Movies like Penelope (1966)
The best movies like Penelope (1966) are The League of Gentlemen (1960), Take the Money and Run (1969) and Wrong Cops (2013). If Penelope hooked you with its comedy and crime, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Ladykillers (1955)7.3/10 from 588 votes
- NewestThe Debtor (2022)Released 2022
The League of Gentlemen (1960)
Involuntarily-retired Colonel Hyde recruits seven other dissatisfied ex-servicemen for a special project. Each of the men has a skeleton in the cupboard, is short of money, and is a service-trained expert in his field. The job is a bank robbery, and military discipline and planning are imposed by Hyde and second-in-command Race on the team, although civilian irritations do start getting in the way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTake the Money and Run (1969)
Virgil Starkwell is intent on becoming a notorious bank robber. Unfortunately for Virgil and his not-so-budding career, he is completely incompetent.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWrong Cops (2013)
A group of bad cops look to dispose of a body that one of them accidentally shot.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA-Haunting We Will Go (1942)
Stan and Ollie get involved with con men, crooks, a genial magician, and two interchangeable coffins with disastrous but funny results.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWelcome to Collinwood (2002)
Five hapless inner-city low-lifes attempt to burgle a pawnbroker's safe, but end up being plagued by bad luck.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Cheap Detective (1978)
A spoof of the entire 1940s detective genre. San Francisco private detective, Lou Pekinpaugh is accused of murdering his partner at the instigation of his mistress—his partner's wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976)
Charles Dreyfus, who has finally cracked over inspector Clouseau's antics, escapes from a mental institution and launches an elaborate plan to get rid of Clouseau once and for all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Ladykillers (1955)
Five oddball criminals planning a bank robbery rent rooms on a cul-de-sac from an octogenarian widow under the pretext that they are classical musicians.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Honey Pot (1967)
In Venice, a millionaire hires an actor to help him prank three greedy exes into thinking he's dying and leaving his fortune to one of them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTwo-Way Stretch (1960)
Three criminals plan to break out of prison the day before their release in order to carry out a daring jewel robbery, intending to establish the perfect alibi by returning to jail afterwards. First however they must get out, a task made more difficult by a new, stricter prison officer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShadow of the Thin Man (1941)
While attending a major horse race with their young son, Nick Jr., Nick and Nora Charles witnesse a shocking murder from the crowded grandstand. What first appears to be an isolated killing soon leads to a maze of corruption, blackmail, gambling scandals, and criminal intrigue. As Nick investigates, he encounters suspicious bookmakers, dishonest officials, rival gangsters, and a mysterious killer determined to stay ahead of the law. Nora, as always, is never far from the action, bringing her quick wit and fearless curiosity to the case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSong of the Thin Man (1947)
While attending a glamorous jazz cruise on New York’s East River, Nick and Nora Charles witness the fatal shooting of a wealthy patron. When suspicion falls on a young bandleader and his musicians, the couple steps in to clear their friends and uncover the real killer. Their investigation leads through a lively world of jazz clubs, radio personalities, high society, and backstage rivalries, where almost everyone has a secret and the next clue may be hidden in the music.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnother Thin Man (1939)
Nick and Nora Charles are back - and this time, they have a baby, a wealthy new client, and another murder to solve! Retired detective Nick is enjoying family life with Nora and their young son, Nick Jr., when eccentric industrialist Colonel MacFay asks for protection after receiving threatening messages. When MacFay is found dead at his isolated estate, Nick and Nora spring into action, questioning a houseful of suspicious guests and uncovering greed, blackmail, family secrets, and a dangerous inheritance plot. With their trademark wit and sophistication, the glamorous couple balances parenthood, parties, and peril as they race to expose the killer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Blue Heaven (1990)
FBI agent Barney Coopersmith is assigned to protect former Mafia figure turned informant Vincent Antonelli. In the witness protection program one is supposed to keep a low profile, but that is something that Antonelli has trouble doing. Coopersmith certainly has his hands full keeping Antonelli away from the Mafia hitmen who want to stop him testifying, not to mention the nightclubs...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAfter the Fox (1966)
A criminal mastermind sets up a phony film production as part of a plan to smuggle stolen gold.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOcean's Eight (2018)
Debbie Ocean, a criminal mastermind, gathers a crew of female thieves to pull off the heist of the century at New York's annual Met Gala.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFun with Dick and Jane (2005)
After Dick Harper loses his job at Globodyne in an Enron-esque collapse, he and his wife, Jane, turn to crime in order to handle the massive debt they now face. Two intelligent people, Dick and Jane actually get pretty good at robbing people and even enjoy it – but they have second thoughts when they're reminded that crime can hurt innocent people. When the couple hears that Globodyne boss Jack McCallister actually swindled the company, they plot revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisClue (1985)
Clue finds six colorful dinner guests gathered at the mansion of their host, Mr. Boddy -- who turns up dead after his secret is exposed: He was blackmailing all of them. With the killer among them, the guests and Boddy's chatty butler must suss out the culprit before the body count rises.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFletch (1985)
When investigative reporter Irwin "Fletch" Fletcher goes undercover to write a piece on the drug trade at a local beach, he's approached by wealthy businessman Alan Stanwyk, who offers him $50,000 to murder him. With sarcastic wit and a knack for disguises, Fletch sets out to uncover Stanwyk's story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Green Man (1956)
Unknown to everyone but his shady Middle Eastern bosses, watchmaker Hawkins is actually a professional hired assassin with a predilection for killing his targets with bombs. After disposing of a dictator and millionaire, Hawkins is assigned to kill a politician who is heading to a remote hotel, The Green Man, for a secret tryst with his secretary. There, however, Hawkins' plot is discovered by vacuum salesman William Blake, who determines to stop him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBig Mommas: Like Father, Like Son (2011)
FBI agent Malcolm Turner and his 17-year-old son Trent go undercover at an all-girls performing arts school after Trent witnesses a murder. Posing as Big Momma and Charmaine, they must find the murderer before he finds them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Mad Magician (1954)
Don Gallico is an inventor of stage magic effects who aspires to become a star in his own right. Just before his first performance his act is shut down by capricious manager Ross Ormond who wants Gallico's brilliant buzz saw illusion for the act of The Great Rinaldi, an established star. With this defeat, and the humiliation of having already lost his wife Claire to Ormond, Gallico decides it is time to take matters into his own hands.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTheatre of Blood (1973)
A Shakespearean actor takes poetic revenge on the critics who denied him recognition.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMannequin Two: On the Move (1991)
Although Jason works as a department store clerk, he is also a reincarnated prince. Long ago, his beloved Jessie was snatched away from him by an evil wizard who used his powers to transform her into wooden statue. Now Jessie is in Jason's department store as a mannequin. When he encounters her, she awakens from her thousand-year sleep. They quickly revive their romance, but the evil wizard has been reincarnated as well, and he's up to no good.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisToo Hot to Handle (1938)
While in Shanghai reporting on the Sino-Japanese war, Chris Hunter, a shrewd news reporter, meets pilot Alma Harding. She does not trust him, but he manages to hire her as his assistant. During an adventurous expedition through the jungles of South America, her opinion of him begins to change.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
The Debtor (2022)
To pay off his mounting debt, a boy secretly takes a job as a debt collector for the same illegal lending operation he owes money to.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
American Animals (2018)
Lexington, Kentucky, 2004. Four young men attempt to execute one of the most audacious art heists in the history of the United States.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFace/Off (1997)
In order to foil a terrorist plot, an FBI agent undergoes facial transplant surgery and assumes the identity of a criminal mastermind. The plan turns sour when the criminal wakes up prematurely and seeks revenge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Count (1916)
A tailor's apprentice burns Count Broko's clothes while ironing them and the tailor fires him. Later, the tailor discovers a note explaining that the count cannot attend a dance party, so he dresses as such to take his place; but the apprentice has also gone to the mansion where the party is celebrated and bumps into the tailor in disguise…
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBhargavacharitham Moonam Khandam (2006)
Bhargavan is a dangerous criminal who gets anxiety attacks that prevent him from attacking anyone. However, when he meets a psychiatrist, Santharam, his life gets transformed while he treats him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Penelope?
The closest matches to Penelope are The League of Gentlemen (1960), Take the Money and Run (1969) and Wrong Cops (2013). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Penelope?
Start with The League of Gentlemen (1960), the closest match to Penelope.
What is the highest-rated movie like Penelope?
The Ladykillers (1955), rated 7.3/10 by 588 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Penelope?
The Debtor (2022) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Penelope?
Yes: The League of Gentlemen (1960), Take the Money and Run (1969) and Wrong Cops (2013).
How are movies similar to Penelope chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Penelope, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.