Movies like Hold Back the Dawn (1941)
The best movies like Hold Back the Dawn (1941) are Like Crazy (2011), In the Heights (2021) and The Whole Wide World (1996). If Hold Back the Dawn 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 ratedCasablanca (1943)8.1/10 from 6,326 votes
- NewestIn the Heights (2021)Released 2021
Like Crazy (2011)
A British college student falls for an American student, only to be separated from him when she's banned from the U.S. after overstaying her visa.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn the Heights (2021)
The story of Usnavi, a bodega owner who has mixed feelings about closing his store and retiring to the Dominican Republic or staying in Washington Heights.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Whole Wide World (1996)
In 1930s Texas, pulp fiction master Robert E. Howard is introduced to Novalyne Price, a teacher with aspirations of becoming an author herself, and they begin a unique relationship filled with conversation and imagination. Although the possibility exists for romance, Howard's obsession with his work and dedication to his sick mother leads Price to look elsewhere for love, leaving Howard feeling betrayed and alone.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn Your Eyes (2014)
Two seemingly unconnected souls from different corners of the United States make a telepathic bond that allows them to see, hear, and feel the other's experiences, creating a connection that cannot be broken.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLove Finds You in Valentine (2016)
Kennedy Blaine, a Californian girl, inherits a ranch in the small town of Valentine in Nebraska. Before she sells the property, she decides to spend the summer in her house and learn more about her family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMata Hari (1931)
A semi-fictionalized account of the life of Mata Hari, an exotic dancer who was accused of spying for Germany during World War I.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFlamingo Road (1949)
A stranded carnival dancer takes on a corrupt political boss when she marries into small-town society.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCaught (1949)
Wide-eyed and poor young Leonora weds an obsessive millionaire named Ohlrig, but the marriage is loveless. Even worse, Ohlrig seems to have manic, violent tendencies. Eventually, young Leonora escapes her unhappy life and begins working with New York City doctor Larry Quinada, who she soon falls for. Unfortunately, Ohlrig refuses to grant his wife a divorce, and things get even darker for Leonora when she realizes she's pregnant with his child.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFlesh and the Devil (1926)
When lifelong best friends Leo and Ulrich return home after completing their military training, Leo meets the stunning Felicitas at a railway station and is mesmerized by her beauty. A scandal follows, for which Leo is sent away. Returning home three years later, he discovers that much has changed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Night of the Iguana (1964)
A defrocked Episcopal clergyman leads a bus-load of middle-aged Baptist women on a tour of the Mexican coast and comes to terms with the failure haunting his life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisBlood and Sand (1941)
Bullfighter Juan Gallardo falls for socialite Dona Sol, turning from the faithful Carmen who nevertheless stands by her man as he continues to face real danger in the bullring.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Sleeping Dictionary (2003)
In the 1930s, British officer John Truscott journeys to a remote village in colonial Malaysia to educate and Westernize the local Iban population. There, he's introduced to the lovely Selima. In keeping with tradition, Selima is assigned to sleep with Truscott and teach him the native language and customs. But when they fall in love, both colonists and natives object to their plans to marry.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCasablanca (1943)
In Casablanca, Morocco in December 1941, a cynical American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Age of Adaline (2015)
After 29-year-old Adaline recovers from a nearly lethal accident, she inexplicably stops growing older. As the years stretch on and on, Adaline keeps her secret to herself until she meets a man who changes her life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSaint Judy (2018)
The true story of immigration attorney Judy Wood and how she singlehandedly changed the U.S. law of asylum to save women's lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMonsters (2010)
Six years ago NASA discovered the possibility of alien life within our solar system. A probe was launched to collect samples, but crashed upon re-entry over Central America. Soon after, new life forms began to appear and half of Mexico was quarantined as an infected zone. Today, the American and Mexican military still struggle to contain "the creatures," while a journalist agrees to escort a shaken tourist through the infected zone in Mexico to the safety of the U.S. border.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCoyote Lake (2019)
Two dangerous and unwanted guests threaten a young woman and her overbearing mother at a small bed-and-breakfast near the U.S.-Mexico border.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Girl (2012)
Director Alfred Hitchcock is revered as one of the greatest creative minds in the history of cinema. Known for his psychological thrillers, Hitchcock’s leading ladies were cool, beautiful and preferably blonde. One such actress was Tippi Hedren, an unknown fashion model given her big break when Hitchcock’s wife saw her on a TV commercial. Brought to Universal Studios, Hedren was shocked when the director, at the peak of his career, quickly cast her to star in his next feature, 1963’s The Birds. Little did Hedren know that as ambitious and terrifying as the production would be to shoot, the most daunting aspect of the film ended up coming from behind the camera.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHow Sarah Got Her Wings (2015)
Good Samaritan Sarah Fitzpatrick has a fatal accident just before Christmas, and finds herself in the lobby before the gates of Heaven. Certain that she will be let in, she is shocked to find that her name is not on the reservation list. However, she is granted the chance to return to Earth as an "angel in training" with the requirement to help a soul in need. Sarah has the 12 days before Christmas to secure her place on the list leaving her in the race for her after-life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisO (2001)
Even though he's the only black student at the elite Palmetto Grove Academy, star basketball player Odin James has the adoration of all, including the team's coach and the Dean's beautiful daughter Desi. Odin's troubled friend Hugo, the coach's son, deeply resentful of his father's preference of Odin on and off the court, plots a diabolical scheme to sow the seed of mistrust between O and Desi, setting in motion a disturbing chain of events which erupts into a firestorm of breathtaking intensity.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisMy Beautiful Laundrette (1985)
A young Pakistani Briton manages a rundown laundrette with his lover while dealing with tension in his family, the local Pakistani community, and a persistent mob of skinheads.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNever Been Kissed (1999)
Josie Geller, a baby-faced junior copywriter at the Chicago Sun-Times, must pose as a student at her former high school to research contemporary teenage culture. With the help of her brother, Rob, Josie infiltrates the inner circle of the most popular clique on campus. But she hits a major snag in her investigation -- not to mention her own failed love life -- when she falls for her dreamy English teacher, Sam Coulson.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMona Lisa Smile (2003)
Katherine Watson is a recent UCLA graduate hired to teach art history at the prestigious all-female Wellesley College, in 1953. Determined to confront the outdated mores of society and the institution that embraces them, Katherine inspires her traditional students, including Betty and Joan, to challenge the lives they are expected to lead.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAli and Alia (2019)
Ali and Alia are childhood neighbors that fell in love with each other, but bigger events occur in their lives which gets them separated. Ali seeks to maintain Alia's heart even if it is through substance abuse.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
A Woman in Flames (1983)
Eva, an upper-class housewife, frustratedly leaves her arrogant husband and decides to enter the call girl business. She lets Yvonne, a prostitute, teach her the basics and both set out for prey together, until Eva starts an affair with Chris, who turns out to be a call boy, as well. Consequently, she moves into his penthouse, large enough for both to offer their services separately.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
I Often Think of Piroschka (1955)
Andreas, a young German student comes to Hungary on an exchange programme. In the Hungarian village he falls in love with the stationmaster's daughter Piroschka and spends much of his time with her. They have an enchanting summer until Andreas gets an invitation to join another young woman at a nearby resort. Piroschka is jealous and follows him there, causing trouble. It takes a long time for Andreas and Piroschka to even talk to each other again. When Andreas has to leave Hungary at the end of his holiday, he is determined to return some day.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Love (1973)
Sixteen-year-old students of a grammar school are supposed to write essays on "Love". The class best student Andrea (Jaroslava Schallerová) writes about a patriotic love to a country as she has no experience with a partner love. She has been living alone with her divorced pretty mother Eva (Milena Dvorská), a dentist, for many years. Recently, however, Eva met her former school-days love at a graduates' party, nowadays a famous hockey goalkeeper Brukner (Frantisek Velecký). Also his marriage fell apart; he leaves the national team and decides to leave Prague for his home town and to share flat with Eva. He takes with him his son Petr (Oldrich Kaiser), in Andrea's age, who gets his last chance to finish a grammar school in the town.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
The Devil's Instrument (1965)
A jazz bassist who surveys a beautiful girl at a gig decides to try to get her home. But the devil is getting into the game too.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Man in the Trunk (2019)
On an otherwise quiet night there is a startling knock at the door. Andrew Tucker answers the door to find an old friend whom he hasn't seen in years. The disheveled and absent friend comes to him with one request: "I need you to come with me but, I can't tell you where we're going." Andrew takes a chance but learns that every answer brings more questions. Nothing good ever comes knocking after midnight and Andrew's nightmare asks how far you would go to help a friend.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Hold Back the Dawn?
The closest matches to Hold Back the Dawn are Like Crazy (2011), In the Heights (2021) and The Whole Wide World (1996). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Hold Back the Dawn?
Start with Like Crazy (2011), the closest match to Hold Back the Dawn.
What is the highest-rated movie like Hold Back the Dawn?
Casablanca (1943), rated 8.1/10 by 6,326 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Hold Back the Dawn?
In the Heights (2021) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Hold Back the Dawn?
Yes: Like Crazy (2011), In the Heights (2021) and The Whole Wide World (1996).
How are movies similar to Hold Back the Dawn chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Hold Back the Dawn, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.