Movies like Half Marriage (1929)
The best movies like Half Marriage (1929) are Petulia (1968), Strangers When We Meet (1960) and Jungle Fever (1991). If Half Marriage 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 ratedPurple Hearts (2022)8.0/10 from 2,977 votes
- NewestGabriel's Redemption: Part I (2023)Released 2023
Petulia (1968)
Dr. Archie Bollen is having a midlife crisis. He's just divorced his wife and is establishing a new life for himself. One night, he catches the eye of Petulia Danner, a charming, free-spirited young woman. Petulia's vibrant personality hides her fear of her abusive husband, David, whose father is a powerful society figure. As Petulia and Archie's feelings for each other grow, they must decide what it is they truly want.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStrangers When We Meet (1960)
A suburban architect loves his wife but is bored with his marriage and with his work, so he takes up with the neglected, married beauty who lives down the street.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJungle Fever (1991)
A successful and married black man contemplates having an affair with a white girl from work. He's quite rightly worried that the racial difference would make an already taboo relationship even worse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNot Easily Broken (2009)
A car accident and shifting affections test the bond between a married couple.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlind (2017)
A novelist is blinded in a car crash that killed his wife and several years later rediscovers his passion for life and writing when he embarks on an affair with the neglected wife of an indicted businessman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBreaking and Entering (2006)
Set in a blighted, inner-city neighbourhood of London, Breaking and Entering examines an affair which unfolds between a successful British landscape architect and Amira, a Bosnian woman – the mother of a troubled teen son – who was widowed by the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Man from Elysian Fields (2001)
A failed novelist's inability to pay the bills strains relations with his wife and leads him to work at an escort service, where he becomes entwined with a wealthy woman whose husband is a successful writer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Wedding March (2016)
When former college sweethearts Olivia Pershing and Mick Turner are unexpectedly reunited the weekend of Olivia's wedding, the former couple initially locks horns but as the events of the weekend unfold, Olivia and Mick find old feelings rising to the surface. Will the bride-to-be walk down the aisle as planned or will she decide to give her first love a second chance?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBad Girl (1931)
A man and woman, skeptical about romance, nonetheless fall in love and are wed, but their lack of confidence in the opposite sex haunts their marriage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNewness (2017)
In contemporary Los Angeles, two millennials navigating a social media–driven hookup culture begin a relationship that pushes both emotional and physical boundaries.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Magic of Ordinary Days (2005)
Pregnant out of wedlock, an educated young woman is pressured by her father into an arranged marriage with a lonely farmer in this drama set during WWII.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Free Soul (1931)
An alcoholic lawyer who successfully defended a notorious gambler on a murder charge objects when his free-spirited daughter becomes romantically involved with him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPurple Hearts (2022)
An aspiring musician agrees to a marriage of convenience with a soon-to-deploy Marine, but a tragedy soon turns their fake relationship all too real.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisGabriel's Redemption: Part I (2023)
After leaving his prestigious post at the University of Toronto, Gabriel embarks on a new journey with Julia, and he is eager to become a father. However, Gabriel's idyllic vision is jeopardized when Julia's intensive program becomes all consuming. When Julia is granted a prestigious opportunity to deliver an academic lecture at Oxford, Gabriel challenges her about the subject of her presentation, which clashes with his own research. In Oxford, their past resurfaces, including an old nemesis determined to humiliate Julia and expose one of Gabriel's well-guarded secrets. Emotions run high, alliances are tested, and the couple must confront the shadows of their shared history in a battle for love, truth, and redemption.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Secret: Dare to Dream (2020)
A widow with three children hires a handyman to fix her house during a major storm. When not doing home repairs, he shares his philosophy of believing in the power of the universe to deliver what we want.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUnfaithful (2002)
A New York suburban couple's marriage goes dangerously awry when the wife indulges in an adulterous fling.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAsylum (2005)
A woman becomes very curious about one of her psychiatrist husband's inmates, a man who was found guilty in the murder and disfigurement of his former wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDream Lover (1994)
Not long after they cross paths at an art gallery, architect Ray Reardon and hypnotically sensual Lena are married with children. But as strange incidents occur, Ray begins to realize he may not really know the woman he married.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFaces (1968)
Middle-aged suburban husband Richard abruptly tells his wife, Maria, that he wants a divorce. As Richard takes up with a younger woman, Maria enjoys a night on the town with her friends and meets a younger man. As the couple and those around them confront a seemingly futile search for what they've lost -- love, excitement, passion -- this classic American independent film explores themes of aging and alienation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCome Back, Little Sheba (1953)
A mismatched couple's marital problems come to the surface when the husband develops an interest in their pretty boarder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this42nd Street (1933)
Broadway director Julian Marsh needs just one more hit show so he can retire and recover his health. It looks like he just may pull it off until temperamental star Dorthy Brock breaks her ankle on the eve of the show's premiere and has to be replaced by her understudy Peggy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAngel (2007)
Edwardian England. A precocious girl from a poor background with aspirations to being a novelist finds herself swept to fame and fortune when her tasteless romances hit the best seller lists. Her life changes in unexpected ways when she encounters an aristocratic brother and sister, both of whom have cultural ambitions, and both of whom fall in love with her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisJab We Met (2007)
A depressed wealthy businessman and a spunky carefree young woman embark on an unexpected journey that changes their lives.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIn Her Shoes (2005)
Irresponsible party girl Maggie is kicked out of her father's and stepmother's home—where she lives for free—and is taken in by her hard-working sister, Philadelphia lawyer Rose. After Maggie's disruptive ways ruin her sister's love life, Rose turns her out as well. But when their grandmother, who they never knew existed, comes into their lives, the sisters face some complicated truths about themselves and their family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTeree Sang: A Kidult Love Story (2009)
A 15-year-old Maahi, who hails from an rich family, falls in love with Kabir, a 17-year-old. When she becomes pregnant, their families' opposition forces the couple to elope.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
American Pie 2 (2001)
After a year apart - attending different schools, meeting different people - the guys rent a beach house and vow to make this the best summer ever. As it turns out, whether that will happen or not has a lot to do with the girls. Between the wild parties, outrageous revelations and yes, a trip to band camp, they discover that times change and people change, but in the end, it's all about sticking together.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)
Dr. Henry Jekyll believes that there are two distinct sides to men: one that is good and one that is evil. He believes that by separating the two, man can become liberated. He succeeds in his experiments with chemicals to accomplish this and transforms into Hyde to commit horrendous crimes. When he discontinues use of the drug, it is already too late.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlondie of the Follies (1932)
New York City tenement dwelling neighbors Blondie and Lottie are longtime best friends. When Lottie makes the cast of the Follies and moves up in the world, she arranges for Blondie, as well, to join the cast and gain the advantages. But the friendship goes awry when Lottie's sweetheart, wealthy Larry Belmont, falls for Blondie and she for him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Blondie Johnson (1933)
A Depression-downtrodden waif uses her brains instead of her body to rise from tyro con artist to crime boss.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
It Happened One Night (1934)
A runaway heiress makes a deal with the rogue reporter trailing her but the mismatched pair end up stuck with each other when their bus leaves them behind.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Half Marriage?
The closest matches to Half Marriage are Petulia (1968), Strangers When We Meet (1960) and Jungle Fever (1991). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Half Marriage?
Start with Petulia (1968), the closest match to Half Marriage.
What is the highest-rated movie like Half Marriage?
Purple Hearts (2022), rated 8.0/10 by 2,977 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Half Marriage?
Gabriel's Redemption: Part I (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Half Marriage?
Yes: Petulia (1968), Strangers When We Meet (1960) and Jungle Fever (1991).
How are movies similar to Half Marriage chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Half Marriage, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.