Movies Like Shield for Murder

If you liked Shield for Murder (1954), a crime and drama movie directed by Howard W. Koch and Edmond O'Brien, 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
The Big Combo (1955)
★ 7/10Also drama and 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.
2
The Interview (1998)
★ 6.8/10Also crime and drama
A duel between a suspected murderer and a detective pressed by people who want results. But whose skin is really wanted?
3
L.A. Confidential (1997)
★ 7.8/10Also crime
Three detectives in the corrupt and brutal L.A. police force of the 1950s use differing methods to uncover a conspiracy behind the shotgun slayings of the patrons at an all-night diner.
4
Cry of the City (1948)
★ 6.7/10Also crime and drama
Petty crook and cop-killer Martin Rome, in bad shape from wounds in the hospital prison ward, still refuses to help slimy lawyer Niles clear his client by confessing to another crime. Police Lt. Candella must check…
5
The Enforcer (1951)
★ 7.1/10Also drama
After years of investigation, Assistant District Attorney Martin Ferguson has managed to build a solid case against an elusive gangster whose top lieutenant is about to testify.
6
Havoc (2025)
★ 6.4/10Also crime and drama
When a drug heist swerves lethally out of control, a jaded cop fights his way through a corrupt city's criminal underworld to save a politician's son.
7
Plunder Road (1957)
★ 6.9/10Also crime and drama
A spectacular heist starts to unravel as the crooks take it on the lam.
8
Marlowe (1969)
★ 6.2/10Also crime and drama
Mysterious Orfamay Quest hires Los Angeles private investigator Philip Marlowe to find her missing brother. Though the job seems simple enough, it leads Marlowe into the underbelly of the city, turning up leads who are…
9
Bullets or Ballots (1936)
★ 6.6/10Also crime and drama
After Police Captain Dan McLaren becomes police commissioner, former detective Johnny Blake publicly punches him, convincing rackets boss Al Kruger that Blake is sincere in his effort to join the mob. "Bugs" Fenner…
10
Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950)
★ 7.2/10Also crime and drama
A police detective's violent nature keeps him from being a good cop.
11
He Walked by Night (1949)
★ 6.7/10Also crime
Roy Martin aka Roy Morgan is a burglar and former war-time Radio & Electronics Engineer who listens in to radio police calls, allowing him to stay one step ahead of the cops.
12
The Big Heat (1953)
★ 7.7/10Also crime
After the suspicious suicide of a fellow cop, tough homicide detective Dave Bannion takes the law into his own hands when he sets out to smash a vicious crime syndicate.
13
Righteous Kill (2008)
★ 5.9/10Also crime and drama
Two veteran New York City detectives work to identify the possible connection between a recent murder and a case they believe they solved years ago; is there a serial killer on the loose, and did they perhaps put the…
14
Detective Story (1951)
★ 7.1/10Also crime and drama
Tells the story of one day in the lives of the various people who populate a police detective squad. An embittered cop, Det. Jim McLeod, leads a precinct of characters in their grim daily battle with the city's…
15
Pushover (1954)
★ 6.6/10Also crime and drama
A police detective falls for the bank robber's girlfriend he is supposed to be tailing.
16
The Onion Field (1979)
★ 6/10Also crime and drama
An LA police officer is murdered in the onion fields outside of Bakersfield. However, legal loopholes could keep his kidnappers from receiving justice, and his partner is haunted by overwhelming survivor's guilt.
17
McQ (1974)
★ 6.1/10Also crime and drama
Police Lieutenant Lon McQ investigates the killing of his best friend and uncovers corrupt elements of the police department dealing in confiscated drugs.
18
Black and Blue (2019)
★ 6.8/10Also crime
Rookie cop Alicia West, an Army veteran, inadvertently captures the murder of a young drug dealer on her body cam. After realizing that the murder was committed by corrupt cops, she teams up with the one person from…
19
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956)
★ 6.8/10Also crime and drama
A newspaper publisher, wanting to prove a point about the insufficiency of circumstantial evidence, talks his possible son-in-law Tom into a hoax in an attempt to expose ineptitude of the city's hard-line district…
20
No Mercy (1986)
★ 5.8/10Also crime and drama
An unconventional undercover Chicago cop and his partner are recruited to commit the murder of a New Orleans criminal kingpin.