Movies like Polly of the Circus (1917)
The best movies like Polly of the Circus (1917) are Won't Back Down (2012), The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972) and National Theatre Live: Hamlet (2015). If Polly of the Circus hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedLittle Lord Fauntleroy (1980)7.3/10 from 326 votes
- NewestGigi & Nate (2022)Released 2022
Won't Back Down (2012)
Jamie Fitzpatrick and Nona Alberts are two women from opposites sides of the social and economic track, but they have one thing in common: a mission to fix their community's broken school and ensure a bright future for their children. The two women refuse to let any obstacles stand in their way as they battle a bureaucracy that's hopelessly mired in traditional thinking, and they seek to re-energize a faculty that has lost its passion for teaching.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972)
Middle-aged widow Beatrice Hunsdorfer and her daughters Ruth and Matilda are struggling to survive in a society they barely understand. Beatrice dreams of opening an elegant tea room but does not have the wherewithal to achieve her lofty goal. Epileptic Ruth is a rebellious adolescent, while shy but highly intelligent and idealistic Matilda seeks solace in her pets and school projects, including one designed to show how small amounts of radium affect marigolds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNational Theatre Live: Hamlet (2015)
As a country arms itself for war, a family tears itself apart. Forced to avenge his father's death but paralyzed by the task ahead, Hamlet rages against the impossibility of his predicament, threatening both his sanity and the security of the state.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHardball (2001)
An aimless young man who is scalping tickets, gambling and drinking, agrees to coach a Little League team from the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago as a condition of getting a loan from a friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Never Sang for My Father (1970)
A man living in the towering shadow of his aging father finds it difficult to start a new chapter in his life by marrying his girlfriend and moving to California.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGigi & Nate (2022)
A young man with a bright future suffers a near-fatal accident and recreates his new life with the help of an unlikely animal friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMost (2003)
A poetic and powerful story of a father forced to choose between love and duty.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCome Sunday (2018)
Evangelist Carlton Pearson is ostracized by his church for preaching that there is no Hell.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisBrand Upon the Brain! (2007)
After returning home to his long-estranged mother upon a request from her deathbed, a man raised by his parents in an orphanage has to confront the childhood memories that have long haunted him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHungry Hearts (2015)
The relationship of a couple who meet by chance in New York City is put to the test when they encounter a life or death circumstance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisXiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl (1998)
Young teen girl Xiu Xiu is sent away to a remote corner of the Sichuan steppes for manual labor in 1975 (sending young people to there was a part of Cultural Revolution in China). A year later, she agrees to go to even more remote spot with a Tibetan saddle tramp Lao Jin to learn horse herding.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGracie (2007)
A teenager faces an uphill battle when she fights to give women the opportunity to play competitive soccer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTigertail (2020)
A man reflects on the lost love of his youth and his long-ago journey from Taiwan to America as he begins to reconnect with his estranged daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHounddog (2008)
A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWalkaway Joe (2020)
A young boy named Dallas goes on a search for his pool-hustling father after he abandons their family. Dallas is determined to bring his father home when he meets Joe Haley, a drifter wrestling with a past he'd rather forget, who feels responsible for Dallas' safety and reluctantly takes him in.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLittle Lord Fauntleroy (1980)
Young Cedric Errol and his widowed mother live in genteel poverty in 1880s Brooklyn after the death of his father. Cedric's grandfather, the Earl of Dorincourt, has long ago disowned his son for marrying an American. But after the death of the Earl's remaining son, he decides to accept Cedric as his heir.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTrue Grit (1969)
The murder of her father sends a teenage tomboy on a mission of 'justice', which involves avenging her father's death. She recruits a tough old marshal, 'Rooster' Cogburn because he has 'true grit', and a reputation of getting the job done.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHoly Lands (2019)
When lapsed Jew and former cardiologist Harry suddenly decides to spend his retirement as a pig farmer in Nazareth, Israel, the move deeply shocks his family and his new neighbours. Back in New York, Harry’s ex-wife Monica is trying to manage the lives of their adult children, Annabelle and David, as well as her own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRogue Agent (2022)
Conman Robert Freegard poses as an undercover MI5 agent and kidnaps countless victims amidst a high-stakes manhunt, until the woman who fell for him brings him to justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlex of Venice (2015)
After her stay-at-home husband leaves her, a workaholic lawyer finds that she is not completely up to the tasks of caring for her young son, ailing father and household all by herself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisA Bunch of Violets (1912)
Popular actress Violet Ray endures an abusive, alcoholic husband, Jim, for the sake of their deceased child's memory. She finds solace in an innocent friendship with Mabel Wright, a 10-year-old florist's daughter who brings her violets daily. A persistent suitor, Alec Lang, urges Violet to leave Jim for him. After Mabel is hit by a car and hospitalized, her father delivers a final bunch of violets and a message to Violet. This act of devotion rekindles Violet's sense of duty and "wifely love," prompting her to reject Alec and commit to remaining true to her daughter's memory while at Mabel's bedside.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Bleak House (1922)
Focuses on the suspenseful, intertwined stories of the Chancery court injustices and the scandalous secrets surrounding Lady Dedlock's past. Part of serial Tense Moments from Great Plays.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Lone Hand Saunders (1926)
Buck and Charlie, two hard-boiled cowboys, arrive at the Bar Nothing Ranch in Arizona and determine to take advantage of the peculiarity of the owner, Fred Saunders, known as "Lone Hand" because he never uses his right hand.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Tenth Avenue (1928)
Joe, a weakling gangster, and Bob, an ex-gambler, compete for Lyla Mason, a working girl who also runs a 10th Avenue rooming house in New York city. Bob's desire to show Lyla he can support her leads him back to the gambling table when past-due rent threatens her with eviction. Bob and Joe are both suspected when Fink, a bootlegger, is found murdered in his room.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Midsummer Madness (1921)
Because Bob Meredith (Jack Holt) spends all his time working, his wife Margaret (Lois Wilson) feels the romance has ebbed away from their marriage. One night, while Meredith is at the office, family friend Julian Osborn (Conrad Nagel) -- whose own spouse (Lila Lee) is out of town -takes Margaret to a dance. They wind up at a hunting lodge and begin to get carried away, but stop before things get out of hand. The pair agree to keep their encounter a secret, but unfortunately, they've been seen and word gets back to their spouses.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Lost Romance (1921)
Dr. Allen Erskine's maiden aunt Elizabeth attempts to save her nephew's floundering marriage by staging the kidnaping of her nephew's son, in the hope that the married couple will be drawn closer together by the experience.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The World's Applause (1923)
Corinne d'Alys (Daniels) achieves sudden success on the stage and among her many admirers is noted artist Robert Townsend (Menjou). Robert is married to Elsa (Williams), the sister of John Elliott (Stone), the producer responsible for Corinne's rise to fame. The young woman's head is turned by the praise she receives and, despite John's warning against Robert, she permits the latter to paint her portrait and pay her a good deal of attention. John himself loves Corinne and believes that wisdom will come to her with time.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
A Fortune Hunter (1921)
Historical drama which features Gösta Ekman as the dashing rogue who steals the heart of the ethereal Mary Johnson.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Ragamuffin (1916)
In planning to break into the house of the wealthy Bob Van Dyke, Jenny's stepfather decides that his stepdaughter should do most of the dirty work, and Jenny, not wanting to disappoint him, grudgingly agrees. As soon as she enters the house, Bob catches her, but then goes back to his bedroom after making her give her word not to take anything. Jenny breaks her promise...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Out of the Fog (1919)
Faith’s life is shattered when her lover dies. Her brother Job locks her away in a lighthouse, but she jumps from the tower rather than be imprisoned. Faith's daughter, however, lives on. The girl Eve grows into her teens, sheltered from the world by her puritanical uncle. But Eve nevertheless manages to encounter a young man, Phillip Blake. When Phillip returns for Eve, he has to deal with her crusty, malevolent guardian….
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Polly of the Circus?
The closest matches to Polly of the Circus are Won't Back Down (2012), The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972) and National Theatre Live: Hamlet (2015). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Polly of the Circus?
Start with Won't Back Down (2012), the closest match to Polly of the Circus.
What is the highest-rated movie like Polly of the Circus?
Little Lord Fauntleroy (1980), rated 7.3/10 by 326 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Polly of the Circus?
Gigi & Nate (2022) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Polly of the Circus?
Yes: Won't Back Down (2012), The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972) and National Theatre Live: Hamlet (2015).
How are movies similar to Polly of the Circus chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Polly of the Circus, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.