Movies Like Tough to Handle

If you liked Tough to Handle (1937), a crime movie directed by S. Roy Luby, 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
Each Dawn I Die (1939)
★ 6.9/10Also crime
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.
2
Murder at the Gallop (1963)
★ 7.1/10Also crime
Miss Marple and Mr. Stringer are witnesses to the death by heart attack of elderly, rich Mr. Enderby. Yet they have their doubts about what happened. The police don't believe them, thus leading Miss Marple to yet again…
3
Murder Most Foul (1964)
★ 7.1/10Also crime
A murderer is brought to court and only Miss Marple is unconvinced of his guilt. Once again she begins her own investigation.
4
Mata Hari (1931)
★ 6.2/10Also crime
A semi-fictionalized account of the life of Mata Hari, an exotic dancer who was accused of spying for Germany during World War I.
5
Absence of Malice (1981)
★ 6.6/10Also crime
Megan Carter is a reporter duped into running an untrue story on Michael Gallagher, a suspected racketeer. He has an alibi for the time his crime was allegedly committed—but it involves an innocent party. When he tells…
6
Dick Tracy (1990)
★ 6.2/10Also crime
The comic strip detective finds his life vastly complicated when Breathless Mahoney makes advances towards him while he is trying to battle Big Boy Caprice's united mob.
7
Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)
★ 7.5/10Also crime
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.
8
Shadow of the Thin Man (1941)
★ 7/10Also crime
While attending a major horse race with their young son, Nick Jr., Nick and Nora Charles witnesse a shocking murder from the crowded grandstand. What first appears to be an isolated killing soon leads to a maze of…
9
Ocean's Eleven (1960)
★ 6.4/10Also crime
Danny Ocean and his gang attempt to rob the five biggest casinos in Las Vegas in one night.
10
My Blue Heaven (1990)
★ 6.1/10Also crime
FBI agent Barney Coopersmith is assigned to protect former Mafia figure turned informant Vincent Antonelli. In the witness protection program one is supposed to keep a low profile, but that is something that Antonelli…
11
Fletch (1985)
★ 6.7/10Also crime
When investigative reporter Irwin "Fletch" Fletcher goes undercover to write a piece on the drug trade at a local beach, he's approached by wealthy businessman Alan Stanwyk, who offers him $50,000 to murder him. With…
12
Force of Evil (1950)
★ 6.7/10Also crime
Lawyer Joe Morse wants to consolidate all the small-time numbers racket operators into one big powerful operation. But his elder brother Leo is one of these small-time operators who wants to stay that way, preferring…
13
The Big Combo (1955)
★ 7/10Also crime
Police Lt. Leonard Diamond vies to bring a clever, well connected, and sadistic gangster to justice all the while obsessing over the gangster's girlfriend.
14
Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964)
★ 6.2/10Also crime
Set in Prohibition era Chicago, bootlegger Robbo and his cronies refuse to pay the greedy Guy Gisborne a cut of their profits after Guy shoots mob boss Big Jim and takes over. When Big Jim's daughter, Marian, gives…
15
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…
16
Little Caesar (1931)
★ 6.9/10Also crime
A small-time hood shoots his way to the top, but how long can he stay there?
17
The Public Enemy (1931)
★ 7.3/10Also crime
Two young Chicago hoodlums, Tom Powers and Matt Doyle, rise up from their poverty-stricken slum life to become petty thieves, bootleggers and cold-blooded killers. But with street notoriety and newfound wealth, the duo…
18
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
★ 7/10Also crime
A group of strangers come across a man dying after a car crash who proceeds to tell them about the $350,000 he buried in California. What follows is the madcap adventures of those strangers as each attempts to claim…
19
Song of the Thin Man (1947)
★ 6.7/10Also crime
While attending a glamorous jazz cruise on New York’s East River, Nick and Nora Charles witness the fatal shooting of a wealthy patron. When suspicion falls on a young bandleader and his musicians, the couple steps in…
20
Where the Money Is (2000)
★ 5.9/10Also crime
Henry Manning has come up with a new way to break out of prison: fake a stroke and get transferred to a nursing home. It's a perfect plan, except for one thing: the woman assigned to take care of him at the nursing…