Movies Like Show Boat (1936)

Show Boat is a 1936 comedy, drama, music, romance film from James Whale with a MovieMagicScore of 6.8/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Show Boat and Holiday Inn.

Comedy Drama Music Romance

Show Boat

1951

A dashing Mississippi river gambler wins the affections of the daughter of the owner of the Show Boat.

6.1

MagicScore

Holiday Inn

1942

Lovely Linda Mason has crooner Jim Hardy head over heels, but suave stepper Ted Hanover wants her for his new dance partner after fickle Lila Dixon gives him the brush. Jim's supper club, Holiday Inn, is the setting for the chase by Hanover and his manager.

7.0

MagicScore

An American in Paris

1951

Jerry Mulligan is an exuberant American expatriate in Paris trying to make a reputation as a painter. His friend Adam is a struggling concert pianist who's a long time associate of a famous French singer, Henri Baurel. A lonely society woman, Milo Roberts, takes Jerry under her wing and supports him, but is interested in more than his art.

7.0

MagicScore

Rudolph's Shiny New Year

1977

Rudolph must find Happy, the baby new year, before the midnight of New Year's Eve.

6.4

MagicScore

The Naughty Nineties

1945

In the gay '90s, cardsharps take over a Mississippi riverboat from a kindly captain. Their first act is to change the showboat into a floating gambling house. A ham actor and his bumbling sidekick try to devise a way to help the captain regain ownership of the vessel.

6.6

MagicScore

Maverick

1994

Bret Maverick is a gambler who would rather con someone than fight them, and needs an additional $3k in order to enter a winner-takes-all poker game beginning in a few days. He joins forces with a woman with a marvelous Southern accent, and the two try and enter the game.

6.9

MagicScore

My Dog Skip

2000

A shy boy is unable to make friends in Yazoo City, Mississippi in 1942, until his parents give him a terrier puppy for his ninth birthday. The dog, which he names Skip, becomes well known and loved throughout the community and enriches the life of the boy, Willie, as he grows into manhood. Based on the best-selling Mississippi memoir by the late Willie Morris.

6.7

MagicScore

Tomorrow

1972

A lonely farmer takes in a pregnant woman and looks after her. After she gives birth, tragedy strikes.

6.6

MagicScore

Thieves Like Us

1974

Three criminals escape from prison and embark on a robbery spree across USA. Along the way, one of them falls in love while they plan a final heist before going their separate ways.

6.5

MagicScore

#10

Summer and Smoke

1961

In a small Mississippi town in 1916, an eccentric spinster battles her romantic yearnings for the randy boy next door.

6.5

MagicScore

#11

This Property Is Condemned

1966

Owen Legate, a railroad official, comes to Dodson, Mississippi to shut down the local railway - the town's main income. But Owen unexpectedly finds love with Dodson's flirt and main attraction, Alva Starr.

6.4

MagicScore

#12

Mississippi Masala

1991

Years after her Indian family was forced to flee their home in Uganda, twentysomething Mina finds herself helping to run a motel in the faraway land of Mississippi. It's there that a passionate romance with the charming Black carpet cleaner Demetrius challenges the prejudices of their conservative families and exposes the rifts between the region's Indian and African American communities.

6.4

MagicScore

#13

Cookie's Fortune

1999

Conflict arises in the small town of Holly Springs when an old woman's death causes a variety of reactions among family and friends.

6.3

MagicScore

#14

The Reivers

1969

In turn-of-the-century Mississippi, an 11-year-old boy comes of age as two mischievous adult friends talk him into sneaking the family car out for a trip to Memphis and a series of adventures.

6.3

MagicScore

#15

Biloxi Blues

1988

A Jewish teenager sets three goals: lose his virginity, become a writer, and survive World War II.

6.2

MagicScore

#16

Ode to Billy Joe

1976

Set in sultry 1950s Mississippi, two teenagers grapple with surging hormones and the enticing promise of love, unknowing of the tragedy that looms ahead.

6.2

MagicScore

#17

Crimes of the Heart

1986

Three sisters try to come to grips with the meaning of their mother's suicide.

6.0

MagicScore

#18

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

1960

From chicken thief to cabin boy, riverboat pilot to circus performer, Huck Finn outsmarts everyone on his way down the muddy Mississippi.

5.8

MagicScore

#19

The Little Mermaid

2018

A young reporter and his niece discover a beautiful and enchanting creature they believe to be the real little mermaid.

5.0

MagicScore

#20

Forrest Gump

1994

A man with a low IQ has accomplished great things in his life and been present during significant historic events—in each case, far exceeding what anyone imagined he could do. But despite all he has achieved, his one true love eludes him.

8.5

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Show Boat?

The top films similar to Show Boat by MovieMagicScore are Show Boat (6.1), Holiday Inn (7.0), An American in Paris (7.0). Each shares comedy/drama/music/romance themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Show Boat worth watching?

Show Boat holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.8/10 from 47 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Show Boat?

Show Boat (1936) is a comedy, drama, music, romance film directed by James Whale, starring Irene Dunne, Allan Jones, Charles Winninger.

Where can I find more recommendations like Show Boat?

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 Show Boat Movies like Holiday Inn Movies like An American in Paris Movies like Rudolph's Shiny New Year Movies like The Naughty Nineties Movies like Maverick

About movies like Show Boat

This ranked list pairs Show Boat (1936), a comedy and drama and music and romance film from James Whale, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Irene Dunne 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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