Movies Like Nightmare Alley (1947)

Nightmare Alley is a 1947 crime, drama, thriller film from Edmund Goulding with a MovieMagicScore of 7.1/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Nightmare Alley and The Big Caper.

Crime Drama Thriller

Nightmare Alley

2021

An ambitious carnival man with a talent for manipulating people with a few well-chosen words hooks up with a female psychologist who is even more dangerous than he is.

7.0

MagicScore

The Big Caper

1957

A con artist moves into a small town to spearhead a payroll robbery.

6.2

MagicScore

The Lost Weekend

1945

Don Birnam, a long-time alcoholic, has been sober for ten days and appears to be over the worst... but his craving has just become more insidious. Evading a country weekend planned by his brother and girlfriend, he begins a four-day bender that just might be his last - one way or another.

7.6

MagicScore

Candy Corn

2019

On Halloween eve in 1980, local outcast, Julien Cummings, is carelessly murdered. A vagabond witch doctor, Dr. Death, takes matters into his own hands and brings Julien back from the dead to creatively seek brutal revenge on his killers.

4.3

MagicScore

Carny

1980

Tired of being a small-town waitress, Donna departs with the latest carnival show, living with entertainers Frankie and Patch in a tense, emotional triangle.

6.2

MagicScore

31

2016

Five carnival workers are kidnapped and held hostage in an abandoned, Hell-like compound where they are forced to participate in a violent game, the goal of which is to survive twelve hours against a gang of sadistic clowns.

5.4

MagicScore

The Strange Love of Martha Ivers

1946

Three childhood friends, Martha, Walter and Sam, share a terrible secret. Over time, the ambitious Martha and the pusillanimous Walter have married. She is a cold businesswoman; he is the district attorney: a perfect combination to dominate the corrupt city of Iverstown at will. But the unexpected return of Sam, after years of absence, deeply disturbs the life of the odd couple.

7.1

MagicScore

The Night of the Hunter

1955

In Depression-era West Virginia, a serial-killing preacher hunts two young children who know the whereabouts of a stash of money.

7.9

MagicScore

The Postman Always Rings Twice

1946

A married woman and a drifter fall in love, then plot to murder her husband.

7.0

MagicScore

#10

Satantango

1994

Inhabitants of a small village in Hungary deal with the effects of the fall of Communism. The town's source of revenue, a factory, has closed, and the locals, who include a doctor and three couples, await a cash payment offered in the wake of the shuttering. Irimias, a villager thought to be dead, returns and, unbeknownst to the locals, is a police informant. In a scheme, he persuades the villagers to form a commune with him.

8.1

MagicScore

#11

To Have and Have Not

1945

A Martinique charter boat skipper gets mixed up with the underground French resistance operatives during WWII.

7.5

MagicScore

#12

The Maltese Falcon

1941

A private detective takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a beautiful liar, and their quest for a priceless statuette.

7.7

MagicScore

#13

Strangers on a Train

1951

A charming psychopath tries to coerce a tennis star into his theory that two strangers can commit the perfect crime by exchanging murders—each killing the other’s most-hated person.

7.7

MagicScore

#14

Scarface

1932

In 1920s Chicago, Italian immigrant and notorious thug, Antonio 'Tony' Camonte, aka Scarface, shoots his way to the top of the mobs while trying to protect his sister from the criminal life.

7.4

MagicScore

#15

Pépé le Moko

1937

Pépé le Moko, one of France's most wanted criminals, hides out in the Casbah section of Algiers. He knows police will be waiting for him if he tries to leave the city. When Pépé meets Gaby, a gorgeous woman from Paris who is lost in the Casbah, he falls for her.

7.2

MagicScore

#16

Nowhere to Go

1958

A professional thief is sprung from prison with the assistance of a new partner who wants to know where he's hid his loot.

6.7

MagicScore

#17

Gun Crazy

1950

Bart Tare is an ex-Army man who has a lifelong fixation with guns, he meets a kindred spirit in sharpshooter Annie Starr and goes to work at a carnival. After upsetting the carnival owner who lusts after Starr, they both get fired. Soon, on Starr's behest, they embark on a crime spree for cash.

7.4

MagicScore

#18

The 39 Steps

1935

Richard Hanney has a rude awakening when a glamorous female spy falls into his bed - with a knife in her back. Having a bit of trouble explaining it all to Scotland Yard, he heads for the hills of Scotland to try to clear his name by locating the spy ring known as The 39 Steps.

7.3

MagicScore

#19

Paper Moon

1973

During the Great Depression, a con man finds himself saddled with a young girl who may or may not be his daughter, and the two forge an unlikely partnership.

7.9

MagicScore

#20

Freaks

1932

A circus' beautiful trapeze artist agrees to marry the leader of side-show performers, but his deformed friends discover she is only marrying him for his inheritance.

7.8

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Nightmare Alley?

The top films similar to Nightmare Alley by MovieMagicScore are Nightmare Alley (7.0), The Big Caper (6.2), The Lost Weekend (7.6). Each shares crime/drama/thriller themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Nightmare Alley worth watching?

Nightmare Alley holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.1/10 from 224 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is Nightmare Alley?

Nightmare Alley (1947) is a crime, drama, thriller film directed by Edmund Goulding, starring Tyrone Power, Helen Walker, Coleen Gray.

Where can I find more recommendations like Nightmare Alley?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more crime recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Nightmare Alley Movies like The Big Caper Movies like The Lost Weekend Movies like Candy Corn Movies like Carny Movies like 31

About movies like Nightmare Alley

This ranked list pairs Nightmare Alley (1947), a crime and drama and thriller film from Edmund Goulding, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Tyrone Power take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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