Movies Like Escape in the Desert

If you liked Escape in the Desert (1945), a drama and thriller movie directed by Edward A. Blatt, 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
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
★ 8.2/10Also drama and thriller
In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as "The Basterds" are chosen specifically to spread fear throughout the Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing Nazis. The…
2
Brute Force (1947)
★ 7.3/10Also drama and thriller
Timeworn Joe Collins and his fellow inmates live under the heavy thumb of the sadistic, power-tripping guard Captain Munsey. Only Collins' dreams of escape keep him going, but how can he possibly bust out of Munsey's…
3
Nowhere to Run (1993)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and thriller
Escaped convict Sam Gillen single-handedly takes on ruthless developers who are determined to evict a widow with two young children.
4
Truth & Treason (2025)
★ 8.1/10Also drama and thriller
In 1941 Nazi Germany, 16-year-old Helmuth Hübener begins questioning the regime after learning the truth about the war and seeing his Jewish friend persecuted. With two friends, he secretly listens to banned foreign…
5
Escape from Sobibor (1987)
★ 7.2/10Also drama and thriller
The true story of WWII's notorious Sobibor Nazi death camp, where a courageous inmate orchestrates and leads the escape of over 300 prisoners.
6
Operation Crossbow (1965)
★ 6.7/10Also drama and war
Allied agents infiltrate the Nazi rocket complex at Peenemunde in order to obtain their secrets and sabotage the plant. The film alternates between German developments of the V-1 missile and V-2 rocket (with a German…
7
Walking with the Enemy (2014)
★ 6.3/10Also drama and war
Regent Horthy is the leader of Hungary and a German ally, but his favorable standing with Hitler changes as the war comes to an end. Forced to cede Hungary’s power or else witness the execution of his son, Regent…
8
The Sea Chase (1955)
★ 6.3/10Also war and drama
As the Second World War breaks out, German freighter captain Karl Ehrlich is about to leave Sydney, Australia with his vessel, the Ergenstrasse. Ehrlich, an anti-Nazi but proud German, hopes to outrun or out-maneuver…
9
Watch on the Rhine (1943)
★ 6.9/10Also drama and thriller
On the eve of World War II, the German Kurt Müller, his American-born wife Sara, and their three children, having lived in Europe for years, visit Sara's wealthy mother near Washington, DC. Kurt secretly works for the…
10
Escape from Alcatraz (1979)
★ 7.5/10Also drama and thriller
San Francisco Bay, January 18, 1960. Frank Lee Morris is transferred to Alcatraz, a maximum security prison located on a rocky island. Although no one has ever managed to escape from there, Frank and other inmates…
11
The Last Castle (2001)
★ 7.2/10Also drama and thriller
A court-martialed general rallies together 1200 inmates to rise against the system that put him away.
12
The Secrets We Keep (2020)
★ 6/10Also thriller and drama
In post-World War II America, a woman, rebuilding her life in the suburbs with her husband, kidnaps her neighbor and seeks vengeance for the heinous war crimes she believes he committed against her.
13
The Good Neighbor (2022)
★ 6.7/10Also thriller and drama
A nightmarish evening unfolds for neighbors David and Robert when they accidentally hit a woman on her bike and flee the scene. While David is increasingly plagued by feelings of guilt, Robert shows no remorse and…
14
Battleground (1949)
★ 6.7/10Also drama and war
Members of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division are fighting for their country amidst the rugged terrain of Bastogne, Belgium, in December 1944. Holley and his American compatriots have already seen one of their…
15
Eye of the Needle (1981)
★ 6.7/10Also drama and thriller
Great Britain, 1944, during World War II. Relentlessly pursued by several MI5 agents, Henry Faber the Needle, a ruthless German spy in possession of vital information about D-Day, takes refuge on Storm Island, an…
16
Felon (2008)
★ 7.1/10Also drama and thriller
A family man convicted of killing an intruder must cope with life afterward in the violent penal system.
17
The World Will Tremble (2025)
★ 7.5/10Also drama and war
The incredible, untold true story of how a group of prisoners attempt a seemingly impossible escape from the first Nazi death camp in order to provide the first eyewitness account of the Holocaust.
18
Decision Before Dawn (1951)
★ 6.8/10Also war and thriller
WWII is entering its last phase: Germany is in ruins, but does not yield. The US army lacks crucial knowledge about the German units operating on the opposite side of the Rhine, and decides to send two German prisoners…
19
Play Dirty (1969)
★ 6.3/10Also war and drama
During World War II in North Africa, a group of British commandos disguised as Italian soldiers must travel behind enemy lines and destroy a vital Nazi oil depot.
20
The Enforcer (1976)
★ 6.7/10Also thriller and drama
Dirty Harry Callahan returns again, this time saddled with a rookie female partner. Together, they must stop a terrorist group consisting of angry Vietnam veterans.