Movies Like Outside These Walls

If you liked Outside These Walls (1939), a drama and crime movie directed by Ray McCarey, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
Kid Galahad (1962)
★ 6.2/10Also drama and crime
After completing military service, Walter Gulick takes a job as a sparring partner at a gym, the owner of which sees potential in Walter as a professional fighter—and takes him under his wing.
2
While the City Sleeps (1956)
★ 6.9/10Also drama
Newspaper men compete against each other to find a serial killer dubbed "The Lipstick Killer".
3
Each Dawn I Die (1939)
★ 6.9/10Also crime and drama
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.
4
Plunder Road (1957)
★ 6.9/10Also crime and drama
A spectacular heist starts to unravel as the crooks take it on the lam.
5
Kiss of Death (1947)
★ 7.1/10Also crime
An ex-con trying to go straight must face a crazed criminal out for revenge.
6
Adopt a Highway (2019)
★ 6.9/10Also drama
Russ Millings has just been released from prison after serving 21 years for a 3rd strike conviction for possessing an ounce of marijuana. As he tries to adapt to a world he doesn’t recognize – including trying to learn…
7
House of Bamboo (1955)
★ 6.2/10Also crime and drama
Eddie Kenner is given a special assignment by the Army to get the inside story on Sandy Dawson, a former GI who has formed a gang of fellow servicemen and Japanese locals.
8
The Man with the Golden Arm (1955)
★ 7.1/10Also drama and crime
When illegal card dealer and recovering heroin addict Frankie Machine gets out of prison, he decides to straighten up. Armed with nothing but an old drum set, Frankie tries to get honest work as a drummer. But when his…
9
Dog Pound (2010)
★ 7.2/10Also drama
Three juvenile delinquents arrive at a correctional center and are put under the care of an experienced guard.
10
They Made Me a Fugitive (1947)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and crime
After being framed for a policeman's murder, a criminal escapes prison and sets out for revenge.
11
Blue Chips (1994)
★ 6.1/10Also drama
Pete Bell, a college basketball coach is under a lot of pressure. His team isn't winning and he cannot attract new players. The stars of the future are secretly being paid by boosters. This practice is forbidden in the…
12
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)
★ 7.2/10Also drama
A rebellious youth, sentenced to a boy’s reformatory for robbing a bakery, rises through the ranks of the institution by impressing its Governor through his prowess as a long distance runner. He is encouraged to…
13
5 Against the House (1955)
★ 5.9/10Also crime and drama
Former war-time Army buddies now students in college decide to rip off a Reno casino.
14
Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)
★ 7.5/10Also crime and drama
Childhood chums Rocky Sullivan and Jerry Connelly grow up on opposite sides of the fence: Rocky matures into a prominent gangster, while Jerry becomes a priest, tending to the needs of his old tenement neighborhood.
15
Cigarettes & Coffee (1993)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and crime
At a desert diner, the lives of five strangers become linked through a single twenty-dollar bill. Shot for $20,000 and starring Philip Baker Hall, the short premiered at Sundance and later inspired Anderson’s debut…
16
Oscar Shaw (2026)
★ 6.6/10Also crime
After retiring from the police force, a relentless detective haunted by the tragic loss of his closest friend sets out on a perilous quest for vengeance, seeking redemption and fighting to restore justice to the…
17
Poor Cow (1967)
★ 6.4/10Also drama
Joy lives a life filled with bad choices. At a young age, she marries and has a child–with an abusive thief who quickly ends up incarcerated. Left alone, she takes up with the guy's mate, another thief, who seems to…
18
Time Without Pity (1957)
★ 6.5/10Also crime and drama
Alec Graham is sentenced to death for the murder of his girlfriend Jennie, with whom he spent a weekend at the English country home of the parents of his friend Brian Stanford. Alec’s father, David Graham, a…
19
Fast Girls (2012)
★ 6/10Also drama
A street smart runner develops an intense rivalry with an equally ambitious wealthy young athlete.
20
Dinner Rush (2000)
★ 7/10Also drama
One unlucky evening, Louis Cropa, a part-time bookmaker, discovers that his restaurant has become a hotbed of conflicting characters. In addition to having to please a whiny food critic, Louis must fend off a hostile…