Which Classic Movie Like Enola Holmes Features Victorian London?

As someone who’s spent a lot of late nights reading Victorian novels and falling asleep with dust jackets on my chest, I have a soft spot for films that portray that era with real grit. When I saw 'Enola Holmes', I loved the blend of feminist spirit and mystery set against Victorian London, which got me hunting for classics that offer the same mix of social observation, period costumes, and shadowy streets. Two films I always recommend are 'Great Expectations' (1946) and 'Oliver Twist' (1948). Both are David Lean adaptations that bring Dickens’ London to life — the haze of the river, the cramped tenements, and the rigid class lines that trap characters in ways very different from modern sensibilities. Lean wasn’t interested in mere costume drama; his films feel like they breathe with the grime and sorrow of the city.

For mystery fans, the old Sherlock Holmes cycle starring Basil Rathbone provides an almost archetypal Victorian detective experience. Those films lean into fog, gaslight, and Gothic set pieces, and while they sometimes modernize or compress stories, they capture Holmesian logic and the era’s atmosphere really well. If you’re curious about a more expressionistic take on London as a place of menace, Alfred Hitchcock’s 'The Lodger' (1927) is essential. It’s silent and a little rough around the edges, but its use of shadow, silhouette, and the city’s claustrophobic geometry had a huge influence on how filmmakers visualize urban dread.

I’d also push you toward 'Gaslight' (1944). Although it’s recognized as a domestic thriller, it lives in the same visual and emotional space as period mysteries — Victorian homes with hidden spaces, secrets, and a sense of social surveillance. And for a different kind of classic that still conveys the era’s contradictions — empathy alongside cruelty — 'The Elephant Man' (1980) is unforgettable; its depiction of 19th-century London’s spectacle and compassion hits hard. If you want a marathon: alternate between Dickens’ world and detective stories to see both the public theater of poverty and the private mysteries happening inside parlors and lodgings. Pop some popcorn, but keep the room dim; these films really reward that eerie, candlelit mood.

I still get a little thrill when I think about foggy streets and gas lamps, so when someone asks for a classic film that scratches the same Victorian itch as 'Enola Holmes', I immediately start picturing Dickensian alleys and shadowy detectives. If you love the spirited mystery and period detail of 'Enola Holmes', some older films lean into the atmosphere and social textures that make that world so appealing. A great first stop is 'Great Expectations' (1946), directed by David Lean — it’s lush, moody, and drenched in the class tension that defines much of Victorian London. The marshes, the crumbling estates, and Pip’s uneasy journey through a rigid society capture the era’s mood in a very cinematic way, and Lean’s visuals often feel like a black-and-white cousin to the stylized sets in modern period pieces.

Another film that always comes to mind is 'Oliver Twist' (1948), also adapted from Dickens and also directed by Lean. It’s grittier in spots, with ragged streets and sharp social commentary that remind you London wasn’t all corsets and ballrooms. If you’re drawn to the mystery/detective angle, though, old Sherlock Holmes films are a natural bridge. The Basil Rathbone Holmes films (the 1939–1946 series and the later Hammer takes) are fun blends of deduction and Victorian-flavored set design — think smoky clubs, clever one-liners, and a heavy dose of foggy suspense. For a more gothic, dread-driven vibe, Alfred Hitchcock’s 'The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog' (1927) is a silent-era masterpiece about a Jack the Ripper–style terror in London; it’s less polished by modern standards but brilliantly atmospheric.

If you’re after a domestic mystery with psychological tension — something closer to Enola’s emotional stakes — 'Gaslight' (the classic 1944 version) nails the creepy, intimate manipulation set against a period backdrop. The house, the dim lamps, the sense of being watched — those elements feel like distant cousins to the way 'Enola Holmes' uses domestic spaces to reveal character. For a different but very affecting portrait of Victorian London’s underbelly, David Lynch’s 'The Elephant Man' (1980) is later than the others but captures the city’s cruelty and occasional compassion in a way that’s deeply human and visually arresting.

If you want a watchlist starter: begin with 'Great Expectations' or 'Oliver Twist' for Dickensian texture, slide into a Rathbone Holmes movie for detective thrills, and finish with 'Gaslight' to feel that domestic suspense. Make yourself tea, dim the lights, and enjoy the foggy streets — they really transport you back in time.

My friends joke that I’m the person who will pick films by how well they render fog, so when someone asks for movies like 'Enola Holmes' that feature Victorian London, I get very excited and a little picky. If you want that mix of sleuthing, independent-minded characters, and gaslit streets, start with the Sherlock canon — not the modern BBC stuff, but the vintage Holmes films (think the Basil Rathbone era and the later Hammer adaptations). They’re campy at times, but their love for moody London and clever plotting is infectious. For something more literary and somber, 'Great Expectations' (1946) and 'Oliver Twist' (1948) are must-sees — they show the city as both grand and cruel, full of haunted people and moral questions that resonate with Enola’s own critiques of society.

If your heart is set on thrills and tension inside Victorian homes, 'Gaslight' (1944) is the blueprint for intimate psychological suspense in a period setting — it’s basically the archetype for domestic dread under dim electric and gas lamps. And if you’re okay with something a little later but gorgeously done, 'The Elephant Man' (1980) is a more modern classic that portrays Victorian London’s spectacle culture and the humanity beneath it. For texture and historical eeriness, don’t skip Hitchcock’s 'The Lodger'; it’s an early study in urban paranoia and is surprisingly effective at building suspense without modern conventions.

I’ll leave you with a tiny viewing ritual I’ve developed: make a pot of strong tea, turn off bright lights, and watch with a window slightly open so the evening air adds to the mood. If you want to chase more female-focused period stories specifically, pairing these classics with a historical novel or a modern adaptation really highlights how perspectives have shifted — and how fun it is to see the same city through different storytellers’ eyes.