Movies like Sadie Thompson (1928)
The best movies like Sadie Thompson (1928) are Broken Blossoms or The Yellow Man and the Girl (1919), The Hurricane (1937) and The Crowd (1928). If Sadie Thompson 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 ratedCast Away (2000)7.7/10 from 12,731 votes
- NewestThe Face under The Face (2025)Released 2025
Broken Blossoms or The Yellow Man and the Girl (1919)
A frail waif, abused by her brutal boxer father in London's seedy Limehouse District, is befriended by a sensitive Chinese immigrant with tragic consequences.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Hurricane (1937)
A Polynesian sailor is separated from his wife when he's unjustly imprisoned for defending himself against a colonial bully. Members of the community petition the governor for clemency but all pretense of law and order are soon shattered by an incoming tropical storm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Crowd (1928)
John, an ambitious but undisciplined New York City office worker, meets and marries Mary. They start a family, struggle to cope with marital stress, financial setbacks, and tragedy, all while lost amid the anonymous, pitiless throngs of the big city.
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 thisSan Francisco (1936)
A beautiful singer and a battling priest try to reform a Barbary Coast saloon owner in the days before the great earthquake and subsequent fires in 1906.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Docks of New York (1928)
A blue-collar worker on New York's depressed waterfront finds his life changed after he saves a woman attempting suicide.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe African Queen (1952)
At the start of the First World War, in the middle of Africa’s nowhere, a gin soaked riverboat captain is persuaded by a strong-willed missionary to go down river and face-off a German warship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReturn to Peyton Place (1961)
Residents of the small town of Peyton Place aren't pleased when they realize they're the characters in local writer Allison MacKenzie's controversial first novel. A sequel to the hit 1957 film.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Ring of Endless Light (2002)
When 15-year-old Vicky Austin, her sister Suzy and little brother Rob visit their grandfather on Seven Bay Island, Vicky faces several unexpected challenges. Her beloved grandfather, retired Reverend Eaton, seems to be seriously ill, but tries to pretend that nothing is wrong. Vicky met the rich but emotionally troubled Zachary Gray the previous summer, and he reappears to renew the acquaintance. Another boy, 17-year-old Adam Eddington, recruits Vicky to help him with a research project, working with a dolphin called Basil. Vicky discovers she can communicate telepathically with the dolphin and his mate - and possibly with Adam as well
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMoontide (1942)
After a drunken night out, a longshoreman thinks he may have killed a man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Lost Husband (2020)
Trying to put her life back together after the death of her husband, Libby and her children move to her estranged Aunt's goat farm in central Texas.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTabu: A Story of the South Seas (1931)
On the South Pacific island of Bora Bora, a young couple's love is threatened when the tribal chief declares the girl a sacred virgin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Other Side of Heaven (2001)
John H. Groberg, a middle class kid from Idaho Falls, crosses the Pacific to become a Mormon missionary in the remote and exotic Tongan island kingdom during the 1950's. He leaves behind a loving family and the true love of his life, Jean. Through letters and musings across the miles, John shares his humbling and sometimes hilarious adventures with "the girl back home", and her letters buoy up his spirits in difficult times. John must struggle to overcome language barriers, physical hardship and deep-rooted suspicion to earn the trust and love of the Tongan people he has come to serve. Throughout his adventure-filled three years on the islands, he discovers friends and wisdom in the most unlikely places. John H. Groberg's Tongan odyssey will change his life forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRain (1932)
Due to a possible cholera epidemic onboard, passengers on a ship are forced to disembark at Pago Pago, a small village on a Pacific island where it incessantly rains. Among the stranded passengers are Sadie Thompson, a prostitute, and Alfred Davidson, a fanatic missionary who will try to redeem her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCast Away (2000)
Chuck Noland, a top international manager for FedEx, and Kelly, a Ph.D. student, are in love and heading towards marriage. Then Chuck's plane to Malaysia crashes at sea during a terrible storm. He's the only survivor, and finds himself marooned on a desolate island. With no way to escape, Chuck must find ways to survive in his new home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Poseidon Adventure (1972)
When their ocean liner capsizes, a group of passengers struggle to survive and escape.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Sea Wolf (1941)
Shipwrecked fugitives try to escape a brutal sea captain who's losing his mind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSailing Into Love (2019)
A biology teacher’s crusade to save a nearby island from development leads to unexpected romance with the handsome and mysterious young sea captain who is new to the seaside town of Willow Bay.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMutiny on the Bounty (1935)
Fletcher Christian successfully leads a revolt against the ruthless Captain Bligh on the HMS Bounty. However, Bligh returns one year later, hell bent on revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Wings of Eagles (1957)
The story of Frank W. "Spig" Wead - a Navy-flyer turned screenwriter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHarold and Maude (1971)
A deadpan young man obsessed with death meets an eccentric septuagenarian who teaches him to live life to the fullest.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRomeo + Juliet (1996)
In this contemporary take on William Shakespeare's classic tragedy, the Montagues and Capulets have moved their ongoing feud to the sweltering suburb of Verona Beach, where Romeo and Juliet fall in love and secretly wed. Though the film is visually modern, the bard's dialogue remains.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Face under The Face (2025)
A SILENT STORY - An aging refugee clown in Paris masks trauma with silent street performances. Beneath his painted smile lie resilience and displacement’s sorrow, a wordless elegy to those surviving unseen.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
The Rules of Attraction (2002)
The incredibly spoiled and overprivileged students of Camden College are a backdrop for an unusual love triangle between a drug dealer, a virgin and a bisexual classmate.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Slopes of Triglav (1932)
Miha invites his fiancée Minka to the dance, but he's tempted by another big desire of his - climbing. Frustrated Minka insists on the festivity, where she finds herself in a company of older hiker. However, all ends happily, as Minka and Miha, after many smaller adventures, meet at the top of Mount Triglav, where they sign the marriage contract, but also confirming their love for the mountains. In addition to its charming story, the movie features footage of picturesque Slovenian mountains.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Entanglement (2018)
While recovering from a suicide attempt, Ben Layten accidentally falls in love with a girl who was very nearly, almost his sister - and then things start to get weird.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Once Were Warriors (1994)
In a violent relationship, it takes a mother’s strength to save herself and her children from the man she loved. Once Were Warriors is a violent love story set against a contemporary urban backdrop.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI’m Not Your F***ing Stereotype (2019)
As a Muslim girl from Southern Thailand, Maryam falls prey to racism in school. She begins spiralling into an identity crisis, and starts resenting her name, religion and birthdate.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Selvmordsskolen (1964)
Bizarre satiric tale about an ordinary Danish man disappointed in life and the welfare system. Close to a total collapse he decides to take the easy way out. He seeks help at Doctor X, head of a suicide school that guarantees 100% efficiency.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Sadie Thompson?
The closest matches to Sadie Thompson are Broken Blossoms or The Yellow Man and the Girl (1919), The Hurricane (1937) and The Crowd (1928). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Sadie Thompson?
People who watched Sadie Thompson most often go on to Broken Blossoms or The Yellow Man and the Girl (1919).
What is the highest-rated movie like Sadie Thompson?
Cast Away (2000), rated 7.7/10 by 12,731 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Sadie Thompson?
The Face under The Face (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Sadie Thompson?
Yes: Broken Blossoms or The Yellow Man and the Girl (1919), The Hurricane (1937) and The Crowd (1928).
How are movies similar to Sadie Thompson chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Sadie Thompson, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.