Movies Like The Exile

If you liked The Exile (1931), a drama and music movie directed by Oscar Micheaux, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
Cadillac Records (2008)
★ 7.1/10Also drama and music
The story of sex, violence, race and rock and roll in 1950s Chicago, and the exciting but turbulent lives of some of America's musical legends, including Muddy Waters, Leonard Chess, Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, Etta…
2
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and music
Tensions rise when the trailblazing Mother of the Blues and her band gather at a Chicago recording studio in 1927. Adapted from August Wilson's play.
3
The Cotton Club (1984)
★ 6.5/10Also drama
Harlem's legendary Cotton Club becomes a hotbed of passion and violence as the lives and loves of entertainers and gangsters collide.
4
King Creole (1958)
★ 6.4/10Also drama and music
Delinquent Danny Fisher flunks out of high school, quits his job as a nightclub busboy, and one night gets the chance to perform. Success is imminent and local crime boss Maxie Fields wants to hire him to perform at…
5
Hounddog (2008)
★ 6.5/10Also drama and music
A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.
6
Widows (2018)
★ 6.5/10Also drama
A police shootout leaves four thieves dead during an explosive armed robbery attempt in Chicago. Their widows have nothing in common except a debt left behind by their spouses' criminal activities. Hoping to forge a…
7
Honeydripper (2007)
★ 5.9/10Also drama and music
In 1950s Alabama, the owner of the Honeydripper juke joint finds his business dropping off and against his better judgment, hires a young electric guitarist in a last ditch effort to draw crowds during harvest time.
8
Motherless Brooklyn (2019)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
New York City, 1957. Lionel Essrog, a private detective living with Tourette syndrome, tries to solve the murder of his mentor and best friend, armed only with vague clues and the strength of his obsessive mind.
9
Too Late Blues (1961)
★ 6.4/10Also drama and music
Ghost is an ideological musician and leader of a jazz band who would rather play his blues in the park to the birds than compromise himself. His peripatetic performances lead him to cross paths with a singer, while his…
10
Whiplash (2014)
★ 8.4/10Also drama and music
Under the direction of a ruthless instructor, a talented young drummer begins to pursue perfection at any cost, even his humanity.
11
Beats (2019)
★ 6.7/10Also drama and music
An agoraphobic hip-hop prodigy and a disgraced former music manager cross paths in Chicago’s South Side and help each other face demons of their pasts.
12
The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)
★ 7.7/10Also drama
What was supposed to be a peaceful protest turned into a violent clash with the police. What followed was one of the most notorious trials in history.
13
Motor City (2026)
★ 6.2/10Also drama
In 1970s Detroit, John Miller falls for a local gangster's girl and lands in prison for a crime he didn't commit. With his life ruined, Miller plots revenge against the man who took his girl away.
14
Dancer in the Dark (2000)
★ 7.8/10Also drama
Selma, a Czech immigrant on the verge of blindness, struggles to make ends meet for herself and her young son, who has inherited the same genetic disorder and will suffer the same fate without an expensive operation…
15
Cradle Will Rock (1999)
★ 6.5/10Also drama
A true story of politics and art in the 1930s USA, centered around a leftist musical drama and attempts to stop its production.
16
The Young One (1960)
★ 7/10Also drama
A jazz musician seeks refuge from a lynch mob on a remote island, where he meets a hostile game warden and the young object of his attentions.
17
Dreamgirls (2006)
★ 6.7/10Also drama and music
A trio of female soul singers cross over to the pop charts in the early 1960s, facing their own personal struggles along the way.
18
Born to Be Blue (2015)
★ 6.5/10Also drama and music
Jazz legend Chet Baker finds love and redemption when he stars in a movie about his own troubled life to mount a comeback.
19
The Sound of Silence (2019)
★ 5.9/10Also drama
A successful "house tuner" in New York City, who calibrates the sound in people's homes in order to adjust their moods, meets a client with a problem he can't solve.
20
A Complete Unknown (2024)
★ 7.1/10Also drama and music
New York, early 1960s. Against the backdrop of a vibrant music scene and tumultuous cultural upheaval, an enigmatic 19-year-old from Minnesota arrives in the West Village with his guitar and revolutionary talent…