6 Best Norma Shearer Movies

By Vlad Zakh · January 27, 2026

Norma Shearer was one of the biggest stars of early Hollywood, and her willingness to play bold, sexually liberated women made her a defining figure of the pre-Code era. The Divorcee and A Free Soul are those, Private Lives reunites a divorced couple on their honeymoons, Romeo and Juliet and Marie Antoinette are costume dramas, and The Women gossips through a husband’s affair.

The Women (1939)

TMDB ★ 7.5

Barbara Pepper features in this comedy about a wealthy socialite who navigates gossip, betrayal and divorce among her catty circle of friends.

Directed by George Cukor · 2h 13m · Rated NR

Where to watch

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

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Marie Antoinette (1938)

TMDB ★ 6.9

The doomed French queen's extravagant reign unravels amid growing revolutionary unrest.

Directed by W.S. Van Dyke · 2h 29m · Rated NR

Where to watch

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

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Romeo and Juliet (1936)

TMDB ★ 6.9

Norma Shearer stars in this adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy about two teenagers from feuding families who fall desperately in love in Renaissance Verona.

Directed by George Cukor · 2h 05m · Rated NR

Where to watch

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

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Private Lives (1931)

TMDB ★ 6.5

A divorced couple's new marriages to other people are upended when they reunite by chance on honeymoon.

Directed by Sidney Franklin · 1h 24m · Rated NR

Where to watch

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

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

A Free Soul (1931)

TMDB ★ 6.4

A hard-drinking defence lawyer's free-spirited daughter falls for the gangster he has just got acquitted.

Directed by Clarence Brown · 1h 33m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Stream: Artiflix · 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

The Divorcee (1930)

TMDB ★ 6.7

Chester Morris appears as a woman who answers her husband's infidelity by embracing the same sexual freedom he enjoyed.

Directed by Robert Z. Leonard · 1h 23m · Rated NR

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

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 Norma Shearer Movies

The Women (1939)

Marie Antoinette (1938)

Romeo and Juliet (1936)

Private Lives (1931)

A Free Soul (1931)

The Divorcee (1930)

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