Movies Like The Big House (1930)

The Big House is a 1930 crime, drama film from George W. Hill with a MovieMagicScore of 6.6/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with 20,000 Years in Sing Sing and Ladies They Talk About.

Crime Drama

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

Ladies They Talk About

1933

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

6.1

MagicScore

Ghost in the Cell

2026

In a notorious prison, an invisible force begins killing inmates brutally, compelling enemy gangs and corrupt guards to work together as they try to survive the mounting bloodshed.

7.2

MagicScore

Shot Caller

2017

A newly-released prison gangster is forced by the leaders of his gang to orchestrate a major crime with a brutal rival gang on the streets of Southern California.

7.0

MagicScore

Out of the Furnace

2013

Two brothers live in the economically-depressed Rust Belt, when a cruel twist of fate lands one in prison. His brother is then lured into one of the most violent crime rings in the Northeast.

6.6

MagicScore

White Heat

1949

A psychopathic criminal with a mother complex makes a daring break from prison and then leads his old gang in a chemical plant payroll heist. After the heist, events take a crazy turn.

7.6

MagicScore

A Prophet

2009

Sentenced to six years in prison, Malik El Djebena is alone in the world and can neither read nor write. On his arrival at the prison, he seems younger and more brittle than the others detained there. At once he falls under the sway of a group of Corsicans who enforce their rule in the prison. As the 'missions' go by, he toughens himself and wins the confidence of the Corsican group.

7.6

MagicScore

Felon

2008

A family man convicted of killing an intruder must cope with life afterward in the violent penal system.

7.1

MagicScore

Scum

1979

Powerful, uncompromising drama about two boys' struggle for survival in the nightmare world of Britain's notorious Borstal Reformatory.

7.1

MagicScore

#10

The Longest Yard

2005

Disgraced pro football quarterback Paul Crewe lands in a Texas federal penitentiary, where manipulative Warden Hazen recruits him to advise the institution's football team of prison guards. Crewe suggests a tune-up game which lands him quarterbacking a crew of inmates in a game against the guards. Aided by incarcerated ex-NFL coach and player Nate Scarborough, Crewe and his team must overcome not only the bloodthirstiness of the opposition, but also the corrupt warden trying to fix the game against them.

6.7

MagicScore

#11

Daughters

2024

Four young girls prepare for a special Daddy Daughter Dance with their incarcerated fathers, as part of a unique fatherhood program in a Washington, D.C., jail.

7.3

MagicScore

#12

Locked Up

2005

Dennis is a new inmate. Mike is an older black inmate. Together the two face hostile prison officals and inmates in their attempts to become a loving couple.

4.8

MagicScore

#13

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

#14

Undisputed III: Redemption

2010

Russian inmate Boyka, now severely hobbled by the knee injury suffered at the end of Undisputed 2. No longer the feared prison fighter he was, he has declined so far that he is now good only for cleaning toilets. But when a new prison fight tournament begins - an international affair, matching the best fighters from prisons around the globe, enticing them with the promise of freedom for the winner - Boyka must reclaim his dignity and fight for his position in the tournament.

7.5

MagicScore

#15

R

2010

The R of the title stands for the young protagonist, Rune, fearlessly played by Pilou Asbæk. Imprisoned for violent assault, he's a cocky, good-looking young man placed in the hardcore ward, where his survival depends on quickly learning the prison's parallel world of rules, honor, and obligations. R also stands for Rachid, a young Muslim prisoner who becomes Rune's friend and accomplice, defying the rigid racial stratifications among the inmates.

6.8

MagicScore

#16

Room 8

2013

Thrown to rot in a narrow and gloomy cell of a hideous Soviet prison, a weary new inmate struggles to come to terms with the new reality. Within the grey cage, an unwelcoming fellow convict cautions the newcomer not to touch the intriguingly mysterious red wooden box which rests on the lower bunk, moreover, not even think of opening it. Why is there so much secrecy about the contents of the box? Could there be hiding the means to his escape?

7.5

MagicScore

#17

Brawl in Cell Block 99

2017

After working as a drug courier and getting into a brutal shootout with police, a former boxer finds himself at the mercy of his enemies as they force him to instigate violent acts that turn the prison he resides in into a battleground.

7.0

MagicScore

#18

In Hell

2003

A man must survive a prison where hardened criminals battle to the death for the warden's entertainment.

6.6

MagicScore

#19

25 Years of Innocence

2020

Tomasz Komenda was 23 years old when his normal life was brutally interrupted. Overnight he was arrested, thrown into prison and charged with murder. Subsequent expert opinions confirmed his participation in the crime, and any evidence was against him. For nearly two decades in prison, he was beaten, intimidated, humiliated and on his own. Finally, after 18 years of imprisonment, prosecutors and a policeman appeared on his way, who decided to discover the truth behind the mysterious case of the detainee.

7.7

MagicScore

#20

Malcolm X

1992

A tribute to the controversial black activist and leader of the struggle for black liberation. He hit bottom during his imprisonment in the '50s, he became a Black Muslim and then a leader in the Nation of Islam. His assassination in 1965 left a legacy of self-determination and racial pride.

7.5

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like The Big House?

The top films similar to The Big House by MovieMagicScore are 20,000 Years in Sing Sing (6.3), Ladies They Talk About (6.1), Ghost in the Cell (7.2). Each shares crime/drama themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is The Big House worth watching?

The Big House holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.6/10 from 48 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is The Big House?

The Big House (1930) is a crime, drama film directed by George W. Hill, starring Chester Morris, Wallace Beery, Lewis Stone.

Where can I find more recommendations like The Big House?

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 20,000 Years in Sing Sing Movies like Ladies They Talk About Movies like Ghost in the Cell Movies like Shot Caller Movies like Out of the Furnace Movies like White Heat

About movies like The Big House

This ranked list pairs The Big House (1930), a crime and drama film from George W. Hill, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Chester Morris 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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