Movies Like Man on a String

If you liked Man on a String (1972), a tv movie and crime movie directed by Joseph Sargent, 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
Scum (1977)
★ 7.2/10Also tv movie and drama
Carlin is a new reform school inmate with a reputation as a hard case. The authorities encourage gang leader Pongo to humble Carlin, but Carlin overtakes Pongo as Daddy of the ward. The guards institute a reign of…
2
Witness Protection (1999)
★ 6.3/10Also drama and crime
Would you be willing to walk away from everyone and everything you've ever known in exchange for your safety? This is the question facing career criminal Bobby "Bats" Batton (Tom Sizemore); on the outs with the mob and…
3
Fast Charlie (2023)
★ 6.3/10Also crime and drama
When his aging mob boss is whacked, Charlie Swift, a loyal friend and hired gun, will stop at nothing to destroy the upcoming crew that took him out.
4
The Substitute (1996)
★ 7/10Also crime and drama
When an inner-city Miami schoolteacher gets her knee broken after standing up to the school's gang leader, her mercenary combat specialist boyfriend goes undercover as a substitute teacher to take down the punk. Soon…
5
Black Site (2022)
★ 6/10Also crime and drama
A group of officers based in a labyrinthine top-secret prison must fight for their lives against Hatchet, a brilliant and infamous high-value detainee. When he escapes, his mysterious and deadly agenda has far reaching…
6
The Double (2011)
★ 5.8/10Also drama and crime
The mysterious murder of a US senator bearing the distinctive trademark of the legendary Soviet assassin 'Cassius', forces retired CIA operative, Paul Shepherson to team with rookie FBI agent, Ben Geary to solve the…
7
Riddled with Deceit: A Martha's Vineyard Mystery (2020)
★ 7.4/10Also drama and crime
Former detective Jeff Jackson teams up with Dr. Zee Madieras to track down their friend's missing emerald brooch, a thief, and also... a murderer.
8
Miss Marple: The Murder at the Vicarage (1986)
★ 6.7/10Also drama and crime
Faced with two false confessions and numerous suspects after a despised civil magistrate is found shot in the local vicarage, Detective Inspector Slack reluctantly accepts help from Miss Marple.
9
Crossword Mysteries: Riddle Me Dead (2021)
★ 7.6/10Also tv movie and crime
Tess gets invited to be a part of a popular game show, but when the host is unexpectedly murdered, she and Detective Logan O'Connor seek to uncover who was behind it all.
10
Inside Man (2023)
★ 6.2/10Also crime and drama
Based on true events. A disgraced police detective seeking redemption goes undercover to expose a violent crime syndicate. But as he sinks deeper into the mob, the price for absolution may be higher than he can afford.
11
Blood Ties (2013)
★ 6.1/10Also crime and drama
Two brothers, on either side of the law, face off over organized crime in Brooklyn during the 1970s.
12
Miss Marple: They Do It with Mirrors (1992)
★ 6.9/10Also drama and crime
At the insistence of Ruth Van Rydock, an old schoolfriend who is convinced that there is something wrong, Miss Marple agrees to visit 'Stonygates', the country house of Ruth's sister.
13
In Too Deep (1999)
★ 6.4/10Also drama and crime
Drug lord Dwayne Gittens rules Cincinnati with an iron fist. No wonder he's known as "God" on the streets. Determined to break Gittens' stranglehold on the city is undercover cop Jeffrey Cole. But as Cole takes on an…
14
Dead Man's Folly (1986)
★ 6.4/10Also crime and tv movie
During a murder hunt game at a country house, to which Hercule Poirot is invited as an "expert", a real murder occurs.
15
The Perfect Weapon (1991)
★ 6.4/10Also drama and crime
Jeff, a young delinquent, is enrolled by his father in a kenpo school, in the hopes of teaching the boy some self-discipline. Years later, Jeff's mentor, Kim, is being threatened by one of the Korean mafia families…
16
Dead Over Heels: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery (2017)
★ 7/10Also tv movie and crime
Librarian and real crime buff Aurora “Roe” Teagarden never liked Detective Sergeant Jack Burns, but she also never wanted to see him dead. When his body is found outside of Aurora’s home, she then becomes the main…
17
Flower Shop Mystery: Snipped in the Bud (2016)
★ 6.4/10Also tv movie and crime
Former attorney-turned-small-town-florist, Abby Knight, has a nose for sleuthing, quickly embroiled in a murder investigation, grateful for the help when she teams with retired private eye, Marco Salvare, who now owns…
18
The Enforcer (2022)
★ 7/10Also crime and drama
A 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…
19
Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Haunted By Murder (2022)
★ 7/10Also tv movie and crime
A murder investigation is reignited in a house that is considered haunted by the Lawrenceton locals and where years ago Aurora and Sally, as teenagers, discovered a body.
20
TalhotBlond (2012)
★ 6.3/10Also drama and tv movie
Thomas Montgomery, a married father of two young daughters, gets seduced by the world of online gambling and chat rooms where a virtual romance and sexual obsession ultimately leads to the murder of an innocent man.