suspenseful, suspense, psychological
Similar in 75%
Untouched (2017)
Plot Summary:
Untouched is the story of a reluctant attorney's struggle with inner demons while defending a teenage girl accused of murdering her newborn. When the "Hostess City of the South" is rocked by the horrific crime, Mitchell Thomas III becomes strangely compelled to defend the firm's newest client. Mitch and the girl connect and her circumstances exhume memories that begin to consume him. While his mother (Eleanor) rallies for a quick resolution in order to save the prestigious reputation of the girl's father from tabloid embarrassment, Mitch digs deeper into the Tybee community that hides the secret to the girl's pregnancy. The more he uncovers about his client's history, the more he drinks to escape the demons from his own past. Mitch realizes that in order to save this young woman, he must face the darkest events of his past. He works against his mother and an unforgiving city to acquit the young woman and mend is his own crippling wounds.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 162
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, realistic, suspense, grindhouse, independent film, gloomy, surprise ending
Similar in 81%
The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case (1976)
Plot Summary:
Fact-based story of the kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh Jr., son and namesake of the famed pilot, and ensuing trial of accused and convicted killer, Bruno Hauptmann.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 501
Genere: Crime, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 148 min
Plot tags: rough, thought provoking, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing
Similar in 77%
Execution of Justice (1999)
Plot Summary:
The story of an assassin who killed a mayor in the 1970's in what was known as the "Twinkie Defense".
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 274
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, serious, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing, controversial, surprise ending, queer cinema
Similar in 75%
Prosecuting Casey Anthony (2013)
Plot Summary:
"Prosecuting Casey Anthony" reveals Florida prosecutor, Jeff Ashton’s inside story of the true crime drama that captivated and then shocked the nation when Caylee Anthony’s mother, Casey, was acquitted of killing her daughter, despite what many thought to be overwhelming evidence of guilt. The movie is seen from Ashton’s (Lowe) perspective and it takes viewers behind-the-scenes of both the investigation into Caylee’s tragic death and the ensuing trial, shedding new light on the many questions of what happened to the two year-old girl, how Ashton and his fellow prosecutors built their case and why a woman so shrouded in suspicion was proclaimed innocent. With in-depth information about the case and the accused, "Prosecuting Casey Anthony" examines what the prosecution got right, what they got wrong and why Ashton remains convinced of Casey Anthony’s guilt.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: disturbing, serious, captivating, realistic, emotional, detective, bleak, gloomy
Similar in 79%
The Executioner's Song (1982)
Plot Summary:
In this fact-based film, Gary Gilmore, an Indiana man who just finished serving a lengthy stay in prison, tries to start anew by moving to Utah. Before long, Gary begins an ill-advised romance with the troubled Nicole Baker, a teenage single mother. As their relationship quickly deteriorates, Gary goes on a murderous rampage, leaving two dead. During his trial, he demands capital punishment; a media circus ensues and outsiders look to profit from his story.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 135 min
Plot tags: rough, thought provoking, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, tense
Similar in 82%
Heavens Fall (2006)
Plot Summary:
Successful New York attorney Sam Leibowitz travels to the South in 1933 to defend nine young black men accused of raping two women on an Alabama freight train.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: serious, sincere, disturbing, independent film, uplifting, emotional, realistic
Similar in 83%
One Angry Juror (2010)
Plot Summary:
Based on the true story of Sarah Walsh, a tough New Orleans attorney who serves on a murder trial jury and does some investigating of her own.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 279
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, captivating, realistic, tense, independent film
Similar in 82%
Color of Justice (1997)
Plot Summary:
Four young black men kill a white woman, the D.A. is very cautious in how to proceed.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 228
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, rough, thought provoking, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 90%
Terrorist on Trial: The United States vs. Salim Ajami (1988)
Plot Summary:
There is no question that the Arab terrorist portrayed by Robert Davi is guilty of killing five US citizens in Barcelona. Even his lawyers have zero respect for the rabidly sociopathic Davi. But Jewish defence attorney Ron Leibman is obsessed with the concept of Due Process, and has vowed that Davi will receive a scrupulously fair trial when the terrorist is extradited to America. The defence mounted by Leibman confounds and aggravates government prosecutor Sam Waterston--but he, like Leibman, remains a man of judiciary integrity.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 156
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 134 min
Plot tags: independent film, tense, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 78%
Witness to the Mob (1998)
Plot Summary:
Sammy 'The Bull' Gravano was mafiosi. He started out as a soldier, but his talent for murder, including the slayings of his best friends, his wife's brother and his own boss, Paul Castellano, saw him rise to under-boss in the Gambino crime family. However, betrayals within the family saw him break the code of silence and became the highest ranking member of the mob to turn into a rat - 'a rat in a suit,- assisting the government to finally put away the Teflon Don, John Gotti.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 124 min
Plot tags: cult classic, tense, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful