Bringemovies
← Browse Movies
The Big Knife
TITLE DETAILS

The Big Knife

1955-10-25 · 111 min · ★ 6.0

Crime · Drama

Movie star Charlie Castle draws the ire of Hollywood producer Stanley Hoff when he refuses to sign a new seven-year contract. Castle is sick of the low quality of the studio's films and wants to start a new life. While his estranged wife supports him in the decision, Castle's talent agent urges him to reconsider. When Castle continues to be uncooperative, Hoff resorts to blackmail in order to get his way.

Open detail page

Trailers are previews, not full movies.

No authorized playback source configured. Use the legal watch options below.

Production details

Directors
Robert Aldrich
Production companies
The Associates & Aldrich Company, United Artists
Countries
United States of America
Status
Released

Top Cast

Jack PalanceJack PalanceCharles Castle
Ida LupinoIda LupinoMarion Castle
Wendell CoreyWendell CoreySmiley Coy
Jean HagenJean HagenConnie Bliss
Rod SteigerRod SteigerStanley Shriner Hoff
Shelley WintersShelley WintersDixie Evans
Ilka ChaseIlka ChasePatty Benedict
Everett SloaneEverett SloaneNat Danziger
Wesley AddyWesley AddyHoratio "Hank" Teagle
Paul LangtonPaul LangtonBuddy Bliss
Nick DennisNick DennisMickey Feeney
Bill WalkerBill WalkerRussell
Michael WinkelmanMichael WinkelmanBilly Castle
Richard BooneRichard BooneNarrator (Voice)
Nick CravatNick CravatNick
Robert EmhardtRobert EmhardtBit Part
Mel WellesMel WellesMustached Party Guest
Michael FoxMichael FoxPrize Fight Announcer
Strother MartinStrother MartinStillman
Ralph VolkieRalph VolkieReferee

Title information and images are supplied by TMDb. Explore our discovery guide for advice on comparing metadata and legal viewing options.

Where to watch

Availability provided by JustWatch via TMDb. Offers can change. Provider links are listed on TMDb; full playback requires a separately authorized source.

Streaming

ScreenPix Apple TV channel, ScreenPix Amazon Channel

With ads

YouTube Free, Tubi TV

View authorized watch options on TMDb

Recommendations

Pitfall
★ 6.9
Pitfall1948Crime · Drama

An insurance man wishing for a more exciting life becomes wrapped up in the affairs of an imprisoned embezzler, his model girlfriend, and a violent private investigator.

Plunder Road
★ 6.9
Plunder Road1957Crime · Drama

A spectacular heist starts to unravel as the crooks take it on the lam.

Force of Evil
★ 6.6
Force of Evil1950Crime · Drama

Lawyer Joe Morse wants to consolidate all the small-time numbers racket operators into one big powerful operation. But his elder brother Leo is one of these small-time operators who wants to stay that way, preferring not to deal with the gangsters who dominate the big-time.

Victim
★ 7.5
Victim1961Crime · Drama

A web of blackmail and murder attracts the attention of a barrister with a seemingly idyllic life, threatening to derail his career on the path of success.

The Set-Up
★ 7.4
The Set-Up1949Crime · Drama

Expecting the usual loss, a boxing manager takes bribes from a betting gangster without telling his fighter.

Nightfall
★ 6.9
Nightfall1956Crime

An innocent man turns fugitive as he reconstructs events that implicate him for a murder and robbery he did not commit.

The Dark Corner
★ 6.6
The Dark Corner1946Crime · Drama

Ex-con turned private investigator Bradford Galt suspects someone is following him and maybe even trying to kill him. With the assistance of his spunky secretary, Kathleen Stewart, he dives deep into a mystery in search of answers.

Framed
★ 6.5
Framed1947Crime · Drama

Truck driver Mike Lambert is a down-and-out mining engineer searching for a job. When his rig breaks down in a small town, he happens upon a venomous seductress. When her boyfriend robs a bank, they intend to frame Lambert.

No Man of Her Own
★ 6.9
No Man of Her Own1950Crime · Drama

A penniless pregnant woman adopts the identity of a rich woman killed in a train crash.

They Made Me a Fugitive
★ 6.6
They Made Me a Fugitive1947Crime · Drama

After being framed for a policeman's murder, a criminal escapes prison and sets out for revenge.

Johnny O'Clock
★ 6.3
Johnny O'Clock1947Crime · Drama

When an employee at an illegal gambling den dies suspiciously, her sister, Nancy, looks into the situation and falls for Johnny O'Clock, a suave partner in the underground casino. Selfish and non-committal by nature, Johnny slowly begins to return Nancy's affection and decides to run away with her, but conflict within his business threatens their plans. As Johnny tries to distance himself from the casino, his shady past comes back to haunt him.

While the City Sleeps
★ 6.9
While the City Sleeps1956Drama

Newspaper men compete against each other to find a serial killer dubbed "The Lipstick Killer".

The Damned Don't Cry
★ 7.0
The Damned Don't Cry1950Crime · Drama

Fed up with her small-town marriage, a woman goes after the big time and gets mixed up with the mob.

I Walk Alone
★ 6.6
I Walk Alone1947Crime · Drama

Bootleggers on the lam Frankie and Noll split up to evade capture by the police. Frankie is caught and jailed, but Noll manages to escape and open a posh New York City nightclub. 14 years later, Frankie is released from the clink and visits Noll with the intention of collecting his half of the nightclub's profits. But Noll, who has no intention of being so equitable, uses his ex-girlfriend Kay to divert Frankie from his intended goal.

Glengarry Glen Ross
★ 7.3
Glengarry Glen Ross1992Crime · Drama

An examination of the machinations behind the scenes at a real estate office. Unscrupulous salesmen try to hawk dubious real estate to suckers.

An Inspector Calls
★ 7.2
An Inspector Calls1954Crime · Drama

An upper-crust family dinner is interrupted by a police inspector who brings news that a girl known to everyone present has died in suspicious circumstances. It seems that any or all of them could have had a hand in her death. But who is the mysterious Inspector and what can he want of them?

The Asphalt Jungle
★ 7.5
The Asphalt Jungle1950Crime · Drama

Recently paroled from prison, legendary burglar "Doc" Riedenschneider, with funding from Alonzo Emmerich, a crooked lawyer, gathers a small group of veteran criminals together in the Midwest for a big jewel heist.

The Undercover Man
★ 6.1
The Undercover Man1949Crime · Drama

Frank Warren is a treasury agent assigned to put an end to the activities of a powerful mob crime boss. Frank works undercover, posing as a criminal to seek information, but is frustrated when all he finds are terrified witnesses and corrupt police officers.

Mildred Pierce
★ 7.6
Mildred Pierce1945Crime · Drama

A hard-working mother inches towards disaster as she divorces her husband and starts a successful restaurant business to support her spoiled daughter.

5 Against the House
★ 5.9
5 Against the House1955Crime · Drama

Former war-time Army buddies now students in college decide to rip off a Reno casino.

Similar titles

Force of Evil
★ 6.6
Force of Evil1950Crime · Drama

Lawyer Joe Morse wants to consolidate all the small-time numbers racket operators into one big powerful operation. But his elder brother Leo is one of these small-time operators who wants to stay that way, preferring not to deal with the gangsters who dominate the big-time.

My One and Only
★ 6.6
My One and Only2009Drama

A mother takes her two sons on an unusual road trip from New York to Pittsburgh, St. Louis and eventually Hollywood in her quest to find a man to take care of them all.

The Houston Story
★ 6.0
The Houston Story1956Crime · Drama

A Texas oil driller schemes to steal millions of dollars in oil.

High Wall
★ 6.4
High Wall1947Crime · Drama

Steven Kenet, suffering from a recurring brain injury, appears to have strangled his wife. Having confessed, he's committed to an understaffed county asylum full of pathetic inmates. There, Dr. Ann Lorrison is initially skeptical about Kenet's story and reluctance to undergo treatment. But against her better judgement, she begins to doubt his guilt.

The Enforcer
★ 7.1
The Enforcer1951Drama

After years of investigation, Assistant District Attorney Martin Ferguson has managed to build a solid case against an elusive gangster whose top lieutenant is about to testify.

Pursued
★ 6.5
Pursued1947Drama

A boy haunted by nightmares about the night his entire family was murdered is brought up by a neighboring family in the 1880s. He falls for his lovely adoptive sister but his nasty adoptive brother and mysterious uncle want him dead.

Daybreak
★ 7.6
Daybreak1939Crime · Drama

After committing a murder, a man locks himself in his apartment and recollects the events that led him to the killing.

The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
★ 7.1
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers1946Drama

Three childhood friends, Martha, Walter and Sam, share a terrible secret. Over time, the ambitious Martha and the pusillanimous Walter have married. She is a cold businesswoman; he is the district attorney: a perfect combination to dominate the corrupt city of Iverstown at will. But the unexpected return of Sam, after years of absence, deeply disturbs the life of the odd couple.

Desert Fury
★ 6.0
Desert Fury1947Crime · Drama

The daughter of a Nevada casino owner gets involved with a racketeer, despite everyone's efforts to separate them.

I Walk Alone
★ 6.6
I Walk Alone1947Crime · Drama

Bootleggers on the lam Frankie and Noll split up to evade capture by the police. Frankie is caught and jailed, but Noll manages to escape and open a posh New York City nightclub. 14 years later, Frankie is released from the clink and visits Noll with the intention of collecting his half of the nightclub's profits. But Noll, who has no intention of being so equitable, uses his ex-girlfriend Kay to divert Frankie from his intended goal.

Too Late for Tears
★ 6.8
Too Late for Tears1949Crime

Through a fluke circumstance, a ruthless woman stumbles across a suitcase filled with $60,000, and is determined to hold onto it even if it means murder.

Night Editor
★ 5.5
Night Editor1946Crime · Drama

A daily news editor recalls a married detective and the deadly woman behind his downfall.

The Missing Juror
★ 6.3
The Missing Juror1944Crime

In a major murder case, an innocent man is convicted. Though saved at the last moment, his sanity is gone and he kills himself. Soon, the jurors on his case begin to be picked off, one by one, leading newspaperman Joe Keats to investigate.

Odds Against Tomorrow
★ 6.9
Odds Against Tomorrow1959Crime · Drama

An old-time crook plans a heist. When one of his two partners is found out to be a black man tensions flare.

Dead Men Are Dangerous
★ 5.6
Dead Men Are Dangerous1939Crime

Unsuccessful writer Aylmer Franklyn takes the chance to change identities after he discovers a corpse. However, he soon finds himself accused of the murder of a maid at a near-by boarding house.

Loophole
★ 6.9
Loophole1954Crime

Bank teller Mike Donovan (Barry Sullivan) takes the first step on the road to Perdition when he fails to report a $49,000 shortage. Accused of theft, Donovan is fired from his job. He is then prevented from finding other employment by Javert-like insurance investigator Gus Slavin (Charles McGraw). Despite many setbacks, Donovan attempts to clear his muddied name.

They Won't Believe Me
★ 6.5
They Won't Believe Me1947Drama

On trial for murdering his girlfriend, philandering stockbroker Larry Ballentine takes the stand to claim his innocence and describe the actual, but improbable sounding, sequence of events that led to her death.

A Bullet for Joey
★ 5.8
A Bullet for Joey1955Crime

Raoul Leduc is a police inspector trailing a spy who plots to kidnap an important American atomic scientist. Joe Victor a gangster who is hired to carry out the abduction, balks when he learns what is at stake and helps Leduc out instead.

Touchez Pas au Grisbi
★ 7.2
Touchez Pas au Grisbi1954Crime

Gentleman gangster Max and his partner, Riton, pull off their last, most successful heist and find themselves comfortable enough to retire in the style they enjoy. However, Max confides the details of the theft to his younger mistress, Josey -- who has secretly taken up with ambitious young rival gangster Angelo. Angelo then has Riton kidnapped and demands the stash of gold as ransom, which threatens Max's dreams of the perfect retirement.

The Woman in Question
★ 6.3
The Woman in Question1950Crime · Drama

Agnes "Astra" Huston, a fortune teller at a run-down fair, is found strangled in her bedroom. As the police question five suspects, their interactions with her are shown in flashbacks from their point of view.

Your favorites

Recently viewed

Watch

Choose an authorized server.

Full video from an operator-configured authorized source. Official trailers use a separate player. If a server fails, retry or select another authorized server.

Legal watch options

Official trailer

Trailer preview only. Press Play to start.

Privacy choices

Favorites stay in your browser. Movie images load from TMDb. YouTube trailers contact YouTube only after you allow external media and choose a trailer. Advertising consent, if ads are enabled, is managed separately by the operator’s certified CMP.

Privacy policy

After allowing external media, choose the trailer button to load its player.