Movies Like 20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932)

20,000 Years in Sing Sing is a 1932 crime, drama film from Michael Curtiz with a MovieMagicScore of 6.3/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with The Green Mile and Two Seconds.

Crime Drama

The Green Mile

1999

A supernatural tale set on death row in a Southern prison, where gentle giant John Coffey possesses the mysterious power to heal people's ailments. When the cell block's head guard, Paul Edgecomb, recognizes Coffey's miraculous gift, he tries desperately to help stave off the condemned man's execution.

8.5

MagicScore

Two Seconds

1932

A condemned murderer, in the process of being executed, relives the events that led to his being sentenced to die in the electric chair. Told in flashback, we witness a sleazy dancehall girl (Vivienne Osborne) dupe a high rise riveter (Edward G. Robinson) into marriage so she can live off of him. But when he loses his job and his marbles, she ends up supporting him with money from her side man--and misses no opportunity to rub it in his face that she's now supporting him in his emasculated state. As the animosity grows and things get more and more unbearable, he is eventually driven to desperate measures.

6.0

MagicScore

I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang

1932

A World War I veteran’s dreams of becoming a master architect evaporate in the cold light of economic realities. Things get even worse when he’s falsely convicted of a crime and sent to work on a chain gang.

7.8

MagicScore

The Big House

1930

Convicted of manslaughter for a drunken driving accident, Kent Marlowe is sent to prison, where he meets vicious incarcerated figures who are planning an escape from the brutal conditions.

6.6

MagicScore

Ladies They Talk About

1933

A moll, imprisoned after participating in a bank robbery, helps with a breakout plot.

6.1

MagicScore

Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer

2003

British documentarian Nick Broomfield creates a follow-up piece to his 1992 documentary of the serial killer Aileen Wuornos, a highway prostitute who was convicted of killing six men in Florida between 1989 and 1990. Interviewing an increasingly mentally unstable Wuornos, Broomfield captures the distorted mind of a murderer whom the state of Florida deems of sound mind -- and therefore fit to execute. Throughout the film, Broomfield includes footage of his testimony at Wuornos' trial.

6.7

MagicScore

Chopper

2000

The true and infamous story of Australia's notorious criminal Mark 'Chopper' Read and his years of crime, interest in violence, drugs and prostitutes.

6.8

MagicScore

Lost Highway

1997

A tormented jazz musician finds himself lost in an enigmatic story involving murder, surveillance, gangsters, doppelgängers, and an impossible transformation inside a prison cell.

7.5

MagicScore

Kiss of Death

1995

Jimmy Kilmartin's an ex-con who's trying to go straight. But he can't say no to a quick driving job because his so-called friend's life is threatened. The job is for Little Junior Brown, a violent and powerful villain. When things go wrong, Jimmy is left to do the time, and his whole life is turned upside-down, but if that wasn't enough, the cops won't leave Jimmy alone when he gets out... They want Little Junior Brown.

5.7

MagicScore

#10

Sing Sing

2024

Divine G, imprisoned at Sing Sing for a crime he didn't commit, finds purpose by acting in a theatre group alongside other incarcerated men in this story of resilience, humanity, and the transformative power of art.

7.5

MagicScore

#11

The Criminal Code

1931

After young Robert Graham commits a murder while drunk and defending his girlfriend, he is prosecuted by ambitious Mark Brady and sentenced to 10 years. Six years later, Brady becomes the prison warden and offers the beleaguered Robert a job as his chauffeur. Robert cleans up his act, but, on the eve of his pardon, his cellmate drags him back into the world of violence, and he faces a difficult choice that could return him to prison.

6.0

MagicScore

#12

Each Dawn I Die

1939

A corrupt D.A. with governatorial ambitions is annoyed by an investigative reporter's criticism of his criminal activities and decides to frame the reporter for manslaughter in order to silence him.

6.8

MagicScore

#13

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

#14

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

#15

The Big Doll House

1971

Female prisoners in a Philippine jail are being subjected to sadistic torture. Five of the women -- along with the help of two men -- plot an escape.

5.6

MagicScore

#16

Lock Up

1989

Frank Leone is nearing the end of his prison term for a relatively minor crime. Just before he is paroled, however, Warden Drumgoole takes charge. Drumgoole was assigned to a hell-hole prison after his administration was publicly humiliated by Leone, and has now arrived on the scene to ensure that Leone never sees the light of day.

6.8

MagicScore

#17

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

#18

The Story of Temple Drake

1933

The coquettish granddaughter of a respected small-town judge is stranded at a bootleggers’ hide-out, subjected to an act of nightmarish sexual violence, and plunged into a criminal underworld that threatens to swallow her up completely.

6.5

MagicScore

#19

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

#20

The Sin of Nora Moran

1933

Nora Moran, a young woman with a difficult and tragic past, is sentenced to die for a murder that she did not commit. She could easily reveal the truth and save her own life, if only it would not damage the lives, careers and reputations of those whom she loves.

5.4

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like 20,000 Years in Sing Sing?

The top films similar to 20,000 Years in Sing Sing by MovieMagicScore are The Green Mile (8.5), Two Seconds (6.0), I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (7.8). Each shares crime/drama themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is 20,000 Years in Sing Sing worth watching?

20,000 Years in Sing Sing holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.3/10 from 42 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is 20,000 Years in Sing Sing?

20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932) is a crime, drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Spencer Tracy, Bette Davis, Arthur Byron.

Where can I find more recommendations like 20,000 Years in Sing Sing?

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 The Green Mile Movies like Two Seconds Movies like I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang Movies like The Big House Movies like Ladies They Talk About Movies like Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer

About movies like 20,000 Years in Sing Sing

This ranked list pairs 20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932), a crime and drama film from Michael Curtiz, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Spencer Tracy 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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