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The Third Man poster

Movies that feel likeThe Third Man (1949)

In postwar Vienna, Austria, Holly Martins, a writer of pulp Westerns, arrives penniless as a guest of his childhood chum Harry Lime, only to learn he has died. Martins develops a conspiracy theory after learning of a "third man" present at the time of Harry's death, running into interference from British officer Major Calloway, and falling head-over-heels for Harry's grief-stricken lover, Anna.

If you loved The Third Man, the closest films we have are Dark Passage (1947), Diabolique (1955) and Odd Man Out (1947). All three share The Third Man's tense and atmospheric feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is The Naked City (1948).

🍅 99% Rotten Tomatoes★ 8.1 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Carol Reedtensetwistyatmospheric
7 of 12 streaming nowHBO Max · Amazon Prime Video · Criterion Channel

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If The Third Man hit the spot, these will too

Dark Passage poster
Dark Passage
1947 · dir. Delmer Daves
🍅 90%★ 7.5thriller · mystery

The same preoccupation in both: film noir

A man convicted of murdering his wife escapes from prison and works with a woman to try and prove his innocence.

Diabolique poster
Diabolique
1955 · dir. Henri-Georges Clouzot
🍅 95%★ 8.1thriller · mysteryMax

One thread runs through both: black and white

The cruel and abusive headmaster of a boarding school, Michel Delassalle, is murdered by an unlikely duo -- his meek wife and the mistress he brazenly flaunts. The women become increasingly unhinged by a series of odd occurrences after Delassalle's corpse mysteriously disappears.

Odd Man Out poster
Odd Man Out
1947 · dir. Carol Reed
🍅 100%★ 7.6crime · drama · thrillerMax

The same hand behind both of them: Carol Reed

The difference: Easier on the twists than The Third Man

Belfast police conduct a door-to-door manhunt for an IRA gunman wounded in a daring robbery.

Stray Dog poster
Stray Dog
1949 · dir. Akira Kurosawa
🍅 100%★ 7.8crime · drama · thriller

Both are built on the same subject: film noir

The difference: Sits closer to crime than The Third Man does

A bad day gets worse for young detective Murakami when a pickpocket steals his gun on a hot, crowded bus. Desperate to right the wrong, he goes undercover, scavenging Tokyo’s sweltering streets for the stray dog whose desperation has led him to a life of crime. With each step, cop and criminal’s lives become more intertwined and the investigation becomes an examination of Murakami’s own dark side.

The Naked City poster
The Naked City
1948 · dir. Jules Dassin
🍅 85%★ 7.5crime · mystery · thrillerMax

The same mix in both: tension, then twists

After a former model is drowned in her bathtub, Detective James Halloran and Lieutenant Dan Muldoon attempt to piece together her murder.

The Big Sleep poster
The Big Sleep
1946 · dir. Howard Hawks
🍅 96%★ 7.9mystery · crime · thriller

Thriller built on atmosphere, twice over

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.

Shadow of a Doubt poster
Shadow of a Doubt
1943 · dir. Alfred Hitchcock
🍅 100%★ 7.8thriller · mystery · crime

Tense mystery in both cases

In sleepy Santa Rosa, restless young Charlie’s world brightens when her sophisticated Uncle Charlie arrives for a long visit. But as his behavior grows increasingly strange, she begins to suspect that her beloved uncle may be hiding a terrible secret—and that danger has quietly entered her home.

The Killers poster
The Killers
1946 · dir. Robert Siodmak
🍅 97%★ 7.7crime · mystery · thriller

Both keep coming back to the same thing: black and white

Two hit men walk into a diner asking for a man called "the Swede". When the killers find the Swede, he's expecting them and doesn't put up a fight. Since the Swede had a life insurance policy, an investigator, on a hunch, decides to look into the murder. As the Swede's past is laid bare, it comes to light that he was in love with a beautiful woman who may have lured him into pulling off a bank robbery overseen by another man.

The Lady from Shanghai poster
The Lady from Shanghai
1947 · dir. Orson Welles
🍅 86%★ 7.5mystery · crime · thriller

Twisty thriller, and it commits to that

A romantic drifter gets caught between a corrupt tycoon and his voluptuous wife.

High and Low poster
High and Low
1963 · dir. Akira Kurosawa
🍅 97%★ 8.4drama · crime · thrillerMax

Mystery with a pulse of atmosphere, in both cases

A Yokohama shoe executive faces a wrenching choice when kidnappers mistakenly seize his chauffeur’s son but demand the ransom anyway.

The 39 Steps poster
The 39 Steps
1935 · dir. Alfred Hitchcock
🍅 96%★ 7.6mystery · thrillerPrime VideoMax

Both lean on tension more than on thriller

Richard Hanney has a rude awakening when a glamorous female spy falls into his bed - with a knife in her back. Having a bit of trouble explaining it all to Scotland Yard, he heads for the hills of Scotland to try to clear his name by locating the spy ring known as The 39 Steps.

In a Lonely Place poster
In a Lonely Place
1950 · dir. Nicholas Ray
🍅 96%★ 7.9thriller · drama · romance

Mystery built on twists, twice over

A violent screenwriter and a female neighbor fall in love after she clears him of murder, but she begins to have second thoughts.

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The best-reviewed films that share The Third Man’s defining feeling.