When you think of romances, don’t those same classic movies keep popping into your head? I think we’ve all got a list of great, timeless love stories that we watch over and over. Here are my favorite twenty classic romantic films!
1. Casablanca …
Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, and Paul Henreid
How could this one not top my list? Casablanca is the ultimate classic romantic movie. If you only watch one movie off my list, please make it this one. It is the exotic story of the love triangle between Rick (Bogart), Victor (Henreid), and Ilsa (Bergman). Everything about this movie, from the cast to the setting to the dramatic ending, is timeless.
Where to Get It: Amazon.com
2. Gone with the Wind …
Starring: Clark Gable and Vivienne Leigh
This is my all-time favorite movie! I could watch GWTW over and over and over again. I love Scarlett’s (Leigh) fiery personality and Rhett’s (Butler) southern charm. This epic saga is set in the pre-Civil War South, and it follows Rhett and Scarlett through the war and Reconstruction. A beautiful tale of lovers fated never to be truly happy, this one is just too good too miss!
Where to Get It: Amazon.com
3. Giant …
Starring: Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson
Okay, we all know that Rock Hudson wasn’t exactly the ladies’ man that Hollywood advertised him to be back in the day, but he’s still a great looking guy in my opinion, and he makes a great leading man in Giant. Elizabeth Taylor is one of my favorite actresses of all time, and she’s great in this film. This movie (over 200 minutes long!) is too much to summarize in one sentence, but it follows several generations of a ranching family, and it delivers some major romance and drama.
Where to Get It: Amazon.com
4. Notorious …
Starring: Ingrid Bergman, Cary Grant, and Claude Rains
I love this movie because it is not only a classic romance, but also an exciting spy thriller with a surprising twist. Bergman stars as an innocent young woman working with secret agent Grant to infiltrate a Brazilian spy ring. This one’s got it all – betrayal, romance, danger. The tension between Grant and Bergman is just great as the plot builds.
Where to Get It: Amazon.com
5. The Philadelphia Story …
Starring: Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant
This is a cute little romance starring two of my favorite classic actors, Hepburn and Grant. Katharine Hepburn stars as Tracy Lord, a society girl who is torn between her fiancee and a dashing reporter (Grant). To me, this is such an example of glamourous old-time Hollywood!
Where to Get It: Amazon.com
6. The Quiet Man …
Starring: John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara
I love Ireland, and the country is almost another character in this movie… the cinematography is breathtaking! But of course, love is the real reason to watch this story, and there’s a great romance here, too. Wayne is a boxer who returns to his native Ireland, and O’Hara (one of my favorite actresses from this era) is a saucy little redhead that he wants to marry. These two are so great together that I almost imagine them married in real life!
Where to Get It: Amazon.com
7. The Shop Around the Corner …
Starring: James Stewart and Margaret Sullivan
I love this precious movie, and if you liked You’ve Got Mail with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, wchanes are that you will, too … that’s a remake of The Shop Around the Corner. This movie is about two lonely coworkers who don’t realize that they’re actually each other’s beloved penpal. Very sweet movie!
Where to Get It: Amazon.com
8. Gilda …
Starring: Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford
Rita Hayworth is amazing in this movie! Her little striptease while singing “Put the Blame on Mame” is one of the classic scenes in Gilda. The plot of this one is complicated, with Hayworth’s husband being hired to work in a casino owned by her former lover. Don’t worry about all the details – I watch this one for Hayworth’s sultry performance as a vulnerable yet tough dame.
Where to Get It: Amazon.com
9. Ball of Fire …
Starring: Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck
This movie is exciting and romantic, two of my favorite categories all rolled into one! Cooper, a nerdy professor, hires showgirl Stanwyck to help him write an article about Jazz Age slang. When he falls for her, there’s her jealous ganster boyfriend to contend with. I think this movie has such a great storyline.
Where to Get It: Amazon.com
10. An Affair to Remember …
Starring: Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr
Don’t judge this movie by the remake with Annette Benning and Warren Beatty… I hated that one. Instead, rent this version of An Affair to Remember (it’s actually a remake, too). Kerr and Grant star as strangers who meet on a cruise and fall in love, but both are involved with other people. They agree to split up, see if the feelings remain, and meet in six months atop the Empire State Building if they still feel they want to be together. Bring your tissues – I always cry when I watch this one!
Where to Get It: Amazon.com
I love Casablanca. I watch it once every year and I cry every time. :(
Hi Katie, I think you have a great taste… I’ve also watched “Casablanca” and “Gone with the wind” and they are really good! I’ve also watched other classic movies like “The Great Gatsby” and “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”. I am also a great fan of all these classic movies.I’ve been dying to watch “an affair to remember”, “Sabrina” and other movies like “Bed of roses” and “sixteen candles”, can you please tell me on which website I can get free downloads for these movies (if you know any)?
Thank you
From Sapna
I like your top 20 Classic Romantic Movies. Such a good job – I wish that I had done it. :) My favorite is The Giant Man. Please come to visit my Maureen O’Hara lens http://Squidoo.com/O‘Hara-Maureen where I have featured some of The Quiet Man movie. I would love to hear from you too…
Hi again,
Looks like I made a mistake on my lens address it should have read: http://Squidoo.com/Ohara-Maureen I hope that you will come for a visit. LaraineRose
Ok…its pretty sad because I love classic love stories and Audrey Hepburn…but I have only seen one of these movies on your list! I will write down these names and head over to blockbuster.com to put them on my list of movies to rent! I know it is sad I havent seen Gone with the Wind or Casablanca!
wow thats such an awesome list. for the longest time ever i thought i was the only one in love with “Gone with the Wind” but yaay another fan!
Yes, Monica, Gone with the Wind is awesome! I could watch it over and over. Diane, please put that one on the top of your must-rent list!
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Hi Katie,
Thank you for your list. I’ve seen many time and time again; Casablanca, Gone with the Wind, Roman Holiday to name a few. I can not wait to get started on more classics that you suggested : )
Some others you might like which have that boy meets girl, struggle and then the ahhhhhh ending;
1.Chocolat: with Johnny Depp, Juliette Binoche, and Judy Dench.
2.Family Man: with Tea Leoni and Nichols Cage (my all time fav.) because it reminds me of my husband and I. Our first five years of marriage we had three children and he commuted to Cleveland, Ohio from Orlando 50 out of 52 weeks a year/5 days a week—home on weekends when the plane didn’t ice over. He lived at the Hilton Hotel, had a per diem to entertain clients/aerospace corp. and a Cadillac to drive. When he came home he was lost.
3. Shadowlands: Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger. An actual true story…..get your tissues ready. This story takes you to places of the heart, transitions of what is important, and a committment like in the “Notebook.”
4. Moon Struck: Nicholas Cage and Cher—-I’m half Italian and half Hick, yes Hick/redneck. My parents met a dance in Georgia. My Dad was from Long Island. I was raised in Long Island and totally get the family. It’s so animated, quirky, and the “Moon,” seems to bring love to all.
5. Sweet Home Alabama: Andy Tennant,Reece Witherspoon, and Patrick Dempsy and Here is my “Hick side.” My family roots on my Mother’s side are good faithful people, some in mobile home/trailers with hound dogs etc. for hunting on up to a lawyer and a dentist…..very big family. On occassion people break out from my family, get educated, get a little high faloot n’, and then return back to enjoy the tender simple life and what is real. The antics are fun and care free but the stuggle hits home and you actually root for the home town boy….even though the city slicker is every womans dream….
6. Dr. Shivago (abc on the spelling please)Omar Shariff and ?
My mother and I’s favorite together. I even have a Jewelry box that plays “Laura’s Theme,” that my Mom and Dad gave me.
It’s complexity at it’s best, war time in Russia, passion, choices, and ultimate sacrifices. A very poinent master piece of the human struggle and love.
7. The Wedding Planner: Jennifer Lopez and Matthew McConnauhey.
I’ve seen this so many times and I love how much the young Italian man loves her, makes her a beautiful doll house/to give her a dream home and proposes to her offering his heart. Mean while her heart belongs to the Groom of the couple she is planning their wedding…..I saw this movie at least 20 times with my daughters—Once with several of our friends/neighbor couples in Leu Gardens/at night on a three story blow up screen. There we were watching a movie in a park, seeing JLo watching a movie in the park with Mathew McConnauhey. It was a perfect place to feel what they were portraying.
8. Maid in Manhattan: JLo again, with Bob Hoskins, and Ralf Fiennes…..and my favorite quote, To serve people takes dignity and intelligence. But remember, they are only people with money. And although we serve them, we are not their servants. What we do, Miss Ventura, does not define who we are. What defines us is how well we rise after falling. —the movie depicts how many of Americans work. All of us are not blessed to have comfy office jobs or perks. I feel fortunate to have risen above my parents struggles; Dad-family came from Italy and my Mom–literally Cotton pickers/share croppers. It was there vision and hard work that paved my way.
9. Juliette; the 1960’s version Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussy—-my favorite quote,”Romeo andGive me my Romeo; and, when he shall die,
Take him and cut him out in little stars,
And he will make the face of heaven so fine
That all the world will be in love with night
And pay no worship to the garish sun.” —this introduced me to Love, Shakespear, and wonderful lyrical dialogue.
10. Shakespear in Love: Joseph Fiennes, Judith Dench and Gwyneth Paltro—-Pure fun and a look at what Shakespear might have lived; his desires, dreams, and inspiration. You are the fly on the wall.
****Also It Happened one Night; Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. All black and white…a laugh from beginning to end….saw this the first night they had the movies in Leu Gardens(Orlando, FL) several years ago. It was a treat back then…they didn’t post the name of the movie….you just went and then you found out. This movie is so Clark Gable.
Lastly, “The African Queen,” Humpfrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn. A likely unlikely pair, suspense, and courage. Man saves woman….a tough one at that.
Okay, I hope you have enjoyed reading my top ten. They are not in any particular order. On any given day my number 1 could change. Definately for Christmas time though, “The Family Man.” I fall in love with my husband all over again. We have been married 24 years and laugh at how it started.
Again, thank you…..getting the pop corn ready.
with much sincerity, Deb G.
Dear Deb,
Thanks for sharing all those awesome choices with our readers! Movies are soooo much better when you can connect them with little snippets of your own life right? I guess art does imitate life and life does imitate art. What a wonderful circle :)