6 Best Kathleen Howard Movies

By Vlad Zakh · April 5, 2026

Comedy feel good

Kathleen Howard brought a sharp-tongued, formidable comic presence to Hollywood and frequently played exasperated wives and disapproving employers. Ball of Fire hides a brassy singer among sheltered professors, Laura investigates a murder and becomes obsessed with a portrait, You Were Never Lovelier marries off a hotelier’s daughters in order, and Man on the Flying Trapeze spirals a husband’s wrestling match outing into chaos. It’s a Gift and You’re Telling Me! round out the list.

Laura (1944) 01

Laura (1944)

TMDB ★ 8.0

A detective investigating a woman's murder falls in love with her through her portrait.

Directed by Otto Preminger · 1h 28m

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, YouTube TV, Amazon Prime Video with Ads · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd
You Were Never Lovelier (1942) 02

You Were Never Lovelier (1942)

TMDB ★ 7.2

Adele Mara is in this Astaire and Hayworth musical about a wealthy hotel owner who schemes to marry off his daughters in strict order of age.

Directed by William A. Seiter · 1h 37m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV

▶ Trailer Letterboxd
Ball of Fire (1941) 03

Ball of Fire (1941)

TMDB ★ 7.5

A group of sheltered professors writing a slang dictionary enlist the help of a streetwise nightclub singer.

Directed by Howard Hawks · 1h 51m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, YouTube TV, Amazon Prime Video with Ads · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd
Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935) 04

Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935)

TMDB ★ 6.9

Kathleen Howard features in this W.C. Fields comedy about a put-upon husband whose attempt to attend a wrestling match spirals into escalating domestic chaos.

Directed by Clyde Bruckman · 1h 06m · Rated NR

▶ Trailer Letterboxd
It's a Gift (1934) 05

It's a Gift (1934)

TMDB ★ 7.4

Kathleen Howard features in this W.C. Fields comedy about a henpecked grocery store owner who dreams of moving his difficult family to a California orange grove.

Directed by Norman Z. McLeod · 1h 08m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd
You're Telling Me! (1934) 06

You're Telling Me! (1934)

TMDB ★ 6.6

Kathleen Howard appears in this W.C. Fields comedy about a bumbling small-town inventor whose clumsy schemes accidentally win him unexpected fame and fortune.

Directed by Erle C. Kenton · 1h 06m · Rated NR

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

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Vlad Zakh

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.