NoBadPicks

Movies Like The Long Goodbye

If you loved The Long Goodbye's Mystery and Drama storytelling, these films deliver a similar experience — carefully selected for tone, themes, and emotional depth. Each pick includes where to watch it right now.

Top Picks

The Big Sleep
7.6

The Big Sleep

1946

Private Investigator Philip Marlowe is hired by wealthy General Sternwood regarding a matter involving his youngest daughter Carmen. Before the complex case is over, Marlowe sees murder, blackmail, deception, and what might be love.

Insomnia
7.0

Insomnia

2002

Two Los Angeles homicide detectives are dispatched to a northern town where the sun doesn't set to investigate the methodical murder of a local teen.

2 Days in the Valley
6.2

2 Days in the Valley

1996

In a sleepy bedroom community of LA's San Fernando Valley, the murder of a professional athlete by two hit men sets into motion a chain of events that puts the mundane lives of a dozen residents on a collision course. This clever tale tells the story of two hit men, a mistress, a nurse, a vindictive ex-wife, a wealthy art dealer and his lovelorn assistant, a suicidal writer and his dog, and a bitter cop and his partner.

Righteous Kill
5.9

Righteous Kill

2008

Two veteran New York City detectives work to identify the possible connection between a recent murder and a case they believe they solved years ago; is there a serial killer on the loose, and did they perhaps put the wrong person behind bars?

Sea of Love
6.6

Sea of Love

1989

Seen-it-all New York detective Frank Keller is unsettled - he has done twenty years on the force and could retire, and he hasn't come to terms with his wife leaving him for a colleague. Joining up with an officer from another part of town to investigate a series of murders linked by the lonely hearts columns he finds he is getting seriously and possibly dangerously involved with Helen, one of the main suspects.

American Gigolo
6.2

American Gigolo

1980

Julian makes a lucrative living as an escort to older women in the Los Angeles area. He begins a relationship with Michelle, a local politician's wife, without expecting any pay. One of his clients is murdered and Detective Sunday begins pumping him for details on his different clients, something he is reluctant to do considering the nature of his work. Julian begins to suspect he's being framed. Meanwhile Michelle begins to fall in love with him.

Street Kings
6.6

Street Kings

2008

Tom Ludlow is a disillusioned L.A. Police Officer, rarely playing by the rules and haunted by the death of his wife. When evidence implicates him in the execution of a fellow officer, he is forced to go up against the cop culture he's been a part of his entire career, ultimately leading him to question the loyalties of everyone around him.

Reptile
6.7

Reptile

2023

Following the brutal murder of a young real estate agent, a hardened detective attempts to uncover the truth in a case where nothing is as it seems, and by doing so dismantles the illusions in his own life.

More Movies Like The Long Goodbye

Marlowe
6.0

Marlowe

1969

Mysterious Orfamay Quest hires Los Angeles private investigator Philip Marlowe to find her missing brother. Though the job seems simple enough, it leads Marlowe into the underbelly of the city, turning up leads who are murdered with ice picks, exotic dancers, blackmailed television stars and self-preserving gangsters. Soon, Marlowe's life is on the line right along with his case.

Farewell, My Lovely
6.6

Farewell, My Lovely

1975

Private eye Philip Marlowe is hired by ex-con Moose Malloy to find his girlfriend, a former lounge dancer. While also investigating the murder of a client and the theft of a jade necklace, Marlowe becomes entangled with seductress Helen Grayle and discovers a web of dark secrets that are better left hidden.

Klute
6.8

Klute

1971

A high-priced call girl is forced to depend on a reluctant private eye when she is stalked by a psychopath.

Gone Baby Gone
7.3

Gone Baby Gone

2007

When 4 year old Amanda McCready disappears from her home and the police make little headway in solving the case, the girl's aunt, Beatrice McCready hires two private detectives, Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro. The detectives freely admit that they have little experience with this type of case, but the family wants them for two reasons—they're not cops and they know the tough neighborhood in which they all live.

Sicario
7.4

Sicario

2015

An idealistic FBI agent is enlisted by a government task force to aid in the escalating war against drugs at the border area between the U.S. and Mexico.

I See You
7.0

I See You

2019

When a 12-year-old boy goes missing at a local park, a detective investigates the case to help the boy's family find answers.

China Moon
6.1

China Moon

1994

Detective Kyle Bodine falls for Rachel Munro who is trapped in a violent marriage. After she shoots her husband, Kyle relucantly agrees to help hide the body, but his partner is showing an unusual flair for finding clues.

A Walk Among the Tombstones
6.3

A Walk Among the Tombstones

2014

Private investigator Matthew Scudder is hired by a drug kingpin to find out who kidnapped and murdered his wife.

Cult Killer
6.3

Cult Killer

2024

A private investigator is forced into a dangerous alliance with a killer in order to uncover a quiet town’s grisly criminal underbelly and clear the name of her mentor, who is implicated in the crimes.

Hollywoodland
6.1

Hollywoodland

2006

When Hollywood superstar George Reeves dies in his home, private detective Louis Simo is hired to investigate his death and gets caught in a web of lies involving a big studio executive's wife. Based on a true story.

Kiss the Girls
6.5

Kiss the Girls

1997

Forensic psychologist and detective Alex Cross travels to North Carolina and teams with escaped kidnap victim Kate McTiernan to hunt down "Casanova," a serial killer who abducts strong-willed women and forces them to submit to his demands. The trail leads to Los Angeles, where the duo discovers that the psychopath may not be working alone.

Narc
6.8

Narc

2002

Narcotics Sergeant Nick Tellis, on leave after a trauma, is called back to investigate the murder of fellow undercover operative Michael Calvess, joined by the victim's unpredictable and brutal ex-partner, Henry Oak. Working together in the back alleys of Detroit, Tellis and Oak delve into a dark investigation that leads them to uncover shocking secrets and question the corruption and morality within the department, encountering unorthodox methods and a brutal truth about Calvess's death.

Why These Movies Are Similar

These recommendations share core qualities with The Long Goodbye (1973): Mystery and Drama themes, similar narrative structure, and comparable emotional depth. NoBadPicks uses a combination of TMDB collaborative filtering, genre matching, and AI analysis to surface films most likely to resonate with fans of The Long Goodbye.

See full details for The Long Goodbye (1973)

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