Movies Like A Failure at Fifty

If you liked A Failure at Fifty (1940), a drama and history movie directed by Will Jason, 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
The Better Angels (2014)
★ 6.3/10Also drama and history
At an isolated log cabin in the harsh wilderness of Indiana circa 1817, the rhythms of love, tragedy, and the daily hardships of life on the developing frontier shaped one of our nation’s greatest heroes: Abraham…
2
Lincoln (2012)
★ 6.8/10Also history and drama
The revealing story of the 16th US President's tumultuous final months in office. In a nation divided by war and the strong winds of change, Lincoln pursues a course of action designed to end the war, unite the country…
3
Experimenter (2015)
★ 6.5/10Also drama and history
Yale University, 1961. Stanley Milgram designs a psychology experiment that still resonates to this day, in which people think they’re delivering painful electric shocks to an affable stranger strapped into a chair in…
4
Chaplin (1992)
★ 7.4/10Also drama
An aged Charlie Chaplin narrates his life to his autobiography's editor, including his rise to wealth and comedic fame from poverty, his turbulent personal life and his run-ins with the FBI.
5
Train Dreams (2025)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
A logger leads a life of quiet grace as he experiences love and loss during an era of monumental change in early 20th-century America.
6
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019)
★ 7.9/10Also drama and history
Against all the odds, a thirteen year old boy in Malawi invents an unconventional way to save his family and village from famine.
7
Young Mr. Lincoln (1939)
★ 7.2/10Also drama and history
In this dramatized account of his early law career in Illinois, Abraham Lincoln is born into a modest log cabin, where he is encouraged by his first love, Ann Rutledge, to pursue law. Following her tragic death…
8
The Prisoner of Shark Island (1936)
★ 6.8/10Also drama and history
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…
9
Radium Girls (2020)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and history
Young women toiling in a factory are exposed to hazardous material which takes a disastrous toll on their health.
10
Adventures of a Mathematician (2021)
★ 6.1/10Also drama and history
The warmhearted story of Polish immigrant and mathematician Stan Ulam, who moved to the U.S. in the 1930s. Stan deals with the difficult losses of family and friends all while helping to create the hydrogen bomb and…
11
Seabiscuit (2003)
★ 7.1/10Also drama and history
True story of the undersized Depression-era racehorse whose victories lifted not only the spirits of the team behind it but also those of their nation.
12
Rudy (1993)
★ 7.4/10Also drama and history
Rudy grew up in a steel mill town where most people ended up working, but wanted to play football at Notre Dame instead. There were only a couple of problems. His grades were a little low, his athletic skills were…
13
The Current War (2018)
★ 6.7/10Also drama and history
Electricity titans Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse compete to create a sustainable system and market it to the American people.
14
The Day of the Locust (1975)
★ 6.4/10Also drama
Hollywood, 1930s. Tod Hackett, a young painter who tries to make his way as an art director in the lurid world of film industry, gets infatuated with his neighbor Faye Greener, an aspiring actress who prefers the life…
15
Dead Poets Society (1989)
★ 8.3/10Also drama
At an elite, old-fashioned boarding school in New England, a passionate English teacher inspires his students to rebel against convention and seize the potential of every day, courting the disdain of the stern…
16
Nickel Boys (2024)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and history
Chronicles the powerful friendship between two young Black teenagers navigating the harrowing trials of reform school together in Florida.
17
Cabrini (2024)
★ 7.7/10Also history and drama
Italian immigrant Francesca Cabrini arrives in 1889 New York City and is greeted by disease, crime, and impoverished children. Cabrini sets off on a daring mission to convince the hostile mayor to secure housing and…
18
Mank (2020)
★ 6.7/10Also drama and history
1930s Hollywood is reevaluated through the eyes of scathing social critic and alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz as he races to finish the screenplay of Citizen Kane.
19
A Million Miles Away (2023)
★ 7.6/10Also drama and history
The life of engineer and former NASA astronaut José M. Hernández, the first migrant farmworker to go to space.
20
12 Years a Slave (2013)
★ 7.9/10Also drama and history
In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery. Facing cruelty as well as unexpected kindnesses Solomon struggles not only to stay alive…