Movies like Lights of the Desert (1922)
The best movies like Lights of the Desert (1922) are Bronco Billy (1980), Which Brings Me to You (2023) and L.A. Without a Map (1999). If Lights of the Desert hooked you with its comedy and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedA California Christmas (2020)6.4/10 from 382 votes
- NewestWhich Brings Me to You (2023)Released 2023
Bronco Billy (1980)
An idealistic, modern-day cowboy struggles to keep his Wild West show afloat in the face of hard luck and waning interest.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhich Brings Me to You (2023)
Two romantic burnouts, Jane and Will, are immediately drawn to each other at a mutual friend’s wedding. After a disastrous hookup in the coatroom, the two spend the next 24 hours together, trading candid confessions of messy histories and heartbreak, on the off chance that this fling might be the real thing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisL.A. Without a Map (1999)
An aspiring Hollywood actress, on a visit to a charming North England town, has a brief fling with the town undertaker, who also writes obituaries for the local paper. Returning home, where she works as a waitress at a Japanese restaurant, she tells everyone about the handsome "writer" she met on her trip. Unfortunately, he decides to follow her back to Hollywood, setting up the expected light romantic comedy with asides as the newcomer gains experience about the goings on in Hollywood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisCoyote Ugly (2000)
Graced with a velvet voice, 21-year-old Violet Sanford heads to New York to pursue her dream of becoming a songwriter only to find her aspirations sidelined by the accolades and notoriety she receives at her "day" job as a barmaid at Coyote Ugly. The "Coyotes" as they are affectionately called tantalize customers and the media alike with their outrageous antics, making Coyote Ugly the watering hole for guys on the prowl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnnie Get Your Gun (1950)
Gunslinger Annie Oakley romances fellow sharpshooter Frank Butler as they travel with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA California Christmas: City Lights (2021)
Follows Callie and Joseph one year after they fell in love, now running a dairy farm and winery, but their romance is threatened when business and family obligations call Joseph back to the city.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHow to Please a Woman (2022)
When her all-male house-cleaning business gets out of control, a mature woman must embrace her own sexuality, if she is to make a new life for herself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox (1976)
A female hustler is chasing after rich men, but becomes repeatedly mixed up with a suave con man and card shark through a series of misadventures before falling in love with him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove Accidentally (2022)
Alexa and Jason are competing for a position at an advertising firm when their partners break up with them. Alexa mistakenly texts Jason, and they start a phone-only relationship. When they meet and the truth comes out, will true love prevail?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChéri (2009)
The son of a courtesan retreats into a fantasy world after being forced to end his relationship with the older woman who educated him in the ways of love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStrictly Sexual (2008)
Two successful women, sick and tired of dating and relationships, decide to keep two young men in their pool house for strictly sexual purposes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisXX/XY (2002)
Three friends begin a dangerous three-way relationship that spirals out of control, leading to dire consequences that haunt them ten years later.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Met a Girl (2020)
An aspiring musician struggling with schizophrenia falls for a mysterious woman who may be all in his head. When she suddenly vanishes, he takes off on a cross-country journey across Australia to find her, forcing his long-suffering brother to chase after him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA California Christmas (2020)
With his carefree lifestyle on the line, a wealthy charmer poses as a ranch hand to get a hardworking farmer to sell her family’s land before Christmas.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYou Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010)
Two married couples find only trouble and heartache as their complicated lives unfold. After 40 years of marriage, Alfie leaves his wife to pursue what he thinks is happiness with a call girl. His wife, Helena, reeling from abandonment, decides to follow the advice of a psychic. Sally, the daughter of Alfie and Helena, is unhappy in her marriage and develops a crush on her boss, while her husband, Roy, falls for a woman engaged to be married.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisMade in Heaven (1987)
Deceased drifter Mike arrives in Heaven and quickly falls for newborn soul Annie, soon to start her assignment on Earth. When Annie leaves, Mike follows. They spend the next three decades drifting back together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisATL (2006)
As four friends prepare for life after high school, different challenges bring about turning points in each of their lives. The dramas unfold and resolve at their local rollerskating rink, Cascade.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Giant Mechanical Man (2012)
An offbeat romantic comedy about a silver-painted street performer and the soft spoken zoo worker who falls for him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Outsider (2002)
Montana sheep farmer Rebecca Yoder offers sanctuary to an on-the-lam outlaw, Johnny Gault, who is suffering from a gunshot wound. Yoder is a recent widow, and her decision to help the outsider doesn't sit well with her Quaker community. As a romance brews between her and Gault, it puts in jeopardy her standing among her devout neighbors. But when an evil rancher makes a play for the community's land, Gault's sharpshooting skills might prove his worth after all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisGo West (1940)
A con man heading west to search for gold teams up with a pair of scheming brothers along the way. The trio soon find themselves in the middle of a feud between two rival families and two underhanded land developers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Virgin Paradise (1921)
Pearl White is a child living alone on a South Seas island after the death of her missionary father. By a stroke of luck, she becomes an heiress, and is transplanted into modern society.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Ever Since Eve (1934)
Neil Rogers, a young man who owns a substantial share of a Western gold mine, comes East and falls in love with the rather wild Elizabeth Vandegrift.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
The Kiss Barrier (1925)
Aviator Richard March, is shot down over France, though not badly hurt in the crash, he steals a kiss from Marion Weston, the Red Cross nurse whose ambulance comes to his aid. After the war, Richard resumes his professional life as an actor and meets Marion by chance at a skating party. At first she snubs him, but he soon charms her, and they become constant companions. Marion later believes that Richard is having an affair with Suzette, his leading lady, and she again turns the cold shoulder toward him. Richard writes a play based on his own experiences, and Marion comes to see she misjudged him. Connie, who is jealous of Richard's love for Marion, attempts to compromise him. Connie herself later confesses her scheme to discredit Richard, and Richard and Marion are reunited.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Wings of the Morning (1919)
In Singapore, Captain Robert Anstruthers protects his friend, Colonel Costabel, from a scandal involving the Colonel’s wife and Lord Ventnor. When Robert intervenes, Ventnor frames him for harassing the wife. To shield her innocence, Robert stays silent, is dishonorably discharged, and becomes a sailor under an assumed name.After a shipwreck, Robert saves Iris Deane, the ship owner's daughter. While surviving on a deserted island, they fall in love. When a rescue party arrives—led by Ventnor, Iris's suitor—Ventnor tries to discredit him. However, the Colonel's wife confesses the truth back in Singapore. Cleared of all charges, Robert is restored to his military rank and reunited with Iris.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
The Joyous Trouble-Makers (1920)
Spirited Beatrice Corlin challenges William Steele to successfully construct a cabin on the disputed land, promising to cook him a home-cooked dinner if he succeeds. Beatrice then enlists the aid of an acquaintance named Joe Embry to help her win the bet. After several clashes between the men, Embry’s true colors are revealed when he abducts Beatrice. Learning of the treachery, William comes to her rescue. The ordeal brings William and Beatrice to the realization that they have fallen in love with each other. Rather than settling their wager, they cancel the bet by merging their land and getting married.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & western
Come to My House (1927)
Socialite Joan Higham visits the bachelor apartment of Floyd Benham and a blackmailer photographs her there. She then tries to protect her reputation and her relationship with Jerome de Witt.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Whatever She Wants (1921)
Enid North, who is engaged to manufacturer John Barr, secretly takes a business course and gets a position in Barr's offices, without his knowledge. (The general manager has been instructed to give her anything she wants.) Attracting the attentions of the office men, she is threatened with dismissal by Barr, and she returns her engagement ring. She suspects John of being unfaithful when she sees him comforting a cafe performer. Enid visits a roadhouse with Amos Lott, who unknown to her is married and has a brood of children; they barely escape detectives who mistake them for criminals; and at Lott's home Enid is berated by his wife. She discovers that Barr has been following her, and confessing her folly she begs his forgiveness.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Romance Ranch (1924)
Carlos Brent's grandfather informs him that he is rightful owner of a ranch in the possession of the Hendley family. A belated letter establishes his claim, but Carlos is reluctant to evict the usurpers because he loves Carmen, Hendley's daughter. He solves his problem by abducting and marrying Carmen, thus becoming the ranch's legal owner.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
The Fool (1925)
The Rector of a wealthy church loses the sympathy and support of parishioners when he preaches the doctrine of Christ to sacrifice worldly goods. He establishes a mission among the lower classes and, although he is beaten for his efforts, he gains happiness by doing good.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Protection (1929)
During the height of Prohibition courageous reporter Chick Slater and determined "sob sister" journalist Myrtle Hines uncover a dangerous bootlegging and extortion ring operating in their city. As they dig into the corruption, they get swept into a web of racketeers, mob violence, and romantic complications. The film explores the power of the press as the journalists risk everything to expose the criminal underworld.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Lights of the Desert?
The closest matches to Lights of the Desert are Bronco Billy (1980), Which Brings Me to You (2023) and L.A. Without a Map (1999). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Lights of the Desert?
Start with Bronco Billy (1980), the closest match to Lights of the Desert.
What is the highest-rated movie like Lights of the Desert?
A California Christmas (2020), rated 6.4/10 by 382 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Lights of the Desert?
Which Brings Me to You (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Lights of the Desert?
Yes: Bronco Billy (1980), Which Brings Me to You (2023) and L.A. Without a Map (1999).
How are movies similar to Lights of the Desert chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Lights of the Desert, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.