Sort by Popularity - Most Popular Movies and TV Shows tagged with keyword "down-on-one's-luck"

1. In a Lonely Place (1950)

Not Rated | 94 min | Drama, Film-Noir, Mystery

A potentially violent screenwriter is a murder suspect until his lovely neighbor clears him. However, she soon starts to have her doubts.

Director: Nicholas Ray | Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Gloria Grahame, Frank Lovejoy, Carl Benton Reid

Votes: 35,221

2. Rudderless (2014)

R | 105 min | Comedy, Drama, Music

A grieving father in a downward spiral stumbles across a box of his recently deceased son's demo tapes and lyrics. Shocked by the discovery of this unknown talent, he forms a band in the hope of finding some catharsis.

Director: William H. Macy | Stars: Billy Crudup, Anton Yelchin, Felicity Huffman, Selena Gomez

Votes: 19,481 | Gross: $0.04M

3. Ishtar (1987)

PG-13 | 107 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy

Two terrible lounge singers get booked to play a gig in a Moroccan hotel but somehow become pawns in an international power play between the C.I.A., the Emir of Ishtar, and the rebels trying to overthrow his regime.

Director: Elaine May | Stars: Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman, Isabelle Adjani, Charles Grodin

Votes: 12,010 | Gross: $14.38M

4. The Man Without a Past (2002)

PG-13 | 97 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

M arrives in Helsinki only to be viciously attacked by thugs and pronounced dead by medics. He revives but with no memory of his past or his identity. He rebuilds his life from scratch, but the past inevitably catches up with him.

Director: Aki Kaurismäki | Stars: Markku Peltola, Kati Outinen, Annikki Tähti, Juhani Niemelä

Votes: 26,066 | Gross: $0.92M

5. King of the Ants (I) (2003)

R | 102 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

A young drifter discovers his true calling when he's hired by a mobster to stalk and kill a prominent accountant, and then decides to seek revenge when the stingy thugs try to kill him rather than pay him.

Director: Stuart Gordon | Stars: Chris McKenna, Kari Wuhrer, George Wendt, Vernon Wells

Votes: 4,581

6. Abruptio (2023)

94 min | Animation, Horror

Les Hackel is a guy down on his luck who wakes to find an explosive device has been implanted in his neck.

Director: Evan Marlowe | Stars: James Marsters, Christopher McDonald, Hana Mae Lee, Jordan Peele

Votes: 95

7. The Great Rupert (1950)

Passed | 87 min | Comedy, Family

A little squirrel with lots of charm accidentally helps two poor, down-but-NOT-out families overcome their obstacles.

Director: Irving Pichel | Stars: Jimmy Durante, Terry Moore, Tom Drake, Frank Orth

Votes: 1,575

8. Fifth Avenue Girl (1939)

Approved | 83 min | Comedy, Romance

Feeling unwanted by his wife and children, a wealthy industrialist hires an unemployed young woman to pose as his mistress.

Director: Gregory La Cava | Stars: Ginger Rogers, Walter Connolly, Verree Teasdale, James Ellison

Votes: 1,772

9. Lost at Christmas (I) (2020)

100 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

Two down-on-their-luck strangers come together to try and get home for Christmas.

Director: Ryan Hendrick | Stars: Natalie Clark, Kenny Boyle, Sylvester McCoy, Clare Grogan

Votes: 736

10. The Duke Is Tops (1938)

Approved | 73 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical

A theatrical producer puts aside his own success to boost the career of a talented singer.

Directors: William L. Nolte, Ralph Cooper | Stars: Ralph Cooper, Lena Horne, Laurence Criner, Monte Hawley

Votes: 429

11. Avoveteen (1939)

100 min | Drama

Yrjö Niemelä moves to Helsinki. There he, unemployed, homeless, and penniless, tries to commit suicide but is rescued by a soldier of the Salvation Army.

Director: Orvo Saarikivi | Stars: Kullervo Kalske, Irma Seikkula, Aino Lohikoski, Hugo Hytönen

Votes: 60

12. To Win the Lottery (1970)

91 min | Comedy

After toiling away for eighteen years at a big corporation, a meek accountant turns his luck around when he wins the football sweepstake. Perhaps, now, the statuesque music diva, Lola, will notice him; however, is money everything in life?

Director: Dinos Dimopoulos | Stars: Dinos Iliopoulos, Anna Matzourani, Dionysis Papagiannopoulos, Rika Dialyna

Votes: 58

13. Screen Two (1985–1998)
Episode: The Grass Arena (1991)

TV-14 | 90 min | Drama

The Grass Arena is a biopic based on the autobiography of John Healy. Raised in an ultra religious family, with an abusive father, young Johnny soon learns that he has to learn to defend ... See full summary »

Director: Gillies MacKinnon | Stars: Mark Rylance, Pete Postlethwaite, Lynsey Baxter, Marian McLoughlin

Votes: 123

14. Amazing Stories (1985–1987)
Episode: The 21-Inch Sun (1987)

Not Rated | 22 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

A sitcom scriptwriter, who's suffering from writer's block, discovers that his house plant has miraculously gained sentience and a funny bone after being left in front of a TV while old sitcoms were playing. The plant ghostwrites for him.

Director: Nick Castle | Stars: Robert Townsend, Michael Lerner, Craig Richard Nelson, Robert Starr

Votes: 194

15. The Hitchhiker (1983–1991)
Episode: Man's Best Friend (1985)

TV-MA | 27 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery

Down on his luck yuppie Richard Shepard crashes at his buddy Carl's swanky seaside abode after he gets thrown out of his home by his fed-up wife Eleanor. Richard develops a strong bond with... See full summary »

Director: Phillip Noyce | Stars: Page Fletcher, Michael O'Keefe, Jennifer Cooke, Joel Polis

Votes: 109

16. Tales from the Crypt (1989–1996)
Episode: Beauty Rest (1992)

Not Rated | 30 min | Comedy, Crime, Fantasy

Lie's not been easy for actress, Helen. She's getting older and her dreams of hitting the big time are disappearing. When she gets a chance to take part in a beauty contest, she's determined to do ANYTHING to win.

Director: Stephen Hopkins | Stars: Mimi Rogers, Jennifer Rubin, Kathy Ireland, Buck Henry

Votes: 847

17. Il videogiocatore scemo (2017– )
Episode: Il videogiocatore scemo vs Twitch (2021)

6 min | Comedy

Add a Plot

Director: Mario Palladino | Stars: Mario Palladino, Nicola Palmieri

18. Creepshow (2019– )
Episode: Bad Wolf Down/The Finger (2019)

TV-MA | 44 min | Fantasy, Horror, Mystery

A platoon of desperate American soldiers turn to an unlikely solution when trapped by Nazis; A lonely man finds a strange finger that seems to be growing.

Directors: Greg Nicotero, Rob Schrab | Stars: David A MacDonald, Callan Wilson, Kid Cudi, Nelson Bonilla

Votes: 1,473