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On the Town poster

Movies that feel likeOn the Town (1949)

Three sailors wreak havoc as they search for love during a whirlwind 24-hour leave in New York City.

If you loved On the Town, the closest films we have are Singin' in the Rain (1952), Bedazzled (1967) and Adam's Rib (1949). All three share On the Town's witty and playful feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is The Palm Beach Story (1942).

🍅 94% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7.3 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Stanley Donenwittyplayfulromantic
6 of 12 streaming nowHBO Max · FlixFling · IndieFlix

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See it on the Mood Map

If On the Town hit the spot, these will too

Singin' in the Rain poster
Singin' in the Rain
1952 · dir. Stanley Donen
🍅 100%★ 8.3comedy · romanceMax

Stanley Donen working the same nerve twice

In 1927 Hollywood, a silent film star falls for a chorus girl just as he and his paranoid screen partner struggle to make the difficult transition to talking pictures.

Bedazzled poster
Bedazzled
1967 · dir. Stanley Donen
🍅 74%★ 6.7fantasy · comedy · romance

The same hand behind both of them: Stanley Donen

The difference: Sits closer to fantasy than On the Town does

A hapless loser sells his soul to the Devil in exchange for seven wishes, but has trouble winning over the girl of his dreams.

Adam's Rib poster
Adam's Rib
1949 · dir. George Cukor
🍅 96%★ 7.4comedy · romance

Both land wit and play at once

A woman's attempted murder of her uncaring husband results in everyday quarrels in the lives of Adam and Amanda, a pair of happily married lawyers who end up on opposite sides of the case in court.

How to Marry a Millionaire poster
How to Marry a Millionaire
1953 · dir. Jean Negulesco
🍅 81%★ 6.8comedy · romance

Common ground: musical

Three women set out to find eligible millionaires to marry, but find true love in the process.

Two for the Road poster
Two for the Road
1967 · dir. Stanley Donen
🍅 82%★ 7.3drama · romance · comedy

Comedy with a pulse of romance, in both cases

The difference: Leans harder into drama than On the Town does

Architect Mark Wallace and his wife, Joanna, travel to France to meet with an affluent client. While there, they reflect on their first decade of marriage -- memories of when they first met, of courtship, and of road trips through the French countryside. As flirtation and playful quarreling turn to boredom with the banality of married life, the Wallaces struggle to rekindle their passion, while mutual infidelity threatens to tear them apart.

The Palm Beach Story poster
The Palm Beach Story
1942 · dir. Preston Sturges
🍅 94%★ 7.5comedy · romance

Witty romance in both cases

A New York inventor, Tom Jeffers, needs cash to develop his big idea, so his adoring wife, Gerry, decides to raise it by divorcing him and marrying an eccentric Florida millionaire, J. D. Hackensacker III.

Smiles of a Summer Night poster
Smiles of a Summer Night
1955 · dir. Ingmar Bergman
🍅 100%★ 7.7comedy · romance

Comedy built on play, twice over

Early in the 20th century, middle-aged lawyer Fredrik Egerman and his young wife, Anne, have still not consummated their marriage, while Fredrik's son finds himself increasingly attracted to his new stepmother. To make matters worse, Fredrik's old flame Desiree makes a public bet that she can seduce him at a romantic weekend retreat where four couples convene, swapping partners and pairing off in unexpected ways.

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers poster
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
1954 · dir. Stanley Donen
🍅 89%★ 7.3comedy · drama · western

One thread runs through both: musical

In 1850 Oregon, when a backwoodsman brings a wife home to his farm, his six brothers decide that they want to get married too.

Horse Feathers poster
Horse Feathers
1932 · dir. Norman Z. McLeod
🍅 97%★ 7.5comedy · romance

Romantic romance, and it commits to that

Quincy Adams Wagstaff, the new president of Huxley U, hires bumblers Baravelli and Pinky to help his school win the big football game against rival Darwin U.

The Awful Truth poster
The Awful Truth
1937 · dir. Leo McCarey
🍅 94%★ 7.6comedy · romance

Both lean on wit more than on comedy

Unfounded suspicions lead a married couple to begin divorce proceedings, whereupon they start undermining each other's attempts to find new romance.

Funny Face poster
Funny Face
1957 · dir. Stanley Donen
🍅 85%★ 7music · comedy · romance

Both lean on play more than on romance

A shy Greenwich Village book clerk is discovered by a fashion photographer and whisked off to Paris where she becomes a reluctant model.

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes poster
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
1953 · dir. Howard Hawks
🍅 88%★ 7.1comedy · romance

The shared currency is romance

Lorelei Lee is a beautiful showgirl engaged to be married to the wealthy Gus Esmond, much to the disapproval of Gus' rich father, Esmond Sr., who thinks that Lorelei is just after his money. When Lorelei goes on a cruise accompanied only by her best friend, Dorothy Shaw, Esmond Sr. hires Ernie Malone, a private detective, to follow her and report any questionable behavior that would disqualify her from the marriage.

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The best-reviewed films that share On the Town’s defining feeling.