Tips: Where Can I Watch That Frock Flick?

Absolutely the number one most frequently asked question we get here on the blog and on social media is “where can I watch it” whenever we review a movie or TV show or just mention a particular frock flick. We already have a detailed answer in our FAQ, but since the issue continues to come up and because there are even more possible answers, we’re gonna do you a solid and share even more deets.

WITH THIS CAVEAT:

We don’t know where you live. We don’t know what TV or devices you have. We don’t know what streaming services you have access to. We don’t know how much you’re willing to pay, if anything. We don’t know how far you’re willing to search or download either. We aren’t you!

We are three chicks living in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States, and we subscribe (yes, pay money!) to a whole bunch of streaming services precisely because we review movies as one of our biggest hobbies. Plus we spend a fairly ridiculous amount of time searching around for additional frock flick sources.  We’re pretty committed to this! For older and/or more obscure flicks, you’re going to have to hunt, that’s just the way it is.

OK, now where to watch…

1. Google That Frock Flick!

Meaning, go to your preferred internet search engine and type in “where can I watch [name of movie/TV show].” It’s just that basic.

Look, we even tried several non-Google search engines (they exist!) and got similar results.

You won’t necessarily find anywhere to watch that frock flick for free (not legally, at least) and search engines can miss things or have outdated info, but this is still the first place you should try to find any movie or TV show. You’ll see what’s generally available and if the title tends to be on a subscription service like Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, etc.

If you see a lot of dollar signs (or other currency symbols), that frock flick is for rent or purchase, and it might be harder to find streaming for free.

Notice how those search results pages linked off to a lot of other places, some obvious like Amazon and YouTube, but others you might not have heard of. Let’s get into those!

2. Check Out Your Library via Kanopy or Hoopla

You can literally check out physical DVDs or VHS tapes from your local library, of course. But you can also stream frock flicks using your library card through the services of Kanopy (available worldwide) and/or Hoopla (available in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand). Take a look at which one your library uses, create a free account with your library card info, and peruse the vast catalog of films available. You’ll be able to rent a certain number of titles for viewing each month, just like you would at the IRL library.

While the movies and TV shows available will vary depending on your library’s selection, here’s a few we found recently on Kanopy: Romeo and Juliet (1968), Dangerous Liaisons (1988), Thousand Pieces of Gold (1991), Time Regained (1999), The Affair of the Necklace (2001), The Last King (2003), Brideshead Revisited (2008), The Duchess (2008), The Royal Tailor (2014), Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019), Blithe Spirit (2020), Emily (2022), Mr. Malcolm’s List (2022)

Recent finds on Hoopla: Restoration (1995), The Buccaneers (1995), Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries (2012-15), Death Comes to Pemberley (2013), The Devil’s Mistress (2015), To Walk Invisible (2016), Bletchley Circle: San Francisco (2018), A Discovery of Witches (2018-22), The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family (2021)

3. Sit Through Ads on a FAST Channel

Lots of movies and TV shows are available to stream online for free — if you don’t mind seeing them interspersed with advertisements. Hmm, sounds like the days of network TV! But no, it’s a new thing called Free Ad-supported Streaming Television (FAST). These channels can be watched on your computer, mobile device, or smart TV, and there’s a ton of them. Unfortunately we haven’t found any FAST channels dedicated to historical costume movies and TV shows, but frock flicks are scattered around many of these.

A lot of the same titles will show up across multiple FAST channels, so here’s some highlights of what we’ve seen:

Tubi TV is available in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Latin America, and it’s owned by Fox so it has access to MGM, Lionsgate, and Paramount content. This channel appears to have more historical titles that other FAST channels don’t, such as: Mr. Skeffington (1944), Gigi (1958), The Music Man (1962), Doctor Zhivago (1965), Maurice (1987), Howards End (1992), Malcolm X (1992), Persuasion (1995), The Scandalous Lady W (2015), Tale of Tales (2015), Underground (2016-17), Lovecraft Country (2020)

The Roku Channel is available in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and the U.K. This channel seems to have more British historical titles that other channels don’t, like: Pride and Prejudice (1995), The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1996), Tipping the Velvet (2002), Byron (2003), Stage Beauty (2004), Miss Austen Regrets (2007)

YouTube free with ads is available worldwide. Sure, you can find movies people have illegally uploaded to YouTube, but for better quality, dealing with ads may be worth it to watch these: Cleopatra (1963), Barry Lyndon (1975), The Age of Innocence (1993), Pride & Prejudice (2005), Marie Antoinette (2006)

Pluto TV is available in the U.S., Canada, Australia, much of Europe, and the U.K. It’s owned by Paramount and has some Paramount media, including: The Great Gatsby (1974), Little Women (1994), Titanic (1997), Frida (2002), Delicious (2021)

Plex is available worldwide and has a bunch of the usual titles plus a few stand-outs like: Dangerous Beauty (1998), Te Ata (2016)

4. Go Through VPN and Other Sneaky Methods

Look, we’re not going to actually recommend violating copyright here! We skate the edge of it ourselves — everything we post is covered by fair use in the U.S. because we’re reviewing, commenting on, and critiquing movies and TV shows, plus we try to provide photo credits when we have them. But there’s a whole wide internet out there where you can find stuff for yourselves. Again, get thee to thy favorite search engine for the how-tos. We’re simply mentioning that it’s a possibility we are aware of.

So now you know even more — go forth and find that frock flick!