Movies Like The Desperate Ones

If you liked The Desperate Ones (1967), a adventure and drama movie directed by Alexander Ramati, 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
Black Gold (2011)
★ 6.5/10Also adventure and drama
On the Arabian Peninsula in the 1930s, two warring leaders come face to face. The victorious Nesib, Emir of Hobeika, lays down his peace terms to rival Amar, Sultan of Salmaah. The two men agree that neither can lay…
2
I Am David (2003)
★ 6.8/10Also drama and adventure
A 12-year-old boy manages to flee a Communist concentration camp on his own, through sheer will and determination. All he has in his possession is a loaf of bread, a letter to deliver to someone in Denmark, and a…
3
River Wild (2023)
★ 6.4/10Also adventure
Follows a pair of siblings who love but distrust each other as they embark on a white-water rafting trip with a small group. One of their friends from childhood turns out to be more dangerous than he appears.
4
Cave Rescue (2019)
★ 5.9/10Also adventure and drama
When a youth football team of 12 boys, aged 11-16, and their 25-year-old coach is trapped deep inside a cave in Northern Thailand, thousands of volunteers and soldiers from around the world unite in a race against time…
5
White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf (1994)
★ 6.9/10Also adventure
A boy and his dog, White Fang, must try to save the noble Haida tribe from evil white men in turn-of-the-century Alaska.
6
Gold (2022)
★ 6.2/10Also adventure
In the not-too-distant future, two drifters traveling through the desert stumble across the biggest gold nugget ever found and the dream of immense wealth and greed takes hold. They hatch a plan to excavate their…
7
Limbo (1999)
★ 6.6/10Also adventure and drama
Traumatized by a fishing boat accident many years before, Joe Gastineau has given up his hopes for a life beyond the odd jobs he takes to support himself. That quickly changes when nomadic club singer Donna de Angelo…
8
Night Crossing (1982)
★ 6.1/10Also adventure and drama
Two men want to escape from East Germany (under Communist rule) but they will only go if they can take their families with them. Based on a true story.
9
Nowhere to Run (1993)
★ 6.6/10Also drama
Escaped convict Sam Gillen single-handedly takes on ruthless developers who are determined to evict a widow with two young children.
10
Stolen Girl (2025)
★ 6.4/10Also adventure
In 1993, Maureen’s six-year-old daughter Amina is snuck out of the country by her ex-husband, Karim. After years of unsuccessful attempts to find her, Maureen intersects with a professional retriever of internationally…
11
Remember (2015)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
With the aid of a fellow Auschwitz survivor and a hand-written letter, an elderly man with dementia goes in search of the person responsible for the death of his family.
12
The Call of the Wild (1972)
★ 6.1/10Also adventure and drama
John Thornton, is a fearless man who's after more than gold; he wants to do what's right. Thornton works for the U.S. mail and is the only person daring and smart enough to figure out how to travel the deadly 600 miles…
13
Come Away (2020)
★ 5.8/10Also adventure
Before Alice went to Wonderland, and before Peter became Pan, they were brother and sister. When their eldest brother dies in a tragic accident, they each seek to save their parents from their downward spirals of…
14
Hunting Season (2025)
★ 7.4/10Also drama
When a reclusive survivalist and his daughter rescue a mysterious, wounded woman from a river, they become entangled in a deadly web of violence and revenge, forcing them to confront a brutal criminal to survive.
15
Best of the Best 4: Without Warning (1998)
★ 5.9/10Also adventure
A group of Russian mobsters have stolen a huge supply of paper for printing U.S. currency, and are now flooding the market with conterfeit bills. When one of the mobsters decides to give herself in and hand over a data…
16
The 355 (2022)
★ 6/10Also adventure
A group of top female agents from American, British, Chinese, Colombian, and German government agencies are drawn together to try and stop an organization from acquiring a deadly weapon to send the world into chaos.
17
Jack Hunter and the Quest for Akhenaten's Tomb (2008)
★ 6.2/10Also adventure
Adventurer Jack Hunter sets off in pursuit of a legendary tomb, meeting dangerous old adversaries, and even more dangerous old flames, along the way.
18
6 Below: Miracle on the Mountain (2017)
★ 5.8/10Also drama
An adrenaline seeking snowboarder gets lost in a massive winter storm in the back country of the High Sierras where he is pushed to the limits of human endurance and forced to battle his own personal demons as he…
19
Run (1991)
★ 6/10Also drama
When a law student accidentally kills the son of a mob boss in a fight, he finds himself relentlessly pursued by the mob and the police.
20
Seized (2020)
★ 6.7/10Also adventure
Hiding out with his son Taylor on the Mexican coast, Nero hopes to put his violent Special Forces career behind him. But after Nero’s home is attacked and Taylor is abducted, the mysterious Mzamo orders Nero to…