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Movies Like Hero for a Day

If you liked Hero for a Day (1939), a drama movie directed by Harold Young, 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. 1Fast Girls

    Fast Girls (2012)

    ★ 6/10Also drama

    A street smart runner develops an intense rivalry with an equally ambitious wealthy young athlete.

  2. 2Hungry Hearts

    Hungry Hearts (2015)

    ★ 6.5/10Also drama

    The relationship of a couple who meet by chance in New York City is put to the test when they encounter a life or death circumstance.

  3. 3Plunder Road

    Plunder Road (1957)

    ★ 6.9/10Also drama

    A spectacular heist starts to unravel as the crooks take it on the lam.

  4. 4Eleanor the Great

    Eleanor the Great (2025)

    ★ 6.8/10Also drama

    94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein tries to rebuild her life after the death of her best friend. As a result, she moves back to New York City after living in Florida for decades.

  5. 5Poor Cow

    Poor Cow (1967)

    ★ 6.4/10Also drama

    Joy lives a life filled with bad choices. At a young age, she marries and has a child–with an abusive thief who quickly ends up incarcerated. Left alone, she takes up with the guy's mate, another thief, who seems to…

  6. 6All Together Now

    All Together Now (2020)

    ★ 6.7/10Also drama

    An optimistic, talented teen clings to a huge secret: she's homeless and living on a school bus. When tragedy strikes, can she learn to accept a helping hand?

  7. 7Blue Chips

    Blue Chips (1994)

    ★ 6.1/10Also drama

    Pete Bell, a college basketball coach is under a lot of pressure. His team isn't winning and he cannot attract new players. The stars of the future are secretly being paid by boosters. This practice is forbidden in the…

  8. 8The Color of Friendship

    The Color of Friendship (2000)

    ★ 6.7/10Also drama

    Mahree Bok lives on a farm in South Africa. Her father is a policeman who cannot hide his joy when activist Steve Biko is caught by the South African authorities. Piper Dellums is the daughter of a US congressman from…

  9. 9The River

    The River (1984)

    ★ 6.4/10Also drama

    Tom and Mae Garvey are a Tennessee farming couple battling violent floods to save their land. In addition to natural disasters, the Garveys fight to stop a selfish land developer and a local corporation from…

  10. 10Bad Genius

    Bad Genius (2024)

    ★ 6.8/10Also drama

    A highly-gifted student sees an opportunity to escape her roots by helping wealthy classmates cheat on key exams, but at great risk to her future.

  11. 11Mansfield Park

    Mansfield Park (2007)

    ★ 6.1/10Also drama

    Fanny Price is sent to live with her wealthy relatives, the Bertrams, where she is treated poorly by most except her cousin Edmund. Her life is complicated by the arrival of the worldly Mary and Henry Crawford

  12. 12Won't Back Down

    Won't Back Down (2012)

    ★ 6.2/10Also drama

    Jamie Fitzpatrick and Nona Alberts are two women from opposites sides of the social and economic track, but they have one thing in common: a mission to fix their community's broken school and ensure a bright future for…

  13. 13True Grit

    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…

  14. 14Cigarettes & Coffee

    Cigarettes & Coffee (1993)

    ★ 6.6/10Also drama

    At a desert diner, the lives of five strangers become linked through a single twenty-dollar bill. Shot for $20,000 and starring Philip Baker Hall, the short premiered at Sundance and later inspired Anderson’s debut…

  15. 15Repeat Performance

    Repeat Performance (1947)

    ★ 6.1/10Also drama

    On New Year's Eve 1946, Sheila Page kills her husband Barney. She wishes that she could relive 1946 and avoid the mistakes that she made throughout the year. Her wish comes true but cheating fate proves more difficult…

  16. 16Little Lord Fauntleroy

    Little Lord Fauntleroy (1980)

    ★ 7.3/10Also drama

    Young Cedric Errol and his widowed mother live in genteel poverty in 1880s Brooklyn after the death of his father. Cedric's grandfather, the Earl of Dorincourt, has long ago disowned his son for marrying an American…

  17. 17Inside I'm Dancing

    Inside I'm Dancing (2004)

    ★ 7.4/10Also drama

    Michael is a 24-year-old who has cerebral palsy and long-term resident of the Carrigmore Residential Home for the Disabled, run by the formidable Eileen. His life is transformed when the maverick Rory O'Shea moves in.

  18. 18Edie

    Edie (2018)

    ★ 6.3/10Also drama

    To try and overcome a lifetime of bitterness and resentment, 83-year-old Edie decides that it is never too late. After packing an old camping bag, she leaves her life behind and embarks on an adventure she never got to…

  19. 19A Kiss Before Dying

    A Kiss Before Dying (1956)

    ★ 6.3/10Also drama

    A college student tries to get rich quick by wooing two wealthy sisters.

  20. 20Skater Girl

    Skater Girl (2021)

    ★ 7.2/10Also drama

    Prerna, a teenager growing up in rural India, comes of age when she’s introduced to the sport of skateboarding. As a result, she has to fight the odds to follow her dreams and compete in the national championship.

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