Movies Like Behind the Footlights

If you liked Behind the Footlights (1916), a movie directed by Walter Stull and Bobby Burns, 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 Shipment (2021)
★ 6.7/10
A former U.S. Navy Seal is forced to become the international criminal he once fought against when a powerful and violent drug cartel kidnaps his wife and daughter.
2
The Last Stand of Ellen Cole (2024)
★ 8.1/10
When an evil contractor goes to extreme measures to evict a testy tenant who is standing in the way of his new project, he fails to take into account that this seemingly harmless old woman is a trained killer and will…
3
Footlight Parade (1933)
★ 6.8/10
A fledgling producer finds himself at odds with his workers, financiers and his greedy ex-wife when he tries to produce live musicals for movie-going audiences.
4
Let's Make Love (1960)
★ 6.4/10
When billionaire Jean-Marc Clement learns that he is to be satirized in an off-Broadway revue, he passes himself off as an actor playing him in order to get closer to the beautiful star of the show, Amanda Dell.
5
Invincible (2001)
★ 6.2/10
A Jewish strongman performs in Berlin as the blond Aryan hero Siegfried.
6
Whiplash (2013)
★ 7.8/10
A ferocious, bullying music teacher teaches a dedicated student.
7
Roommates (2026)
★ 6.4/10
When shy college freshman Devon asks cool-girl Celeste to be her roommate, a blossoming friendship quickly spirals into a war of passive aggression.
8
Rogue Agent (2022)
★ 6.3/10
Conman Robert Freegard poses as an undercover MI5 agent and kidnaps countless victims amidst a high-stakes manhunt, until the woman who fell for him brings him to justice.
9
Hardball (2001)
★ 6.5/10
An aimless young man who is scalping tickets, gambling and drinking, agrees to coach a Little League team from the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago as a condition of getting a loan from a friend.
10
Love Happy (1949)
★ 5.8/10
The Marx Brothers help young Broadway hopefuls when they get mixed up with gangsters due to a tin of sardines containing Romanoff diamonds.
11
Border Hunters (2025)
★ 6.1/10
After his police officer brother is killed by a drug dealer who flees to the protection of his cartel-connected uncle in Mexico, an American man with a diverse law enforcement/military background goes south of the…
12
I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988)
★ 6.4/10
Jack Spade returns from the army in his old ghetto neighbourhood when his brother, June Bug, dies. Jack declares war on Mr. Big, powerful local crimelord. His army is led by John Slade, his childhood idol who used to…
13
29th Street (1991)
★ 6.9/10
After winning $6.2 million in the 1976 New York State Lottery, he is arrested for throwing rocks at a church. He then tells his story at the police station.
14
Oscar (1991)
★ 6.4/10
Angelo "Snaps" Provolone made his dying father a promise on his deathbed: he would leave the world of crime and become an honest businessman. Despite having no experience in making money in a legal fashion, Snaps sets…
15
Cadet Kelly (2002)
★ 6.2/10
Hyperactive teenager Kelly is enrolled into a military school when her new stepfather becomes the Commandant. At first she has problems fitting in and taking orders until she tries out for the drill team.
16
The Replacements (2000)
★ 6.7/10
Maverick old-guard coach Jimmy McGinty is hired in the wake of a players' strike to help the Washington Sentinels advance to the playoffs. But that impossible dream hinges on whether his replacements can hunker down…
17
The Substitute (1996)
★ 7/10
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…
18
Gunslingers (2025)
★ 6.1/10
When the most wanted man in America surfaces in a small Kentucky town, his violent history -- and a blood-thirsty mob seeking vengeance and a king’s ransom -- soon follow. As brothers face off against one another and…
19
Death Wish 3 (1985)
★ 6.2/10
Architect/vigilante Paul Kersey arrives back in New York City and is forcibly recruited by a crooked police chief to fight street crime caused by a large gang terrorizing the neighborhoods.
20
The Crash (2026)
★ 6.8/10
A teen slams her car into a building, killing her boyfriend and his friend. What seems like a tragic accident becomes a murder case.