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 Mystery Movies

    1930s Mystery Movies

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

    40films
    Filter & sort these in Search
    Covered Tracks
    TMDB3.2

    Covered Tracks

    1938 · 1h 21m · DE

    Séraphine and her mother arrive in Paris to visit the 1867 World Exhibition. In an overcrowded city they must be accommodated in separate hotels. During the night the mother, who wasn't feeling very well, gets suddenly worse. When next morning Séraphine goes to meet her every trace of her presence has disappeared and everybody denies having ever met her. The bewildered young woman must find someone who believes her. Previous version of So Long at the Fair (1950).

    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.

    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?

    Tom Sawyer, Detective
    TMDB2.8

    Tom Sawyer, Detective

    1938 · 1h 8m · US

    The further adventures of Twain's most beloved fictional characters of Tom Sawyer and his friend, Huckleberry Finn.

    Doctor X
    TMDB3.0

    Doctor X

    1932 · 1h 16m · US

    A wisecracking reporter investigates the cannibalistic 'Moon Killer' murders tied to a medical academy, culminating in a chilling reenactment experiment.

    Passing Shadows
    TMDB3.5

    Passing Shadows

    1934 · 46m · UK

    The film stars Edmund Gwenn, who plays a chemist, whose son Lawrence (played by Barry MacKay) is attacked on a train. He appears to have shot the man.

    Schloß Vogelöd
    TMDB2.7

    Schloß Vogelöd

    1936 · DE

    Remake of the silent film of 1921: The lord of a castle disappears after the return of two feuding brothers from a noble family. Suspicion falls on the recently returned brothers.

    The 39 Steps
    TMDB3.7

    The 39 Steps

    1935 · 1h 26m · UK

    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.

    Ghost Parade
    TMDB4.3

    Ghost Parade

    1931 · 18m · US

    A series of strange, inexplicable, and increasingly frightening events takes place in Mosby Manor.

    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.

    Before Dawn
    TMDB2.9

    Before Dawn

    1933 · 1h · US

    After the death of a gangster, those familiar with his million dollar stash start mysteriously dying. Police detectives with the help of a clairvoyant try to determine who, living or dead, is responsible.

    The Lady Vanishes
    TMDB3.7

    The Lady Vanishes

    1938 · 1h 36m · UK

    On a train headed for England a group of travelers is delayed by an avalanche. Holed up in a hotel in a fictional European country, young Iris befriends elderly Miss Froy. When the train resumes, Iris suffers a bout of unconsciousness and wakes to find the old woman has disappeared. The other passengers ominously deny Miss Froy ever existed, so Iris begins to investigate with another traveler and, as the pair sleuth, romantic sparks fly.

    The Man Who Knew Too Much
    TMDB3.2

    The Man Who Knew Too Much

    1934 · 1h 16m · UK

    While vacationing in St. Moritz, a British couple receive a clue to an imminent assassination attempt, only to learn that their daughter has been kidnapped to keep them quiet.

    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.

    Rose Hobart
    TMDB2.8

    Rose Hobart

    1936 · 20m · US

    Cornell employs clips from 1931's jungle melodrama East of Borneo – more specifically, clips of its lead actress, Rose Hobart – to disquieting effect. Through Cornell's collage editing, Hobart becomes a singular object of desire and dread, trapped in an exotic paradise.

    Evelyn Prentice
    TMDB3.3

    Evelyn Prentice

    1934 · 1h 19m · US

    A criminal lawyer's wife is blackmailed when she is falsely accused of infidelity.

    Dangerous Crossroads
    TMDB3.3

    Dangerous Crossroads

    1933 · 1h 2m · US

    A railroad detective is having a difficult time stopping or even slowing down a gang that is robbing the merchandise carried on the freight trains, with inside information. However, his son and his son's young friends notice something that helps the railway detective get on the right trail.

    The Thin Man
    TMDB3.8

    The Thin Man

    1934 · 1h 31m · US

    Former detective Nick Charles has retired from police work, preferring a life of cocktails, parties, and relaxation with his wealthy wife, Nora. Their holiday is interrupted when the daughter of Nick’s former client asks for help finding her missing father, eccentric inventor Clyde Wynant. When Wynant’s body is discovered, Nick is drawn back into the investigation, with Nora eagerly joining him. As the couple questions Wynant’s family, friends, and business associates, a tangled web of greed, deception, and murder begins to unravel.

    Bombay Mail
    TMDB3.8

    Bombay Mail

    1934 · 1h 10m · US

    In India, a police inspector investigates a murder that took place on a train between Calcutta and Bombay.

    Tenebre
    TMDB5.0

    Tenebre

    1934 · IT

    No overview available

    It's a Wonderful World
    TMDB3.3

    It's a Wonderful World

    1939 · 1h 26m · US

    Detective Guy Johnson's client, Willie Heywood, is framed for murder. While Guy hides him so he can catch the real killer, both of them are nabbed by the police, tried, convicted and sentenced to jail: Guy for a year with Willie to be executed. On the way to jail, Guy comes across a clue and escapes from the police.

    Religious Racketeers
    TMDB3.8

    Religious Racketeers

    1938 · 1h 30m · US

    A wealthy young woman, racked with guilt because she wasn't there when her mother died, is so desperate to contact her that she gets involved with a phony mystic who promises to put her in touch with her mother's spirit, but who is really after her money. A reporter who loves the young woman sets out to expose the phony "psychic" for the charlatan he is.

    Café de Paris
    TMDB4.0

    Café de Paris

    1938 · 1h 31m · FR

    This murder mystery is set in a Parisian cafe and examines the mysterious murder of a famed journalist and extortionist who is killed at his table in the cafe. Though the prime suspects are gathered together( including his wife and her lover, the gun-runner, the creditor, and a playboy) and all of them have motives, none of them did it. So whodunit?

    Vampyr
    TMDB3.6

    Vampyr

    1932 · 1h 14m · DE

    Allan Gray, a young man fascinated by the supernatural, goes to a small village where he feels a sinister force descending upon him. There, Allan meets an old man who asks him to protect his two daughters, for one of them has been bitten by a vampire.

    Arsène Lupin
    TMDB3.5

    Arsène Lupin

    1932 · 1h 24m · US

    A charming and very daring thief known as Arsene Lupin is terrorizing the wealthy of Paris. He even goes so far as to threaten the Mona Lisa. But the police, led by the great Guerchard, think they know Arsene Lupin's identity, and they have a secret weapon to catch him.

    Girl Overboard
    TMDB4.5

    Girl Overboard

    1937 · 1h 4m · US

    A beautiful girl on a passenger ship is suspected of murder.

    The Hound of the Baskervilles
    TMDB3.5

    The Hound of the Baskervilles

    1939 · 1h 20m · US

    When a nobleman is threatened by a family curse on his newly inherited estate, detective Sherlock Holmes is hired to investigate.

    Love from a Stranger
    TMDB3.1

    Love from a Stranger

    1937 · 1h 26m · UK

    Ann Harding plays a lovely but somewhat naive young woman who goes on a European vacation after winning a lottery. Swept off her feet by charming Basil Rathbone, Harding finds herself married before she is fully able to grasp the situation. Slowly but surely, Rathbone's loving veneer crumbles; when he casually asks Harding to sign a document turning her entire fortune over to him, she deduces that her days are numbered.

    Mientras México duerme
    TMDB3.4

    Mientras México duerme

    1938 · 1h 37m · MX

    No overview available

    Charlie Chan in Paris
    TMDB3.3

    Charlie Chan in Paris

    1935 · 1h 12m · US

    Charlie's visit to Paris, ostensibly a vacation, is really a mission to investigate a bond-forgery racket. But his agent, apache dancer Nardi is killed before she can tell him much. The case, complicated by a false murder accusation for banker's daughter Yvette, climaxes with a strange journey through the Paris sewers.

    Before Morning
    TMDB2.3

    Before Morning

    1933 · 56m · US

    A night of love, intrigue, death and blackmail leaves stage-star Elise Manning's fate at stake in a conflict with the unscrupulous Doctor Gruell. A rejected lover dies in Miss Manning's apartment, and Gurell implies that the death was murder and attempts to blackmail the actress. The climax brings the actress, her fiancé and the dead-man's wife face-to-face in an emotional denouement.

    The River House Mystery

    TMDB5.0

    The River House Mystery

    1936 · UK

    No overview available

    What Women Dream
    TMDB4.1

    What Women Dream

    1933 · 1h 21m · DE

    In this pre-WWII German mystery-comedy, a lovely kleptomaniac with a taste for fine jewelry is unable to resist temptation. Strangely, every time she steals something, a mysterious man pays for it. A clumsy detective begins investigating and finds a crucial clue: a strongly scented woman's glove. The perfume is an expensive scent and the detective's pal realizes that it belongs to a popular nightclub singer. The friend quickly becomes enamored of the girl, but then so does her mystery man, a notorious international criminal. Eventually he gets arrested, leaving the detective's pal to move in on the singer.

    Her Forgotten Past
    TMDB3.8

    Her Forgotten Past

    1933 · 1h 5m · US

    A compulsive gambler, thought to have been killed in an automobile crash, reappears when his wife remarries.

    Matinee Idol
    TMDB3.8

    Matinee Idol

    1933 · 1h 15m

    A well-known actor is murdered. Another performer becomes an amateur sleuth so she can prove her sister is innocent of the crime.

    The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
    TMDB3.5

    The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

    1939 · 1h 25m · US

    Having once again avoided criminal conviction, Professor Moriarity develops a murderous plan to “finish off” his last major nemesis, Sherlock Holmes, by making him fail to prevent the perfect crime. Does it involve a family curse, the crown jewels of England, or something else…

    Lash of the Penitentes
    TMDB2.9

    Lash of the Penitentes

    1936 · 48m · US

    Fact and fiction collide in this exploitation flick that employs documentary footage depicting the bizarre self-flagellation rituals of the fanatical Catholic sect known as the Penitentes. Mixed with those truly disturbing sequences is a story concerning a killing in New Mexico, itself inspired by the murder of real-life reporter Carl Taylor as he worked on an article on the Penitentes.

    Mystery Woman
    TMDB3.3

    Mystery Woman

    1935 · 1h 9m · US

    A French military officer is convicted of treason and sent to Devil's Island. His wife takes it upon herself to obtain the stolen document and prove his innocence.

    That’s My Story
    TMDB4.0

    That’s My Story

    1937 · 1h 3m · US

    A reporter desperate for a story tries to interview a gangster's girlfriend jailed in a small town. He gets himself thrown in the same jail and runs into a female reporter with the same idea, but thinks she is the girlfriend he wants to interview.

    The Blue Light
    TMDB3.5

    The Blue Light

    1932 · 1h 23m · DE

    Junta is hated by the people in the village where she lives, especially by the women, who suspect her of being a witch. Only she can climb the nearby mountains to a cave high up, whence a mysterious blue light glows when the moon is full. Many young men of the village have died trying to follow her. She is driven out of town, and takes to living in the mountains. Eventually she shares the secret of the blue light with one man, and he betrays it.

    About 1930s Mystery 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.

    Mystery

    Mystery films are structured around withheld information, trusting the audience to work alongside the investigator. The genre ranges from cozy whodunits to bleak, unresolved character studies.

    In this list

    Best reviewed
    The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (7.6)
    Often also
    Crime, Drama, Thriller

    Common questions

    What are the best 1930s mystery movies?
    By popularity across Flickfolio and TMDB, the top picks right now are Covered Tracks, Midnight Mystery, and Unknown Woman. The full ranked list of 40 sits above — open any movie for ratings, reviews, and streaming availability.
    How is this list ranked?
    1930s mystery 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

    AdventureFantasyAnimationDramaHorrorActionComedyHistoryWesternThrillerCrimeDocumentaryScience Fiction
    Music
    Romance
    Family
    War

    Other Decades

    2020s2010s2000s1990s1980s1970s1960s1950s1940s1920s