Movies Like There Was a Crooked Man... (1970)

There Was a Crooked Man... is a 1970 western film from Joseph L. Mankiewicz with a MovieMagicScore of 6.8/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Dead Leaves and The Getaway King.

Western

Dead Leaves

2004

Pandy and Retro awaken naked on Earth with no recollection of their past. They embark on a crime spree in search of food and clothing, but are captured by authorities and sent to the infamous lunar penitentiary named Dead Leaves.

7.0

MagicScore

The Getaway King

2021

Comedy about Zdzisław Najmrodzki, most famous polish criminal in the times of Polish People Republic, named "the getaway king", known for stealing cars and escaping prison many times, but never hurting anybody.

6.2

MagicScore

Firestorm

1998

Firefighter Jesse Graves has to save ornithologist Jennifer and other people caught in a forest fire, which was set up by the lawyer of convicted killer Earl Shaye, who escaped from the prison with several of his inmates posing as firefighters to recover $37,000,000 in stashed loot.

5.2

MagicScore

Demolition Man

1993

In 1996, brash L.A. detective John Spartan and maniac killer Simon Phoenix are both sentenced to decades in a cryogenic prison as punishment for a rescue mission gone wrong. When Phoenix escapes 36 years later to wreak havoc on the future, Spartan is awakened to capture his nemesis the old-fashioned way.

6.7

MagicScore

Le Trou

1960

Four prison inmates have been hatching a plan to literally dig out of jail when another prisoner, Claude Gaspard, is moved into their cell. They take a risk and share their plan with the newcomer. Over the course of three days, the prisoners and friends break through the concrete floor using a bed post and begin to make their way through the sewer system – yet their escape is anything but assured.

8.2

MagicScore

Birdman of Alcatraz

1962

After killing a prison guard, convict Robert Stroud faces life imprisonment in solitary confinement. Driven nearly mad by loneliness and despair, Stroud's life gains new meaning when he happens upon a helpless baby sparrow in the exercise yard and nurses it back to health. Despite having only a third grade education, Stroud goes on to become a renowned ornithologist and achieves a greater sense of freedom and purpose behind bars than most people find in the outside world.

7.5

MagicScore

20,000 Years in Sing Sing

1932

Brash hoodlum Tom Connors enters Sing Sing cocksure of himself and disrespectful toward authority, but his tough but compassionate warden changes him.

6.3

MagicScore

Chained Heat 2

1993

An American tourist lands in a Slavic prison run by a twisted woman and the U.S. ambassador.

3.8

MagicScore

Desperate Measures

1998

San Francisco police officer Frank Connor is in a frantic search for a compatible bone marrow donor for his gravely ill son. There's only one catch the potential donor is convicted multiple murderer Peter McCabe who sees a trip to the hospital as the perfect opportunity to get what he wants most: freedom. With McCabe's escape, the entire hospital becomes a battleground and Connor must pursue and, ironically, protect the deadly fugitive who is his son's only hope for survival.

6.0

MagicScore

#10

The Shawshank Redemption

1994

Imprisoned in the 1940s for the double murder of his wife and her lover, upstanding banker Andy Dufresne begins a new life at the Shawshank prison, where he puts his accounting skills to work for an amoral warden. During his long stretch in prison, Dufresne comes to be admired by the other inmates -- including an older prisoner named Red -- for his integrity and unquenchable sense of hope.

8.7

MagicScore

#11

The Great Escape

1963

The Nazis, exasperated at the number of escapes from their prison camps by a relatively small number of Allied prisoners, relocate them to a high-security 'escape-proof' camp to sit out the remainder of the war. Undaunted, the prisoners plan one of the most ambitious escape attempts of World War II. Based on a true story.

7.9

MagicScore

#12

A Man Escaped

1956

A captured French Resistance fighter during World War II engineers a daunting escape from prison.

7.9

MagicScore

#13

Papillon

1973

A man befriends a fellow criminal as the two of them begin serving their sentence on a dreadful prison island, which inspires the man to plot his escape.

7.8

MagicScore

#14

Le Deuxième Souffle

1966

A gangster escapes jail and quickly makes plans to continue his criminal ways elsewhere, but a determined inspector is closing in.

7.6

MagicScore

#15

Prison Break: The Final Break

2009

Prison Break: The Movie. Michael and Sara wed, but the happiness is short-lived when the Feds apprehend her for the murder of Michael's mother, Christina. Once a hit is ordered on Sara, the team reunite to break out the increasingly vulnerable target.

7.5

MagicScore

#16

Bang, Boom, Bang

1999

Bank robber Kalle Grabowski escapes from prison while his unemployed smalltime crook buddy is sitting around doing nothing after he just lost all their money. A fast paced comedy from German director Peter Thorwarth.

7.5

MagicScore

#17

Escape from Alcatraz

1979

San Francisco Bay, January 18, 1960. Frank Lee Morris is transferred to Alcatraz, a maximum security prison located on a rocky island. Although no one has ever managed to escape from there, Frank and other inmates begin to carefully prepare an escape plan.

7.5

MagicScore

#18

Down by Law

1986

A disc jockey, a pimp and an Italian tourist escape from jail in New Orleans.

7.3

MagicScore

#19

The Professional

1981

French secret service agent Josselin Beaumont is dispatched to take down African warlord N'Jala. But when his assignment is canceled, he's shocked to learn that his government is surrendering him to local authorities. He is given a mock trial and sentenced to 20 years of hard labor. But Beaumont escapes from prison and vows not only to avenge himself against his betrayers but also to finish his original assignment.

7.2

MagicScore

#20

We're No Angels

1955

Three convicts escape from prison on Devil's Island just before Christmas and arrive at a nearby French colonial town. They go to the store of the Ducotels, the only store that gives supplies on credit. They initially intend to take advantage of them but have a change of heart after they find the family is in financial troubles.

7.2

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like There Was a Crooked Man...?

The top films similar to There Was a Crooked Man... by MovieMagicScore are Dead Leaves (7.0), The Getaway King (6.2), Firestorm (5.2). Each shares western themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is There Was a Crooked Man... worth watching?

There Was a Crooked Man... holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.8/10 from 132 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is There Was a Crooked Man...?

There Was a Crooked Man... (1970) is a western film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, starring Kirk Douglas, Henry Fonda, Hume Cronyn.

Where can I find more recommendations like There Was a Crooked Man...?

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

Keep exploring

Movies like Dead Leaves Movies like The Getaway King Movies like Firestorm Movies like Demolition Man Movies like Le Trou Movies like Birdman of Alcatraz

About movies like There Was a Crooked Man...

This ranked list pairs There Was a Crooked Man... (1970), a western film from Joseph L. Mankiewicz, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Kirk Douglas 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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