Movies like They Knew What They Wanted (1940)
The best movies like They Knew What They Wanted (1940) are The Secret: Dare to Dream (2020), The Lost Husband (2020) and Flamingo Road (1949). If They Knew What They Wanted 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 ratedAll My Life (2020)7.7/10 from 523 votes
- NewestNobody Has to Know (2022)Released 2022
The 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 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 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 thisGuess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)
A couple's attitudes are challenged when their daughter brings home a fiancé who is black.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCity Girl (1930)
A waitress from Chicago falls in love with a man from rural Minnesota and marries him, with the intent of living a better life - but life on the farm has its own challenges.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKitty Foyle (1940)
A hard-working, white-collar girl falls in love with a young socialite, but meets with his family's disapproval.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWuthering Heights (1970)
Young orphan Heathcliff is adopted by the wealthy Earnshaw family and moves into their estate, Wuthering Heights. Soon, the new resident falls for his compassionate foster sister, Cathy. The two share a remarkable bond that seems unbreakable until Cathy, feeling the pressure of social convention, suppresses her feelings and marries Edgar Linton, a man of means who befits her stature. Heathcliff vows to win her back.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Brilliant Career (1979)
A young woman who is determined to maintain her independence finds herself at odds with her family who wants her to tame her wild side and get married.
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 thisAll My Life (2020)
It was a chance meeting started by one of Sol’s friends trying to chat up Jennifer. However, in the end, it was those two who hit it off. Sol enjoyed Jen’s smile, her effort, and how silly she could be. Jen enjoyed Sol’s cooking, his athleticism, and that he would join her in fun moments. As you can imagine, love bloomed, and things got serious. Jen’s investment in Sol led to her pushing him to follow his dreams and even move in to save money. Sol’s investment in Jen well, it led to him proposing. But what started as a liver tumor grew into full-on cancer, so with a diagnosis of 6 months to live, Sol and Jennifer try to make the best of it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisThe Bigamist (1953)
San Francisco businessman Harry Graham and his wife and business partner, Eve, are in the process of adopting a child. When private investigator Mr. Jordan uncovers the fact that Graham has another wife, Phyllis, and a small child in Los Angeles, he confesses everything.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
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 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 Passionate Friends (1949)
A woman is torn between the love of her life, who's married to someone else, and her older husband.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Walk in the Clouds (1995)
World War II vet Paul Sutton falls for a pregnant and unwed woman who persuades him -- during their first encounter -- to pose as her husband so she can face her family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNobody Has to Know (2022)
After a stroke and no memories from his past, Phil encounters Millie who inhabits a desert part of Isle of Lewis. She will shortly entrust him with his deepest secret : they were in love.
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 thisA Valentine's Match (2020)
Fired from her job as a reality TV host, Natalie returns home for Valentine's Day, only to find herself running the town festival's auction with her ex-fiancé thanks to two scheming mothers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her (2014)
Told from the woman's perspective, the story of a couple trying to reclaim the life and love they once knew and pick up the pieces of a past that may be too far gone.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhere the Heart Is (2000)
Novalee Nation is a 17-year-old Tennessee transient who has to grow up in a hurry when she's left pregnant and abandoned by her boyfriend on a roadside, and takes refuge in the friendly aisles of Wal-Mart. Eventually, some eccentric but kindly strangers 'adopt' Novalee and her infant daughter, helping them buck the odds and build a new life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLower City (2005)
Best friends Deco and Naldinho co-own a cargo boat in Brazil's Salvador da Bahia. They give a ride to a sultry prostitute named Karinna, and soon both men fall prey to her considerable sexual charms, pushing the bounds of their friendship to the limit.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBaby Mama (2008)
A successful, single businesswoman who dreams of having a baby discovers she is infertile and hires a working class woman to be her unlikely surrogate.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMetro (1997)
Roper, a hostage negotiator catches a murderous bank robber after a blown heist. The bank robber escapes and immediately goes after the man who put him behind bars.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisMy Turn (2017)
It's not her turn, but she's pregnant.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Lowlife (2017)
The sordid lives of an addict, an ex-con, and a luchador collide when an organ harvesting caper goes very, very wrong.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJust Like Heaven (2005)
Shortly after David Abbott moves into his new San Francisco digs, he has an unwelcome visitor on his hands: winsome Elizabeth Masterson, who asserts that the apartment is hers -- and promptly vanishes. When she starts appearing and disappearing at will, David thinks she's a ghost, while Elizabeth is convinced she's alive.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPrincess (1983)
Fifteen-year-old Jutka and her friend Zsuzsa leave their rural village for Budapest to work in a textile factory and seek independence. Their pursuit of freedom quickly unravels as they face the grim realities of industrial life, a transition compounded by Zsuzsa's unplanned pregnancy and Jutka's own search for stability in a harsh environment.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Sure Thing (1985)
Gib, a beer-guzzling slob, and Alison, an uptight Ivy-Leaguer, are an unlikely duo stuck together on a cross-country trip during Christmas break. At first they get on each other's nerves but, as time passes, they find their divergent natures complement each other. Now they need to realize what they've already found before it's too late.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChristmas at Maxwell's (2006)
A successful American family retreat to their summer home on the banks of Lake Erie to find meaning in life, illness, loss, and change this Christmas. With a successful career in the wine business, and two amazing children, what more can a family ask for. But this Christmas will change the Austin family forever with Suzie falling ill. With Andrew struggling over his wife's ill health and the children trying to find peace and solace on their own, only a miracle can help them through this Christmas.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like They Knew What They Wanted and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like They Knew What They Wanted?
The closest matches to They Knew What They Wanted are The Secret: Dare to Dream (2020), The Lost Husband (2020) and Flamingo Road (1949). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after They Knew What They Wanted?
Start with The Secret: Dare to Dream (2020), the closest match to They Knew What They Wanted.
What is the highest-rated movie like They Knew What They Wanted?
All My Life (2020), rated 7.7/10 by 523 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like They Knew What They Wanted?
Nobody Has to Know (2022) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like They Knew What They Wanted?
Yes: The Secret: Dare to Dream (2020), The Lost Husband (2020) and Flamingo Road (1949).
How are movies similar to They Knew What They Wanted chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside They Knew What They Wanted, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.