Movies Like Man on a Tightrope

If you liked Man on a Tightrope (1953), a drama and thriller movie directed by Elia Kazan, 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 Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act (2026)
★ 8.8/10Also drama
With Caine gone and the circus dark, the cast are left with only the mistakes and traumas of their pasts to keep them company. As the prospect of eternity closes in around them, they discover the truth about the…
2
Saving Flora (2019)
★ 7/10Also drama
Flora is a circus elephant who can no longer perform her tricks. The night before she's scheduled to be euthanized, the circus owner's 14-year old daughter, Dawn, sneaks Flora from the circus. All that stands between…
3
Circus World (1964)
★ 6.2/10Also drama
Circus owner Matt Masters is beset by disasters as he attempts a European tour of his circus. At the same time, he is caught in an emotional bind between his adopted daughter and her mother.
4
North by Northwest (1959)
★ 8/10Also thriller
Advertising man Roger Thornhill is mistaken for a spy, triggering a deadly cross-country chase.
5
The Defiant Ones (1958)
★ 7.2/10Also drama and thriller
Two convicts—one white, one black—escape while chained to each other.
6
Running on Empty (1988)
★ 7.4/10Also drama
The Popes are a family who haven't been able to use their real identity for years. In the late sixties, the parents set a weapons lab afire in an effort to hinder the government's Vietnam war campaign. Ever since then…
7
The Colditz Story (1955)
★ 6.8/10Also drama
The Germans believed that no man could escape from Colditz Castle, set as it was in the heart of the Reich, 400 miles from any neutral frontier. This film, based on Pat Reid's epic novel, tells the story of how the…
8
Night Train to Munich (1940)
★ 7.2/10Also drama and thriller
Czechoslovakia, March 1939, on the eve of World War II. As the German invaders occupy Prague, inventor Axel Bomasch manages to flee and reach England; but those who need to put his knowledge at the service of the Nazi…
9
Big Fish (2003)
★ 7.7/10Also drama
Throughout his life Edward Bloom has always been a man of big appetites, enormous passions and tall tales. In his later years, he remains a huge mystery to his son, William. Now, to get to know the real man, Will…
10
Night Crossing (1982)
★ 6.1/10Also drama
Two men want to escape from East Germany (under Communist rule) but they will only go if they can take their families with them. Based on a true story.
11
The Greatest Showman (2017)
★ 7.9/10Also drama
The story of American showman P.T. Barnum, founder of the circus that became the famous traveling Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
12
Mighty Joe Young (1949)
★ 6.4/10Also drama
A young woman, Jill Young, grew up on her father's ranch in Africa, raising a large gorilla named Joe from an infant. Years later, she brings him to Hollywood to become a star.
13
Nightmare Alley (1947)
★ 7.2/10Also drama and thriller
A roustabout joins a traveling carny and schemes to figure out the mind-reading act of Mademoiselle Zeena and her alcoholic husband.
14
Dark Passage (1947)
★ 7.3/10Also thriller
A man convicted of murdering his wife escapes from prison and works with a woman to try and prove his innocence.
15
The White Crow (2018)
★ 6.5/10Also drama
The story of Rudolf Nureyev, whose escape to the West stunned the world at the height of the Cold War. With his magnetic presence, Nureyev emerged as ballet’s most famous star, a wild and beautiful dancer limited by…
16
Funeral in Berlin (1966)
★ 6.4/10Also thriller
Colonel Stok, a Soviet intelligence officer responsible for security at the Berlin Wall, appears to want to defect but the evidence is contradictory. Stok wants the British to handle his defection and asks for one of…
17
Two Brothers (2004)
★ 7.2/10Also drama
Two tigers are separated as cubs and taken into captivity, only to be reunited years later as enemies by an explorer (Pearce) who inadvertently forces them to fight each other.
18
Pickup on South Street (1953)
★ 7.4/10Also thriller
In New York City, an insolent pickpocket, Skip McCoy, inadvertently sets off a chain of events when he targets ex-prostitute Candy and steals her wallet. Unaware that she has been making deliveries of highly classified…
19
The Insider (1999)
★ 7.5/10Also drama and thriller
A research chemist comes under personal and professional attack when he decides to appear in a 60 Minutes exposé on Big Tobacco.
20
The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
★ 7.5/10Also 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.