Recommendations
Senior Film Conservator

The 1930 release of May I Come In redefined the parameters of Comedy storytelling, the narrative complexity found here is a rare find in the 1930 landscape. Prepare to discover your next favorite movie in our hand-picked collection.
Historically, May I Come In represents to explore the darker corners of the human condition with stylistic flair.
Businessman Jim Murdock is too busy with work to pay much attention to his wife. She is an avid golfer, and soon finds a kindred soul in a man named Johnny Spence. Eventually Jim and his wife separate, and she turns to modeling to earn a living. Jim, on his part, takes up golf on his doctor's advice. While on the links he makes the acquaintance of Tommy Milligan, an Irish caddie whose philosophy and outlook on life eventually gets Jim to thinking about why his marriage failed, and what he can do about it.
The influence of Leo McCarey in May I Come In can be felt in the way modern Comedy films handle stylistic flair. From the specific lighting choices to the pacing, this 1930 release set a high bar for atmospheric immersion.
Based on the unique stylistic flair of May I Come In, our vault has identified these titles as the most compelling follow-up experiences for fans of Comedy cinema:
Dir: Maurice Elvey
A lady marries a horse trainer but withholds herself until her crippled brother is cured.
View Details
Dir: Henry Edwards
A millionaire bets £25,000 that he can earn his own living for six months.
View Details
Dir: Vernon Stallings
Krazy Kat is held in jail and Ignatz finally bails him out after encountering "guilt".
View Details
Dir: Lloyd Ingraham
While walking along the street one day, Arthur P. Hampton, an impoverished young doctor, and his chums, Stub Masters and Johnny Stokes, are persuaded to part with their last remaining funds by tag day solicitor Mary Jane Smith, with whom the doctor promptly falls in love. Doc's friends then hit upon a get-rich-quick scheme. Knowing that his Uncle George has promised a large sum of money upon his nephew's marriage, they persuade Doc to send out fake wedding invitations naming Mary Jane as the blushing bride. Uncle George, elated at the good news, writes to Mary Jane's aunt, Angelica Burns, an old sweetheart, to invite Mary Jane and Angelica to be his guests on an ocean voyage. Meanwhile, Mary Jane pays a visit to the doctor's office and, upon seeing the wedding invitations, becomes so flustered that she trips and sprains her ankle. Doc comes to her rescue and then begs her to pose as his wife. She agrees, but at ship-side, Stub and Johnnie confess all to Uncle George, who flies into a rage until Doc announces that he and Mary Jane have chosen a wedding at sea.
View Details
Dir: Maurice Campbell
Carver Endicott, a young sophisticate, is rejected by his fiancée for being too foppish and dull. When she feigns an interest in his father, Carver attempts to disgrace his family name by working as a farmhand and later as a busboy in a hotel. However, the newspapers only praise him for his self-sacrificing principles; and finding that he cannot bring shame to the family through menial labor, he takes up with a notorious actress. But when this maneuver also fails, he returns to his former fiancée, who has no further complaint about his being an inexperienced dullard.
View Details
Dir: Colin Campbell
Although separated at birth, Siamese twins Fabien and Louis de Franchi remain united emotionally. One day, Parisian Emilie de Lesparre arrives in their Corsican village with her father, and both brothers fall in love with her. Louis goes to Paris to study law and sees Emilie often, but Emilie loves Fabien who has remained in Corsica with their mother. While attending a dinner given by another admirer of Emilie's, M. Chateau Renaud, Louis is drawn into a duel with Renaud and killed. Back home, Fabien senses what has happened and journeys to Paris to avenge his brother's death. After he kills Renaud in a duel, Emilie finally confesses her love to Fabien.
View Details
Dir: Unknown Director
The Judge needs a present for his wife's birthday, so Harry suggests a new corset. They go to the shop, but he's so embarrassed to ask the saleslady he hides in a phone booth.Harry goes in, but finds a GUY wearing one, and runs out.They both dress as women to get back in, but Mrs. Rummy gets there and chases him out.
View Details
Dir: Jacques Jaccard
Douglas MacLeod of the Royal North West Mounted Police is in love with Suzanne Foucharde, who has adopted an abandoned Indian baby, the illegitimate child of Louis La Rocque and Na Fa Kowa. When La Rocque insinuates that the baby is Suzanne's, her brother Henry defends his sister's honor and kills the villain. In spite of his love for Suzanne, it is Douglas' duty to arrest Henry. He does so, but later allows him to escape, taking the bullet himself that was fired after Henry by Constable Burke. Meanwhile, the dead body of Na Fa Kowa is found, accompanied by a note proving that the Indian was the baby's mother. In the spring, when Douglas recovers from his wounds, he and Suzanne are married.
View Details
Dir: J. Gordon Edwards
William Farnum is Drag Harlan, a tough cowboy vigilante. After learning about a gold mine from a dying man, he seeks his daughter (Jackie Saunders) as well as the gold. He falls in love with her, but the same gang that shot the old man is after the gold.
View Details
Dir: F. Martin Thornton
In Paris an orphan cartoonist loves a man with a mad wife, who dies in time to prevent her marriage to a jilted Comte.
View DetailsAnalysis relative to May I Come In
| Film Title | Atmosphere | Complexity | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Hundredth Chance | Gritty | Dense | 87% Match |
| The Amazing Quest of Mr. Ernest Bliss | Gritty | Linear | 86% Match |
| The Great Cheese Robbery | Surreal | Linear | 87% Match |
| Mary's Ankle | Surreal | High | 86% Match |
| An Amateur Devil | Tense | Linear | 98% Match |
This guide was algorithmically generated using the cinematic metadata of Leo McCarey's archive. Last updated: 5/21/2026.
Back to May I Come In Details →