This is a list of films that are based on books about crime. Films are listed according to the decade in which the depicted crime occurred, rather than by the film's date of release. This page includes "crimes" where the "criminal" was later exonerated. This page includes suicides or other deaths which have been deemed to be suspicious by some and have therefore become the subject of conspiracy theories.

12th century

England

Frequently filmed: ''
A Morbid Taste for Bones ''A Morbid Taste for Bones'' is a historical mystery, medieval mystery novel by Ellis Peters set in May 1137. It is the first novel in ''The Cadfael Chronicles'', first published in 1977 in literature, 1977. It was 1996 in British television# ...
'' and sequels

* * TV movie

Japan

14th century

Italy

16th century

England

Anne Boleyn adultery and treason

1536

Thomas More case

Scotland

Sawney Bean legend

17th century

United States

Frequently filmed: ''
The Scarlet Letter ''The Scarlet Letter: A Romance'' is a historical novel by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1850. Set in the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony during the years 1642 to 1649, the novel tells the story of Hester Prynne, who concei ...
''

Salem witch trials The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in Province of Massachusetts Bay, colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than 200 people were accused. Not everyone wh ...

1692–1693

=Frequently filmed: ''
The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by the American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay from 1692 to 1693. Miller wrote ...
''

= * ♠ ''The Witches of Salem'' has an adapted screenplay by

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary criticism, literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th ...

.Sartre was awarded the

Nobel Prize in Literature The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in ...

in 1964, but declined to accept.

18th century

France

Frequently filmed: '' Le Bossu''

Affair of the Diamond Necklace The Affair of the Diamond Necklace (, "Affair of the Queen's Necklace") was an incident from 1784 to 1785 at the court of King Louis XVI of France that involved his wife, Queen Marie Antoinette. The queen's reputation, already tarnished by gossi ...

1785

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

Frequently filmed: ''
Doctor Syn The Reverend Doctor Christopher Syn is the smuggler hero of a series of novels by Russell Thorndike. The first book, ''Doctor Syn: A Tale of the Romney Marsh'' was published in 1915. The story idea came from legendary coastal smuggling in the ...
'' and sequels

Frequently filmed: ''
Moll Flanders ''Moll Flanders'' is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published in 1722. It purports to be the true account of the life of the eponymous Moll, detailing her exploits from birth until old age. By 1721, Defoe had become a recognised novelist, wit ...
''

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...

Joseph Süß Oppenheimer case

1737

=Bulletin ... upcoming film: '' Jew Suss: Rise and Fall'' by
Oskar Roehler Oskar Roehler (born 21 January 1959) is a German film director, screenwriter and journalist. He was born in Starnberg, the son of writers Gisela Elsner and Klaus Roehler. Since the mid-1980s, he has been working as a screenwriter, for, among ot ...

19th century

Australia

For

bushranger Bushrangers were armed robbers and outlaws who resided in The bush#Australia, the Australian bush between the 1780s and the early 20th century. The original use of the term dates back to the early years of the British colonisation of Australia ...

s, see List of films based on westerns.

Brazil

For '' cangaceiros'', see List of films based on westerns.

Canada

For Mounties, see List of films based on westerns.

France

Corsica

Eugène François Vidocq Eugene is a common male given name that comes from the Greek εὐγενής (''eugenēs''), "noble", literally "well-born", from εὖ (''eu''), "well" and γένος (''genos''), "race, stock, kin".la Sûreté

Dreyfus Affair

See List of films based on war books — peace.

Joseph Vacher case

1894–1897

India

Suppression of the Thugs

Russia

Frequently filmed: '' The Winter Queen'' and sequels

* * TV miniseries

United Kingdom

Twice filmed: '' Gaslight''

Wreckers

Cato Street Conspiracy The Cato Street Conspiracy was a plot to murder all the British cabinet ministers and the Prime Minister Lord Liverpool in 1820. The name comes from the meeting place near Edgware Road in London. The police had an informer; the plotters fell int ...

February 1820

Burke and Hare case

1827–1828

=Twice filmed: "
The Body Snatcher "The Body Snatcher" is a short story by the Scottish people, Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. First published in ''The Pall Mall Gazette'' in December 1884, its characters were based on criminals in the employ of the surgeon Robert Knox ...
"

Great Gold Robbery of 1855

15 May 1855

Whitechapel murders The Whitechapel murders were committed in or near the impoverished Whitechapel District (Metropolis), Whitechapel district in the East End of London between 3 April 1888 and 13 February 1891. At various points some or all of these eleven unso ...

1888–1891 (

Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer who was active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer was also ...

)

=Frequently filmed: '' The Lodger''

United States

For outlaws and lawmen, see List of films based on westerns.

Frequently filmed: "
The Tell-Tale Heart "The Tell-Tale Heart" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1843. It is told by an unnamed narrator who endeavors to convince the reader of the narrator's sanity while simultaneously describing a murder the nar ...
"

* α Animated film

Assassination of Abraham Lincoln On April 14, 1865, Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was shot by John Wilkes Booth while attending the play '' Our American Cousin'' at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. Shot in the head as he watched the play, L ...

14 April 1865
See List of films based on war books — 1775–1898 See also

Assassinations in fiction Assassinations have formed a major plot element in works of fiction. This article provides a list of such works. Assassination is the murder of a ''prominent'' person for a motive that is broadly public and political rather than merely personal ...

Impeachment of Andrew Johnson The Federal impeachment in the United States, impeachment of Andrew Johnson for "high crimes and misdemeanors" was initiated by the United States House of Representatives on February 24, 1868. The alleged high crimes and misdemeanors were after ...

24 February 1868

Lizzie Borden case

4 August 1892

1900s

United States

Chester Gillette case

11 July 1906

=Twice filmed: ''
An American Tragedy ''An American Tragedy'' is a 1925 novel by American writer Theodore Dreiser. He began the manuscript in the summer of 1920, but a year later, abandoned most of that text. It was based on the notorious murder of Grace Brown in 1906, and the tria ...
''

= The novel was the subject of an unproduced 1930 screenplay by

Sergei Eisenstein Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein; (11 February 1948) was a Soviet film director, screenwriter, film editor and film theorist. Considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, he was a pioneer in the theory and practice of montage. He is no ...

1910s

France

Henri Désiré Landru case

1914–1918

United Kingdom

Doctor Crippen case

after 31 January 1910

1920s

France

Frequently filmed: '' L'Affaire Crainquebille''

Germany

Peter Kürten case

1929

United States

Bobby Franks murder

21 May 1924 (

Leopold and Loeb Nathan Freudenthal Leopold Jr. (November 19, 1904 – August 29, 1971) and Richard Albert Loeb (; June 11, 1905 – January 28, 1936), usually referred to collectively as Leopold and Loeb, were two American students at the University of Chicago ...

)

Death of Thomas Ince

19 November 1924

Scopes Monkey Trial

1925

=Frequently filmed: '' Inherit the Wind''

Al Capone era

1925–1931

=
St. Valentine's Day Massacre The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre was the murder of seven members and associates of Chicago's North Side Gang on Saint Valentine's Day 1929. The men were gathered at a Lincoln Park, Chicago garage on the morning of February 14, 1929. They were ...

= 14 February 1929

Ruth Snyder case

20 March 1927

1930s

Algeria

Frequently filmed: ''
Pépé le Moko ''Pépé le Moko'' () is a 1937 French film directed by Julien Duvivier starring Jean Gabin, based on a novel of the same name by Henri La Barthe and with sets by Jacques Krauss. An example of the 1930s French movement known as poetic realism ...
''

France

Papin Sisters case

2 February 1933

=Twice filmed: '' A Judgement in Stone''

Japan

Sada Abe case

18 May 1936

United States

Scottsboro Boys case

23 April 1931

Lindbergh kidnapping On March 1, 1932, Charles Augustus Lindbergh Jr. (born June 22, 1930), the 20-month-old son of Col. Charles Lindbergh and his wife, aviator and author Anne Morrow Lindbergh, was murdered after being abducted from his crib in the upper floor of t ...

1 March 1932

=Frequently filmed: ''
Murder on the Orient Express ''Murder on the Orient Express'' is a work of detective fiction by English writer Agatha Christie featuring the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. It was first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 1 January 1934. In the U ...
''

William D. Lundy murder

nformative page deleted over copyright violations
9 December 1932

1940s

Austria

Bahamas

Sir Harry Oakes murder

7 July 1943

Canada

Edwin Alonzo Boyd era

1949–1952 ( Boyd Gang) * * TV movie

France

Doctor Petiot case

before 31 October 1944

Italy

Salvatore Giuliano era

= Portella della Ginestra massacre

= 1 May 1947

Pleasure Island

=Frequently filmed: ''
The Adventures of Pinocchio ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' ( ; , i.e. "The Adventures of Pinocchio. Story of a Puppet"), commonly shortened to ''Pinocchio'', is an 1883 Children's literature, children's fantasy novel by Italian author Carlo Collodi. It is about the mischi ...
''

= * ♠ A young innocent is deceived by swindlers and sold into slavery. * α Animated film

Kenya

Happy Valley murder

1941

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

United States

Sleepy Lagoon murder The Sleepy Lagoon murder refers to the 1942 death of José Gallardo Díaz, a young Mexican-American man found dying near a reservoir in Commerce, California, on August 2, 1942. The name Sleepy Lagoon murder was used by the Los Angeles newspapers ...

2 August 1942

Black Dahlia murder

c. 15 January 1947

West Germany

1950s

Canada

France

United Kingdom

Stone of Scone theft

25 December 1950 (Christmas Day robbery of a church)

Ruth Ellis case

1955

United States

Great Brink's Robbery The Great Brink's Robbery was an armed robbery of the Brink's building in the North End of Boston, Massachusetts, on January 17, 1950. The $2.775 million ($ million today) theft consisted of $1,218,211.29 in cash and $1,557,183.83 in checks, ...

17 January 1950

Coleman Peterson case

31 July 1952

Ed Gein case

1957

=Frequently filmed: '' Psycho''

Suicide of George Reeves

16 June 1959

Clutter Family murders

15 November 1959

1960s

Argentina

San Fernando bank robbery

1965 * ♣ The robbery took place in Argentina; the pursuit ended in Uruguay.

France

* ♠ The film was remade for television in 2005 as ''Joseph''.

Sweden

Frequently filmed: '' Roseanna'' and sequels

* Δ The film adaptation changes the setting from

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

Turkey

Topkapı Museum

United Kingdom

Profumo affair The Profumo affair was a major scandal in British politics during the early 1960s. John Profumo, the 46-year-old Secretary of State for War in Harold Macmillan's Conservative government, had an extramarital affair with the 19-year-old model ...

1963

Uruguay

San Fernando bank robbery getaway

1965 * ♣ The robbery took place in Argentina; the pursuit ended in Uruguay.

United States

Clarence Earl Gideon case

3 June 1961

Ian James Campbell murder

9 March 1963

Boston Strangler case

1962–1964

Assassination of John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. Kennedy was in the vehicle with his wife Jacqueline Kennedy Onas ...

22 November 1963

=Bulletin ... film currently in development: ''
Reclaiming History ''Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy'' is a book by attorney Vincent Bugliosi that analyzes the events surrounding the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy, focusing on the lives of Lee Harvey ...
''

= * ♣ Lane is credited as screenwriter, rather than as author. * ♦ Bugliosi's preparation for the televised "trial" of deceased defendant Oswald became the book ''Reclaiming History''. * ♠ The authors are credited as technical advisors on ''JFK''. * ♥ Prouty's book has an introduction by Oliver Stone. * * TV special * ** TV miniseries * δ Documentary * † Dramatized documentary See also

Kitty Genovese murder

13 March 1964

Sylvia Likens murder

26 October 1965

Richard Speck case

13 July 1966

Tate–LaBianca murders On the night of August 8, 1969, Tex Watson took Susan Atkins, Linda Kasabian and Patricia Krenwinkel to 10050 Cielo Drive in Benedict Canyon, Los Angeles, California. Watson claims Charles Manson had instructed him go to the house and "totally des ...

1969 (

Manson Family The Manson Family (known among its members as the Family) was a Intentional community, commune, gang, and cult led by criminal Charles Manson that was active in California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The group at its peak consisted of a ...

)

Zodiac case

1970s

Canada

Helen Betty Osborne murder

13 November 1971 * * TV movie

Guyana

Jonestown Massacre

18 November 1978

Italy

Sweden

Norrmalmstorg bank robbery

23–28 August 1973 (

Stockholm syndrome Stockholm syndrome is a proposed condition or theory that tries to explain why hostages sometimes develop a psychological bond with their captors. Emotional bonds can possibly form between captors and captives, during intimate time together, ...

)

United Kingdom

Bulletin ... film now in production: '' Straw Dogs'' by
Rod Lurie Rod Lurie (; born May 15, 1962) is an American director, screenwriter, producer and former film critic. Early life and career The son of internationally syndicated cartoonist Ranan Lurie, he was born in Israel but moved to the United States at a ...

Baker Street bank robbery

11 September 1971

What if ...

* ♠ The earliest editions of the novel did not contain a glossary, or any indication that the slang was based on Russian.

United States

New England

* ♠ The film, shot in

Bennington, Vermont Bennington is a New England town, town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. It is one of two shire towns (county seats) of the county, the other being Manchester (town), Vermont, Manchester. As of the 2020 United States Census, US Cens ...

, involves a "bank in a remote town in New England".
"Catamount" is an infrequently used term for a

cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North America, North, Central America, Cent ...

, but here refers to the fictitious town.

Jeffrey MacDonald case

17 February 1970 * ** TV miniseries

Knapp Commission The Commission to Investigate Alleged Police Corruption (known informally as the Knapp Commission after its chairman Whitman Knapp) was a five-member panel formed in May 1970 by Mayor John V. Lindsay to investigate corruption and misconduct wi ...
on
NYPD The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...
corruption

1970–1972

Watergate burglary

17 June 1972 * * TV movie

Gay Brooklyn bank robbery

22 August 1972 Source
Dog day aftertaste
Eric Holm, ''Jump Cut: A Review of Contemporary Media'', no. 10-11, 1976, pp. 3–4.
It is unclear what the common name for the robbery was prior to the release of the film.

Ted Bundy case

1974–1978 * * TV movie

Frank Lucas case

before 1975

Martha Moxley murder

31 October 1975 * * TV movie

Hillside Strangler case

1977–1978 * * TV movie

Bob Crane murder

29 June 1978

What if ...

* * TV movie

1980s

Australia

Azaria Chamberlain disappearance Azaria Chantel Loren Chamberlain (11 June 1980, Mount Isa – 17 August 1980, Uluru) was a nine-week-old Australian baby girl who was killed by a dingo on the night of 17 August 1980 during a family camping trip to Uluru in the Northern Terri ...

17 August 1980 (dingo baby abduction)

Canada

* * TV movie

Colin Thatcher case

21 January 1983

Montreal Massacre

6 December 1989

France

Roberto Succo case

1980s

India

Phoolan Devi case

Iran

Soraya M. case

1986

Mexico

Enrique Camarena murder

9 February 1985 * ** TV miniseries

Soviet Union

Andrei Chikatilo case

1978–1990 * * TV movie

=What if ...

= * ♠ In this version, the murderer, renamed Evilenko, has psychic powers.

United States

Doctor Tarnower murder

10 March 1980 ( Scarsdale Diet author death) * * TV movie

John Lennon murder

8 December 1980 See also

Lawrencia "Bambi" Bembenek case

28 May 1981 * * TV movie

Henry Lee Lucas case

before 11 June 1983

Alan Berg murder

18 June 1984 See also

''Exxon Valdez'' disaster

23 March 1989

West Germany

1990s

Australia

Belgium

Canada

Paul Bernardo case

up to 1992

France

India

Bombay bombings of 1993

12 March 1993

Singapore

Barings Bank collapse

1995

Spain

* ♠ A crossword puzzle writer becomes involved in a bizarre mystery in

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

United Kingdom

James Bulger murder

12 February 1993 * ♠ The principal connection to the Bulger case appears to be the youthfulness of the convicted boys.

United States

Suicide of Vince Foster Deputy White House counsel Vince Foster was found dead in Fort Marcy Park off the George Washington Parkway in Virginia, outside Washington, D.C., on July 20, 1993. His death was ruled a suicide by five official investigations. Suicide and inve ...

20 July 1993

Vietnam

2000s

Aruba Aruba, officially the Country of Aruba, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in the southern Caribbean Sea north of the Venezuelan peninsula of Paraguaná Peninsula, Paraguaná and northwest of Curaçao. In 19 ...

Natalee Holloway disappearance

30 May 2005 * * TV movie

Brazil

Italy

Mexico

South Korea

Hwaseong serial murders

United States

* д Decade when story occurs is presumed. * ** TV miniseries

Valerie Plame exposure

14 July 2003

=Bulletin ... upcoming film: ''
Fair Game Fair Game may refer to: Film * ''Fair Game'' (1928 film), a German silent drama film * ''Fair Game'' (1986 film), an Australian action film * ''Fair Game'' (1988 film), an Italian thriller-horror film * ''Fair Game'', a 1994 television film sta ...
'' by
Doug Liman Douglas Eric Liman (; born July 24, 1965) is an American film director and producer. He is known for directing the films '' Swingers'' (1996), '' Go'' (1999), '' The Bourne Identity'' (2002), '' Mr. & Mrs. Smith'' (2005), '' Jumper'' (2008), '' E ...

Political crimes

For political prisoners, see

List of films based on civics books A list of films that are based on books about common topics and issues in social science and political science. Addiction Alcoholism India Mexico * ♠ The subject is the British consul in a Mexican town (based on Cuernavaca). United States ...

Drug trade

For traffickers, see above.
For addicts, see

Prisons

For punishment and prisons, see

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Kamp, David with Lawrence Levi. ''The Film Snob's Dictionary''.

Broadway Books Broadway Books is an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.. It released its first list in Fall 1996. Broadway was founded in 1995 as a unit of Bantam Doubleday Dell, a unit of Bertelsmann. Bertelsmann acquire ...

, New York, 2006. *Lavington, Stephen. ''Virgin Film: Oliver Stone'',

Virgin Books Virgin Books is a British book publisher 90% owned by the publishing group Random House, and 10% owned by Virgin Group, the company originally set up by Richard Branson as a record company. History Virgin established its book publishing ...

, London, 2004.

12th century

England

Japan

14th century

Italy

16th century

England

Scotland

17th century

United States

Frequently filmed: ''The Scarlet Letter ''The Scarlet Letter: A Romance'' is a historical novel by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1850. Set in the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony during the years 1642 to 1649, the novel tells the story of Hester Prynne, who concei ...''

Salem witch trials The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in Province of Massachusetts Bay, colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than 200 people were accused. Not everyone wh ...

=Frequently filmed: ''The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by the American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay from 1692 to 1693. Miller wrote ...''

18th century

France

Frequently filmed: '' Le Bossu''

Affair of the Diamond Necklace The Affair of the Diamond Necklace (, "Affair of the Queen's Necklace") was an incident from 1784 to 1785 at the court of King Louis XVI of France that involved his wife, Queen Marie Antoinette. The queen's reputation, already tarnished by gossi ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

Frequently filmed: ''Doctor Syn The Reverend Doctor Christopher Syn is the smuggler hero of a series of novels by Russell Thorndike. The first book, ''Doctor Syn: A Tale of the Romney Marsh'' was published in 1915. The story idea came from legendary coastal smuggling in the ...'' and sequels

Frequently filmed: ''Moll Flanders ''Moll Flanders'' is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published in 1722. It purports to be the true account of the life of the eponymous Moll, detailing her exploits from birth until old age. By 1721, Defoe had become a recognised novelist, wit ...''

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...

19th century

Australia

Brazil

Canada

France

Corsica

Eugène François Vidocq Eugene is a common male given name that comes from the Greek εὐγενής (''eugenēs''), "noble", literally "well-born", from εὖ (''eu''), "well" and γένος (''genos''), "race, stock, kin".la Sûreté

India

Russia

Frequently filmed: '' The Winter Queen'' and sequels

United Kingdom

Twice filmed: '' Gaslight''

Cato Street Conspiracy The Cato Street Conspiracy was a plot to murder all the British cabinet ministers and the Prime Minister Lord Liverpool in 1820. The name comes from the meeting place near Edgware Road in London. The police had an informer; the plotters fell int ...

=Twice filmed: "The Body Snatcher "The Body Snatcher" is a short story by the Scottish people, Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. First published in ''The Pall Mall Gazette'' in December 1884, its characters were based on criminals in the employ of the surgeon Robert Knox ..."

Whitechapel murders The Whitechapel murders were committed in or near the impoverished Whitechapel District (Metropolis), Whitechapel district in the East End of London between 3 April 1888 and 13 February 1891. At various points some or all of these eleven unso ...

=Frequently filmed: '' The Lodger''

United States

Frequently filmed: "The Tell-Tale Heart "The Tell-Tale Heart" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1843. It is told by an unnamed narrator who endeavors to convince the reader of the narrator's sanity while simultaneously describing a murder the nar ..."

Assassination of Abraham Lincoln On April 14, 1865, Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was shot by John Wilkes Booth while attending the play '' Our American Cousin'' at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. Shot in the head as he watched the play, L ...

Impeachment of Andrew Johnson The Federal impeachment in the United States, impeachment of Andrew Johnson for "high crimes and misdemeanors" was initiated by the United States House of Representatives on February 24, 1868. The alleged high crimes and misdemeanors were after ...

1900s

United States

=Twice filmed: ''An American Tragedy ''An American Tragedy'' is a 1925 novel by American writer Theodore Dreiser. He began the manuscript in the summer of 1920, but a year later, abandoned most of that text. It was based on the notorious murder of Grace Brown in 1906, and the tria ...''

1910s

France

United Kingdom

1920s

France

Frequently filmed: '' L'Affaire Crainquebille''

Germany

United States

=Frequently filmed: '' Inherit the Wind''

=St. Valentine's Day Massacre The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre was the murder of seven members and associates of Chicago's North Side Gang on Saint Valentine's Day 1929. The men were gathered at a Lincoln Park, Chicago garage on the morning of February 14, 1929. They were ...

1930s

Algeria

Frequently filmed: ''Pépé le Moko ''Pépé le Moko'' () is a 1937 French film directed by Julien Duvivier starring Jean Gabin, based on a novel of the same name by Henri La Barthe and with sets by Jacques Krauss. An example of the 1930s French movement known as poetic realism ...''

France

=Twice filmed: '' A Judgement in Stone''

Japan

United States

Lindbergh kidnapping On March 1, 1932, Charles Augustus Lindbergh Jr. (born June 22, 1930), the 20-month-old son of Col. Charles Lindbergh and his wife, aviator and author Anne Morrow Lindbergh, was murdered after being abducted from his crib in the upper floor of t ...

1940s

Austria

Bahamas

Canada

France

Italy

= Portella della Ginestra massacre

Kenya

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

United States

Sleepy Lagoon murder The Sleepy Lagoon murder refers to the 1942 death of José Gallardo Díaz, a young Mexican-American man found dying near a reservoir in Commerce, California, on August 2, 1942. The name Sleepy Lagoon murder was used by the Los Angeles newspapers ...

West Germany

1950s

Canada

France

United Kingdom

United States

Great Brink's Robbery The Great Brink's Robbery was an armed robbery of the Brink's building in the North End of Boston, Massachusetts, on January 17, 1950. The $2.775 million ($ million today) theft consisted of $1,218,211.29 in cash and $1,557,183.83 in checks, ...

Frequently filmed: ''
The Scarlet Letter ''The Scarlet Letter: A Romance'' is a historical novel by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1850. Set in the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony during the years 1642 to 1649, the novel tells the story of Hester Prynne, who concei ...
''

=Frequently filmed: ''
The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by the American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay from 1692 to 1693. Miller wrote ...
''

Frequently filmed: ''
Doctor Syn The Reverend Doctor Christopher Syn is the smuggler hero of a series of novels by Russell Thorndike. The first book, ''Doctor Syn: A Tale of the Romney Marsh'' was published in 1915. The story idea came from legendary coastal smuggling in the ...
'' and sequels

Frequently filmed: ''
Moll Flanders ''Moll Flanders'' is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published in 1722. It purports to be the true account of the life of the eponymous Moll, detailing her exploits from birth until old age. By 1721, Defoe had become a recognised novelist, wit ...
''

=Twice filmed: "
The Body Snatcher "The Body Snatcher" is a short story by the Scottish people, Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. First published in ''The Pall Mall Gazette'' in December 1884, its characters were based on criminals in the employ of the surgeon Robert Knox ...
"

Frequently filmed: "
The Tell-Tale Heart "The Tell-Tale Heart" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1843. It is told by an unnamed narrator who endeavors to convince the reader of the narrator's sanity while simultaneously describing a murder the nar ...
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An American Tragedy ''An American Tragedy'' is a 1925 novel by American writer Theodore Dreiser. He began the manuscript in the summer of 1920, but a year later, abandoned most of that text. It was based on the notorious murder of Grace Brown in 1906, and the tria ...
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St. Valentine's Day Massacre The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre was the murder of seven members and associates of Chicago's North Side Gang on Saint Valentine's Day 1929. The men were gathered at a Lincoln Park, Chicago garage on the morning of February 14, 1929. They were ...

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Pépé le Moko ''Pépé le Moko'' () is a 1937 French film directed by Julien Duvivier starring Jean Gabin, based on a novel of the same name by Henri La Barthe and with sets by Jacques Krauss. An example of the 1930s French movement known as poetic realism ...
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