Movies Like Penitentiary

If you liked Penitentiary (1938), a action and crime movie directed by John Brahm, 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
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…
2
You Only Live Once (1937)
★ 7.1/10Also crime and drama
Based partially on the story of Bonnie and Clyde, Eddie Taylor is an ex-convict who cannot get a break after being released from prison. When he is framed for murder, Taylor is forced to flee with his wife Joan Graham…
3
20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932)
★ 6.4/10Also crime and drama
Brash hoodlum Tom Connors enters Sing Sing cocksure of himself and disrespectful toward authority, but his tough but compassionate warden changes him.
4
They Live by Night (1949)
★ 6.8/10Also crime and romance
An escaped convict, injured during a robbery, falls in love with the woman who nurses him back to health, but their relationship seems doomed from the beginning.
5
Little Caesar (1931)
★ 6.9/10Also drama and crime
A small-time hood shoots his way to the top, but how long can he stay there?
6
The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
★ 7.5/10Also crime and drama
Recently paroled from prison, legendary burglar "Doc" Riedenschneider, with funding from Alonzo Emmerich, a crooked lawyer, gathers a small group of veteran criminals together in the Midwest for a big jewel heist.
7
Illegal (1955)
★ 6.5/10Also crime and drama
A hugely successful DA goes into private practice after sending a man to the chair -- only to find out later he was innocent. Now the drunken attorney only seems to represent criminals and low lifes.
8
The Blue Lamp (1950)
★ 6.6/10Also crime and action
P.C. George Dixon is a long-serving traditional copper who is due to retire shortly. He takes a new recruit under his aegis and introduces him to the easy-going night beat. Dixon is a classic ordinary hero but also…
9
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.
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
Supercross (2005)
★ 6.3/10Also action and drama
Faced with the suspicious death of their father, two brothers must motivate one another to get back on their bikes and take the Las Vegas Motocross Championships by storm.
12
Indemnity (2022)
★ 6.6/10Also action and crime
An ex-fireman with PTSD goes on the run when accused of a crime he doesn't even remember committing, leading him down a rabbit hole of conspiracy to the highest degree.
13
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.
14
Ladies They Talk About (1933)
★ 6.2/10Also crime and drama
A moll, imprisoned after participating in a bank robbery, helps with a breakout plot.
15
Plunder Road (1957)
★ 6.9/10Also crime and drama
A spectacular heist starts to unravel as the crooks take it on the lam.
16
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…
17
The Young Savages (1961)
★ 6.5/10Also crime and drama
A district attorney investigates the racially charged case of three teenagers accused of the murder of a blind Puerto Rican boy.
18
Underworld (1927)
★ 7.1/10Also drama and crime
Boisterous gangster kingpin Bull Weed rehabilitates his former lawyer from his alcoholic haze, but complications arise when he falls for Weed's girlfriend.
19
Absence of Malice (1981)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and romance
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…
20
The File on Thelma Jordon (1949)
★ 6.5/10Also drama and crime
Cleve Marshall, an assistant district attorney, falls for Thelma Jordon, a mysterious woman with a troubled past. When Thelma becomes a suspect in her aunt's murder, Cleve tries to clear her name.