Movies Like They Made Me a Criminal
If you liked They Made Me a Criminal (1939), a crime and drama movie directed by Busby Berkeley, 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
Salvable (2025)
★ 6.2/10Also crime and dramaWhen a battered boxer past his prime finds his dreams and his relationships on the ropes, he falls back in with a dangerous crowd and has to take the biggest swing of his life to reclaim his hope and his family.
- 2
Judgment Night (1993)
★ 6.5/10Also crime and dramaFour young friends, while taking a shortcut en route to a local boxing match, witness a brutal murder which leaves them running for their lives.
- 3
No Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers (1990)
★ 6.8/10Also crime and dramaTwo feuding brothers of differing political views, one a policeman, the other a martial artist, join forces to avenge the death of their father, a retired agent who was brutally murdered by the mafia.
- 4
Jawbone (2017)
★ 6.1/10Also dramaA former youth boxing champion, Jimmy McCabe is a man in search of hope but looking in all the wrong places. When he hits rock bottom he turns to his childhood boxing club and the only family he has left: gym owner…
- 5
Southpaw (2015)
★ 7.4/10Also dramaBilly "The Great" Hope, the reigning junior middleweight boxing champion, has an impressive career, a loving wife and daughter, and a lavish lifestyle. However, when tragedy strikes, Billy hits rock bottom, losing his…
- 6
Absolution (2024)
★ 5.9/10Also crimeAn aging ex-boxer gangster working as muscle for a Boston crime boss receives an upsetting diagnosis. Despite a faltering memory, he attempts to rectify the sins of his past and reconnect with his estranged children…
- 7
Siberian Education (2013)
★ 6.8/10Also drama and crimeThe story of a gang of children growing up in a community of banished criminals, in a forgotten corner of the former Soviet Union. This community rejects the world outside. The only law it obeys… is its own. Against…
- 8
Copshop (2021)
★ 6.3/10Also crimeOn the run from a lethal assassin, a wily con artist devises a scheme to hide out inside a small-town police station. However, when the hit man turns up at the precinct, an unsuspecting rookie cop finds herself caught…
- 9
The Enforcer (2022)
★ 7/10Also crime and dramaA noir thriller set in Miami, the film follows an enforcer who discovers his femme fatale boss has branched out into cyber sex trafficking, putting a young runaway he’s befriended at risk. He sacrifices everything to…
- 10
Hierarchy (2025)
★ 6/10Also crimeIn an undisclosed area of Texas after two adoptive brothers become entangled in criminal activity, forced to evade law enforcement and the greedy Russian mafia.
- 11
Beast (2026)
★ 7.5/10Also dramaMMA legend Patton James, now a commercial fisherman, is pulled back into the cage when his brother is in danger. Reuniting with his old coach Sammy, he commits to one final fight in one championship against the brutal…
- 12
Christy (2025)
★ 7.1/10Also dramaChristy Martin never imagined life beyond her small-town roots in West Virginia—until she discovered a knack for punching people. Fueled by grit, raw determination, and an unshakable desire to win, she charges into the…
- 13
Wire Room (2022)
★ 6/10Also crimeNew recruit Justin Rosa must monitor arms-smuggling cartel member Eddie Flynn — and keep him alive at all costs. When a SWAT team descends on Flynn’s home, Rosa breaks protocol and contacts the gangster directly to…
- 14
Raging Bull (1980)
★ 7.9/10Also dramaThe life of boxer Jake LaMotta, whose violence and temper that led him to the top in the ring destroyed his life outside of it.
- 15
The Dead Pool (1988)
★ 6.3/10Also crime and dramaDirty Harry Callahan returns for his final film adventure. Together with his partner Al Quan, he must investigate the systematic murder of prominent figures. By the time Harry learns that the murders are part of a sick…
- 16
Undisputed II: Last Man Standing (2006)
★ 7.4/10Also crime and dramaHeavyweight Champ George "Iceman" Chambers is sent to a Russian jail on trumped-up drug charges. In order to win his freedom he must fight against the jailhouse fighting champ Uri Boyka in a battle to the death. This…
- 17
True Believer (1989)
★ 6.2/10Also crime and dramaEddie Dodd is a burnt out former civil rights lawyer who now specializes in defending drug dealers. Roger Baron, newly graduated from law school, has followed Eddie's great cases and now wants to learn at his feet…
- 18
The Killers (1946)
★ 7.4/10Also crimeTwo hit men walk into a diner asking for a man called "the Swede". When the killers find the Swede, he's expecting them and doesn't put up a fight. Since the Swede had a life insurance policy, an investigator, on a…
- 19
Busting (1974)
★ 6.3/10Also crime and dramaDefying orders to lay-off the case, two Los Angeles vice-squad cops go after a local mobster and use unorthodox methods to achieve results.
- 20
Next of Kin (1989)
★ 5.9/10Also crime and dramaTruman Gates, a Chicago cop, sets out to find his brother's killer. Meanwhile, another of his brothers, Briar (a hillbilly) decides to find the killer himself.