Movies Like The Play House (1921)

The Play House is a 1921 comedy, fantasy film from Buster Keaton with a MovieMagicScore of 6.8/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Spite Marriage and The Property Man.

Comedy Fantasy

Spite Marriage

1929

An unimpressive but well-intentioned man is given the chance to marry a popular actress, of whom he has been a hopeless fan. But what he doesn't realize is that he is being used to make the actress' old flame jealous.

6.7

MagicScore

The Property Man

1914

Charlie is in charge of stage props and has trouble with actors' luggage and conflicts over who gets the star's dressing room. Once all that is resolved the next issue is getting everyone on stage with the correct backdrop.

5.6

MagicScore

Noises Off...

1992

Hired to helm an Americanized take on a British play, director Lloyd Fellowes does his best to control an eccentric group of stage actors. With a star actress quickly passing her prime, a male lead with no confidence, and a bit actor that's rarely sober, chaos ensues in the lead up to a Broadway premiere.

7.2

MagicScore

A Prairie Home Companion

2006

A look at what goes on backstage during the last broadcast of America's most celebrated radio show, where singing cowboys Dusty and Lefty, a country music siren, and a host of others hold court.

6.3

MagicScore

Movie Movie

1978

Three movie genres of the 1930s, boxing films, WWI aviation dramas, and backstage Broadway musicals, are satirized using the same cast.

6.0

MagicScore

If the Shoe Fits

1990

A modern Cinderella in Paris: While the plain Kelly Carter works as a dresser for the famous fashion designer Francesco, she dreams of designing shoes for him. However she can't win his attention... until she helps a good fairy on the street who, unbeknownst to Kelly, enchants a pair of Kelly's shoes so that she turns into a supermodel whenever she wears them. She attends Francesco's Ball and immediately wins his heart. Now, how can she make him love her real self?

5.5

MagicScore

The Four Troublesome Heads

1898

One of the greatest of black art pictures. The conjurer appears before the audience, with his head in its proper place. He then removes his head, and throwing it in the air, it appears on the table opposite another head, and both detached heads sing in unison. The conjurer then removes it a third time. You then see all three of his heads, which are exact duplicates, upon the table at one time, while the conjurer again stands before the audience with his head perfectly intact, singing in unison with the three heads upon the table. He closes the picture by bowing himself from the stage.

7.2

MagicScore

The Impossible Voyage

1904

Using every known means of transportation, several savants from the Geographic Society undertake a journey through the Alps to the Sun which finishes under the sea.

7.2

MagicScore

The Man with the Rubber Head

1901

A chemist carries out a bizarre experiment with his own head.

7.2

MagicScore

#10

The Astronomer's Dream

1898

An astronomer has a terrifying dream.

6.9

MagicScore

#11

Kiri-Kis

1907

A family troupe of acrobats, made up to appear Japanese, perform various unbelievable stunts in front of the camera, achieved through a trick of the camera.

6.7

MagicScore

#12

The Diabolic Tenant

1909

A man rents an apartment and furnishes it in remarkable fashion.

6.7

MagicScore

#13

The One-Man Band

1900

A band-leader has arranged seven chairs for the members of his band. When he sits down in the first chair, a cymbal player appears in the same chair, then rises and sits in the next chair. As the cymbal player sits down, a drummer appears in the second chair, and then likewise moves on to the third chair. In this way, an entire band is soon formed, and is then ready to perform.

6.7

MagicScore

#14

The Fat and Lean Wrestling Match

1900

A series of fantastical wrestling matches.

6.6

MagicScore

#15

The Enchanted Drawing

1900

A cartoonist defies reality when he draws objects that become three-dimensional after he lifts them off his sketch pad.

6.4

MagicScore

#16

The Dancing Skeleton

1898

A skeleton dances joyously, often collapsing into a heap of bones and quickly putting itself back together.

6.3

MagicScore

#17

The Untamable Whiskers

1904

The background of this picture represents a scene along the beautiful river Seine in Paris. A gentleman enters, and taking a blackboard from the side of the picture, he draws on it a sketch of a novelist. Then, standing in the centre, he causes the living features of his sketch to appear in the place of his own, which is utterly devoid of whiskers. The change is made so mysteriously that the eye cannot notice it until one sees quite another person in the place of the first. Again another sketch is shown on the board, this one being that of a miser; then an English cockney; a comic character; a French policeman, and last of all, the grinning visage of Mephistopheles. It is almost impossible to give this film a more definite description; suffice it to say that it is something entirely new in motion pictures and is sure to please. (Méliès Catalog)

6.2

MagicScore

#18

Whimsical Illusions

1909

In this hand-colored short, a magician and his assistant do a series of magic tricks, including making potted plants appear, among others. Melies played the magician, and the actor Manuel played his assistant.

6.2

MagicScore

#19

Egged On

1926

Charley invents a machine that turns ordinary, breakable eggs into rubbery, unbreakable ones for transport. He builds a Rube Goldberg contraption of parts stolen from his neighbors. Rival egg companies want his invention, one of them stooping to sabotage to get it.

6.2

MagicScore

#20

The Eclipse: Courtship of the Sun and Moon

1907

In this film, Méliès concocts a combination fairy- and morality tale about the foolishness of trying to look too deeply into the workings of an unstable and inscrutable universe. At a medieval school, an old astronomer begins to teach a class of young men, all armed with telescopes, about the art of scrutinising an imminent eclipse. When a mechanical clock strikes twelve, all the young men rush to the windows and fix their telescopes on the heavens.

5.9

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like The Play House?

The top films similar to The Play House by MovieMagicScore are Spite Marriage (6.7), The Property Man (5.6), Noises Off... (7.2). Each shares comedy/fantasy themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is The Play House worth watching?

The Play House holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.8/10 from 136 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is The Play House?

The Play House (1921) is a comedy, fantasy film directed by Buster Keaton, starring Buster Keaton, Edward F. Cline, Virginia Fox.

Where can I find more recommendations like The Play House?

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 Spite Marriage Movies like The Property Man Movies like Noises Off...Movies like A Prairie Home Companion Movies like Movie Movie Movies like If the Shoe Fits

About movies like The Play House

This ranked list pairs The Play House (1921), a comedy and fantasy film from Buster Keaton, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Buster Keaton 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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