10 Forgotten but Brilliant Period Movies About Historical Crimes

10. The Cat's Meow (2001)

It’s 1924, and Charlie Chapman is the biggest movie star in history. When a famous producer is murdered on a powerful media magnate’s yacht, there is no media coverage or investigation.

No one knows what truly happened, but the bizarre rumors about Chaplin and his close circle’s involvement in that crime are in the air.

You can watch The Cat's Meow on Prime Video.

9. The Bank Job (2008)

A foolproof bank robbery sounds like any criminal team’s dream, right? There’s only one extra step they must do to satisfy their mastermind, an MI5 agent who orchestrates the robbery: apart from money, they need to steal dirt on a member of the royal family stored in the same bank. Sounds easy, but things go horribly wrong.

You can watch The Bank Job on Netflix and Prime Video.

8. Burke & Hare (2010)

In the 19th century, medical studies are flourishing, but there’s one slight problem with advancing the knowledge of the human bodies beyond known horizons: the need for said human bodies. Fortunately for the contemporary medical schools, graverobbers were willing to provide them with cadavers for the right payment.

You can watch Burke & Hare on Apple TV and Prime Video.

7. The Black Dahlia (2006)

A good detective remains impatient regardless of the crimes they’re investigating, but sometimes, it’s plain impossible. In the late 1940s, a famous Hollywood star is brutally murdered, and two policemen that take the case watch their personal and professional lives fall apart around them as they uncover more and more details.

You can watch The Black Dahlia on Netflix, Apple TV, and Prime Video.

6. The Bounty (1984)

The year is 1789, and sailors’ lives are insufferable. Crews often don’t want to leave the paradise islands they come across behind to face new terrors of the sea, and that’s what happens on board one cargo ship. Fed up with the captain’s harsh discipline, the crew rebels against him, and the terrifying downward spiral begins.

You can watch The Bounty on Prime Video.

5. From Hell (2001)

Serial killers used to be “superstars” long before television was invented, even in 1888. Jack the Ripper’s murders shake up the peaceful lives of Londoners, and one of the best detectives is assigned to the case. By using opium to increase his natural intelligence, he soon discovers a full-blown government conspiracy behind it all.

You can watch From Hell on Disney Plus and Prime Video.

4. The Last Duel (2021)

Using brute force to make your point of view come across is frowned upon today, but that wasn’t the case in late-14th-century France. A Knight falls into a dispute with his friend over his wife, and they take their case to the King. The royal verdict is harsh but appropriate: the former friends must resolve it in a duel until only one remains.

You can watch The Last Duel on Hulu, Disney Plus, and Prime Video.

3. Public Enemies (2009)

If you’re eager to thank someone for the FBI’s very existence, here’s your guy. John Dillinger, a notorious and charismatic bank robber also known as Public Enemy #1, inspires the poor and the hopeless with his swagger and bravado as he terrorized American banks. But an entire new force is being formed to hunt him down…

You can watch Public Enemies on Prime Video.

2. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)

The Wild West has many legends, but Jesse James was perhaps its most notorious outlaw. Robert Ford has been idolizing James since childhood and will do anything to end up in the outlaw’s gang — but soon after joining it, he realizes just how much he resents the man. No one expects a coward like to bring James down, do they?

You can watch The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford on Max, Netflix, Apple TV, and Prime Video.

1. Changeling (2008)

Sometimes, it’s not the good against the evil; sometimes, it’s just the evil on both sides. During the notorious 1928 Wineville Chicken Coop murders, the LAPD sends a different boy to a missing child’s grieving mother. When she tries to protest, she’s vilified in the media as a terrible parent and sent to a psychiatric ward, but even there, she doesn’t give up.

You can watch Changeling on Prime Video.