Movies like Ball of Fire (1941)
The best movies like Ball of Fire (1941) are The Mad Miss Manton (1938), Fun with Dick and Jane (1977) and I Love You Again (1940). If Ball of Fire hooked you with its comedy and romance, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedCharade (1963)7.7/10 from 1,632 votes
- NewestOne Night Only (2026)Released 2026
The Mad Miss Manton (1938)
When the murdered body discovered by beautiful, vivacious socialite Melsa Manton disappears, police and press label her a prankster until she and her group of friends prove them wrong.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
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 & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Love You Again (1940)
Boring businessman Larry Wilson recovers from amnesia and discovers he's really a con man...and loves his soon-to-be-ex wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisG.I. Blues (1960)
Stationed in West Germany, soldier Tulsa McLean hopes to open a nightclub once he's discharged. Although he may lack the capital for such a venture, a chance to raise the cash comes his way through a friendly wager. Local dancer Lili is a notorious ice queen, and Tulsa bets everything he has that a friend of his can earn her affections. But when the friend is dispatched to Alaska, it's up to Tulsa to melt Lili's heart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPlease Don't Eat the Daisies (1960)
Drama critic Larry Mackay, his wife Kate and their four sons move from their crowded Manhattan apartment to an old house in the country. While housewife Kate settles into suburban life, Larry continues to enjoy the theater and party scene of New York.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 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 thisMy Favorite Brunette (1947)
Ronnie Jackson is a lowly baby photographer who secretly fantasizes about being a private detective. When a lovely baroness actually mistakes him for one and asks him to help locate her missing husband, Baron Montay, Ronnie finds himself agreeing. Several days later he is on death row whiling away the hours until his execution by recounting to a group of reporters the bizarre tale of how he ended up there.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
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 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 thisAt Middleton (2013)
George is an uptight surgeon with a rebellious teenage son. Edith is a free spirit with an overachieving teenage daughter. When they meet during an admissions tour with their kids at the small, idyllic Middleton University, they decide to ditch the group. Though adversaries at first, they soon discover that the only thing better than the college tour, is the detour.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Night at the Roxbury (1998)
Despite being well into adulthood, brothers Doug and Steve Butabi still live at home and work in the flower shop owned by their dad. They exist only to hit on women at discos, though they're routinely unsuccessful until a chance run-in with Richard Grieco gets them inside the swank Roxbury club. Mistaken for high rollers, they meet their dream women, Vivica and Cambi, and resolve to open a club of their own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Merry Widow (1934)
A prince from a small kingdom courts a wealthy widow to keep her money in the country.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPillow Talk (1959)
Playboy songwriter Brad Allen's succession of romances annoys his neighbor, interior designer Jan Morrow, who shares a telephone party line with him and hears all his breezy routines. After Jan unsuccessfully lodges a complaint against him, Brad sets about to seduce her in the guise of a sincere and upstanding Texas rancher. When mutual friend Jonathan discovers that his best friend is moving in on the girl he desires, however, sparks fly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHellzapoppin' (1941)
Olsen and Johnson, a pair of stage comedians, try to turn their play into a movie and bring together a young couple in love, while breaking the fourth wall every step of the way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSend Me No Flowers (1964)
When a hypochondriac assumes that he is dying, he makes an elaborate plan to ensure his wife's happiness. However, trouble ensues when she misunderstands his intentions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOne Small Hitch (2013)
On a flight home to Chicago for a family wedding, childhood friends Josh and Molly innocently agree to fake a wedding engagement to make Josh's dying father happy. Things quickly get out of hand with their two boisterous families, and a series of events causes them to pretend to be a couple and start planning a phony wedding. When the playacting begins to foster real feelings, the two must make some serious decisions: Split up and return to their lives in LA, or make a life as a couple back in Chicago?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Smiling Lieutenant (1931)
An amorous lieutenant is forced to marry a socially awkward princess, though he tries to keep his violin-playing girlfriend on the side.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShe Done Him Wrong (1933)
New York singer and nightclub owner Lady Lou has more male friends than can be imagined. One is a vicious escaped criminal on the way to see 'his' girl, unaware she hasn't exactly been faithful in his absence. Help is at hand in the form of young Captain Cummings, a local temperance league leader.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisLover Come Back (1961)
Jerry Webster and Carol Templeton are rival Madison Avenue advertising executives who each dislike each other’s methods. After he steals a client out from under her cute little nose, revenge prompts her to infiltrate his secret "VIP" campaign in order to persuade the mystery product’s scientist to switch to her firm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGuys and Dolls (1955)
In New York, a gambler is challenged to take a Salvation Army missionary to Havana, and unexpectedly they fall for each other. And the bet has a hidden motive ... classic song and dance ensues!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPlayboy of Paris (1930)
Yvonne, daughter of Philibert, a Paris cafe owner, is in love with dreamy, blundering Albert, a waiter, though he pays little attention to her. Philibert plans to marry his daughter to a wealthy Parisian, but upon learning that Albert is to come into a large inheritance, he conspires to place him under a longterm contract, confident that he willingly will pay a forfeit to break it.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & romance
One Night Only (2026)
Two love-starved strangers crash into each other on the one night of the year when single people are allowed to have sex.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Private Lives of Pippa Lee (2009)
After her much older husband forces a move to a suburban retirement community, Pippa Lee engages in a period of reflection and finds herself heading toward a quiet nervous breakdown.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisCul-de-sac (1966)
On the run and in search of help, two wounded gangsters find refuge in the secluded castle of a feeble man and his wife; however, under the point of a gun, nothing is what it seems.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKeeping the Faith (2000)
Best friends since they were kids, Rabbi Jacob Schram and Father Brian Finn are dynamic and popular young men living and working on New York's Upper West Side. When Anna Reilly, once their childhood friend and now grown into a beautiful corporate executive, suddenly returns to the city, she reenters Jake and Brian's lives and hearts with a vengeance. Sparks fly and an unusual and complicated love triangle ensues.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRunaway Bride (1999)
Having already left three grooms at the altar, Maggie Carpenter is branded "the runaway bride" by jaded New York journalist Ike Graham. But, after his facts are called into question, Ike races to Maggie's hometown to save his reputation and report on her upcoming fourth trip down the aisle – during which he's convinced she'll run again. Though he's there on a muckraking mission, Ike can't help but fall for this breathtaking heartbreaker.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCharade (1963)
After Regina Lampert falls for the dashing Peter Joshua on a skiing holiday in the French Alps, she discovers upon her return to Paris that her husband has been murdered. Soon, she and Peter are giving chase to three of her late husband's World War II cronies, Tex, Scobie and Gideon, who are after a quarter of a million dollars the quartet stole while behind enemy lines.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFather-in-Law With a Heart of Gold (1959)
A few hours after the arrival of Aristeidis (Dinos Iliopoulos), Mary's (Kakia Analyti) soon to be fiance, her father Andreas (Vasilis Diamantopoulos), an upstanding citizen, lies about having a meeting with the Bishop and instead goes to meet his neighbor Betty (Anna Kyriakou). Aristeidis, on his way to Mary's house as a series of misfortunes and ends up in a fight with Andreas (whom he does not know) while he is with Betty at a studio apartment.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Cochin Express (1967)
Rajan, a police officer, is in charge of the investigation regarding a murder that took place on a train. He tries by hook or by crook to find the culprit as he has only one witness.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Like Ball of Fire and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Ball of Fire?
The closest matches to Ball of Fire are The Mad Miss Manton (1938), Fun with Dick and Jane (1977) and I Love You Again (1940). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Ball of Fire?
Start with The Mad Miss Manton (1938), the closest match to Ball of Fire.
What is the highest-rated movie like Ball of Fire?
Charade (1963), rated 7.7/10 by 1,632 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Ball of Fire?
One Night Only (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Ball of Fire?
Yes: The Mad Miss Manton (1938), Fun with Dick and Jane (1977) and I Love You Again (1940).
How are movies similar to Ball of Fire chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Ball of Fire, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.