Movies Like The Penalty
If you loved The Penalty's Crime 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 Damned Don't Cry
Fed up with her small-town marriage, a woman goes after the big time and gets mixed up with the mob.
They Made Me a Fugitive
After being framed for a policeman's murder, a criminal escapes prison and sets out for revenge.
Each Dawn I Die
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.
Maniac
When a stranger enters a quiet, country town and is seduced by a sensuous married woman he unwittingly finds himself at the centre of a storm of sexual guilt and murder.
The Seven-Ups
A tough detective who is part of an elite New York City unit is trying to find out who killed his partner, but uncovers a plot to kidnap mobsters for money.
Woman on the Run
Frank Johnson, a sole witness to a gangland murder, goes into hiding and is trailed by Police Inspector Ferris, on the theory that Frank is trying to escape from possible retaliation. Frank's wife, Eleanor, suspects he is actually running away from their unsuccessful marriage. Aided by a newspaperman, Danny Leggett, Eleanor sets out to locate her husband. The killer is also looking for him, and keeps close tabs on Eleanor.
Johnny Dangerously
An honest, goodhearted man is forced to turn to a life of crime to finance his neurotic mother's skyrocketing medical bills.
The Glass Key
A crooked politician finds himself being accused of murder by a gangster from whom he refused help during a re-election campaign.
More Movies Like The Penalty
Mobsters
The story of a group of friends in turn of the century New York, from their early days as street hoods to their rise in the world of organized crime...
Underworld
Boisterous gangster kingpin Bull Weed rehabilitates his former lawyer from his alcoholic haze, but complications arise when he falls for Weed's girlfriend.
The Parts You Lose
An unlikely friendship unfolds between a young deaf boy, Wesley, and a fugitive criminal who takes refuge in an abandoned barn on the family’s rural North Dakota farm.
The Quiller Memorandum
After two British Secret Intelligence Service agents are murdered at the hands of a cryptic neo-Nazi group known as Phoenix, the suave agent Quiller is sent to Berlin to investigate.
Killer's Kiss
Davey Gordon, a New York City boxer at the end of his career, falls for dancer Gloria Price. However, their budding relationship is interrupted by Gloria's violent boss, Vincent Rapallo, who has eyes for Gloria. The two decide to skip town, but before they can, Vincent and his thugs abduct Gloria, and Davey is forced to search for her among the most squalid corners of the city, with his enemy hiding in the shadows.
M
Remake of the 1931 Fritz Lang original. In the city, someone is murdering children. The Police search is so intense, it is disturbing the 'normal' criminals, and the local hoods decide to help find the murderer as quickly as possible.
After the Fox
A criminal mastermind sets up a phony film production as part of a plan to smuggle stolen gold.
The Limits of Control
A mysterious stranger works outside the law and keeps his objectives hidden, trusting no one. While his demeanor is paradoxically focused and dreamlike all at once, he embarks on a journey that not only takes him across Spain, but also through his own consciousness.
Islands
In this twisty thriller, a tennis coach at a tropical resort finds himself at the center of a missing persons mystery. Tom teaches tennis during the day and parties at night. When an enigmatic tourist arrives, Tom is unable to shake the feeling he has met her before. Tension and attraction grow, until her husband disappears, and the police suspect Tom.
Witness to Murder
A woman fights to convince the police that she witnessed a murder while looking out her bedroom window.
Analyze This
Countless wiseguy films are spoofed in this film that centers on the neuroses and angst of a powerful Mafia racketeer who suffers from panic attacks. When Paul Vitti needs help dealing with his role in the "family," unlucky shrink Dr. Ben Sobel is given just days to resolve Vitti's emotional crisis and turn him into a happy, well-adjusted gangster.
Why These Movies Are Similar
These recommendations share core qualities with The Penalty (1920): Crime 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 Penalty.
See full details for The Penalty (1920)