Movies Like A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966)

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is a 1966 comedy, music, romance film from Richard Lester with a MovieMagicScore of 6.0/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Band of Angels and Freedom.

Comedy Music Romance

Band of Angels

1957

Living in Kentucky prior to the Civil War, Amantha Starr is a privileged young woman. Her widowed father, a wealthy plantation owner, dotes on her and sends her to the best schools. When he dies suddenly Amantha's world is turned upside down. She learns that her father had been living on borrowed money and that her mother was actually a slave and her father's mistress.

6.2

MagicScore

Freedom

2014

Two men separated by 100 years are united in their search for freedom. In 1856 a slave, Samuel Woodward and his family, escape from the Monroe Plantation near Richmond, Virginia. A secret network of ordinary people known as the Underground Railroad guide the family on their journey north to Canada. They are relentlessly pursued by the notorious slave hunter Plimpton. Hunted like a dog and haunted by the unthinkable suffering he and his forbears have endured, Samuel is forced to decide between revenge or freedom. 100 years earlier in 1748, John Newton the Captain of a slave trader sails from Africa with a cargo of slaves, bound for America. On board is Samuel's great grandfather whose survival is tied to the fate of Captain Newton. The voyage changes Newton's life forever and he creates a legacy that will inspire Samuel and the lives of millions for generations to come.

5.5

MagicScore

Up Pompeii

1971

A funny thing happens to Lurcio on the way to the rent-a-vestal-virgin market stall. A mysterious scroll falls into his hands, listing the names of all the conspirators plotting to murder Emperor Nero. And when the upstart slave is elected to infiltrate the ringleader's den, the comical ups-and-downs lead to total uproar.

5.9

MagicScore

Spartacus

1960

The rebellious Thracian Spartacus, born and raised a slave, is sold to Gladiator trainer Batiatus. After weeks of being trained to kill for the arena, Spartacus turns on his owners and leads the other slaves in rebellion. As the rebels move from town to town, their numbers swell as escaped slaves join their ranks. Under the leadership of Spartacus, they make their way to southern Italy, where they will cross the sea and return to their homes.

7.5

MagicScore

The Robe

1953

Drunk and disillusioned Roman, Marcellus Gallio, wins Jesus' robe in a dice game after the crucifixion. Marcellus has never been a man of faith like his slave, Demetrius, but when Demetrius escapes with the robe, Marcellus experiences disturbing visions and feels guilty for his actions. Convinced that destroying the robe will cure him, Marcellus sets out to find Demetrius — and discovers his Christian faith along the way.

6.8

MagicScore

Spartacus

2004

Sentenced to spend out the rest of his adult life laboring in the harsh deserts of Egypt, the Thracian slave Spartacus gets a new lease on life when he is purchased by the obese owner of a Roman gladiator school. Moved by the defiance of an Ethiopian warrior, Draba, Spartacus leads a slave uprising which threatens Rome's status quo. As Spartacus gains sympathy within the Roman Senate, he also makes a powerful enemy in form of Marcus Lucinius Crassus, who makes it a matter of personal honor to crush the rebellion.

6.7

MagicScore

Satyricon

1969

After his young lover, Gitone, leaves him for another man, Encolpio decides to kill himself, but a sudden earthquake destroys his home before he has a chance to do so. Now wandering around Rome in the time of Nero, Encolpio encounters one bizarre and surreal scene after another.

6.7

MagicScore

The Eagle

2011

In 140 AD, twenty years after the unexplained disappearance of the entire Ninth Legion in the mountains of Scotland, young centurion Marcus Aquila arrives from Rome to solve the mystery and restore the reputation of his father, the commander of the Ninth. Accompanied only by his British slave Esca, Marcus sets out across Hadrian's Wall into the uncharted highlands of Caledonia - to confront its savage tribes, make peace with his father's memory, and retrieve the lost legion's golden emblem, the Eagle of the Ninth.

6.2

MagicScore

Ben Hur

1907

The first adaptation of Lew Wallace's novel, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ.

4.4

MagicScore

#10

The Tragedy of Man

2011

Jankovics's adaptation of the eponymous play is divided into multiple parts, and depicts the creation and fall of Man throughout history.

7.4

MagicScore

#11

Tape

2001

Jon, a first-time filmmaker, finds himself in Lansing, Michigan to present his film at a local film festival. Vince, his high school friend who is now a volunteer fireman and small-time drug dealer, also visits the town to support Jon on his big day, or so it seems. After a raucous hello and much backslapping, it appears that there is an undercurrent of tension in the air.

6.9

MagicScore

#12

Mandingo

1975

Warren Maxwell, the owner of a run-down plantation, pressures his son, Hammond, to marry and produce an heir to inherit the plantation. Hammond settles on his own cousin, Blanche, but purchases a sex slave when he returns from the honeymoon. He also buys his father a new Mandingo slave named Mede to breed and train as a prize-fighter.

6.6

MagicScore

#13

12 Years a Slave

2013

In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery. Facing cruelty as well as unexpected kindnesses Solomon struggles not only to stay alive, but to retain his dignity. In the twelfth year of his unforgettable odyssey, Solomon’s chance meeting with a Canadian abolitionist will forever alter his life.

7.9

MagicScore

#14

The Butler

2013

A look at the life of Cecil Gaines, who served eight presidents as the White House's head butler from 1952 to 1986, and had a unique front-row seat as political and racial history was made.

7.3

MagicScore

#15

Koyla

1997

A village girl agrees to a marriage to a king she has never met after he sends her a photograph of himself. But the man in the photograph is not the king but his most loyal slave, the handsome but mute Shankar.

6.6

MagicScore

#16

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

2012

President Lincoln's mother is killed by a supernatural creature, which fuels his passion to crush vampires and their slave-owning helpers.

5.8

MagicScore

#17

Scared Stiff

1987

Kate's a single mom rock star recovering from a nervous breakdown; David is her psychiatrist turned lover. After David buys an old Charleston mansion and Kate and her son move in with him, strange events occur including the discoveries of a secret hidden attic and the diary of the murderous slave trader who owned the home. Kate hears a piano playing by itself and sees the ghost of the slave trader who once lived there. Their relationship is strained by the bizarre events as Kate's sanity is again questioned as she insists what she's seen is real...but is it?

4.7

MagicScore

#18

Lady and the Tramp

2019

The love story between a pampered Cocker Spaniel named Lady and a streetwise mongrel named Tramp. Lady finds herself out on the street after her owners have a baby and is saved from a pack by Tramp, who tries to show her to live her life footloose and collar-free.

7.2

MagicScore

#19

Bread and Tulips

2000

An endearing light comedy about a woman who spontaneously becomes a resident of Venice after her family left her behind. While enjoying the wonderful people she meets she achieves a new life and the first time independent of her family.

7.1

MagicScore

#20

Blue Iguana

2018

He's a low level criminal with no future and just out of prison. She's a low level lawyer never noticed by others, a lost soul without a life. Their anger and hostility makes them serious criminals. Love happens in the strangest of places.

5.7

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum?

The top films similar to A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum by MovieMagicScore are Band of Angels (6.2), Freedom (5.5), Up Pompeii (5.9). Each shares comedy/music/romance themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum worth watching?

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.0/10 from 115 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum?

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966) is a comedy, music, romance film directed by Richard Lester, starring Zero Mostel, Jack Gilford, Phil Silvers.

Where can I find more recommendations like A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more comedy recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Band of Angels Movies like Freedom Movies like Up Pompeii Movies like Spartacus Movies like The Robe Movies like Spartacus

About movies like A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

This ranked list pairs A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966), a comedy and music and romance film from Richard Lester, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Zero Mostel take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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