Movies like Great Actresses of the Past (1938)
The best movies like Great Actresses of the Past (1938) are Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché (2018), Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) and Audrey (2020). If Great Actresses of the Past hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks
- Highest ratedSingin' in the Rain (1952)8.1/10 from 3,688 votes
- NewestChevalier (2023)Released 2023
Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché (2018)
The epic life story of Alice Guy-Blaché (1873–1968), a French screenwriter, director and producer, true pioneer of cinema, the first person who made a narrative fiction film; author of hundreds of movies, but banished from history books. Ignored and forgotten. At last remembered.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisYankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
A film of the life of the renowned musical composer, playwright, actor, dancer and singer George M. Cohan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAudrey (2020)
An unprecedented and intimate look at the life, work and enduring legacy of British actress Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993).
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMrs. Harris Goes to Paris (2022)
A 1950s London cleaning lady falls in love with an haute couture dress by Christian Dior and decides to gamble everything for the sake of this folly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisValentino (1977)
The untimely death of silent screen star Rudolph Valentino prompts the many women in his past to reminisce about his troubled rise to superstardom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisSingin' in the Rain (1952)
In 1927 Hollywood, a silent film star falls for a chorus girl just as he and his paranoid screen partner struggle to make the difficult transition to talking pictures.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Portrait of a Lady (1996)
Ms. Isabel Archer isn't afraid to challenge societal norms. Impressed by her free spirit, her kindhearted cousin writes her into his fatally ill father's will. Suddenly rich and independent, Isabelle ventures into the world, along the way befriending a cynical intellectual and romancing an art enthusiast. However, the advantage of her affluence is called into question when she realizes the extent to which her money colors her relationships.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisOrphans of the Storm (1921)
France, on the eve of the French Revolution. Henriette and Louise have been raised together as sisters. When the plague that takes their parents' lives causes Louise's blindness, they decide to travel to Paris in search of a cure, but they separate when a lustful aristocrat crosses their path.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSuffragette (2015)
Based on true events about the foot soldiers of the early feminist movement, women who were forced underground to pursue a dangerous game of cat and mouse with an increasingly brutal State.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCopying Beethoven (2006)
Serving as Ludwig van Beethoven's copyist gives a conservatory student access to the composer's musical genius, but also exposes her to his cruelty.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll This, and Heaven Too (1940)
When lovely and virtuous governess Henriette Deluzy comes to educate the children of the debonair Duc de Praslin, a royal subject to King Louis-Philippe and the husband of the volatile and obsessive Duchesse de Praslin, she instantly incurs the wrath of her mistress, who is insanely jealous of anyone who comes near her estranged husband. Though she saves the duchess's little son from a near-death illness and warms herself to all the children, she is nevertheless dismissed by the vengeful duchess as the attraction between the duke and Henriette continues to grow.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisChevalier (2023)
The illegitimate son of an African slave and a French plantation owner, Joseph Bologne rises to improbable heights in French society as a celebrated violinist-composer and fencer, complete with an ill-fated love affair and a falling out with Marie Antoinette and her court.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)
In 15th-century France, a gypsy girl is framed for murder by the infatuated Chief Justice, and only the deformed bellringer of Notre Dame Cathedral can save her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFlorence Foster Jenkins (2016)
The story of Florence Foster Jenkins, a New York heiress, who dreamed of becoming an opera singer, despite having a terrible singing voice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMarie Antoinette (2006)
A retelling of the story of France’s iconic but ill-fated queen, Marie Antoinette - from her betrothal and marriage to Louis XVI at fifteen to her reign as queen at nineteen and ultimately the fall of Versailles.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMoulin Rouge (1952)
In 1890 Paris, Moulin Rouge is a nightclub where crippled artist Toulouse-Lautrec feels like he fits in. In the following years, he meets two women who provide an opportunity for him to find true love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds (2016)
An intimate portrait of Hollywood royalty featuring Debbie Reynolds, Todd Fisher, and Carrie Fisher.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Good Woman (2004)
Fleeing 1930s New York and leaving behind a chequered past, the giltzy divorcee Mrs Stella Erlynne travels to Italy's sun-dappled Amalfi coast. Mrs Erlynne's appearance causes a stir amongst the visiting aristocracy. Based on the Oscar Wilde play "Lady Windemere's Fan."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSister My Sister (1994)
A true story of shocking violence catapults a picturesque little town into history. The close sibling relationship between the two maids takes on a new dimension as their overbearing employer discovers a sexual fever between the two sisters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisTotal Eclipse (1995)
Young, wild poet Arthur Rimbaud and his mentor Paul Verlaine engage in a fierce, forbidden romance while feeling the effects of a hellish artistic lifestyle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Great Actresses of the Past?
The closest matches to Great Actresses of the Past are Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché (2018), Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) and Audrey (2020). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Great Actresses of the Past?
Start with Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché (2018), the closest match to Great Actresses of the Past.
What is the highest-rated movie like Great Actresses of the Past?
Singin' in the Rain (1952), rated 8.1/10 by 3,688 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Great Actresses of the Past?
Chevalier (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Great Actresses of the Past?
Yes: Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché (2018), Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) and Audrey (2020).
How are movies similar to Great Actresses of the Past chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Great Actresses of the Past, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.



















