Great depression movies and TV shows
The list contains the best, new and most relevant great depression movies ordered by relevance. The recommendation service has sorted out realistic, period piece, captivating, dramatic, serious and interesting films and TV shows about / with great depression, dialogue, storytelling, runaway, mentor, corruption, death, culture clash, society and redemption plots mostly in Drama, Crime and Biography genres shot in USA, UK, Japan and other countries.
195
TOP 10 movies tagged as great depression: To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), Cinderella Man (2005), Rambling Rose (1991), Public Enemies (2009), The Journey of Natty Gann (1985), Lawless (2012), The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000), Bound for Glory (1976), Walk on the Wild Side (1962), Hard Times (1975).
Best films
New films
| Jimmy's Hall (2014) | 6.7 | |
| Mad Ship (2013) | 5.3 | |
| Hold Your Breath (2024) | 5.3 | |
| Mank (2020) | 6.8 | |
| Fearless Heart (2017) | 6.6 |
List of great depression movies
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 129 min.
Story:
Scout Finch, 6, and her older brother Jem live in sleepy Maycomb, Alabama, spending much of their time with their friend Dill and spying on their reclusive and mysterious neighbor, Boo Radley. When Atticus, their widowed father and a respected ...
Style:
touching, thought provoking, gothic, compassionate, sentimental ...
Audience:
family outing, manly, chick flick, teen drama
Plot:
lawyer, courtroom, courtroom drama, trial, racism, small town, legal, single father, coming of age, rape, justice, childhood ...
Time:
1930s, year 1932, 20th century, year 1962
Place:
alabama, usa, southern usa, america, africa ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Biography, Drama, Romance, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 144 min.
Story:
The true story of boxer, Jim Braddock who, in the 1920’s after his retirement, has a surprise comeback in order to get him and his family out of a socially poor state.
Style:
touching, inspirational, sentimental, motivational, uplifting ...
Audience:
boys' night, teens, manly
Plot:
boxing, underdog, human spirit, great depression, boxer, biopic, athlete's life, roman empire, poverty, fight scenes, depression, protective male ...
Time:
1930s, year 2005, 2000s, year 2006, 1920s ...
Place:
netherlands, usa, new jersey, new york, madison square garden manhattan new york city ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min.
Story:
Rose, is taken in by the Hillyer family to serve as a 1930s housemaid so that she can avoid falling into a life of prostitution. Rose's appearence and personality is such that all men fall for her, and Rose knows it. She can't help herself ...
Style:
erotic, touching, sexy, serious, realistic ...
Audience:
date night, teens, girls' night
Plot:
self discovery, older man younger woman relationship, love and romance, female masturbation, adolescence, dysfunctional family, coming of age, redemption, family relations, parents and children, introspection, fall in love ...
Time:
1930s, year 1991, 20th century, year 1971, 70s ...
Place:
georgia, southern usa, usa, california
Is relevant?
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama, History
Country: USA, Japan
Duration: 140 min.
Story:
Depression-era bank robber John Dillinger's charm and audacity endear him to much of America's downtrodden public, but he's also a thorn in the side of J. Edgar Hoover and the fledgling FBI. Desperate to capture the elusive outlaw, ...
Style:
suspense, period piece, crime thriller, factual, exciting ...
Audience:
manly, boys' night
Plot:
bank robber, bank robbery, mafia, gunfight, criminal, robbery, group of criminals, heist, criminal heroes, great depression, gang, manhunt ...
Time:
1930s, year 1933, year 2009, 20th century, 2000s ...
Place:
indiana, chicago, tucson arizona, illinois, arizona ...
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min.
Story:
America is in the depths of the Great Depression. Families drift apart when faraway jobs beckon. In this masterful, atmospheric adventure, a courageous young girl (Meredith Salenger) confronts overwhelming odds when she embarks on a cross-country ...
Style:
touching, entertaining, scenic, sweet, feel good ...
Audience:
kids, family outing, girls' night, teen drama
Plot:
wolf, coming of age, friendship, human animal relationship, great depression, dog, tomboy, on the road, youth, animal, human dog relationship, train ...
Time:
1930s, 20th century, year 1985, year 1935, 80s
Place:
usa, washington state, chicago, colorado, california ...
Is relevant?
262K
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 116 min.
Story:
Set in the Depression-era Franklin County, Virginia, a bootlegging gang is threatened by authorities who want a cut of their profits.
Style:
intense, suspense, sexy, period piece, neo noir ...
Plot:
mafia, smuggling, gang, gangster, bootlegging, violence, vigilante, greed, corruption, prohibition era, prohibition, robbery ...
Time:
1930s, 20th century, year 2012, 2010s, year 1931 ...
Place:
virginia, usa, appalachia, america, north america ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Sport
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 126 min.
Story:
World War I has left golfer Rannulph Junuh a poker-playing alcoholic, his perfect swing gone. Now, however, he needs to get it back to play in a tournament to save the financially ravaged golf course of a long-ago sweetheart. Help arrives in the ...
Style:
inspirational, sentimental, period piece, romantic, light ...
Audience:
date night
Plot:
golf, great depression, underdog, comeback, world war one, childhood, mysterious stranger, interracial friendship, friendship, love story, hopes, renewed love ...
Time:
1930s, 20th century, 1920s, y2k, year 2000
Place:
savannah georgia, georgia, america, usa, southern usa
Is relevant?
Genre: Biography, Drama, Music
Country: USA
Duration: 147 min.
Story:
A biography of Woody Guthrie, one of America's greatest folk singers. He left his dust-devastated Texas home in the 1930s to find work, discovering the suffering and strength of America's working class.
Style:
period piece, road movie, compassionate, talky, sentimental ...
Plot:
music, biopic, great depression, character study, friendship, depression, artists and showbiz, musician's life, couple relations, love and romance, musician, labor union ...
Time:
1930s, year 1976, 20th century, 70s
Place:
texas, california, oklahoma, usa, los angeles ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min.
Story:
At the Doll House, a 1930’s New Orleans bordello, Hallie is the main attraction both for clients and for Jo, the madame. Her comfortable if tedious life is disrupted by the arrival in town of Dove Linkhorn, her true love of three years before who ...
Style:
sexual, realistic, serious, gloomy, atmospheric ...
Plot:
great depression, brothel, prostitution, lesbian, cat, prostitute, lgbt, drifter, passionate kiss, unrequited love, black cat, lost love ...
Time:
1930s, year 1962, 1900s
Place:
texas, new orleans, mississippi, louisiana, usa
Is relevant?
Genre: Crime, Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min.
Story:
In the depression, Chaney, a strong silent streetfighter, joins with Speed, a promoter of no-holds-barred street boxing bouts. They go to New Orleans where Speed borrows money to set up fights for Chaney, but Speed gambles away any winnings.
Style:
realistic, tense, harsh, serious, neo noir ...
Plot:
boxing, great depression, street fighter, illegal fistfight, streetfighting, drifter, fistfight, boxer, businessman, tough guy, martial arts, hand to hand combat ...
Time:
1930s, 20th century, year 1975, 70s
Place:
new orleans, los angeles, north america, louisiana, usa ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min.
Story:
In 1930s Southern US, a widow and her family try to run their cotton farm with the help of a disparate group of friends.
Style:
uplifting, gothic, sentimental, touching, emotional ...
Audience:
date night, family outing, girls' night, chick flick
Plot:
great depression, ku klux klan, racism, farm, blindness, small town, lynching, mother, single mother, survival, friendship, blind character ...
Time:
1930s, 20th century, year 1935, year 1984, 80s
Place:
texas, southern usa, austin texas, midwest, usa
Is relevant?
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 118 min.
Story:
Hobos encounter a sadistic railway conductor that will not let anyone "ride the rails" for free.
Style:
terrifying, cult classic, serious, realistic, exciting ...
Plot:
homeless, train, railway, great depression, drifter, locomotive, villain, hobo, homeless man, history lesson, politics, hunting ...
Time:
20th century, 1930s, year 1933, year 1973
Place:
oregon, usa, turkey
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
Genre: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min.
Story:
Two drifters, one a gentle but slow giant, try to make money working the fields during the Depression so they can fulfill their dreams.
Style:
sad, emotional, touching, depressing, mind twisting ...
Audience:
family outing
Plot:
great depression, friendship, literary, loneliness, social commentary, disability, death, drifter, depression, tragedy, migrant worker, mental retardation ...
Time:
year 1992, 1900s, 1920s, 20th century, 1930s
Place:
california, usa, north america
Is relevant?
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min.
Story:
During the Great Depression, a con man finds himself saddled with a young girl who may or may not be his daughter, and the two forge an unlikely partnership.
Style:
road movie, sentimental, black and white, humorous, touching ...
Audience:
family outing, teens
Plot:
father daughter relationship, friendship, great depression, mischievous children, girl, tomboy, road trip, funeral, little girl, childhood trauma, bible, carnival ...
Time:
1930s, 20th century, year 1973, 70s
Place:
missouri, kansas, usa
Is relevant?
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 117 min.
Story:
Mike Sullivan works as a hit man for crime boss John Rooney. Sullivan views Rooney as a father figure, however after his son is witness to a killing, Mike Sullivan finds himself on the run in attempt to save the life of his son and at the same time ...
Style:
harsh, atmospheric, suspense, visually stunning, period piece ...
Audience:
date night
Plot:
mafia, vengeance, hitman, revenge, criminal's revenge, gangster, violence, road trip, murder, coming of age, on the road, on the run ...
Time:
1930s, 20th century, 2000s, year 1931, year 2002
Place:
illinois, chicago, persia, michigan, usa
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story:
From F. Scott Fitzgerald's last work, The Last Tycoon follows Monroe Stahr, Hollywood's Golden Boy as he battles father figure and boss Pat Brady for the soul of their studio. In a world darkened by the Depression and the growing influence ...
Style:
costume drama, period piece, captivating, tense, historical drama ...
Plot:
hollywood, great depression, businessman, mogul, film industry, movie business, showdown, film producer, filmmaker, rivals, filmmaking, ambitious man ...
Time:
1930s, 20th century
Is relevant?
298K
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 129 min.
Story:
Set in the 1930s this intricate caper deals with an ambitious small-time crook and a veteran con man who seek revenge on a vicious crime lord who murdered one of their gang.
Style:
witty, captivating, entertaining, surprise ending, humorous ...
Audience:
date night
Plot:
gambling, revenge, con artists, murder, twists and turns, caper, con man, gangster, chase, cons and scams, casino, organized crime ...
Time:
1930s, year 1936, 20th century, year 1973
Place:
chicago, usa, persia, new york, illinois
Is relevant?
Genre: Action, Biography, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min.
Story:
Bonnie and Clyde is based on the true stories of the gangster pair Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow who in the 1930s began robbing banks in U.S. cities until they were eventually killed. The film is a major landmark in the aesthetic movement known as ...
Style:
road movie, controversial, suspenseful, disturbing, exciting ...
Audience:
boys' night, chick flick
Plot:
lovers on the run, on the run, heist, bank robbery, fugitives, gang, true crime, bank robber, shootout, great depression, love and romance, crime spree ...
Time:
1930s, 20th century, year 1967, 60s
Place:
texas, oklahoma, missouri, midwest, usa ...
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 132 min.
Story:
In 1934, Frank Hamer and Manny Gault, two former Texas Rangers, are commissioned to put an end to the wave of vicious crimes perpetrated by Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, a notorious duo of infamous robbers and cold-blooded killers who nevertheless ...
Style:
suspense, road movie, period piece, neo noir, captivating ...
Audience:
date night
Plot:
texas ranger, modern western, bank robber, organized crime, great depression, killing spree, criminal gang, fighting crime, fbi, police, gangster, hunt down ...
Time:
1930s, year 1934
Place:
texas, usa, austin texas, america
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, History, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 118 min.
Story:
Haunted by his mysterious past, a devoted high school football coach leads a scrawny team of orphans to the state championship during the Great Depression and inspires a broken nation along the way.
Style:
tense, disturbing, captivating, historical drama, anamorphic ...
Audience:
family outing
Plot:
american football, football, football team, great depression, orphan, orphanage, soccer match, american football player, athlete and trainer, coach, sport team, tragic past ...
Time:
1940s, 1930s
Place:
texas
Is relevant?
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min.
Story:
In the year 1935, a teen named Billy Bathgate finds first love while becoming the protégé of fledgling gangster Dutch Schultz.
Style:
erotic, stylized, serious, realistic, suspenseful ...
Plot:
gangster, organized crime, nudity, teenage boy, lake, mafia, waterfall, great depression, jewish mob, coming of age, lawyer, murder ...
Time:
1930s, year 1991, 20th century
Place:
new york, usa, bronx new york city
Is relevant?
Genre: Comedy, Musical
Country: Canada
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
In Depression-era Winnipeg, a legless beer baroness hosts a contest for the saddest music in the world, offering a grand prize of $25,000. Contestants flock in from around the globe. Representing America is Chester Kent, a theatre producer who ...
Style:
surreal, black comedy, breathtaking, black and white, visually stunning ...
Audience:
date night
Plot:
beer, surrealism, music, great depression, contest, musician, baroness, dysfunctional family, satire, amputee, prohibition, tragic hero ...
Time:
1930s, 20th century, year 2003, year 1933, 1920s
Place:
canada, winnipeg, sarajevo, new york, serbia ...
Is relevant?
98K
Genre: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story:
Follow a new generation of the Dutton family during the early twentieth century when pandemics, historic drought, the end of Prohibition and the Great Depression all plague the mountain west, and the Duttons who call it home.
Style:
historical drama, atmospheric, captivating, serious, rough ...
Plot:
cowboy, great depression, fight, survival, life is a bitch, journey, relationships, family relations, society, small town, rural setting, female nudity ...
Time:
1920s, 20th century, 1940s, 60s
Place:
montana, africa
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Music
Country: UK, France, USA
Duration: 107 min.
Story:
In the deep south during the 1930s, three escaped convicts search for hidden treasure while a relentless lawman pursues them. On their journey they come across many comical characters and incredible situations. Based upon Homer's ...
Style:
road movie, funny, visually stunning, dark comedy, epic ...
Audience:
date night, teens
Plot:
prison escape, great depression, blues, on the run, small town, roman empire, country music, dark humor, music, runaway, satire, treasure hunt ...
Time:
1930s, year 2000, 20th century, y2k, 2000s ...
Place:
mississippi, ancient greece, persia, america, greece ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Story:
FEARLESS HEART is the story of a young family stranded in the slums of New York City during the Great Depression. Gentle, believable characters make the film heartwarming and enjoyable but it has drama from one scene to another. You can't wait ...
Style:
captivating, inspirational, emotional, historical drama, period piece ...
Plot:
great depression, poverty, poor, faith, family drama, resilience, hopes, courage, family bonds, love, family problems, financial problem ...
Time:
1930s
Place:
new york
Is relevant?
49K
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story:
Carnivàle is an American television series set in the United States during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl. In tracing the lives of two disparate groups of people, its overarching story depicts the battle between good and evil and the struggle ...
Style:
serious, atmospheric, surreal, captivating, period piece ...
Plot:
circus, surrealism, prophecy, healing power, god or devil, evil, psychic, self discovery, clergy, good versus evil, supernatural, freak ...
Time:
1930s, 20th century, year 1935, year 1934
Place:
california, usa
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 129 min.
Story:
Desperate characters stake their fortune on a Depression-era dance marathon.
Style:
depressing, disturbing, atmospheric, bleak, period piece ...
Plot:
depression, dancing, social commentary, survival, contest, competition, great depression, cynicism, mental breakdown, exhaustion, contests and competitions, heart attack ...
Time:
1930s, 20th century, year 1969, 1920s
Place:
california, usa, los angeles, chicago, dallas texas ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 158 min.
Story:
Ruthless silver miner, turned oil prospector, Daniel Plainview moves to oil-rich California. Using his adopted son to project a trustworthy, family-man image, Plainview cons local landowners into selling him their valuable properties for a pittance. ...
Style:
serious, cerebral, epic, visually stunning, gloomy ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
oil, character study, greed, money, capitalism, rise to the top, ambition, rivalry, father son relationship, abusive father, impostor, mission ...
Time:
1900s, 20th century, turn of the century, middle ages, 19th century ...
Place:
california, texas, pacific ocean, los angeles, america ...
Is relevant?
61K
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min.
Story:
Two men in 1930s Mississippi become friends after being sentenced to life in prison together for a crime they did not commit.
Style:
funny, humorous, surprise ending, entertaining, semi serious ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
twists and turns, prison, life sentence, murder, friendship between men, african american, prison escape, prison life, racist, baseball, racism, escape attempt ...
Time:
1930s, 90s, year 1932, year 1944, year 1972 ...
Place:
mississippi, new york, usa, southern usa, harlem ...
Is relevant?
12K
Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min.
Story:
Set in Kansas City in 1933, Eastwood plays a police lieutenant known simply by his last name, Speer. Reynolds plays a former cop turned private eye named Mike Murphy. Both Speer and Murphy served on the force together and were once good friends, but ...
Style:
detective, neo noir, humorous, stylized, cult classic ...
Audience:
boys' night, teens
Plot:
private detective, buddy cop, gangster, organized crime, buddy, two man army, tough guy, fistfight, tough cop, investigation, police officer, great depression ...
Time:
1930s, 20th century
Place:
kansas
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
