Best movies like Show Folks

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A unique, carefully handpicked, selection of the best movies like Show Folks Starring Eddie Quillan, Lina Basquette, Carole Lombard, Robert Armstrong, and more. If you liked Show Folks then you may also like: You're a Sweetheart, Upstage, Wake Up and Dream, The Outcast, Riverboat Rhythm and many more popular movies featured on this list. You can further filter the list even more or get a random selection from the list of similar movies, to make your selection even easier.

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Eddie Kehoe is a young vaudeville hoofer who thinks his inability to hit the big time is the fault of stage managers, agents, musicians...everybody but himself. Eddie likes to tell others how good he is, but seldom shows them. Kitty Mayo, an old-time burlesque queen, who is with the McNary Vaudeville Company, advises Eddie to get himself a partner, as his solo abilities can only be stretched so far. He decides to follow her advice and, while in a theatrical supply shop, he sees Rita Carey rehearsing her dancing act that includes a trained duck. Eddie tells Rita he is a good friend of McNary's, and, with him as her partner, her future in show business will be secured. She agrees to join him and Eddie promptly names the act "Eddie Kehoe and Partner". Despite his conceit, Rita likes Eddie, as do others in the troupe, including Cleo a little gold-digger.

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Know any good movies to watch like Show Folks 1928. With a similar plot or stoyline. Suggest it.

You're a Sweetheart

A Broadway producer is in a quandary when he discovers that the opening of his newest big production coincides with that of a major charity event. He despairs that the show will close after opening night until an ingenious writer suggests that he simply give the production snob-appeal by making the tickets nearly impossible to get by fabricating a story that they were all purchased by a flamboyant Texas oil baron who is totally besotted by the show's star.

Upstage

Dolly Havens, a small-town girl with big-town ambitions that are larger than her talents, hooks up with Johnny Storm, a vaudeville performer, whose talents make the act a success. Dolly, thinking she is the reason, meets a handsome leading man and joins up with him but, before long, he discovers 'she ain't a trouper' and she is soon performing with 4th-class acts in Tank Town America

Wake Up and Dream

The story of a small-time vaudeville trio and their rise to the big time.

The Outcast

A music-hall star and his best mate are conned out of their earnings (twice!) and left with nothing but a beloved greyhound.

Riverboat Rhythm

A financially-strapped showboat captain struggles to stay in business.

Kelly and Me

Failing vaudeville performer, Len, is taken under the wing of the German Shepherd wonder dog, Kelly, and a new act is born. Len hopes all his dreams are coming true when he finds himself in Hollywood ... but Kelly is the one in demand on the big screen.

Bright Lights

Husband-and-wife vaudeville stars separate when success goes to his head.

The Broadway Melody

The vaudeville act of Harriet and Queenie Mahoney comes to Broadway, where their friend Eddie Kerns needs them for his number in one of Francis Zanfield's shows. When Eddie meets Queenie, he soon falls in love with her—but she is already being courted by Jock Warriner, a member of New York high society. Queenie eventually recognizes that, to Jock, she is nothing more than a toy, and that Eddie is in love with her.

Easter Parade

On the day before Easter in 1911, Don Hewes is crushed when his dancing partner (and object of affection) Nadine Hale refuses to start a new contract with him. To prove Nadine's not important to him, Don acquires innocent new protege Hannah Brown, vowing to make her a star in time for next year's Easter parade.

Gypsy

Mama Rose lives to see her daughter June succeed on Broadway by way of vaudeville. When June marries and leaves, Rose turns her hope and attention to her elder, less obviously talented, daughter Louise. However, having her headlining as a stripper at Minsky's Burlesque is not what she initially has in mind.

Holiday Inn

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.

Polly of the Follies

A romantic comedy, focusing on the love triangle between Bob Jones, Alysia Potter and Polly Meachum. Originally engaged, Bob and Alysia elope to Bowling Green, Connecticut, where they meet Silas Meachum, a campaigner against motion pictures, and his daughter, Polly. The eloping couple’s family arrive, chasing them, and persuade them to wait to get married. Polly goes to New York to join the Ziegfeld Follies, but is ultimately replaced by Alysia. As Bob consoles Polly, Alysia breaks off the engagement, and Bob and Polly may now marry.

The Duke Is Tops

A theatrical producer puts aside his own success to boost the career of a talented singer.

The Star Maker

This is a film about the life of Gus Edwards, a well known vaudeville composer, entertainer, and producer.

The Stooge

Bill Miller is an unsuccessful Broadway performer until his handlers convince him to enhance his act with a stooge—Ted Rogers, a guy positioned in the audience to be the butt of Bill's jokes. After Ted begins to steal the show, Bill's girlfriend and his pals advise him to make Ted an equal partner.

Take Me Home

Chorus girl Peggy Lane, finds a small part in a new show for David North, a stages-truck country boy. At rehearsal, David meets Delerys Devore, the show's star, and she quickly offers him a larger part in her act. Quite taken with David, Delerys invites him to her home on the pretext that Peggy will be there; when Peggy does not show up, David leaves, infuriating his hostess. Derelys has Peggy fired the next day, and in reprisal Peggy goads her into a Carmenesque fight backstage just before the show. Derelys is unable to go on stage, and Peggy takes her place, becoming the hit of the show. Peggy and David are later married and give up show business, finding contentment living on a farm.

Chasing Rainbows

The road-show troupe of a top Broadway show go cross-country while taking the audience along on the on-stage scenes as well as what happens and is happening back stage of the production. The spectacular dancing ensembles and colorful costumes and pulchritude on-stage offers a contrasting background to the drabness of the backstage, where joy, sorrow, tragedies, deception, and romance are intertwined.

This Way Please

A famous singer and matinée idol helps a pretty young theater usher in her dreams of becoming a singer, but when her career begins to take off and she becomes engaged to a wealthy young man, he realizes he's fallen for her and plots to break up her impending marriage.

Two Latins from Manhattan

Joan Daley, a New York booking/press agent, attempts to recruit two local stand-ins, Jinx Terry and Lois Morgan, when the Cuban sister-act, Marianela and Rosita she as booked into the nightclub for which she works fails to materialize. Complications arrive when the real Cuban sisters show up.

Earl Carroll Sketchbook

An aspiring singer and her lover, a songwriter who has desperately resorted to writing radio jingles, have many conflicts on their road to success...

Forty Naughty Girls

Hildegarde Withers and Inspector Piper try to solve a murder while attending a popular Broadway show.

Lucky Me

Three struggling theatrical performers meet a famous songwriter who is trying to convince a wealthy oilman to finance a musical he is scripting, promising them stardom if it comes to fruition.

The Merry Monahans

The film concerns a family vaudeville troupe headed by patriarch Pete Monahan. Because of his love affair with the bottle, Pete manages to get himself and his family blacklisted from every major vaude house in the country. Though Pete's kids Jimmy and Patsy love their dad, they're forced to break away from the act and go off on their own to survive. Eventually, the whole gang is reunited in a shamelessly lachrymose musical finale.

Moonlight in Havana

Allan Jones stars as hotshot baseball player Johnny Norton, in Havana for spring training. It turns out that Johnny has a beautiful singing voice, but only when he's suffering from a cold. Enterprising nightclub manager Barney Crane (William Frawley) attempts to inflict poor Johnny with cold germs, resulting in unchecked zaniness whenever our hero recovers sufficiently to lose his voice. The film's 63-minute running time manages to accommodate the drunken comedy relief of Hugh O'Connell and Jack Norton, and an abundance of musical numbers, courtesy of Allan Jones, Jane Frazee, the Horton Dancing Group, the Jivin' Jacks and Jills and Grace & Nicco.

Rainbow Over Broadway

Ex-vaudeville performer Trixie makes a come-back, and threatens to thwart the ambitions of her song-writing step-children, Bob and Judy.

The Great Victor Herbert

In his last film assignment, portly Walter Connolly fills the title role (in more ways than one) in The Great Victor Herbert. Very little of Herbert's life story is incorporated in the screenplay (a closing title actually apologizes for the film's paucity of cold hard facts); instead, the writers allow the famed composer's works to speak for themselves. In the tradition of one of his own operettas, Herbert spends most of his time patching up the shaky marriage between tenor John Ramsey (Allan Jones) and Louise Hall (Mary Martin). Many of Herbert's most famous compositions are well in evidence, including "Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life", "March of the Toys" and "Kiss Me Again", the latter performed con brio by teenaged coloratura Susanna Foster. Evidently, the producers were able to secure the film rights for the Herbert songs, but not for the stage productions in which they appeared, which may explain such bizarre interpolations as having a song from Naughty Marietta.

Meet Me After the Show

A Broadway star devises a scheme to win back her husband when she suspects he's being unfaithful.

Shine on Harvest Moon

Biographical movie about the early 20th century broadway stars Nora Bayes and Jack Norworth.

Red Hot and Blue

A Broadway director rescues a starlet from mobsters who blame her for a shooting.

Many Happy Returns

Gracie Allen assumes the "management" of the shop owned by her papa Horatio Allen, turning it into a radio station and then an aviary---with the usual Gracie Allen logic---while distracted Papa is trying to get younger daughter, beauty contest winner Florence, married before she can head to Hollywood and get into the movies.

Murder at the Windmill

A man watching a musical show at the Windmill theatre is shot apparently from the stage. The cast continues the performance so that the detective can solve the murder.

The House of Fear

A detective goes undercover as a producer to investigate an actor's murder, which occurred during the performance of a play...

Doll Face

Burlesque queen Doll Face Carroll is dismissed from an audition for a legitimate Broadway show because she lacks culture. Her boss/manager Mike decides that she can get both culture and plenty of publicity by writing her autobiography. He hires a ghost writer to do all the work, but doesn't count on the possibility that Doll Face and her collaborator might have more than a book on their minds.

She's Working Her Way Through College

Shapely burlesque dancer Hot Garters Gertie aka Angela Gardner meets her future drama professor. Her new landlady proves to be the professor's wife. Angela helps breath life into the annual school stage show...but someone has discovered her secret past.

Curtain Call

Two theatrical producers plan to get even with a demanding actress by tricking her into starring in the worst play they can find.

Syncopation

Benny and Flo are a husband and wife dance team, Sloane and Darrel, traveling around the country as part of a revue. The revue gets picked up and taken to New York City, to be on Broadway. However, it quickly folds, and the two are forced to look for other employment. They eventually find work in a nightclub, becoming famous.But while performing at the nightclub, Flo becomes entranced by a young, sophisticated millionaire playboy, Winston.

My Best Gal

A girl from a show-business family seeks a backer for her boyfriend's musical.

George White's Scandals

Reporter Miss Lee is looking for a story and approaches George White as he's assembling the latest edition of his famous revue. As it turns out, she has lots of backstage gossip to choose from

Bring Your Smile Along

Nancy Willows (Constance Towers), pretty blonde high school teacher, writes song lyrics which spark the careers of struggling young pianist-composer Martin Adams (Keefe Brasselle')and would-be singer Jerry Dennis (Frankie Laine). When Nancy and Martin fall in love but quarrel over her old flame, David Parker (William Leslie), Nancy returns to her teaching job. Jerry reunites Nancy and Martin and, in turn, succumbs to the charms of his new secretary Marge Stevenson (Lucy Marlow).

Sally, Irene and Mary

Manicurists Sally, Irene and Mary hope to be Broadway entertainers. When Mary inherits an old ferry boat, they turn it into a successful supper club.

Broadway Serenade

A married singer, pianist/composer team are struggling to hit it big in New York. Finally, they audition before a Broadway producer, but the producer only wants the singer, leaving the husband without a job and feeling a failure.

The Broadway Hoofer

Broadway dancing star Adele Dorey who, overworked and exhausted, suddenly ups and leaves New York in favor of a country village. But when promoter Bobby Lewis (Egan) of the barnstorming Gay Girlies Burlesque Company arrives in town, he picks an incognito Adele among all the pretty village girls to star in his new show. On a lark, Adele introduces her maid Jane (Louise Fazenda) as her mother and accepts a contract. When Adele's identity is finally revealed, the slumming star apologizes for her deception by offering Bobby a Broadway job.

Hey, Rookie

Musical comedy star Jimmy Leighter wants to get away from show biz and his leading lady Winnie Clark, so he joins the Army. There he gets the order to put on a show, Winnie Clark appears in a camp show, hears about his task and offers him his help. He thinks, she does it for her publicity only, so he doesn't want to know anything about this, till he finds out, that she has no such intentions.

Swing, Sister, Swing

In this musical comedy, two star-struck small town kids head for the Big Apple and become famous for their jitterbug act. Their fame doesn't last long, but they had fun anyway. Songs include: "Baltimore Bubble," "Gingham Gown," "Just a Bore," "Wasn't It You," "Kaneski Waltz" (Frank Skinner, Charles Henderson).

Crashing Broadway

When Tad Wallace's act flops on Broadway, he joins a troop heading west. In a small town, they run into Jeffries who has just burned down the theater. When Jeffries kills Griswold, Tad has a plan to trap him by using the talents of Shakespearian actor Thorndyke.

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