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Child's Play

Child's Play

You only lose once.

19726.01h 40mPG

Overview

At an exclusive boys' school, a new gym teacher is drawn into a feud between two older instructors, and he discovers that everything at the school is not quite as staid, tranquil and harmless as it seems.

Directed by Sidney Lumet
Written by Robert Marasco, Leon Prochnik
Produced by David Merrick
Box Office0Revenue: $44.2M

Where to Watch

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Streaming data via JustWatch

Top Cast

James Mason

James Mason

Jerome Malley

Robert Preston

Robert Preston

Joseph Dobbs

Beau Bridges

Beau Bridges

Paul Reis

Ron Weyand

Ron Weyand

Father Mozian

Charles White

Charles White

Father Griffin

David Rounds

David Rounds

Father Penny

Kate Harrington

Kate Harrington

Mrs. Carter

J

Jamie Alexander

Sheppard

B

Brian Chapin

O'Donnell

B

Bryant Fraser

Jennings

Trailer

Themes & Keywords

boarding schoolschool teacherboys' school

About Child's Play

Child's Play is a drama, mystery, thriller film released in 1972 exploring themes of boarding school, school teacher, boys' school. Directed by Sidney Lumet, it stars James Mason, Robert Preston, Beau Bridges. At an exclusive boys' school, a new gym teacher is drawn into a feud between two older instructors, and he discovers that everything at the school is not quite as staid, tranquil and harmless as it seems.

Movies Similar to Child's Play

Discover titles like Child's Play — ranked by similarity and community votes

We found 15 movies similar to Child's Play

If you enjoyed Child's Play, you'll love these handpicked recommendations. Each title below shares similar themes, tone, and storytelling style. Our algorithm analyzes genres, keywords, director filmography, and cast connections to find the closest matches. Whether you're looking for the same emotional depth, narrative structure, or visual style, these picks are curated to deliver the best viewing experience for fans of Child's Play.

Absolution
33% Match

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At a Catholic boys' school, domineering disciplinarian Father Goddard rules over his pupils with an iron hand. When one of his teenage charges confesses to murder, the dogmatic but deeply repressed Goddard finds his faith challenged and his life spiralling dangerously out of control.

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A small-town Oregon teacher and her brother, the local sheriff, discover a young student is harbouring a dangerous secret that could have frightening consequences.

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Eccentric and full of manias, Michele is a young high school professor who defines himself as “not used to happiness”. He realizes his life is meaningless if he doesn’t have a woman by his side but, after a series of rather disastrous experiences, he feels more alone than ever. Then, out of the blue, a new French teacher called Bianca arrives at school. Amongst uncertainties and contradictions, the two start dating. In the meantime, a series of homicides take place and a police officer begins to suspect that Michele is involved. Bianca will save him providing an alibi at the right moment, but then, everything goes wrong again.

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Fed up with boarding school and frustrated with the way others have planned his life, John Baker Jr. wants a change -- anything to shake up his staid routine. The moment arrives when he stumbles upon a woman, Patty Vare, unconscious in a field. Deciding to risk it, John takes her to his dorm to look after her, much to the disapproval of his friends. John's decision proves fateful as he and Patty grow close to one another. However, she may be keeping secrets from him.

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Diabolique(1996)

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The wife and mistress of a cruel school master collaborate in a carefully planned and executed scheme to murder him. The plan goes well until the body, which has been strategically dumped, disappears. The psychological strain starts to weigh on the two women when a retired police investigator begins looking into the man's disappearance on a whim.

The White Ribbon
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An aged tailor recalls his life as the schoolteacher of a small village in Northern Germany that was struck by a series of strange events in the year leading up to WWI.

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At the behest of an old and dear friend, playwright Lillian Hellman undertakes a dangerous mission to smuggle funds into Nazi Germany.

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Charles Dobbs is a British secret agent investigating the apparent suicide of Foreign Office official Samuel Fennan. Dobbs suspects that Fennan's wife, Elsa, a survivor of a Nazi Germany extermination camp, might have some clues, but other officials want Dobbs to drop the case. So Dobbs hires a retiring inspector, Mendel, to quietly make inquiries. Dobbs isn't at all sure as there are a number of anomalies that simply can't be explained away. Dobbs is also having trouble at home with his errant wife, whom he very much loves, having frequent affairs. He's also pleased to see an old friend, Dieter Frey, who he recruited after the war. With the assistance of a colleague and a retired policeman, Dobbs tries to piece together just who is the spy and who in fact assassinated Fennan.

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A psychiatrist, Martin Dysart, investigates the savage blinding of six horses with a metal spike in a stable in Hampshire, England. The atrocity was committed by an unassuming seventeen-year-old stable boy named Alan Strang, the only son of an opinionated but inwardly-timid father and a genteel, religious mother. As Dysart exposes the truths behind the boy's demons, he finds himself face-to-face with his own.

Young Törless
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At an Austrian boys' boarding school in the early 1900s, shy, intelligent Törless observes the sadistic behavior of his fellow students, doing nothing to help a victimized classmate—until the torture goes too far. Adapted from Robert Musil's acclaimed novel, Young Törless launched the New German Cinema movement and garnered the 1966 Cannes Film Festival International Critics' Prize for first-time director Volker Schlöndorff.

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Rachel is a 35-year-old school teacher who has no man in her life and lives with her mother. When a man from the big city returns and asks her out, she begins to have to make decisions about her life and where she wants it to go.