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Elevator to the Gallows poster

Movies that feel likeElevator to the Gallows (1958)

A self-assured businessman murders his employer, husband of his mistress, which unintentionally provokes an ill-fated chain of events.

If you loved Elevator to the Gallows, the closest films we have are Charley Varrick (1973), Thief (1981) and Marnie (1964). All three share Elevator to the Gallows' gritty and tense feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Pandora's Box (1929).

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If Elevator to the Gallows hit the spot, these will too

Charley Varrick poster
Charley Varrick
1973 · dir. Don Siegel
🍅 82%★ 7.5crime · thriller · drama

Gritty and contemplative in the same breath

The difference: Takes it somewhere less romantic than Elevator to the Gallows does

Charley Varrick robs a bank in a small town with his friends, but instead of obtaining a small amount of money, they discover they stole a very large amount of money belonging to the mob. Charley must now come up with a plan to not only evade the police but the mob as well.

Thief poster
Thief
1981 · dir. Michael Mann
🍅 80%★ 7.4crime · thriller · dramaPrime Video

The same mix in both: tension, then melancholy

The difference: 23 years apart, and the 1980s show

Frank is an expert professional safecracker, specialized in high-profile diamond heists. He plans to use his ill-gotten income to retire from crime and build a nice life for himself complete with a home, wife and kids. To accelerate the process, he signs on with a top gangster for a big score.

Marnie poster
Marnie
1964 · dir. Alfred Hitchcock
🍅 78%★ 7.1thriller · mystery · romance

The same preoccupation in both: suicide attempt

The difference: Sits closer to mystery than Elevator to the Gallows does

Marnie is a beautiful but emotionally withdrawn thief, stealing from employers before disappearing under new identities. When her new boss, Mark Rutland, discovers her secret, his fascination turns to obsession, and he blackmails her into marriage, convinced he can cure her. But as he probes deeper into Marnie’s fractured mind, long-buried fears and compulsions begin to surface.

Cool Hand Luke poster
Cool Hand Luke
1967 · dir. Stuart Rosenberg
🍅 100%★ 8drama · crime

Crime built on grit, twice over

When petty criminal Luke Jackson is sentenced to two years in a Florida prison farm, he doesn't play by the rules of either the sadistic warden or the yard's resident heavy, Dragline, who ends up admiring the new guy's unbreakable will. Luke's bravado, even in the face of repeated stints in the prison's dreaded solitary confinement cell, "the box," make him a rebel hero to his fellow convicts and a thorn in the side of the prison officers.

Pandora's Box poster
Pandora's Box
1929 · dir. G.W. Pabst
🍅 93%★ 7.7drama · crime · romanceMax

Romantic drama in both cases

The difference: Leans harder into romance than Elevator to the Gallows does

The rise and inevitable fall of an amoral but naive young woman whose insouciant eroticism inspires lust and violence in those around her.

Tell No One poster
Tell No One
2006 · dir. Guillaume Canet
🍅 93%★ 7.5drama · thriller · crime

Contemplative thriller, and it commits to that

A man receives a mysterious email appearing to be from his wife, who was murdered years earlier. As he frantically tries to find out whether she's alive, he finds himself being implicated in her death.

21 Grams poster
21 Grams
2003 · dir. Alejandro G. Iñárritu
🍅 80%★ 7.6drama · crime · thriller

One thread runs through both: suicide attempt

Paul Rivers, an ailing mathematician lovelessly married to an English émigré; Christina Peck, an upper-middle-class suburban housewife and mother of two girls; and Jack Jordan, a born-again ex-con, are brought together by a terrible accident that changes their lives.

Breathless poster
Breathless
1960 · dir. Jean-Luc Godard
🍅 95%★ 7.6drama · crime · romanceMax

Crime with a pulse of romance, in both cases

A small-time thief steals a car and impulsively murders a motorcycle policeman. Wanted by the authorities, he attempts to persuade a girl to run away to Italy with him.

Lilya 4-ever poster
Lilya 4-ever
2002 · dir. Lukas Moodysson
🍅 84%★ 7.8drama · crime

Both lean on melancholy more than on drama

In a struggling post-Soviet community, Lilya a teenage girl is abandoned when her mother moves to the United States with her boyfriend. Facing neglect and poverty, she meets Andrei, who offers her a job in Sweden, giving her hope for a better life — and a journey that will change everything.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof poster
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
1958 · dir. Richard Brooks
🍅 97%★ 7.9drama

Both lean on stillness more than on thriller

An alcoholic ex-football player drinks his days away, having failed to come to terms with his sexuality and his real feelings for his football buddy who died after an ambiguous accident. His wife is crucified by her desperation to make him desire her: but he resists the affections of his wife. His reunion with his father—who is dying of cancer—jogs a host of memories and revelations for both father and son.

Winter Light poster
Winter Light
1963 · dir. Ingmar Bergman
🍅 77%★ 8drama

Melancholy drama in both cases

A Swedish pastor fails a loving woman, a suicidal fisherman and God.

Get Carter poster
Get Carter
1971 · dir. Mike Hodges
🍅 85%★ 7.3crime · thriller

Both lean on tension more than on crime

Jack Carter is a small-time hood working in London. When word reaches him of his brother's death, he travels to Newcastle to attend the funeral. Refusing to accept the police report of suicide, Carter seeks out his brother’s friends and acquaintances to learn who murdered his sibling and why.

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The best-reviewed films that share Elevator to the Gallows’ defining feeling.