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Steamboat Bill, Jr. poster

Movies that feel likeSteamboat Bill, Jr. (1928)

The just-out-of-college, effete son of a no-nonsense steamboat captain comes to visit his father whom he's not seen since he was a child.

If you loved Steamboat Bill, Jr., the closest films we have are Seven Chances (1925), Horse Feathers (1932) and The Awful Truth (1937). All three share Steamboat Bill, Jr.'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).

🍅 96% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7.8 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Charles Reisnerwittyplayfulromantic
5 of 12 streaming nowHBO Max · Amazon Prime Video · Kino Film Collection

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If Steamboat Bill, Jr. hit the spot, these will too

Seven Chances poster
Seven Chances
1925 · dir. Buster Keaton
🍅 94%★ 7.8comedy · romance

Both keep coming back to the same thing: silent film

Struggling stockbroker Jimmie Shannon learns that, if he gets married by 7 p.m. on his 27th birthday -- which is today -- he'll inherit $7 million from an eccentric relative.

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

Common ground: black and white

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

The same mix in both: wit, then play

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

My Man Godfrey poster
My Man Godfrey
1936 · dir. Gregory La Cava
🍅 97%★ 7.9comedyPrime Video

Both are built on the same subject: black and white

Fifth Avenue socialite Irene Bullock needs a "forgotten man" to win a scavenger hunt, and no one is more forgotten than Godfrey Park, who resides in a dump by the East River. Irene hires Godfrey as a servant for her riotously unhinged family, to the chagrin of her spoiled sister, Cornelia, who tries her best to get Godfrey fired. As Irene falls for her new butler, Godfrey turns the tables and teaches the frivolous Bullocks a lesson or two.

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

Romantic comedy 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.

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

Both lean on wit more than on romance

The difference: 21 years apart, and the 1940s show

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.

On the Town poster
On the Town
1949 · dir. Stanley Donen
🍅 94%★ 7.3comedy · romance

Playful comedy, and it commits to that

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

Bringing Up Baby poster
Bringing Up Baby
1938 · dir. Howard Hawks
🍅 97%★ 7.8comedy · romance

Romance built on romance, twice over

David Huxley is waiting to get a bone he needs for his museum collection. Through a series of strange circumstances, he meets Susan Vance, and the duo have a series of misadventures which include a leopard called Baby.

The Philadelphia Story poster
The Philadelphia Story
1940 · dir. George Cukor
🍅 100%★ 7.8comedy · romance

Comedy with a pulse of wit, in both cases

When a rich woman's ex-husband and a tabloid-type reporter turn up just before her planned remarriage, she begins to learn the truth about herself.

Safety Last! poster
Safety Last!
1923 · dir. Sam Taylor
🍅 97%★ 8.1comedy · romance · thrillerMax

The same preoccupation in both: silent film

The difference: Sits closer to thriller than Steamboat Bill, Jr. does

When a store clerk organizes a contest to climb the outside of a tall building, circumstances force him to make the perilous climb himself.

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

Romance with a pulse of play, in both cases

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.

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

Both sit in the same romantic register

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.

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The best-reviewed films that share Steamboat Bill, Jr.’s defining feeling.