The Onion Field (1979), The Thin Blue Line (1988), The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), The Last Detail (1973), I Want to Live! (1958), Golmaal: Fun Unlimited (2006), Gangster's Paradise: Jerusalema (2008), Trailer Park Boys: The Movie (2006) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best Petty Criminal movies.
Storyline: Charismatic psychopath Greg Powell (James Woods) teams up with Jimmy Youngblood (Franklyn Seales), a petty thief. Driving in Los Angeles in 1963, they are pulled over by Detective Hettinger (John Savage) and his partner, Campbell (Ted Danson), for an illegal U-turn. Panicked, Powell kidnaps the officers and kills Campbell. Hettinger escapes, and his description of the men leads to their arrest. As both men evade prosecution with legal tricks, Hettinger is racked with guilt over his survival.
Plot Keywords: psychopath, petty criminal, police officer, survivor, district attorney, wife, dark ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Errol Morris's unique documentary dramatically re-enacts the crime scene and investigation of a police officer's murder in Dallas, Texas. Briefly, a drifter (Randall Adams) ran out of gas and was picked up by a 16-year-old runaway (David Harris). Later that night, they drank some beer, smoked some marijuana, and went to the movies. Then, their stories diverged. Adams claimed that he left for his motel, where he was staying with his brother, and went to sleep. Harris, however, said that they were stopped by police late that night, and Adams suddenly shot the officer approaching their car. The film shows the audience the evidence gathered by the police, who were under extreme pressure to clear the case. It strongly makes a point that the circumstantial evidence was very flimsy. In fact, it becomes apparent that Harris was a much more likely suspect and was in the middle of a crime spree, eventually ending up on Death Row himself for the later commission of other crimes. Morris implies that the DA's and the judge's desire for the death penalty in this case (for which Harris would have been ineligible because of his youth) made Adams a scapegoat on whom to pin this heinous crime.—Tad Dibbern <DIBBERN_D@a1.mscf.upenn.edu>
Plot Keywords: drifter, murderer, petty criminal, judge, psychiatrist, cop, dark ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Holland, a shy retiring man, dreams of being rich and living the good life. Faithfully, for twenty years, he has worked as a bank transfer agent for the delivery of gold bullion. One day he befriends Pendlebury, a maker of souvenirs. Holland remarks that, with Pendlebury's smelting equipment, one could forge the gold into harmless-looking toy Eiffel Towers and smuggle the gold from England into France. Soon afterwards, the two plant a story to gain the services of professional criminals Lackery and Shorty. Together, the four plot their crime, leading to unexpected twists and turns.
Plot Keywords: bank robbers, police officer, schoolgirl, artist, inspector, petty criminal, witty ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Two bawdy, tough looking navy lifers - "Bad-Ass" Buddusky, and "Mule" Mulhall - are commissioned to escort a young pilferer named Meadows to the brig in Portsmouth. Meadows is not much of a thief. Indeed, in his late teens, he is not much of a man at all. His great crime was to try to steal forty dollars from the admiral's wife's pet charity. For this, he's been sentenced to eight years behind bars. At first, Buddusky and Mulhall view the journey as a paid vacation, but their holiday spirits are quickly depressed by the prisoner, who looks prepared to break into tears at any moment. And he has the lowest self-image imaginable. Buddusky gets it into his head to give Meadows a good time and teach him a bit about getting on in the world. Lesson one: Don't take every card life deals you. Next, he teaches Meadows to drink, and, as a coup de grace, finds a nice young whore to instruct him in lovemaking. Mule, who worries aloud about his own position with military authority, seems pleased ...
Plot Keywords: sailor, mother, prostitute, prisoner, petty criminal, wild, uneasy ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Barbara Graham is a woman with dubious moral standards, often a guest in seedy bars. She has been sentenced for some petty crimes. Two men she knows murder an older woman. When they get caught, they start to think that Barbara has helped the police to arrest them. As revenge, they tell the police that Barbara is the murderer.—Mattias Thuresson
Plot Keywords: petty criminal, journalist, thief, attorney, psychologist, raw, tense ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Gopal, Lucky, Madhav and Laxman - four guys bound together by their child-like notoriety, aimlessness and petty business of conning people for fun and money. Laxman is an intelligent student who is not allowed to pass by his mischievous band of friends Gopal, Madhav and mute Lucky. This is because all four friends use his hostel room to conduct their activities. He is peer-pressured into running a series of scams in order to earn himself and his friends some money. Once thrown out of college bag-n-baggage, the naughty foursome finds refuge in the bungalow of a blind couple as their grandson. A cat mouse game unfolds as Laxman's body and Gopal's voice makes for Sameer (The grandson from US). Each time the blinded Dadaji comes amidst them, hilarious situations arise Enter Nirali with a bath towel and the group now have time, place and 'resources' to fall in love. Their individual efforts at winning the lady's heart, fail, resulting in rib tickling comic scenes. Apart from their amorous ...
Plot Keywords: student, friend, petty criminal, blind person, femme fatale, elderly person, amusing ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Starting off with simple smash and grabs, and petty crime, Lucky Kunene quickly graduates to more aggressive heists such as armed robbery and carjacking. Soon, Lucky realizes he needs a bigger score to fulfill his goals of making it big, and escaping from the slums, to a dream house by the sea. Kunene hatches an elaborate and violent plan to make his fortune - hijacking buildings from landlords of Johannesburg tenements by winning the favor of the tenants and then holding their rent hostage from the landowners. His high-profile real estate acquisitions attract the attention of the local police force who have no qualms about using unprovoked brutality to bring him down. His trouble with the law, coupled with an escalating war between a local drug lord, creates a tense standoff: both sides are closing in, and Kunene must stay one step ahead--or his empire, and his life, will come crashing down.
Plot Keywords: gangsters, petty criminal, boy, thrilling, raw, johannesburg, south africa, luck ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Set in a separate storyline not related to the "Trailer Park Boys" Television show, but with the same lovable characters. The boys get arrested for robbing an ATM machine and spend 18 months in jail. When the get out, they decide to pull off "The Big Dirty" which is to steal a large amount of coins because they are untraceable and quit their life of crime forever.
Plot Keywords: petty criminal, friend, girlfriend, slacker, nerd, stoner, amusing ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Janos Szabo is a kind, innocent immigrant to America. Just after he arrives though, he is caught in a fire and his face is horribly burned and disfigured. Although a skilled craftsman his hideous features make it impossible for him to get work, and driven by despair he is forced to turn to crime to live. He finds himself very proficient at that, and soon makes enough money to buy a very lifelike mask to hide his scars behind. He hates what he does, but is he in too deep to get out?—Ken Yousten <kyousten@bev.net>
Plot Keywords: immigrant, blind person, petty criminal, gangster, police officer, offbeat, eerie ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Maurice Pialat's portrait of contemporary France mocks prosperity as a substitute for social and sexual revolution. Nelly abandons her bourgeois friends and a steady relationship for the unemployed layabout Loulou, whose charms include focusing his energy into sex.—<dbc@star.sr.bham.ac.uk>
Plot Keywords: young woman, petty criminal, boss, husband, advertising executive, lover, intense ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: The arrival of Sultan's daughter Princess Fatima at England's famous and prestigious 'School for Young Ladies' precipitates even more chaos than usual. Her father's horse Arab Boy is due to run at the nearby Gold Cup so Clarence Fitton, bookie brother of headmistress Millicent, ensures his own daughter is on hand to report progress. At the same time Barchester police have planted sergeant Ruby Gates as a teacher, and the Ministry of Education are sending a third inspector down after the previous two disappeared without trace.—Jeremy Perkins {J-26}
Plot Keywords: headmistress, bookie, student, juvenile delinquents, petty criminal, teacher, amusing ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Pepe Le Moko, a thief who escaped from France with a fortune in jewels, has for two years lived in, and virtually ruled, the mazelike, impenetrable Casbah, "native quarter" of Algiers. A French official insists that he be captured, but sly Inspector Slimane knows he need only bide his time. The suave Pepe increasingly regards his stronghold as also his prison, especially when he meets beautiful Parisian visitor Gaby, who reminds him of the boulevards to which he dare not return...and arouses the mad jealousy of Ines, his Algerian mistress.—Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>
Plot Keywords: thief, inspector, police chief, petty criminal, woman, friend, sultry ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: The autobiography of elegant criminal, François Eugène Vidocq, from his birth in a French jail in 1775 to his appointment as chief of police of Paris where he intends to rob the city bank. Along the way, he escapes from jail with Emile, who becomes his partner in crime, poses as a lieutenant to rob a showgirl of her ruby garter, and steals the jewels of a marquise in whose home he's a guest. He's also posed as an artist's model for a portrait of St. George (Emile's face is the dragon's), and the marquise's granddaughter falls in love first with his visage and then him. Can she help him slay his own dragons, especially when the showgirl reappears and the bank vault beckons?—<jhailey@hotmail.com>
Plot Keywords: petty criminal, friend, marquis, police officer, sweetheart, cheeky, gripping ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: After a long spate of bad luck, the little criminal Tony and his gang successfully rob one of Brink's security transports, taking $30,000. Surprisingly their coup doesn't make the press. Curious Tony checks out their headquarters and finds out that their security standard is low beyond belief. Now a really big coup is prepared...—Tom Zoerner <Tom.Zoerner@informatik.uni-erlangen.de>
Plot Keywords: petty criminal, mastermind, cop, fbi agent, airy, cool, charming ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: A charming, smooth-talking gambler calling himself Chris Hale arrives in Ashton, home of the Corelli shoe factory. Claiming to have lived there as a boy, he soon ingratiates himself with the townspeople... including attractive heiress Elaine Corelli, wheelchair-bound since a recent accident. Chris, hoping to leave crime behind, seems to have excellent prospects; but of course, his past catches up with him...—Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>
Plot Keywords: petty criminal, paraplegic, partner, casino owner, father, brooding, gripping ...
Movie Details Click Here!