Activity
Collections
Search
Alerts
Profile

Every movie. Every show. One diary.

Download on theApp StoreGet it onGoogle Play

Explore

  • Browse
  • Search
  • Activity
  • Collections

Product

  • Flickfolio Pro
  • Updates

Company

  • About
  • FAQ
  • Contact Us
  • Instagram
  • TikTok

Legal

  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy

© 2026 Flickfolio · v1.29.0

This website uses TMDB and the TMDB APIs but is not endorsed, certified, or otherwise approved by TMDB.

    activitysearchbrowsecollections
    Sign in
    Home/Browse/1930s Movies/1930s Crime Movies

    1930s Crime Movies

    The 40 most popular 1930s crime movies, ranked. Click any film for ratings, reviews, trailers, and where to watch.

    40films
    Filter & sort these in Search
    M
    TMDB4.0

    M

    1931 · 1h 50m · DE

    In this classic German thriller, Hans Beckert, a serial killer who preys on children, becomes the focus of a massive Berlin police manhunt. Beckert's heinous crimes are so repellant and disruptive to city life that he is even targeted by others in the seedy underworld network. With both cops and criminals in pursuit, the murderer soon realizes that people are on his trail, sending him into a tense, panicked attempt to escape justice.

    Strange Innertube
    TMDB2.4

    Strange Innertube

    1932 · 19m

    After graduating from Taxi Driver school, Billy, Ben, and Clyde soon find themselves involved with a gang of jewel smugglers.

    Reformatory
    TMDB3.3

    Reformatory

    1938 · 1h 1m · US

    A new inmate at a juvenile reformatory tries to organize a mass breakout.

    My Marriage
    TMDB3.4

    My Marriage

    1936 · 1h 13m · US

    When gangster's bullets put an end to the career of H.J. Barton, underworld gambling czar who masquerades as a respectable member of high society, his daughter Carol is left to bear the brunt of social stigma.

    Sea Devils
    TMDB4.0

    Sea Devils

    1931 · 58m · US

    An escaped convict stows away on a ship of mutinous treasure hunters to find the crooks who framed him for murder.

    Midnight Mystery
    TMDB3.0

    Midnight Mystery

    1930 · 1h 9m · US

    A fog-shrouded house provides the setting for a weekend party prank gone wrong and the resulting murder being blamed on an innocent man.

    Mata Hari
    TMDB3.1

    Mata Hari

    1931 · 1h 29m · US

    A semi-fictionalized account of the life of Mata Hari, an exotic dancer who was accused of spying for Germany during World War I.

    Unknown Woman

    TMDB3.3

    Unknown Woman

    1935 · 1h 6m · US

    A young attorney, Larry Condon, is on a retainer by a nightclub-owning gangster, to carry and deliver what he thinks are legal papers but he is innocently carrying around millions of dollars in stolen bonds. He meets Helen Griffith when she is arrested in a raid on a gambling house and befriends her. She talks him into taking her to the nightclub of the man he is working for and, while there and unobserved by anyone by Larry, he sees her going through the files and desk of the owner. Who is this mystery woman he just got released from jail, and what is she up to?

    Scarface
    TMDB3.7

    Scarface

    1932 · 1h 33m · US

    In 1920s Chicago, Italian immigrant and notorious thug, Antonio 'Tony' Camonte, aka Scarface, shoots his way to the top of the mobs while trying to protect his sister from the criminal life.

    Perpetrator Wanted
    TMDB3.0

    Perpetrator Wanted

    1931 · 1h 25m · DE

    A dedicated editor, who is engaged to the daughter of a wealthy senator thrills her father with a lecture about convictions based on circumstantial evidence. When a corpse with a disfigured face is found in the house of the senator, evidence points to the editor. An entertaining thriller with a fairly intricate plot and some critical comments on the practice of the law. Based on the novel "Der geschlossene Ring" by Frank Arnau.

    Landslide
    TMDB3.1

    Landslide

    1937 · 1h 7m · UK

    A landslide traps a group of actors in a small theatre in Wales. The cashier is killed, who will be next?

    The Other
    TMDB3.2

    The Other

    1930 · 1h 35m · DE

    A psychological drama based on the popular Jekyll and Hyde theme involving a strict legal official. Based on the 1893 play "Der Andere" by Paul Lindau.

    Fury Below
    TMDB2.5

    Fury Below

    1936 · 1h 7m · US

    Jim Cole, heir to a mining operation, takes over the mine, which is suffering from unexplained low production, and is facing a strike by the miners. Jim will soon loose the mine if production doesn't increase and the sabotage continues. Mary Norsen, office-secretary, accidentally learns of a plot by Fred Johnson to wreck the mine and force Cole to sell his coal-mine. She and her brother, Joe, join Cole in his fight to stop Johnson.

    Jungle Bride
    TMDB2.8

    Jungle Bride

    1933 · 1h 3m · US

    Four survivors of a ship wreck are stranded on a deserted island, including a woman and the man she believes is responsible for the murder which her brother is in prison for.

    The Double
    TMDB3.6

    The Double

    1934 · 1h 28m · DE

    Jenny confronts her cousin Harry: Did he embezzle her fortune? No. But he escapes with married lover Germaine only to return quickly because her husband pursues them. Jenny is convinced Harry is his own double and arrests him at gunpoint.

    Escape!
    TMDB3.1

    Escape!

    1930 · 1h 10m · UK

    When Matt Denant (Gerald de Maurier) finds himself wrongly imprisoned for manslaughter, he takes an opportunity to escape from jail during a foggy day and is forced to rely on the goodwill of local people to remain a fugitive of the law.

    The Corpse

    TMDB2.9

    The Corpse

    1936 · 1h 7m · BE

    The Corpse tells the sordid tale of three brothers, odious and blind money-grabbers who murdered a young peasant for the tidy sum he had won in the lottery. An ageing whore discovers their secret and treacherously sets up between the two murderers a rivalry for her affections. They finish up each killing the other, whilst the idiot brother scatters to the four winds their ill-gotten gains.

    Midnight
    TMDB2.5

    Midnight

    1934 · 1h 16m · US

    Jury foreman Edward Weldon's questioning leads to the death sentence for Ethel Saxon. His daughter Stella claims to have killed her lover, the gangster Garboni, just as Saxon was to sit in the electric chair.

    Night Beat
    TMDB3.1

    Night Beat

    1931 · 1h 1m · US

    A young couple finds themselves mixed up with mobsters planning to rob a warehouse.

    Sheer Luck

    TMDB5.0

    Sheer Luck

    1931 · 56m · US

    Two milkmen foil a prohibition raid set-up; one finds romance with a society deb in the bargain.

    Circus Shadows
    TMDB3.5

    Circus Shadows

    1935 · 1h 6m · US

    A phoney "psychic" ring tricks a pretty young circus performer into working for them.

    Rio
    TMDB2.7

    Rio

    1939 · 1h 17m · US

    Diabolical French capitalist Paul Reynard is forced to leave Irene, his bride of one year, when he is arrested for the crimes of forgery and embezzlement and sentenced to a penal colony off the coast of South America.

    Masks
    TMDB5.0

    Masks

    1930

    No overview available

    Buried Loot
    TMDB3.2

    Buried Loot

    1935 · 19m · US

    An embezzler who expects to serve his time in prison and then pick up his buried loot is in for a surprise.

    Monte Criollo
    TMDB4.5

    Monte Criollo

    1935 · 1h 5m · AR

    Lucy is a woman of shady past who convinces Argüello and Carlos to install an illegal gambling hall on a cabaret that worked legally. When Argüello is interested romantically in her, it rejects it because it is attracted by Carlos, a womanizer singer. The obsession for her leads Argüello to cheat in the game that he holds with Carlos and manages to ruin him, but finally both fight and Argüello dies stabbed but without denouncing his aggressor to recover his self-esteem as a professional player.

    Missing Girls
    TMDB3.1

    Missing Girls

    1936 · 1h 6m · US

    A couple of naïve girls get themselves unwittingly involved in the gambling racket in this Poverty Row production directed by the redoubtable Phil Rosen.

    Wings over Africa
    TMDB4.0

    Wings over Africa

    1936 · 1h 3m · UK

    Two prospectors in Africa, Tony Cooper and Dalton come across a skeleton that has nearly been picked clean by vultures. They find a letter on the body addressed to a clerk in London named Wilkins . Cooper goes to Wilkins in London and tells him that his brother, whose body they had found, has left a map and a deed to a large diamond mine. Wilkins decides to go to Africa with Cooper to find the mine and, in order to speed up and finance their venture, they give a third interest to Carol Reade and her partner John Trevor), who operate a barnstorming airplane service. In Africa, close to the mine location, they are greeted by some tough gentlemen named Collins and Quincy who have terrorized the natives and lorded over the region, who quickly discover the reason for the party's mission. They join, unasked, in the race for the diamonds. The race is interrupted by the death of Trevor who is found knifed in his bunk.

    Premiere
    TMDB2.9

    Premiere

    1937 · 1h 22m · AT

    As Fraulein Leander prepares for opening night, her life is thrown into turmoil by a variety of romantic misadventures. But she manages to show up on stage at the appointed time, scoring a huge success.

    Think First
    TMDB3.9

    Think First

    1939 · 21m

    Episode 24 of the Crime Does Not Pay series. Margie Smith (Laraine Day) works as a waitress at a drive in restaurant. She likes to date and look nice but on her salary, she can't keep up with everyone else. However, a friend shows her that stealing is easy, cool and lets you dress like success. At first, it works out just fine, but remember--this is a Crime Does Not Pay film and you KNOW she'll soon get caught and prosecuted.

    'G' Men
    TMDB3.3

    'G' Men

    1935 · 1h 23m · US

    James “Brick” Davis, a struggling attorney, owes his education to a mobster, but always has refused to get involved with the underworld. When a friend of his is gunned down by a notorious criminal, Brick decides to abandon the exercise of the law and join the Department of Justice to capture the murderer.

    Foolproof
    TMDB3.6

    Foolproof

    1936 · 20m · US

    Starts with "Anderson Family" court trial where wife testifies on the murder of her husband, while the police investigation finds some interesting twists to the crime. Part of the Crime Does Not Pay series

    Special Agent
    TMDB3.0

    Special Agent

    1935 · 1h 16m · US

    A federal tax agent goes undercover as a reporter and, working with a mobster's pretty bookkeeper, infiltrates a crime ring to catch the racketeer. When she agrees to testify, an informant exposes them and she's kidnapped.

    Pépé le Moko
    TMDB3.6

    Pépé le Moko

    1937 · 1h 34m · FR

    Pépé le Moko, one of France's most wanted criminals, hides out in the Casbah section of Algiers. He knows police will be waiting for him if he tries to leave the city. When Pépé meets Gaby, a gorgeous woman from Paris who is lost in the Casbah, he falls for her.

    Air Police

    TMDB5.0

    Air Police

    1931 · 1h 4m · US

    The U.S. Air Patrol is fighting alien-smuggling along the USA-Mexico border, and U.S. Army Air Corps buddies Jerry Doyle and Andy Conroy are among the pilots on this assignment. One of them is shot down by the smuggling-gang, and the other goes after the gang with vengeance.

    The Testament of Dr. Mabuse
    TMDB3.8

    The Testament of Dr. Mabuse

    1933 · 2h 2m · DE

    After a detective is assaulted by thugs and placed in an asylum run by Professor Baum, he observes the professor's preoccupation with another patient, the criminal genius Dr. Mabuse the hypnotist. When Mabuse's notes are found to be connected with a rash of recent crimes, Commissioner Lohmann must determine how Mabuse is communicating with the criminals, despite conflicting reports on the doctor's whereabouts, and capture him for good.

    Dark Manhattan
    TMDB3.3

    Dark Manhattan

    1937 · 1h 10m · US

    A low-level gangster determines to let nothing stand in the way of his gaining control of the numbers rackets in Harlem.

    Snushanerne
    TMDB3.0

    Snushanerne

    1936 · 1h 29m · DK

    The strict customs regulations have brought about a special type of lawbreaker - smugglers! They abound in all countries, and even in our relatively peaceful country, there are more of them than one would think. The great film director Stenbuk reads sensational articles about a major smuggling affair, and he sends a manuscript back to two writers with the message that if they do not come up with a smuggling-themed manuscript within eight days, they can run and chicken.

    The Night Ride
    TMDB4.5

    The Night Ride

    1930 · 1h · US

    Just after newsman Rooker and Ruth Kearns are married he covers a double murder during a bank robbery. Cigarettes at the scene implicate gangster Tony Garotta. Garotta kidnaps Rooker and another reporter, intending to kill them.

    Sweet Mama
    TMDB3.0

    Sweet Mama

    1930 · 54m · US

    A young girl falls in love with a member of a gang of crooks. She determines to bring the rest of the gang to justice so she can save the man she loves.

    Desire
    TMDB3.5

    Desire

    1936 · 1h 35m · US

    Madeleine steals a string of pearls in Paris and uses American engineer Tom, who is driving on his vacation to Spain, to get the pearls out of France. But getting the pearls back from him proves to be difficult without falling in love.

    About 1930s Crime Movies

    The 1930s

    The 1930s were the studio system at full power, with sound now fully integrated and the Production Code arriving mid-decade to sharply narrow what films could depict. It's the decade of the Universal monster cycle, screwball comedy, and the first Technicolor spectacles.

    Crime

    Crime films trace the machinery around lawbreaking — heists, syndicates, investigations, and the people worn down by all three. From film noir through the American gangster epic to modern procedurals, it's a genre that doubles as social commentary.

    In this list

    Best reviewed
    M (8.1)
    Often also
    Drama, Romance, Action

    Common questions

    What are the best 1930s crime movies?
    By popularity across Flickfolio and TMDB, the top picks right now are M, Strange Innertube, and Reformatory. The full ranked list of 40 sits above — open any movie for ratings, reviews, and streaming availability.
    How is this list ranked?
    1930s crime movies are ordered by overall popularity, which blends how often a title is viewed, searched, and logged. It updates as viewing habits shift, so the list reflects what people are actually watching rather than a fixed critical canon.
    Where can I watch these movies?
    Every movie page lists current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region, alongside community ratings and reviews from Flickfolio members.

    Keep browsing

    Other Genres

    AdventureFantasyAnimationDramaHorrorActionComedyHistoryWesternThrillerDocumentaryScience Fiction
    Mystery
    Music
    Romance
    Family
    War

    Other Decades

    2020s2010s2000s1990s1980s1970s1960s1950s1940s1920s