feelsalike.comSign in
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town poster

Movies that feel likeMr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)

Longfellow Deeds lives in a small town, leading a small town kind of life. When a relative dies and leaves Deeds a fortune, Longfellow moves to the big city where he becomes an instant target for everyone. Deeds outwits them all until Babe Bennett comes along. When small-town boy meets big-city girl anything can, and does, happen.

If you loved Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, the closest films we have are Meet John Doe (1941), The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) and Eat Drink Man Woman (1994). All three share Mr. Deeds Goes to Town's contemplative and romantic feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is I Know Where I'm Going! (1945).

6 of 12 streaming nowHBO Max · Amazon Prime Video · Criterion Channel

Can't choose? Answer three questions and get one movie for tonight.

Not on subscription streaming right now. Rent or buy below.

See it on the Mood Map

If Mr. Deeds Goes to Town hit the spot, these will too

Looking for the series itself? Also in this series: Mr. Deeds (2002)

Meet John Doe poster
Meet John Doe
1941 · dir. Frank Capra
🍅 92%★ 7.6drama · comedy · romancePrime Video

The same hand behind both of them: Frank Capra

The difference: Trades the comfort of Mr. Deeds Goes to Town for an angle of its own

As a parting shot, fired reporter Ann Mitchell prints a fake letter from unemployed "John Doe," who threatens suicide in protest of social ills. The paper is forced to rehire Ann and hires John Willoughby to impersonate "Doe." Ann and her bosses cynically milk the story for all it's worth, until the made-up "John Doe" philosophy starts a whole political movement.

The Magnificent Ambersons poster
The Magnificent Ambersons
1942 · dir. Orson Welles
🍅 89%★ 7.6drama · romance

Common ground: small town life

The difference: Easier on the wit than Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

The spoiled young heir to the decaying Amberson fortune comes between his widowed mother and the man she has always loved.

Eat Drink Man Woman poster
Eat Drink Man Woman
1994 · dir. Ang Lee
🍅 88%★ 7.8comedy · drama · romance

The same mix in both: wit, then play

The difference: Made in the 1990s, in a different era of the craft

Retired and widowed Chinese master chef Chu lives in modern day Taipei, with his three attractive daughters, all of whom are unattached. Soon, each daughter encounters a new man in their lives. When these new relationships blossom, stereotypes are broken and the living situation within the family changes.

It Happened One Night poster
It Happened One Night
1934 · dir. Frank Capra
🍅 98%★ 8.1comedy · romance

Frank Capra directing both, with the same fingerprints on each

A runaway heiress makes a deal with the rogue reporter trailing her but the mismatched pair end up stuck with each other when their bus leaves them behind.

The Cameraman poster
The Cameraman
1928 · dir. Edward Sedgwick
🍅 100%★ 8comedy · romance · drama

Both rooted in New York City

A photographer takes up newsreel shooting to impress a secretary.

Holiday poster
Holiday
1938 · dir. George Cukor
🍅 100%★ 7.7comedy · romance · drama

Contemplative where it counts, romantic underneath

Johnny Case, a freethinking financier, has finally found the girl of his dreams — Julia Seton, the spoiled daughter of a socially prominent millionaire — and she's agreed to marry him. But when Johnny plans a holiday for the two to enjoy life while they are still young, his fiancée has other plans & that is for Johnny to work in her father's bank!

I Know Where I'm Going! poster
I Know Where I'm Going!
1945 · dir. Michael Powell
🍅 100%★ 7.4romance · drama · comedy

Both are built on the same subject: black and white

Plucky Englishwoman Joan Webster travels to the remote islands of the Scottish Hebrides in order to marry a wealthy industrialist. Trapped by inclement weather on the Isle of Mull and unable to continue to her destination, Joan finds herself charmed by the straightforward, no-nonsense islanders around her, and becomes increasingly attracted to naval officer Torquil MacNeil, who holds a secret that may change her life forever.

The Shop Around the Corner poster
The Shop Around the Corner
1940 · dir. Ernst Lubitsch
🍅 99%★ 8comedy · drama · romance

The same preoccupation in both: black and white

Two employees at a gift shop can barely stand one another, without realising that they are falling in love through the post as each other's anonymous pen pal.

Limelight poster
Limelight
1952 · dir. Charlie Chaplin
🍅 88%★ 8romance · drama · comedyMax

Both lean on tenderness more than on comedy

A fading music hall comedian tries to help a despondent ballet dancer learn to walk and to again feel confident about life.

Moonstruck poster
Moonstruck
1987 · dir. Norman Jewison
🍅 90%★ 7.2comedy · drama · romance

Cozy drama, and it commits to that

37-year-old Italian-American widow Loretta Castorini believes she is unlucky in love, and so accepts a marriage proposal from her boyfriend Johnny, even though she doesn't love him. When she meets his estranged younger brother Ronny, an emotional and passionate man, she finds herself drawn to him. She tries to resist, but Ronny, who blames his brother for the loss of his hand, has no scruples about aggressively pursuing her while Johnny is out of the country. As Loretta falls for Ronny, she learns that she's not the only one in her family with a secret romance.

The Circus poster
The Circus
1928 · dir. Charlie Chaplin
🍅 97%★ 8.1comedy · drama · romancePrime VideoMax

Romance with a pulse of wit, in both cases

Charlie, a wandering tramp, becomes a circus handyman - soon the star of the show - and falls in love with the circus owner's stepdaughter.

You Can't Take It with You poster
You Can't Take It with You
1938 · dir. Frank Capra
🍅 94%★ 7.8comedy · romance

Comedy built on play, twice over

Alice, the only relatively normal member of the eccentric Sycamore family, falls in love with Tony Kirby, but his wealthy banker father and snobbish mother strongly disapprove of the match. When the Kirbys are invited to dinner to become better acquainted with their future in-laws, things don't turn out the way Alice had hoped.

In the mood for more witty?

all witty movies →

The best-reviewed films that share Mr. Deeds Goes to Town’s defining feeling.