Movies like The Puppet Man (1921)
The best movies like The Puppet Man (1921) are Freaks (1932), The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) and Lili (1953). If The Puppet Man hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Circus (1928)7.9/10 from 926 votes
- NewestI Want You Back (2022)Released 2022
Freaks (1932)
A circus' beautiful trapeze artist agrees to marry the leader of side-show performers, but his deformed friends discover she is only marrying him for his inheritance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
To ensure a full profitable season, circus manager Brad Braden engages The Great Sebastian, though this moves his girlfriend Holly from her hard-won center trapeze spot. Holly and Sebastian begin a dangerous one-upmanship duel in the ring, while he pursues her on the ground.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLili (1953)
Members of a circus troupe "adopt" Lili Daurier when she finds herself stranded in a strange town. The magician who first comes to her rescue already has romantic entanglements and thinks of her as a little girl. Who can she turn to but the puppets, singing to them her troubles, forgetting that there are puppeteers? A crowd gathers around Lili as she sings. The circus has a new act. She now has a job. Will she get her heart's desire?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Unknown (1927)
On the lam, criminal Alonzo hides in the circus as The Armless Wonder—a performer who uses his feet to hurl knives. Alonzo keeps the arms he really has concealed to hide his identity. Meanwhile, ringmaster's daughter Nanon has a phobia of being touched by men, but is romantically pursued by not only Alonzo but the strongman Malabar. Alonzo's desperation to remain with Nanon will only end in tragedy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHe Who Gets Slapped (1924)
After a baron steals his scientific discoveries, runs away with his wife, and slaps him in public, a man joins a Parisian circus sideshow as a clown whose act consists of being slapped repeatedly and becomes infatuated with a showgirl colleague whose father intends to marry her off to the baron.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Beaver (2011)
Suffering from a severe case of depression, toy company CEO Walter Black begins using a beaver hand puppet to help him open up to his family. With his father seemingly going insane, adolescent son Porter pushes for his parents to get a divorce.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Circus (1928)
Charlie, a wandering tramp, becomes a circus handyman - soon the star of the show - and falls in love with the circus owner's stepdaughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Greatest Showman (2017)
The story of American showman P.T. Barnum, founder of the circus that became the famous traveling Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisTrapeze (1956)
A pair of men try to perform the dangerous "triple" in their trapeze act. Problems arise when the duo is made into a trio following the addition of a sexy female performer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Want You Back (2022)
Peter and Emma thought they were on the precipice of life’s biggest moments – marriage, kids, and houses in the suburbs – until their respective partners dumped them. Horrified to learn that the loves of their lives have already moved on, Peter and Emma hatch a hilarious plan to win back their exes with unexpected results.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWater for Elephants (2011)
In this captivating Depression-era melodrama, impetuous veterinary student Jacob Jankowski joins a celebrated circus as an animal caretaker but faces a wrenching dilemma when he's transfixed by angelic married performer Marlena.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHe Was a Quiet Man (2007)
An unhinged office worker who planned to go on a shooting spree at his workplace struggles with his newfound status as a hero after he ends up stopping a shooting spree instead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTwelfth Night (1996)
Shakespeare's comedy of gender confusion, in which a girl disguises herself as a man to be near the count she adores, only to be pursued by the woman he loves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLimelight (1952)
A fading music hall comedian tries to help a despondent ballet dancer learn to walk and to again feel confident about life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisCircus of Horrors (1960)
A plastic surgeon and his nurse join a bizarre circus to escape from the police. Here he befriends deformed women and transforms them for his "Temple of Beauty". However, when they threaten to leave, they meet with mysterious accidents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Man Who Laughs (1928)
When a proud noble refuses to kiss the hand of the despotic King James in 1690, he is cruelly executed and his son surgically disfigured.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGood Luck Chuck (2007)
Cursed since childhood, dentist Charlie Logan cannot find the right woman. Even worse, he learns that each of his ex-girlfriends finds true love with the man she meets after her relationship with him ends. Hearing of Charlie's reputation as a good-luck charm, women from all over line up for a quick tryst. But when Charlie meets the woman of his dreams, he must find a way to break the curse or risk losing her to the next man she meets.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisShanghaied (1915)
A shipowner intends to scuttle his ship on its last voyage to get the insurance money. Charlie, a tramp in love with the owner's daughter, is grabbed by the captain and promises to help him shanghai some seamen. The daughter stows away to follow Charlie. Charlie assists in the galley and attempts to serve food during a gale.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJackass 2.5 (2007)
The crew have now set off to finish what as left over from Jackass 2.0, and in this version they have Wee Man use a 'pee' gun on themselves, having a mini motor bike fracas in the grocery mall, a sperm test, a portly crew member disguised as King Kong, as well as include three episodes of their hilarious adventures in India.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Puppet Man?
The closest matches to The Puppet Man are Freaks (1932), The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) and Lili (1953). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Puppet Man?
Start with Freaks (1932), the closest match to The Puppet Man.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Puppet Man?
The Circus (1928), rated 7.9/10 by 926 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Puppet Man?
I Want You Back (2022) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Puppet Man?
Yes: Freaks (1932), The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) and Lili (1953).
How are movies similar to The Puppet Man chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Puppet Man, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.