Movies like In Old Chicago (1938)
The best movies like In Old Chicago (1938) are Les Misérables (1935), San Francisco (1936) and The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936). If In Old Chicago hooked you with its drama and history, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedOnly the Brave (2017)7.5/10 from 1,989 votes
- NewestThe Last Rifleman (2023)Released 2023
Les Misérables (1935)
In 19th century France, Jean Valjean, a man imprisoned for stealing bread, must flee a relentless policeman named Javert. The pursuit consumes both men's lives, and soon Valjean finds himself in the midst of the student revolutions in France.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
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: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Story of Louis Pasteur (1936)
A true story about Louis Pasteur, who revolutionized medicine by proving that much disease is caused by microbes, that sanitation is paramount and that at least some diseases can be cured by vaccinations.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939)
Alexander Graham Bell falls in love with deaf girl Mabel Hubbard while teaching the deaf and trying to invent means for telegraphing the human voice. She urges him to put off thoughts of marriage until his experiments are complete. He invents the telephone, marries and becomes rich and famous, though his happiness is threatened when a rival company sets out to ruin him.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Rhapsody in Blue (1945)
Fictionalized biography of George Gershwin and his fight to bring serious music to Broadway.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
The Jolson Story (1946)
At the turn of the 20th century, young Asa Yoelson decides to go against the wishes of his cantor father and pursue a career in show business. Gradually working his way up through the vaudeville ranks, Asa — now calling himself Al Jolson — joins a blackface minstrel troupe and soon builds a reputation as a consummate performer. But as his career grows in size, so does his ego, resulting in battles in business as well as in his personal life.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
The Good Earth (1937)
China, during the rule of the Qing Dynasty. The arranged marriage between Wang Lung, a humble farmer, and O-Lan, a domestic slave, will endure the many hardships of life over the years; but the temptations of a fragile prosperity will endanger their love and the survival of their entire family.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Toast of New York (1937)
After the American Civil War, Jim Fisk, a former peddler and cotton smuggler, arrives in New York, along with his partners Nick and Luke, where he struggles to make his way through the treacherous world of Wall Street's financial markets.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Les Misérables (1934)
In 19th century France, Jean Valjean, a man imprisoned for stealing bread, must flee a relentless policeman named Javert. The pursuit consumes both men's lives, and soon Valjean finds himself in the midst of the student revolutions in France.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisWilson (1944)
The political career of Woodrow Wilson is chronicled, beginning with his decision to leave his post at Princeton to run for Governor of New Jersey, and his subsequent ascent to the Presidency of the United States. During his terms in office, Wilson must deal with the death of his first wife, the onslaught of German hostilities leading to American involvement in the Great War, and his own country's reticence to join the League of Nations. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation in 2006.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Make a Wish (1937)
While vacationing at a boys' camp, the rambunctious Chip Winters befriends a famed composer Johnny Selden. Stuck for an inspiration for his latest operetta, Selden at last finds it when he meets Chip's gorgeous mother Irene Winters, a popular singer. Alas, her stiff-necked fiancé Walter Mays refuses to allow her to return to the stage, whereupon Rathbone spirals into a depression -- and even worse, a profound case of writers' block.
Why it matches: Fans watch both
Newsies (1992)
A week in the life of the exploited, child newspaper sellers in turn-of-the-century New York. When their publisher, Joseph Pulitzer, tries to squeeze a little more profit out of their labours, they organize a strike, only to be confronted with the Pulitzer's hard-ball tactics.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOne Hundred Men and a Girl (1937)
The daughter of a struggling musician forms a symphony orchestra made up of his unemployed friends and through persistence, charm and a few misunderstandings, is able to get Leopold Stokowski to lead them in a concert that leads to a radio contract.
Why it matches: Fans watch both
Lloyd's of London (1936)
Norfolk, England, 1770. The nephew of an innkeeper and the son of a reverend maintain a very close friendship until, after living a great adventure, they must separate their paths. The former will head his footsteps to London and bound his destiny to Lloyd's, a thriving insurance company; the latter will eventually become one of the greatest heroes in the history of the British Empire.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
At the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, sideshow barker Florenz Ziegfeld turns the tables on his more-successful neighbor Billings, and also steals his girlfriend. This pattern repeats throughout their lives, as Ziegfeld makes and loses many fortunes putting on ever-bigger, more spectacular shows
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWaltzes from Vienna (1934)
In Vienna, aspiring composer Johann Strauss Jr. clashes with his domineering father, who wants him to abandon music for a steady job in a bakery. Torn between his love for the baker’s daughter, Resi, and the encouragement of a wealthy countess, Strauss finds inspiration that leads to the creation of "The Blue Danube."
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both history
SnoozefestMovies like thisSwing High, Swing Low (1937)
In Panama, Maggie King meets soldier Skid Johnson on his last day in the army and reluctantly agrees to a date to celebrate. The two become involved in a nightclub brawl which causes Maggie to miss her ship back to the States. Now stranded, she's forced to move in with Skid and his pal Harry. She soon falls in love with Skid. Skid gets a job playing the trumpet at a local club and becomes a big success. Fame and fortune go to his head which eventually destroys his relationship with Maggie and his career.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Marie Antoinette (1938)
The young Austrian princess Marie Antoinette is arranged to marry Louis XVI, future king of France, in a politically advantageous marriage for the rival countries. The opulent Marie indulges in various whims and flirtations. When Louis XV passes and Louis XVI ascends the French throne, his queen's extravagant lifestyle earns the hatred of the French people, who despise her Austrian heritage.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
The Big Broadcast of 1938 (1938)
The Bellows family causes comic confusion on an ocean liner, with time out for radio-style musical acts.
Why it matches: Fans watch both
The Prisoner of Shark Island (1936)
After healing the leg of the murderer John Wilkes Booth — responsible for the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln — Dr. Samuel A. Mudd, considered part of the atrocious conspiracy, is sentenced to life imprisonment and sent to the sinister Shark Island Prison.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNow and Forever (1934)
Freewheeling wanderer Jerry Day and his beautiful wife Toni are at odds over their lifestyle. Jerry can't accept responsibility, but Toni yearns for a family and a settled life. Then the Days 'rediscover' Jerry's young daughter Pennie, who has been living with his rich deceased wife's family. Pennie appears to be just what Jerry needs to mend his swindling ways and lead a straight life. Then a corruptible influence enters his life.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
How Green Was My Valley (1941)
Huw Morgan, the academically inclined youngest son in a proud family of Welsh coal miners, witnesses the tumultuous events of his young life during a period of rapid social change. At the dawn of the 20th-century, a miners' strike divides the Morgans: the sons demand improvements, and the father doesn't want to rock the boat.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCamille (1936)
Life in 1847 Paris is as spirited as champagne and as unforgiving as the gray morning after. In gambling dens and lavish soirees, men of means exert their wills and women turned courtesans exult in pleasure. One such woman is Marguerite Gautier, who begins a sumptuous romance with Armand Duval.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAlexander's Ragtime Band (1938)
Classical violinist Roger Grant disappoints his family and teacher when he organizes a jazz band, but he and the band become successful. Roger falls in love with the band's singer, Stella, but his reluctance to lose her leads him to thwart her efforts to become a solo star. When the World War separates them in 1917, Stella marries Roger's best friend and, when Roger returns home after the war, an important concert at Carnegie Hall brings the corners of the romantic triangle together.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Thoroughbreds Don't Cry (1937)
Cricket West is a hopeful actress with a plan and a pair of vocal chords that bring down the house. Along with her eccentric aunt, she plays host to the local jockeys, whose leader is the cocky but highly skilled Timmie Donovan. A young English gentleman comes to town convincing Donovan to ride his horse in a high stakes race.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Something to Sing About (1937)
James Cagney has a rare chance to show his song-and-dance-man roots in this low-budget tale of a New York bandleader struggling with a Hollywood studio boss.
Why it matches: Fans watch both
Only the Brave (2017)
Members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots battle deadly wildfires to save an Arizona town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Book of Daniel (2013)
Taken into slavery after the fall of Jerusalem in 605 B.C., Daniel is forced to serve the most powerful king in the world, King Nebuchadnezzar. Faced with imminent death, Daniel proves himself a trusted Advisor and is placed among the king's wise men. Threatened by death at every turn Daniel never ceases to serve the king until he is forced to choose between serving the king or honoring God. With his life at stake, Daniel has nothing but his faith to stand between him and the lions' den.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMunich - The Edge of War (2021)
At the tense 1938 Munich Conference, former friends who now work for opposing governments become reluctant spies racing to expose a Nazi secret.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Rifleman (2023)
A WWII veteran escapes his care home in Northern Ireland and embarks on an arduous but inspirational journey to France to attend the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, finding the courage to face the ghosts of his past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like In Old Chicago?
The closest matches to In Old Chicago are Les Misérables (1935), San Francisco (1936) and The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after In Old Chicago?
People who watched In Old Chicago most often go on to Les Misérables (1935), San Francisco (1936) and The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936).
What is the highest-rated movie like In Old Chicago?
Only the Brave (2017), rated 7.5/10 by 1,989 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like In Old Chicago?
The Last Rifleman (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like In Old Chicago?
Yes: Les Misérables (1935), San Francisco (1936) and The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936).
How are movies similar to In Old Chicago chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside In Old Chicago, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.