Movies Like The Shanghai Gesture (1941)

The Shanghai Gesture is a 1941 drama film from Josef von Sternberg with a MovieMagicScore of 6.3/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with The Lady Gambles and Viva Las Vegas.

Drama

The Lady Gambles

1949

When Joan Boothe accompanies husband-reporter David to Las Vegas, she begins gambling to pass the time while he is doing a story. Encouraged by the casino manager, she gets hooked on gambling, to the point where she "borrows" David's expense money to pursue her addiction. This finally breaks up their marriage, but David continues trying to help her.

5.9

MagicScore

Viva Las Vegas

1964

Lucky Jackson arrives in town with his car literally in tow ready for the first Las Vegas Grand Prix - once he has the money to buy an engine. He gets the cash easily enough but mislays it when the pretty swimming pool manageress takes his mind off things. It seems he will lose both race and girl, problems made more difficult by rivalry from Elmo Mancini, fellow racer and womaniser.

6.2

MagicScore

Party Girl

1958

Slick lawyer Thomas Farrell has made a career of defending mobsters in trials. It's not until he meets a lovely showgirl at a mob party that he realizes that there's more to life than winning trials. Farrell tries to quit the racket, but mob boss Rico Angelo threatens to hurt the showgirl if Farrell leaves him.

6.8

MagicScore

God of Gamblers III: Back to Shanghai

1991

While battling a psychic gambler, Sing hurtles back in time to 1937 Shanghai. Now he must come to grips with his family history and get back to 1991.

7.0

MagicScore

The Lodger

1944

In Victorian era London, the inhabitants of a family home with rented rooms upstairs fear the new lodger is Jack the Ripper.

6.4

MagicScore

Casino

1995

In early-1970s Las Vegas, Sam "Ace" Rothstein gets tapped by his bosses to head the Tangiers Casino. At first, he's a great success in the job, but over the years, problems with his loose-cannon enforcer Nicky Santoro, his ex-hustler wife Ginger, her con-artist ex Lester Diamond and a handful of corrupt politicians put Sam in ever-increasing danger.

8.0

MagicScore

Rounders

1998

Poker addict Mike McDermott knows the game inside out, but loses his money one night in a game to Russian-American gangster Teddy KGB. Promising his partner Jo he'll give up, he meets up with best friend Lester 'Worm' Murphy, just out of prison and owing lots of money to the wrong kind of people. McDermott becomes his co-guarantor and now there's only one way to raise the money, the pair have to get back into the game.

7.0

MagicScore

Hard Eight

1997

A stranger mentors a young Reno gambler who weds a hooker and befriends a vulgar casino regular.

6.9

MagicScore

Owning Mahowny

2003

Dan Mahowny was a rising star at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. At twenty-four he was assistant manager of a major branch in the heart of Toronto's financial district. To his colleagues he was a workaholic. To his customers, he was astute, decisive and helpful. To his friends, he was a quiet, but humorous man who enjoyed watching sports on television. To his girlfriend, he was shy but engaging. None of them knew the other side of Dan Mahowny--the side that executed the largest single-handed bank fraud in Canadian history, grossing over $10 million in eighteen months to feed his gambling obsession.

6.7

MagicScore

#10

Croupier

1998

Jack Manfred is an aspiring writer who to make ends meet, takes a job as a croupier. Jack remains an observer, knowing that everything in life is a gamble and that gamblers are born to lose. Inevitably, he gets sucked into the world of the casino which takes its toll on his relationships and the novel he is writing.

6.7

MagicScore

#11

21

2008

Ben Campbell is a young, highly intelligent student at M.I.T. who strives to succeed. Wanting a scholarship to transfer to Harvard School of Medicine to become a doctor, Ben learns that he cannot afford the $300,000 tuition as he comes from a poor, working-class background. But one evening, Ben is introduced by his unorthodox math professor to a small but secretive club of five students, Jill, Choi, Kianna, and Fisher, who are being trained by Professor Rosa to count cards at blackjack.

6.7

MagicScore

#12

California Split

1974

Carefree single guy Charlie Waters rooms with two lovely prostitutes, Barbara Miller and Susan Peters, and lives to gamble. Along with his glum betting buddy, Bill Denny, Charlie sets out on a gambling streak in search of the ever-elusive big payday. While Charlie and Bill have some lucky moments, they also have to contend with serious setbacks that threaten to derail their hedonistic betting binge.

6.6

MagicScore

#13

Intacto

2001

An enigmatic tale of four people whose lives are intertwined by destiny are subject to the laws of fate. They discover that luck is something they cannot afford to be without as they gamble with the highest stakes possible in a deadly game from which only one of them will emerge intact.

6.6

MagicScore

#14

On Swift Horses

2025

In the 1950s, a seemingly sensible newlywed and her wayward brother-in-law undertake parallel journeys of risk, romance, and self-discovery.

6.2

MagicScore

#15

The Card Counter

2021

William Tell just wants to play cards. His spartan existence on the casino trail is shattered when he is approached by Cirk, a vulnerable and angry young man seeking help to execute his plan for revenge on a military colonel. Tell sees a chance at redemption through his relationship with Cirk. But keeping Cirk on the straight-and-narrow proves impossible, dragging Tell back into the darkness of his past.

6.1

MagicScore

#16

Mississippi Grind

2015

Gerry is a talented but down-on-his-luck gambler whose fortunes begin to change when he meets Curtis, a younger, highly charismatic poker player. The two strike up an immediate friendship and Gerry quickly persuades his new friend to accompany him on a road trip to a legendary high stakes poker game in New Orleans. As they make their way down the Mississippi River, Gerry and Curtis manage to find themselves in just about every bar, racetrack, casino, and pool hall they can find, experiencing both incredible highs and dispiriting lows, but ultimately forging a deep and genuine bond that will stay with them long after their adventure is over.

6.0

MagicScore

#17

Runner Runner

2013

When a poor college student who cracks an online poker game goes bust, he arranges a face-to-face with the man he thinks cheated him, a sly offshore entrepreneur.

5.6

MagicScore

#18

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

2023

A rich man learns about a guru who can see without using his eyes. He sets out to master the skill in order to cheat at gambling.

7.2

MagicScore

#19

The Driver

1978

The Driver specializes in driving getaway cars for robberies. His exceptional talent has prevented him from being caught yet. After another successful flight from the police a self-assured detective makes it his primary goal to catch the Driver. He promises pardons to a gang if they help to convict him in a set-up robbery. The Driver seeks help from The Player to mislead the detective.

7.2

MagicScore

#20

The Naughty Nineties

1945

In the gay '90s, cardsharps take over a Mississippi riverboat from a kindly captain. Their first act is to change the showboat into a floating gambling house. A ham actor and his bumbling sidekick try to devise a way to help the captain regain ownership of the vessel.

6.6

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like The Shanghai Gesture?

The top films similar to The Shanghai Gesture by MovieMagicScore are The Lady Gambles (5.9), Viva Las Vegas (6.2), Party Girl (6.8). Each shares drama themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is The Shanghai Gesture worth watching?

The Shanghai Gesture holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.3/10 from 66 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is The Shanghai Gesture?

The Shanghai Gesture (1941) is a drama film directed by Josef von Sternberg, starring Victor Mature, Ona Munson, Gene Tierney.

Where can I find more recommendations like The Shanghai Gesture?

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

Keep exploring

Movies like The Lady Gambles Movies like Viva Las Vegas Movies like Party Girl Movies like God of Gamblers III: Back to Shanghai Movies like The Lodger Movies like Casino

About movies like The Shanghai Gesture

This ranked list pairs The Shanghai Gesture (1941), a drama film from Josef von Sternberg, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Victor Mature 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.

← Back to The Shanghai Gesture