Movies Like These Wilder Years

If you liked These Wilder Years (1956), a drama movie directed by Roy Rowland, 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
Secrets & Lies (1996)
★ 7.6/10Also drama
After her adoptive mother dies, Hortense, a successful black optometrist, seeks out her birth mother. She's shocked when her research leads her to Cynthia, a working class white woman.
2
Nowhere Special (2020)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
John, a 35-year-old window cleaner, has dedicated his life to bringing up his 4-year-old son, Michael, after the child's mother left them soon after giving birth. When John is given only a few months left to live, he…
3
Evelyn (2002)
★ 6.4/10Also drama
Desmond Doyle is devastated when his wife abandons their family on the day after Christmas. His unemployment, and the fact that there is no woman in the house to care for the children—Evelyn, Dermot and Maurice—make it…
4
The Deep End of the Ocean (1999)
★ 6.6/10Also drama
A three-year-old boy disappears during his mother's high school reunion. Nine years later, by chance, he turns up in the town in which the family has just relocated.
5
Anne of Green Gables (2016)
★ 7.2/10Also drama
Anne Shirley, an orphan, is fostered by farmer Matthew Cuthbert and his sister Marilla, who were expecting a boy to be sent them to help with their farm work. They accept Anne, who quickly endears herself to them and…
6
The Blind Side (2009)
★ 7.7/10Also drama
The story of Michael Oher, a homeless and traumatized boy who became an All American football player and first round NFL draft pick with the help of a caring woman and her family.
7
True Grit (1969)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
The murder of her father sends a teenage tomboy on a mission of 'justice', which involves avenging her father's death. She recruits a tough old marshal, 'Rooster' Cogburn because he has 'true grit', and a reputation of…
8
I Am Sam (2001)
★ 7.6/10Also drama
Sam, a neurodivergent man, has a daughter with a homeless woman who abandons them when they leave the hospital, leaving Sam to raise Lucy on his own. But as Lucy grows up, Sam's limitations as a parent start to become…
9
Philomena (2013)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
A woman searches for her adult son, who was taken away from her decades ago when she was forced to live in a convent.
10
Oliver Twist (1948)
★ 7.6/10Also drama
When 9-year-old orphan Oliver Twist dares to ask his cruel taskmaster, Mr. Bumble, for a second serving of gruel, he's hired out as an apprentice. Escaping that dismal fate, young Oliver falls in with the street urchin…
11
Adopt a Highway (2019)
★ 6.9/10Also drama
Russ Millings has just been released from prison after serving 21 years for a 3rd strike conviction for possessing an ounce of marijuana. As he tries to adapt to a world he doesn’t recognize – including trying to learn…
12
Same Kind of Different as Me (2017)
★ 6.8/10Also drama
International art dealer Ron Hall must befriend a dangerous homeless man in order to save his struggling marriage to his wife, a woman whose dreams will lead all three of them on the journey of their lives.
13
The Little Princess (1939)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
A little girl goes in search of her father who is reported missing by the military during the Second Boer War.
14
Blue Miracle (2021)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
To save their cash-strapped orphanage, a guardian and his kids partner with a washed-up boat captain for a chance to win a lucrative fishing competition.
15
Goodnight, Mister Tom (1998)
★ 7/10Also drama
A shy and quiet World War II evacuee is housed by a disgruntled old man, and they soon develop a close bond.
16
Lifemark (2022)
★ 7.5/10Also drama
David's comfortable world is turned upside down when his birth mother Melissa unexpectedly reaches out, longing to meet the eighteen year old son she's only held once.
17
The Secret Garden (2020)
★ 6.3/10Also drama
Mary Lennox is born in India to wealthy British parents who never wanted her. When her parents suddenly die, she is sent back to England to live with her uncle. She meets her sickly cousin, and the two children find a…
18
Fast Girls (2012)
★ 6/10Also drama
A street smart runner develops an intense rivalry with an equally ambitious wealthy young athlete.
19
A Dog's Journey (2019)
★ 8.1/10Also drama
A dog finds the meaning of his own existence through the lives of the humans he meets.
20
Benji (2018)
★ 6.9/10Also drama
Two school kids strike up a friendship with an orphaned puppy named Benji. When danger befalls them and they end up kidnapped by robbers who are in over their heads, Benji and his scruffy sidekick come to the rescue.