Best Thriller Movies of 1971

The highest-rated thriller films from 1971, ranked by MovieMagicScore based on authentic viewer ratings.

Thriller 1970 Thriller 1972 All Time Thriller

Action Comedy Drama Horror Science Fiction Romance Animation Documentary Fantasy Crime

The French Connection

1971

Tough narcotics detective 'Popeye' Doyle is in hot pursuit of a suave French drug dealer who may be the key to a huge heroin-smuggling operation.

7.5

Dirty Harry

1971

When a madman dubbed 'Scorpio' terrorizes San Francisco, hard-nosed cop, Harry Callahan – famous for his take-no-prisoners approach to law enforcement – is tasked with hunting down the psychopath.

7.5

Duel

1971

Traveling businessman David Mann angers the driver of a rusty tanker while crossing the California desert. A simple trip turns deadly, as Mann struggles to stay on the road while the tanker plays cat and mouse with his life.

7.4

Straw Dogs

1971

David Sumner, a mild-mannered academic from the United States, marries Amy, an Englishwoman. In order to escape a hectic stateside lifestyle, David and his wife relocate to the small town in rural Cornwall where Amy was raised. There, David is ostracized by the brutish men of the village, including Amy's old flame, Charlie. Eventually the taunts escalate.

7.2

Wake in Fright

1971

A young schoolteacher descends into personal moral degradation after finding himself stranded in a brutal, menacing town in outback Australia.

7.3

Vanishing Point

1971

Kowalski works for a car delivery service, and takes delivery of a 1970 Dodge Challenger to drive from Colorado to San Francisco. Shortly after pickup, he takes a bet to get the car there in less than 15 hours.

7.1

The Andromeda Strain

1971

When virtually all of the residents of Piedmont, New Mexico, are found dead after the return to Earth of a space satellite, the head of the US Air Force's Project Scoop declares an emergency. A group of eminent scientists led by Dr. Jeremy Stone scramble to a secure laboratory and try to first isolate the life form while determining why two people from Piedmont - an old alcoholic and a six-month-old baby - survived. The scientists methodically study the alien life form unaware that it has already mutated and presents a far greater danger in the lab, which is equipped with a nuclear self-destruct device designed to prevent the escape of dangerous biological agents.

7.0

Punishment Park

1971

In this fictional documentary, U.S. prisons are at capacity, and President Nixon declares a state of emergency. All new prisoners, most of whom are connected to the antiwar movement, are now given the choice of jail time or spending three days in Punishment Park, where they will be hunted for sport by federal authorities. The prisoners invariably choose the latter option, but learn that, between the desert heat and the brutal police officers, their chances of survival are slim.

7.3

The Beguiled

1971

Offbeat Civil War drama in which a wounded Yankee soldier, after finding refuge in an isolated girls' school in the South towards the end of the war, becomes the object of the young women's sexual fantasies. The soldier manipulates the situation for his own gratification, but when he refuses to completely comply with the girls' wishes, they make it very difficult for him to leave.

7.0

#10

10 Rillington Place

1971

The story of British serial killer John Christie, who committed most or all of his crimes in the titular terraced house, and the miscarriage of justice involving Timothy Evans.

7.3

#11

Get Carter

1971

Jack Carter is a small-time hood working in London. When word reaches him of his brother's death, he travels to Newcastle to attend the funeral. Refusing to accept the police report of suicide, Carter seeks out his brother’s friends and acquaintances to learn who murdered his sibling and why.

7.0

#12

The Burglars

1971

In Athens a collection of emeralds is successfully stolen by a team of robbers, led by safe-cracker Azad. Things go smoothly until they miss the ship by which they planned their escape; a police chief pursues Azad while he waits for the next ship to set off.

7.0

#13

Klute

1971

A high-priced call girl is forced to depend on a reluctant private eye when she is stalked by a psychopath.

6.7

#14

The Cat o' Nine Tails

1971

A newsman works with a blind puzzle-solver to uncover a deadly conspiracy linked to a genetic research facility.

6.7

#15

Play Misty for Me

1971

A brief fling between a male disc jockey and an obsessed female fan takes a frightening, and perhaps even deadly turn when another woman enters the picture.

6.6

#16

A Bay of Blood

1971

An elderly heiress is killed by her husband who wants control of her fortunes. What ensues is an all-out murder spree as relatives and friends attempt to reduce the inheritance playing field, complicated by some teenagers who decide to camp out in a dilapidated building on the estate.

6.6

#17

See No Evil

1971

In the English countryside, Sarah Rexton, recently blinded in a horse riding accident, moves in with her uncle's family and gallantly adjusts to her new condition, unaware that a killer stalks them.

6.5

#18

Four Flies on Grey Velvet

1971

Roberto, a drummer in a rock band, keeps receiving weird phone calls and being followed by a mysterious man. One night he manages to catch up with his persecutor and tries to get him to talk but in the ensuing struggle he accidentally stabs him. He runs away, but he understands his troubles have just begun when the following day he receives an envelope with photos of him killing the man. Someone is killing all his friends and trying to frame him for the murders.

6.5

#19

A Lizard in a Woman's Skin

1971

Carol Hammond, daughter of a politician, has vivid nightmares involving sex orgies and LSD. In a dream, she murders a neighbor she envies and wakes up to a real investigation into her neighbor's murder.

6.5

#20

Shaft

1971

Cool Black private eye John Shaft is hired by a crime lord to find and retrieve his kidnapped daughter.

6.4

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Best Thriller Movies of 1971

This ranking features the top thriller movies released in 1971, sorted by MovieMagicScore viewer ratings. Looking for more? Browse all genres from 1971 or see the best thriller movies of all time.