Recommendations
Senior Film Conservator

The United States-born brilliance of The Devil Is a Sissy offers a unique nuanced performance, the profound questions raised in 1936 still require cinematic answers today. Our curated selection of recommendations echoes the very essence of The Devil Is a Sissy.
In the Pantheon of Drama cinema, The Devil Is a Sissy to provide a definitive example of W.S. Van Dyke's stylistic genius.
A well-bred young English lad living in lower Manhattan tries to gain acceptance from his not-so-well-bred peers at school.
The Devil Is a Sissy was a significant production in United States, showcasing the immense talent of Wally Maher, Charles Coleman, Buster Slaven. It continues to be a top recommendation for anyone studying Drama history.
Based on the unique nuanced performance of The Devil Is a Sissy, our vault has identified these titles as the most compelling follow-up experiences for fans of Drama cinema:
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.
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Dir: Wilfred Lucas
Brian O'Farrell (Snowy Baker), is an English 'new chum' who takes a job at an Australian cattle station. He is teased by station hands because of his appearance (including spats and a monocle) but he soon impresses them with his skills at riding and boxing. The station manager, John MacDonald (Wilfred Lucas), takes O'Farrell to Sydney to meet his daughter Edith (Kathleen Key) who is working in the slums. Edith is kidnapped by criminals after witnessing a crime but O'Farrell rescues her. It is later revealed he is the owner of the station.
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Dir: Bruno Ziener
A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.
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Dir: Reggie Morris
A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.
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Dir: W.S. Van Dyke
Some of the most sanguinary feuds in America have been fought out, not in the mountains of the south, but on the deserts of the great west, where cattlemen and sheepmen often dealt out death to each other with the aid of their old friends, Winchester and Colt. Such a feud is in progress between the men of the desert when Jack, a nomadic cowboy, wanders into the scene. He is outspoken against the outlawry, and the sheriff, in jest, hands him his badge and asks him if he can do any better. Jack accepts the challenge and arrests one of the most recent slayers. The latter's companions immediately storm the jail and rescue him. In the fight Jack is desperately wounded. May, a girl of the ranch, finds the cowboy half dead and hides him in an isolated hut while she nurses him back to health. The feudists discover Jack's hiding place and attack him. He and the girl escape, and while Jack holds a narrow canyon against his pursuers the girl dashes across the desert in search of aid. Jack's life seems as good as lost when May returns with the opposing feudists, who save him. The wedding between Jack and the girl on the battleground reconciles the feudists and restores order on the desert.
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Dir: W.S. Van Dyke
Jack Derry accidentally becomes involved in a mystery surrounding Glory Billings, when fate makes him her rescuer in a kidnapping episode.
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Dir: W.S. Van Dyke
Out of the elite and civilized east into the rough and primitive west there comes a little party which judged the desert must be larger than all New York, and their trail a little longer than the Gay White Way. Ruth Harkness, who has inherited the Flying W ranch from a relative, heads the timid little band. A prim and conventional aunt and uncle and Willard Masten, her fiancé, all dolled up according to his Fifth Avenue tailors ideas of the west, accompany her. Headlong the little party plunges into the meshes of a conspiracy of two cowboys to mulct the girl of her holdings. Rex Randerson, a happy-go-lucky ranger with a clear-gray eye, steps in to frustrate the plot, and incidentally falls in love with Ruth. This enrages Masten, who joins the conspirators and extends their plot to include Randerson's death. The girl and the ranger are caught in their "death trap'' and count themselves lost, but the fearlessness of Rex in a single-handed battle with the villains saves the day. Ruth thanks him by consenting to become his bride, and an old-fashioned cowboy wedding ends the dark adventure.
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Dir: W.S. Van Dyke
Tom Bain was born with a tongue so glib that his parents, early in his career, predicted he would be a second Chauncey Depew. In college it developed until he was capable of selling Liberty Bonds in a poor house. But Tom was ambitious to be an inventor and so built a tunneling machine that "would start at one side of a mountain and propel itself through to the other without man's assistance." His gift of gab sold the rights to the machine to a big manufacturing firm, but they soon found it worthless and instead of building machines, Tom was placed on the payroll as a salesman. And then, after an exciting series of adventures, Tom finally wins the hand of Peggy, whom he had met and courted in his college days. The wedding occurs in a hospital where the couple meet accidentally as patients.
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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.
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Dir: Robert N. Bradbury
A simple country girl, brutally mistreated by her stepfather, awakens first the sympathy, then the love, of The Boy. The Spider, who lusts after The Girl, makes a bargain with the stepfather and takes her to the city where, kept prisoner, she is soon broken in health and spirit. Cast out and near death, she is taken in by The Boy. Following the demise of The Spider, The Boy takes her to church, where he prays, and after many hours she is restored to health.
View DetailsAnalysis relative to The Devil Is a Sissy
| Film Title | Atmosphere | Complexity | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lunatics in Politics | Ethereal | Dense | 97% Match |
| The Jackeroo of Coolabong | Ethereal | High | 85% Match |
| Eva, wo bist du? | Gothic | Dense | 86% Match |
| Striking Models | Tense | High | 96% Match |
| Men of the Desert | Gritty | Layered | 86% Match |
This guide was algorithmically generated using the cinematic metadata of W.S. Van Dyke's archive. Last updated: 6/18/2026.
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