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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

  1. 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 this
  2. Yankee 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 this
  3. Audrey (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 this
  4. Mrs. 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 this
  5. Valentino (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

  6. Singin' 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 this
  7. The 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

  8. Orphans 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 this
  9. Suffragette (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 this
  10. Copying 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 this
  11. All 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 this
  12. Chevalier (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 this
  13. The 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 this
  14. Florence 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 this
  15. Marie 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 this
  16. Moulin 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 this
  17. Bright 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 this
  18. A 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 this
  19. Sister 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

  20. Total 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

Like Great Actresses of the Past and something else?

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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.

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