Movies Like Gumshoe (1971)

Gumshoe is a 1971 comedy, crime, drama film from Stephen Frears with a MovieMagicScore of 6.3/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with The 51st State and Shirley Valentine.

Comedy Crime Drama

The 51st State

2001

An American master chemist plans to score big on a once in a lifetime drug deal. All does not go as planned and he is soon entangled in a web of deceit.

6.1

MagicScore

Shirley Valentine

1989

Wondering what has happened to herself, now feeling stagnant and in a rut, Shirley Valentine finds herself regularly talking to the wall while preparing her husband's chips and egg. When her best friend wins a trip-for-two to Greece Shirley begins to see the world, and herself, in a different light.

6.2

MagicScore

Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid

1982

Juliet Forrest is convinced that the reported death of her father in a mountain car crash was no accident. Her father was a prominent cheese scientist working on a secret recipe. To prove it was murder, she enlists the services of private eye Rigby Reardon. He finds a slip of paper containing a list of people who are 'The Friends and Enemies of Carlotta'.

6.6

MagicScore

Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit

2005

Cheese-loving eccentric Wallace and his cunning canine pal, Gromit, investigate a mystery in Nick Park's animated adventure, in which the lovable inventor and his intrepid pup run a business ridding the town of garden pests. Using only humane methods that turn their home into a halfway house for evicted vermin, the pair stumble upon a mystery involving a voracious vegetarian monster that threatens to ruin the annual veggie-growing contest.

7.1

MagicScore

Dragnet

1987

LAPD Sgt. Joe Friday -- the equally straight-laced nephew of the famous police sergeant of the same name -- is paired up with a young, freewheeling detective named Pep Streebeck. After investigating some strange robberies at the local zoo and the theft of a stockpile of pornographic magazines, they uncover cult activity in the heart of the city and are hot on the case to figure out who's behind it all.

6.0

MagicScore

The Long Goodbye

1973

In 1970s Hollywood, Detective Philip Marlowe tries to help a friend who is accused of murdering his wife.

7.4

MagicScore

The Nice Guys

2016

A private eye investigates the apparent suicide of a fading porn star in 1970s Los Angeles and uncovers a conspiracy.

7.1

MagicScore

City Heat

1984

Set in Kansas City in 1933, Eastwood plays a police lieutenant known simply by his last name, Speer. Reynolds plays a former cop turned private eye named Mike Murphy. Both Speer and Murphy served on the force together and were once good friends, but are now bitter enemies. When Murphy's partner is slain they team up again to fight the mob.

5.5

MagicScore

Downtown

1975

A private eye who's over his head in debt takes on a job snapping photos of his client's rich husband in bed with another woman. But when the husband winds up with three bullet holes that seem to have come from the private eye's own gun, he's got to prove he's not the murderer meanwhile getting tangled deeper in a web of deceit, lies, and steamy night club dancers!

5.5

MagicScore

#10

City of Tiny Lights

2016

In the teeming, multicultural metropolis of modern-day London, a seemingly straightforward missing-person case launches a down-at-heel private eye into a dangerous world of religious fanaticism and political intrigue.

5.2

MagicScore

#11

The World's End

2013

Five friends who reunite in an attempt to top their epic pub crawl from 20 years earlier unwittingly become humankind's only hope for survival.

6.8

MagicScore

#12

A Tale of Two Kitties

1942

Two alley cats, Babbitt and Catsello, decide to make a meal out of Orson as he sleeps in his nest atop a telephone pole. The gullible (and loud) Catsello is repeatedly gulled into trying to "get the bird," earning a variety of thrashings from the casually murderous little canary. Catsello finally resorts to an air strike (with a pair of wooden boards for wings), but it's wartime, and Orson has the cat blasted out of the sky by anti-aircraft guns.

6.8

MagicScore

#13

Lumière & Company

1995

40 international directors were asked to make a short film using the original Cinematographe invented by the Lumière Brothers, working under conditions similar to those of 1895. There were three rules: (1) The film could be no longer than 52 seconds, (2) no synchronized sound was permitted, and (3) no more than three takes.

6.2

MagicScore

#14

Rifkin’s Festival

2020

The story of a married American couple who go to the San Sebastian Film Festival. They get caught up in the magic of the festival, the beauty and charm of Spain and the fantasy of movies. She has an affair with a brilliant French movie director, and he falls in love with a beautiful Spanish woman who lives there.

6.1

MagicScore

#15

Millions

2004

Two boys, still grieving the death of their mother, find themselves the unwitting benefactors of a bag of bank robbery loot in the week before the United Kingdom switches its official currency to the Euro. What's a kid to do?

6.4

MagicScore

#16

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

#17

Harper

1966

Harper is a cynical private eye in the best tradition of Bogart. He even has Bogie's Baby hiring him to find her missing husband, getting involved along the way with an assortment of unsavory characters and an illegal-alien smuggling ring.

6.6

MagicScore

#18

Private Eye

2009

The story takes place in occupied Korea at the start of the 20th century, where a young student in medicine discovers the murdered body of the son of a government official. Being scared of being accused, he decides to hire Hong Jin-ho (a detective) to help him find the murderer before the police accuse him of the murder.

6.2

MagicScore

#19

Tokyo Raiders

2000

When a private eye, a jilted bride and a mysterious stranger join forces to track down an elusive mobster, there's more than trouble in the air.

5.4

MagicScore

#20

Life Is Beautiful

1997

A touching story of an Italian book seller of Jewish ancestry who lives in his own little fairy tale. His creative and happy life would come to an abrupt halt when his entire family is deported to a concentration camp during World War II. While locked up he tries to convince his son that the whole thing is just a game.

8.4

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Gumshoe?

The top films similar to Gumshoe by MovieMagicScore are The 51st State (6.1), Shirley Valentine (6.2), Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (6.6). Each shares comedy/crime/drama themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Gumshoe worth watching?

Gumshoe holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.3/10 from 36 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Gumshoe?

Gumshoe (1971) is a comedy, crime, drama film directed by Stephen Frears, starring Albert Finney, Billie Whitelaw, Frank Finlay.

Where can I find more recommendations like Gumshoe?

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

Keep exploring

Movies like The 51st State Movies like Shirley Valentine Movies like Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid Movies like Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit Movies like Dragnet Movies like The Long Goodbye

About movies like Gumshoe

This ranked list pairs Gumshoe (1971), a comedy and crime and drama film from Stephen Frears, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Albert Finney 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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