Movies like Magnificent Obsession (1954)
The best movies like Magnificent Obsession (1954) are All That Heaven Allows (1955), Imitation of Life (1959) and There's Always Tomorrow (1956). If Magnificent Obsession hooked you with its drama and romance, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedDays of Wine and Roses (1963)7.5/10 from 219 votes
- NewestAccident (1967)Released 1967
All That Heaven Allows (1955)
Two different social classes collide when Cary Scott, a wealthy upper-class widow, falls in love with her much younger and down-to-earth gardener, prompting disapproval and criticism from her children and country club friends.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisImitation of Life (1959)
In 1940s New York, a white widow who dreams of being on Broadway has a chance encounter with a black single mother, who becomes her maid.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThere's Always Tomorrow (1956)
When a toy manufacturer feels ignored and unappreciated by his wife and children, he begins to rekindle a past love when a former employee comes back into his life.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWritten on the Wind (1956)
Mitch Wayne is a geologist working for the Hadleys, an oil-rich Texas family. While the patriarch, Jasper, works hard to establish the family business, his irresponsible son, Kyle, is an alcoholic playboy, and his daughter, Marylee, is the town tramp. Mitch harbors a secret love for Kyle's unsatisfied wife, Lucy -- a fact that leaves him exposed when the jealous Marylee accuses him of murder.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Bigamist (1953)
San Francisco businessman Harry Graham and his wife and business partner, Eve, are in the process of adopting a child. When private investigator Mr. Jordan uncovers the fact that Graham has another wife, Phyllis, and a small child in Los Angeles, he confesses everything.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Passionate Friends (1949)
A woman is torn between the love of her life, who's married to someone else, and her older husband.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Summer Place (1959)
A self-made businessman rekindles a romance with a former flame while their two teenage children begin a romance of their own with drastic consequences for both couples.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDaisy Kenyon (1947)
Daisy Kenyon is a Manhattan commercial artist having an affair with an arrogant and overbearing but successful lawyer and family man named Dan O'Mara. Daisy meets a single man, a war veteran named Peter Lapham, and after a brief and hesitant courtship decides to marry him, although she is still in love with Dan.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTitanic (1953)
Unhappily married, Julia Sturges decides to go to America with her two children on the Titanic. Her husband, Richard also arranges passage on the luxury liner so as to have custody of their two children. All this fades to insignificance once the ship hits an iceberg.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMr. Skeffington (1944)
A beautiful but vain woman who rejects the love of her older husband must face the loss of her youth and beauty.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLonelyhearts (1959)
Burdened by a family secret, Adam White lands a job as a newspaper advice columnist. Little does he realize that it's all part of a nasty desire by cynical editor William Shrike to crush the souls of his underlings. Adam feels his readers' pain, and eventually, he takes an assignment to meet with Faye Doyle, who is exasperated by her crippled husband. When Faye tries to seduce Adam, he must choose between his job and his girl.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Peyton Place (1957)
In the outwardly respectable New England community of Peyton Place, shopkeeper Constance McKenzie tries to make up for a past indiscretion -- which resulted in her illegitimate daughter Allison -- by adopting a chaste, prudish attitude towards all things sexual. In spite of herself, Constance can't help but be attracted to handsome new teacher Michael Rossi. Meanwhile, the restless Allison, who'd like to be as footloose and fancy-free as the town's "fast girl" Betty Anderson, falls sincerely in love with mixed-up mama's boy Norman Page.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrapeze (1956)
A pair of men try to perform the dangerous "triple" in their trapeze act. Problems arise when the duo is made into a trio following the addition of a sexy female performer.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNow, Voyager (1942)
A woman suffers a nervous breakdown and from an oppressive mother before being freed by the love of a man she meets on a cruise.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSummer and Smoke (1961)
In a small Mississippi town in 1916, an eccentric spinster battles her romantic yearnings for the randy boy next door.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Room at the Top (1958)
An ambitious young accountant schemes to wed a wealthy factory owner's daughter, despite falling in love with a married older woman.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe End of the Affair (1955)
During the 1940s, Maurice Bendrix, a writer recently discharged from the armed service, falls in love with Sarah Miles, whom he interviews for a book. Sarah is married, but she and Maurice eventually give in to their mutual attraction, leading to an affair that lasts several months. Maurice's jealousy, along with the bombing of London by the Germans, seemingly leads to the end of their relationship. However, the reasons are later revealed to be more complex.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Clash by Night (1952)
An embittered woman seeks escape in marriage, only to fall for her husband’s best friend.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn This Our Life (1942)
An unhappy, self-centered woman runs off with her sister's husband, wreaking havoc and ruining the lives of those around her.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStory of a Love Affair (1950)
A wealthy, possessive husband's investigation reignites his young wife's past love, leading them to plot against him. As obstacles fall away, their passion faces a new test.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisImmortal Love (1961)
A young woman is forced by circumstance into a loveless marriage while still in love with another. This episodic tale follows their story through three decades of bitter conflict which engulfs their children and those around them.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Three Coins in the Fountain (1954)
Three American roommates working in Italy wish for the man of their dreams after throwing coins into Rome's magnificent Trevi Fountain. Frances, a secretary at a government agency, sets out to win the heart of her smooth-talking novelist employer; Anita, her coworker, defies office regulations by romancing an Italian who works at the agency; and office newcomer Maria meets a real Italian Prince Charming and falls madly in love. The only thing the three hopeful ladies need to do is seal their fate.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisMy Foolish Heart (1950)
After a long absence, Mary Jane visits her schoolfriend Eloise, and Eloise's daughter Ramona. Eloise drinks too much and is unhappily married to Lew Wengler. Eloise falls asleep and remembers her time with her true love, Walt Dreiser, at the beginning of the Second World War. She recalls the events that lead up to her split with Mary Jane, and how Lew married Eloise rather than Mary Jane.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Sweet Bird of Youth (1962)
Gigolo and drifter Chance Wayne returns to his hometown as the companion of a faded movie star, Alexandra Del Lago, whom he hopes to use to help him break into the movies. Chance runs into trouble when he finds his ex-girlfriend, the daughter of the local politician Tom "Boss" Finley, who more or less forced him to leave his daughter and the town many years ago.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Best of Everything (1959)
An exposé of the lives and loves of Madison Avenue working girls and their higher-ups.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Razor's Edge (1946)
An adventurous young man goes off to find himself and loses his socialite fiancée in the process. But when he returns 10 years later, she will stop at nothing to get him back, even though she is already married.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Man in Grey (1943)
After marrying a dour and disinterested lord for status, a young woman falls in love with a stage actor while her best friend from boarding school enters an affair with her husband.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDays of Wine and Roses (1963)
An alcoholic falls in love with and gets married to a young woman, whom he systematically addicts to booze so they can share his "passion" together.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Cousin Rachel (1952)
A young man plots revenge against the woman he believes murdered his cousin, but his plans are shaken when he comes face to face with the enigmatic beauty.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAccident (1967)
Stephen is a professor at Oxford University who is caught in a rut and feels trapped by his life in both academia and marriage. One of his students, William, is engaged to the beautiful Anna, and Stephen becomes enamored of the younger woman. These three people become linked together by a horrible car crash, with flashbacks providing details into the lives of each person and their connection to the others in this brooding English drama.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Magnificent Obsession?
The closest matches to Magnificent Obsession are All That Heaven Allows (1955), Imitation of Life (1959) and There's Always Tomorrow (1956). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Magnificent Obsession?
People who watched Magnificent Obsession most often go on to All That Heaven Allows (1955), Imitation of Life (1959) and There's Always Tomorrow (1956).
What is the highest-rated movie like Magnificent Obsession?
Days of Wine and Roses (1963), rated 7.5/10 by 219 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Magnificent Obsession?
Accident (1967) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Magnificent Obsession?
Yes: All That Heaven Allows (1955), Imitation of Life (1959) and There's Always Tomorrow (1956).
How are movies similar to Magnificent Obsession chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Magnificent Obsession, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.