Movies Like The Philadelphia Story (1940)

The Philadelphia Story is a 1940 comedy, romance film from George Cukor with a MovieMagicScore of 7.6/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with His Girl Friday and High Society.

Comedy Romance

His Girl Friday

1940

Walter Burns is an irresistibly conniving newspaper publisher desperate to woo back his paper’s star reporter, who also happens to be his estranged wife. She’s threatening to quit and settle down with a new beau, but, as Walter knows, she has a weakness: she can’t resist a juicy scoop.

7.4

MagicScore

High Society

1956

With socialite Tracy Lord about to remarry, her ex-husband - with the help of a sympathetic reporter - has 48 hours to convince her that she really still loves him.

6.9

MagicScore

It Happened One Night

1934

A runaway heiress makes a deal with the rogue reporter trailing her but the mismatched pair end up stuck with each other when their bus leaves them behind.

7.8

MagicScore

The Awful Truth

1937

Unfounded suspicions lead a married couple to begin divorce proceedings, whereupon they start undermining each other's attempts to find new romance.

7.2

MagicScore

The Divorce of Lady X

1938

A London barrister believes the woman who spent the night in his hotel suite is the erring wife of his newest client.

5.9

MagicScore

Woman of the Year

1942

Rival reporters Sam Craig and Tess Harding fall in love and get married, only to find their relationship strained when Sam comes to resent Tess' hectic lifestyle.

6.9

MagicScore

My Man Godfrey

1936

Fifth Avenue socialite Irene Bullock needs a "forgotten man" to win a scavenger hunt, and no one is more forgotten than Godfrey Park, who resides in a dump by the East River. Irene hires Godfrey as a servant for her riotously unhinged family, to the chagrin of her spoiled sister, Cornelia, who tries her best to get Godfrey fired. As Irene falls for her new butler, Godfrey turns the tables and teaches the frivolous Bullocks a lesson or two.

7.5

MagicScore

Move Over, Darling

1963

Three years into their loving marriage, with two infant daughters at home in Los Angeles, Nicholas Arden and Ellen Wagstaff Arden are on a plane that goes down in the South Pacific. Although most passengers manage to survive the incident, Ellen presumably perishes when swept off her lifeboat, her body never recovered. Fast forward five years. Nicholas, wanting to move on with his life, has Ellen declared legally dead. Part of that moving on includes getting remarried, this time to a young woman named Bianca Steele, who, for their honeymoon, he plans to take to the same Monterrey resort where he and Ellen spent their honeymoon. On that very same day, Ellen is dropped off in Los Angeles by the Navy, who rescued her from the South Pacific island where she was stranded for the past five years. She asks the Navy not to publicize her rescue nor notify Nicholas as she wants to do so herself.

6.7

MagicScore

Mother's Day

2016

Sandy is a stressed-out, single mom who learns that her ex-husband is marrying a younger woman. Her friend Jesse's parents don't know that she has a family or that her sister, Gabi is married to a woman. Jesse's friend, Kristin, is juggling motherhood of a toddler, a patient boyfriend who keeps proposing, and searching for her biological mother. Bradley is a widower who's trying to raise two daughters on his own, while Miranda is too busy with her career to worry about children. When their respective problems intersect and start coming to a head, the Mother's Day holiday takes on a special meaning for all.

6.0

MagicScore

#10

It's Complicated

2009

Ten years after their divorce, Jane and Jake Adler unite for their son's college graduation and unexpectedly end up sleeping together. But Jake is married, and Jane is embarking on a new romance with her architect. Now, she has to sort out her life—just when she thought she had it all figured out.

6.5

MagicScore

#11

The Big Wedding

2013

To the amusement of their adult children and friends, long-divorced couple Don and Ellie Griffin are forced to play the happy couple for the sake of their adopted son's wedding after his ultra conservative Catholic biological mother unexpectedly decides to fly halfway across the world to attend. With all of the wedding guests looking on, the Griffins are hilariously forced to confront their past, present and future - and hopefully avoid killing each other in the process.

5.8

MagicScore

#12

Top Five

2014

Though he began in stand-up comedy, Andre Allen hit the big-time as the star of a trilogy of action-comedies about a talking bear but now he wants to be taken seriously. His passion project about the Haitian Revolution, a movie called Uprize, was panned by the NY Times film critic. A couple days before the wedding to his reality star fiancée, he's forced to spend the day with Chelsea Brown, a profile writer for the New York Times. Unexpectedly, he opens up to her, and as they wind their way across New York, he tries to get back in touch with his comedic roots.

6.1

MagicScore

#13

Fool's Gold

2008

Treasure hunter Ben "Finn" Finnegan has sunk his marriage to Tess and his trusty boat in his obsessive quest to find the legendary Queen's Dowry. When he finds a vital clue that may finally pinpoint the treasure's whereabouts, he drags Tess and her boss, billionaire Nigel Honeycutt, along on the hunt. But Finn is not the only one interested in the gold; his former mentor-turned-enemy Moe Fitch, hired by rapper-turned-gangster Bigg Bunny, will stop at nothing to beat him to it.

5.8

MagicScore

#14

The Bounty Hunter

2010

Milo Boyd, a down-on-his-luck bounty hunter, thinks he's seeing an upswing in fortune when he gets a call to bring in his bail-jumping ex-wife, a reporter named Nicole. Milo considers the job an easy payday, but Nicole quickly escapes to chase a lead on a murder case. The former spouses play an escalating game of one-upmanship, until they suddenly find themselves on the run for their lives.

5.8

MagicScore

#15

Libeled Lady

1936

When a major newspaper accuses wealthy socialite Connie Allenbury of being a home-wrecker, and she files a multi-million-dollar libel lawsuit, the publication's frazzled head editor, Warren Haggerty, must find a way to turn the tables on her. Soon Haggerty's harried fiancée, Gladys Benton, and his dashing friend Bill Chandler are in on a scheme that aims to discredit Connie, with amusing and unexpected results.

7.3

MagicScore

#16

Pillow 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.

7.1

MagicScore

#17

Mr. & Mrs. Smith

1941

Happily married for three years, Ann and David Smith live in New York. One morning Ann asks David if he had to do it over again, would he marry her? To her shock, he answers, "No". Later that day, they separately discover that, due to a legal complication, they are not legally married.

6.2

MagicScore

#18

The Wheeler Dealers

1963

Henry J. Tyroon leaves Texas, where his oil wells are drying up, and arrives in New York with a lot of oil money to play with in the stock market. He meets stock analyst Molly Thatcher, who tries to ignore the lavish attention he spends on her but, in the end, she falls for his charm.

6.2

MagicScore

#19

Runaway 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.

6.1

MagicScore

#20

Kalifornia

1993

A journalist duo go on a tour of serial killer murder sites with two companions, unaware that one of them is a serial killer himself.

6.6

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like The Philadelphia Story?

The top films similar to The Philadelphia Story by MovieMagicScore are His Girl Friday (7.4), High Society (6.9), It Happened One Night (7.8). Each shares comedy/romance themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is The Philadelphia Story worth watching?

The Philadelphia Story holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.6/10 from 929 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is The Philadelphia Story?

The Philadelphia Story (1940) is a comedy, romance film directed by George Cukor, starring Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart.

Where can I find more recommendations like The Philadelphia Story?

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 His Girl Friday Movies like High Society Movies like It Happened One Night Movies like The Awful Truth Movies like The Divorce of Lady X Movies like Woman of the Year

About movies like The Philadelphia Story

This ranked list pairs The Philadelphia Story (1940), a comedy and romance film from George Cukor, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Cary Grant 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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