6 Best Boarding House and Rooming House Movies

By Vlad Zakh · April 6, 2026

A boarding house throws strangers together, and that makes for rich ensemble stories. Delicatessen has eccentric tenants hiding a horrifying secret, Barton Fink strands a playwright in a decaying hotel, and Grand Hotel interweaves the guests’ lives over one fateful stay. Boarding House Blues, Stage Door and The Petrified Forest round out the six.

Delicatessen (1991)

TMDB ★ 7.5

The eccentric tenants of a crumbling apartment building harbour a horrifying secret about their landlord.

Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet & Marc Caro · 1h 39m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Barton Fink (1991)

TMDB ★ 7.6

A Hollywood screenwriter's block turns into something much stranger inside a decaying hotel.

Directed by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen · 1h 57m · Rated R

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Boarding House Blues (1948)

TMDB ★ 4.9

A struggling theatrical boarding house owner schemes to keep her eccentric tenants from being evicted.

Directed by Josh Binney · 1h 26m

Where to watch

Stream: IndieFlix, Cultpix, IndieFlix Shorts Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Google Play Movies, YouTube

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Grand Hotel (1932)

TMDB ★ 7.2

The intertwining lives of guests at a luxurious Berlin hotel unfold over one fateful stay.

Directed by Edmund Goulding · 1h 52m

Where to watch

Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Stage Door (1937)

TMDB ★ 7.4

A group of aspiring actresses sharing a boarding house compete for the same coveted Broadway roles.

Directed by Gregory La Cava · 1h 32m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Stream: YouTube TV · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Petrified Forest (1936)

TMDB ★ 7.2

A wandering intellectual and a desperate gangster converge at a remote desert diner and gas station.

Directed by Archie Mayo · 1h 22m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.

6 Best Boarding House and Rooming House Movies

Delicatessen (1991)

Barton Fink (1991)

Boarding House Blues (1948)

Grand Hotel (1932)

Stage Door (1937)

The Petrified Forest (1936)

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