Movies like The Red Herring (1988)
The best movies like The Red Herring (1988) are What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? (1966), The Wackiest Ship in the Army (1960) and Oh! What a Lovely War (1969). If The Red Herring hooked you with its comedy and war, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedDr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)8.1/10 from 6,470 votes
- NewestBad Apples (2026)Released 2026
What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? (1966)
A by-the-book Captain is ordered to capture a strategic village in Italy. The Italian soldiers are willing to surrender, if they can have a festival first. The lieutenant convinces the Captain this is the only way. Because of aerial reconnaissance, they must look like they are fighting. To sort this out an intelligence officer is sent in. Meanwhile the festival gets complicated with the Mayors daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & war
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Wackiest Ship in the Army (1960)
Lieutenant Rip Crandall is hoodwinked into taking command of the "Wackiest Ship in the Navy" – a real garbage scow with a crew of misfits who don't know a jib from a jigger. What none of them knows, including Crandall, is that this ship has a very important top-secret mission to complete in waters patrolled by the Japanese fleet. Their mission will save hundreds of allied lives – if only they can get there in one piece.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOh! What a Lovely War (1969)
The working-class Smiths change their initially sunny views on World War I after the five boys of the family witness the harsh reality of trench warfare.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBuck Privates (1941)
Petty con artists Slicker Smith and Herbie Brown mistakenly join the Army evading the cops. The cop chasing them winds up as their drill instructor. A rich young man and his former working class chauffeur are not only in the same unit, they're vying for a pretty girl who seems attracted to both.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming! (1966)
When a Soviet submarine gets stuck on a sandbar off the coast of a New England island, its commander orders his second-in-command, Lieutenant Rozanov, to get them moving again before there is an international incident. Rozanov seeks assistance from the island locals, including the police chief and a vacationing television writer, while trying to allay their fears of a Communist invasion by claiming he and his crew are Norwegian sailors.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
After the insane General Jack D. Ripper initiates a nuclear strike on the Soviet Union, a war room full of politicians, generals and a Russian diplomat all frantically try to stop it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & war
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisCarry On Sergeant (1958)
Sergeant Grimshawe wants to retire in the flush of success by winning the Star Squad prize with his very last platoon of newly called-up National Servicemen. But a motley bunch they turn out to be, and it's up to Grimshawe to put the no-hopers through their paces.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShoulder Arms (1918)
An American doughboy, stationed in France during the Great War, goes on a daring mission behind enemy lines and becomes a hero.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHot Shots! (1991)
The gang that created Airplane! and The Naked Gun sets its sights on Top Gun in this spoof. Topper Harley is a talented but unstable fighter pilot with an axe to grind: clearing the family name. His mission is to avenge his father and save a mission sabotaged by greedy weapons manufacturers. He also gets involved in a relationship with Ramada Thompson, a woman with an unusually talented stomach. Hot Shots! makes fun of a variety of other films, from Dances with Wolves to The Fabulous Baker Boys.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHot Shots! Part Deux (1993)
Topper Harley is found to be working as an odd-job-man in a monastery. The CIA want him to lead a rescue mission into Iraq, to rescue the last rescue team, who went in to rescue the last rescue team—who went in to rescue hostages left behind after Desert Storm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDuck Soup (1933)
Rufus T. Firefly is named president/dictator of bankrupt Freedonia and declares war on neighboring Sylvania over the love of wealthy Mrs. Teasdale.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Secret War of Harry Frigg (1968)
When 5 allied generals are captured in Italy in WWII, it is a propaganda nightmare for the allies. The generals are all 1 star and refuse to take orders from each other in order to plan an escape. Harry Frigg is a private who has escaped from the guard house dozens of times. He is promoted to Major General and ordered to get the generals out once he is captured. Harry is willing to escape, but then he meets the countess...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSahara (1995)
After the fall of Tobruk in June 1942, U.S. Army sergeant Joe Gunn leads his tank into the Sahara desert, in order to evade advancing Rommel's forces and reach Allied lines. Along the way he picks up few Allied soldiers, but soon they are running out of water. They find water at the ancient well, but the well is a goal of an entire German battalion. Despite the impossible odds, Sergeant Gunn decides to defend the well.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWolf Hound (2022)
Inspired by the real-life German special operations unit KG 200 that shot down, repaired, and flew Allied aircraft as Trojan horses, "Wolf Hound" takes place in 1944 German-occupied France and follows the daring exploits of Jewish-American fighter pilot Captain David Holden. Ambushed behind enemy lines, Holden must rescue a captured B-17 Flying Fortress crew, evade a ruthless enemy stalking him at every turn, and foil a plot that could completely alter the outcome of World War II.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBritannia Hospital (1982)
Britannia Hospital, an esteemed English institution, is marking its gala anniversary with a visit by the Queen Mother herself. But when investigative reporter Mick Travis arrives to cover the celebration, he finds the hospital under siege by striking workers, ruthless unions, violent demonstrators, racist aristocrats, an African cannibal dictator, and sinister human experiments.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Girl Most Likely To... (1973)
An ugly girl undergoes plastic surgery and becomes beautiful. She then takes revenge on all the people who mistreated her when she was ugly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mouse That Roared (1959)
The Duchy of Grand Fenwick decides that the only way to get out of their economic woes is to declare war on the United States, lose and accept foreign aid. They send an invasion force (in chain mail, armed with bows and arrows) to New York and they arrive during a nuclear drill that has cleared the streets.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFun with Dick and Jane (1977)
When an upwardly mobile couple find themselves unemployed and in debt, they turn to armed robbery in desperation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDuplex (2003)
When a young couple buys their dream home, they have no idea what the sweet little old lady upstairs is going to put them through!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBad Apples (2026)
A struggling primary school teacher is forced to take drastic action because of a foul-mouthed, violent student, and uncovers how her community will turn a blind eye to the most outrageous events to preserve harmony and their sense of safety.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Red Herring?
The closest matches to The Red Herring are What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? (1966), The Wackiest Ship in the Army (1960) and Oh! What a Lovely War (1969). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Red Herring?
Start with What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? (1966), the closest match to The Red Herring.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Red Herring?
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), rated 8.1/10 by 6,470 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Red Herring?
Bad Apples (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Red Herring?
Yes: What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? (1966), The Wackiest Ship in the Army (1960) and Oh! What a Lovely War (1969).
How are movies similar to The Red Herring chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Red Herring, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.