Movies like The Man Who Laughs (1966)
The best movies like The Man Who Laughs (1966) are True Grit (1969), The Prince and the Pauper (1977) and Sweet Bird of Youth (1962). If The Man Who Laughs hooked you with its drama and adventure, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedTrue Grit (1969)7.3/10 from 903 votes
- NewestOmaha (2025)Released 2025
- In ItalianThe Butcher (1998)Also in Italian
True Grit (1969)
The murder of her father sends a teenage tomboy on a mission of 'justice', which involves avenging her father's death. She recruits a tough old marshal, 'Rooster' Cogburn because he has 'true grit', and a reputation of getting the job done.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Prince and the Pauper (1977)
Tom Canty is a poor English boy who bears a remarkable resemblance to Edward, Prince of Wales and son of King Henry VIII. The two boys meet and decide to play a joke on the court by dressing in each other's clothes, but the plan goes awry when they're separated and each must live the other's life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSweet Bird of Youth (1962)
Gigolo and drifter Chance Wayne returns to his hometown as the companion of a faded movie star, Alexandra Del Lago, whom he hopes to use to help him break into the movies. Chance runs into trouble when he finds his ex-girlfriend, the daughter of the local politician Tom "Boss" Finley, who more or less forced him to leave his daughter and the town many years ago.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Devil's Double (2011)
A chilling vision of the House of Saddam Hussein comes to life through the eyes of the man who was forced to become the double of Hussein's sadistic son.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOmaha (2025)
A young girl and her brother are awoken by their father and loaded into the car on an early morning in 2008. As they road trip across the American West, she discovers the truth about their seemingly spontaneous journey.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGirl in the Bunker (2018)
When Elizabeth is abducted by a fugitive sexual predator, she realizes she must take matters into her own hands and plot her escape. Based on a true story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Woman's Face (1941)
A female blackmailer with a disfiguring facial scar meets a plastic surgeon who offers her the possibility of looking like a normal woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAdam (2020)
A hard-living salesman becomes a quadriplegic after an accident.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBosco (2024)
Based on the true story of Quawntay “Bosco” Adams. Sentenced to 35 years for attempted possession of marijuana, Adams miraculously escaped from a Federal maximum-security prison while under 24-hour surveillance in solitary confinement with the help of an older woman he met through a lonely-hearts ad.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnne of Green Gables (2016)
Anne Shirley, an orphan, is fostered by farmer Matthew Cuthbert and his sister Marilla, who were expecting a boy to be sent them to help with their farm work. They accept Anne, who quickly endears herself to them and to the local villagers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBattle of the Year (2013)
A down-on-his-luck coach is hired to prepare a team of the best American dancers for an international tournament that attracts all the best crews from around the world, but the Americans haven't won in fifteen years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRogue Agent (2022)
Conman Robert Freegard poses as an undercover MI5 agent and kidnaps countless victims amidst a high-stakes manhunt, until the woman who fell for him brings him to justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmber Alert (2024)
A ride-share turns into a high-stakes game of cat and mouse after it follows a car fitting the description of an AMBER Alert.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPinocchio (2022)
A wooden puppet embarks on a thrilling adventure to become a real boy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJohnny Handsome (1989)
A career criminal who has been deformed since birth is given a new face by a kindly doctor and paroled from prison. It appears that he has gone straight, but he is really planning his revenge on the man who killed his mentor and sent him to prison.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBroke (2025)
A bronc rider in denial about his fading rodeo career battles against brain injury and a sudden blizzard while reflecting on how it became so difficult to achieve his dreams.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Butcher (1998)
Alina is a brilliant and enterprising woman who runs a successful art gallery in Palermo. Her husband Daniele, a successful orchestra conductor, cultured and intelligent, is not a regular presence. One day, while accompanying Daniele to the airport, Alina feels a sense of emptiness. She will try to fill it with a butcher who is always joking and full of erotic allusions and who arouses a strong attraction in her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Bus (2021)
Widower Tom, on the recent passing of his wife Mary, uses his free bus pass to travel the length of Britain from John O'Groats in Caithness to Land's End in Cornwall, their shared birthplace, using only local buses. It's an incident-fuelled nostalgia trip and his encounters with local people make him a media phenomenon. Tom is totally unaware and to his surprise on arrival at Land’s End he’s greeted as a celebrity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDumbo (2019)
A young elephant, whose oversized ears enable him to fly, helps save a struggling circus, but when the circus plans a new venture, Dumbo and his friends discover dark secrets beneath its shiny veneer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMassacre Time (1966)
In 1866, prospector Tom Corbett returns to his hometown of Laramie, Texas, now under the brutal control of gangster Jason Scott and his violent son, Junior. With his brother Jeff, a struggling drunk cared for by their maid Mercedes, Tom seeks to overthrow the Scotts' tyrannical rule and restore peace to the town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Tigress (1990)
The wild and wanton Francisca, known as "The Tigress," is the eldest of three sisters, who are bosses of a farm in Ecuador. A medicine man tells Francisca and Juliana that their youngest sister Sara must remain a virgin to protect their land. A travelling salesman, engaged to Sara, tells the police that she is being kept locked up by her older sisters.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Devil's Own (1997)
Frankie McGuire, one of the IRA's deadliest assassins, draws an American family into the crossfire of terrorism. But when he is sent to the U.S. to buy weapons, Frankie is housed with the family of Tom O'Meara, a New York cop who knows nothing about Frankie's real identity. Their surprising friendship, and Tom's growing suspicions, forces Frankie to choose between the promise of peace or a lifetime of murder.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRaphael or the Debauched One (1971)
In 1830s France, a virtuous widow falls for a self-destructive debauchee obsessed with death. Initial resistance gives way to a desperate and cynical romance.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Grande école (2004)
Paul and Agnes have been going out for quite a while and Agnes is shocked to learn that he'd rather live with two roommates on campus than move in with her. As soon as he meets one of his roommates, Louis-Anault, Paul's behavior changes - he is attracted to Louis without realizing so himself. Agnes, on the other hand, gets quite jealous and offers a bet: Whoever gets to have Louis-Anault first, wins... If she does, Paul will no longer explore his homosexual desires, if he does - she'll walk away. Meanwhile, Paul meets Mecir, a young Arab worker, who shows him there's more to life than elite colleges...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisAs Long as One Is Intoxicated (1974)
The tormented loves of the young Ottavio, first for the countess Gamiani and then for the writer Georges Sand.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Heat (1972)
Former child star Joe Davis, reduced to living in a cheap Hollywood motel while struggling for acting jobs, is lusted after by nearly every woman he meets, including Jessica Todd, a tightly wound feminist who has recently come out as a lesbian. When Jessica's mother, Sally, an emotionally needy has-been actress, meets Joe, she moves him into her enormous, tacky mansion as her new boy toy and attempts to get him acting work.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Man Who Haunted Himself (1970)
Executive Harold Pelham suffers a serious accident after which he faces the shadow of death. When, against all odds, he miraculously recovers, he discovers that his life does not belong to him anymore.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSoul Hustler (1973)
Matthew Crowe, a whoring, pot-smoking, wandering singer teams up with a tent-show preacher. The preacher recognizes Mathew's charisma, and together they collect big donations delivering sermons with rocking gospel songs.Soon enough, Matthew lands a record deal, and the older man becomes the manager of Crowe's new act: Matthew, Son of Jesus. They hire a backup group of mustachioed rock musicians, who play in brown monks' robes, in contrast to Matthew's white robe and sandals. Their debut album becomes a huge hit so they go on a concert tour to promote it.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Jamon Jamon (1992)
José Luis has a cushy corporate job at the lingerie factory his mom owns. After he falls in love and proposes to Silvia, a beautiful laborer on the underwear assembly line, his mom enlists Raul, a potential underwear model and would-be bullfighter, to seduce Silvia.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEl dinero no cae del cielo - El aerolito (2015)
Three ranchers discover the burial of some drug traffickers in the region. Without giving it much thought, they decide to dig it up and keep it, causing them unimaginable trouble.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Man Who Laughs?
The closest matches to The Man Who Laughs are True Grit (1969), The Prince and the Pauper (1977) and Sweet Bird of Youth (1962). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Man Who Laughs?
Start with True Grit (1969), the closest match to The Man Who Laughs.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Man Who Laughs?
True Grit (1969), rated 7.3/10 by 903 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Man Who Laughs?
Omaha (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Italian movies like The Man Who Laughs?
Yes: The Butcher (1998) and Massacre Time (1966).
How are movies similar to The Man Who Laughs chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Man Who Laughs, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.