Recommendations
Senior Film Conservator

Witnessing the stylistic evolution of Edmund Goulding through Reaching for the Moon is profound, audiences who connected with its message often look for similar thematic gravity. Each of these movies shares a piece of the cinematic excellence that made Reaching for the Moon so special.
The synthesis of form and function in Reaching for the Moon to establish Edmund Goulding as a true visionary of the 1930s.
Wall Street wizard Larry Day, new to the ways of love, is coached by his valet. He follows Vivian Benton on an ocean liner, where cocktails laced with a "love potion," work their magic. He then loses his fortune in the market crash and feels that he has also lost his girl.
Reaching for the Moon was a significant production in United States, showcasing the immense talent of Bill Elliott, James Conaty, Dennis O'Keefe. It continues to be a top recommendation for anyone studying Comedy history.
Based on the unique cinematic excellence of Reaching for the Moon, our vault has identified these titles as the most compelling follow-up experiences for fans of Comedy cinema:
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: Henry Edwards
A millionaire bets £25,000 that he can earn his own living for six months.
View Details
Dir: Hal Roach
An American book salesman (Lloyd) is persuaded to go to the kingdom of Thermosa to impersonate the Prince. He is greeted by a peasants' revolt before the real prince shows up to claim his throne and princess. The revolution succeeds, and the American is elected president of the new republic.
View Details
Dir: Jerome Storm
Ne'er-do-well Homer Cavender ventures to the city from Mainsville in an effort to find fame and fortune. Both elude him, and after clerking for two years, Homer returns home for a vacation. Impressed by his flashy clothes, the townspeople assume that Homer has achieved success. Attempting to win Rachel Prouty from his rival, Arthur Machim, Homer continues the deception by announcing that his employer, Kort and Bailly, has dispatched him to enroll stockholders for a proposed new plant to be built in Mainsville. Machim discovers the sham and denounces Homer as a crook. Meanwhile, Homer returns to New York, convinces his employers of the merits of his plan and comes home triumphant, with a proposal for both the new plant and for Rachel's hand in marriage.
View Details
Dir: Richard Smith
Two female candidates for Chief of Police live across the hall from each other, and their political rivalry follows them home, leading to plenty of hi-jinks.
View Details
Dir: Victor Heerman
In the gold fields of the Canadian Northwest, a man is falsely accused of a crime and determines that a lookalike is responsible.
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: 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 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: 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 DetailsAnalysis relative to Reaching for the Moon
| Film Title | Atmosphere | Complexity | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| An Amateur Devil | Tense | Linear | 98% Match |
| The Amazing Quest of Mr. Ernest Bliss | Gritty | Linear | 86% Match |
| His Royal Slyness | Gothic | Layered | 92% Match |
| Homer Comes Home | Ethereal | Linear | 93% Match |
| Lunatics in Politics | Ethereal | Dense | 97% Match |
This guide was algorithmically generated using the cinematic metadata of Edmund Goulding's archive. Last updated: 8/17/2026.
Back to Reaching for the Moon Details →