11. Sabrina …
Starring: Audrey Hepburn, William Holden, and Humphrey Bogart
Sabrina is one of my all-time favorite romances! Audrey Hepburn stars as a chauffeur’s daughter who falls in the love with the younger son of the family employing her father. She lures the son (Holden) out of a profitable arranged marriage, prompting the older brother (Bogart) to influence his brother to stay away from Sabrina. Of course, who can stay away from her? No one, and Bogart falls in love withe. Skip the remake (starring Harrison Ford), and watch the original – its a classic romantic tear-jerker.
Where to Get It: Amazon.com
12. Some Like It Hot …
Starring: Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon, and Tony Curtis
This cute little romance is about two ladies’ men musicians (Lemmon and Curtis) who are on the run after witnessing a violent crime. They dress in drag to escape with their lives, and meet up with Sugar Kane (Monroe). Curtis falls in love with Monroe, and the results are both funny and romantically sweet.
Where to Get It: Amazon.com
13. The Lady Eve …
Starring: Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda
I think Barbara Stanwyck is such a great actress of this generation… pretty, funny, and smart. She plays Lady Eve in this movie, a gold-digging con artist who sets her sights on the hapless Henry Fonda. The romantic tension between those two is classic movie fun, and this screwball romantic comedy is great for laughs and for love!
Where to Get It: Amazon.com
14. Roman Holiday …
Starring: Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck
To me, Audrey Hepburn is just too sweet, and I love any movie she makes. I’d watch anything she’s in! This movie is one of those classic romances that I always think of when someone asks me about timeless love stories. I didn’t put it higher on the list because I’m not a huge Gregory Peck fan … I think Cary Grant would’ve been a perfect leading man for this role. But, this is still a great romance about a European princess who sneaks off and falls in love with a tough-guy reporter.
Where to Get It: Amazon.com
15. Meet John Doe …
Starring: Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck
I know a lot of people don’t like Gary Cooper, but I think he’s got such great chemistry with Barbara Stanwyck, and never more so than in Meet John Doe. This movie is about an average guy (cooper) who gets swept up in a corrupt political campaign. Stanwyck is the reporter who falls for him and winds up saving him in the end.
Where to Get It: Amazon.com
16. His Girl Friday …
Starring: Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell
This is a madcap comedy all wrapped up in a romantic love story, so I love it because it is the best of both worlds… funny and charming! Grant plays a newspaper man whose star reporter (Russell) just happens to be his ex-wife. When she wants to leave his paper, he assigns her one tough last interview with a convicted killer. Jail breaks, shootings, and a corrupt administration add lots of excitement to this love story. This is one classic that I watch over and over again!
Where to Get It: Amazon.com
17. Bringing Up Baby …
Starring: Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant
This is a movie that surprised me. I didn’t think I’d enjoy this romantic comedy nearly as much as I did. Grant plays a very straight-laced paleontologist, and Hepburn is a flirty heiress whose dog steals Grant’s dinosaur bone. This is a love-hate story, with lots of juicy conflict and flirtation between the two main characters. I was so surprised by Hepburn’s ability to play this role and play it well!
Where to Get It: Amazon.com
18. My Fair Lady …
Starring: Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison
My Fair Lady is a classic Hollywood romance, and if you’re like me, you grew up knowing and loving this story! Hepburn plays Eliza Doolittle in this rags to riches story. She’s a street girl who’s taken in by the charming Henry Higgins (Harrison), who uses Eliza for his own little social experiment. The whole thing doesn’t turn out quite as Henry planned! I love all the songs in this one, too.
Where to Get It: Amazon.com
19. A Matter of Life and Death …
Starring: David Niven and Kim Hunter
This is a romance with life and death consequences! I watched this one with my husband a few years ago, and it got a lot of interesting conversations started. Nivens stars as a downed pilot who should’ve died. He has to justify his life before a heavenly panel to convince them that he deserves to live and stay with his love, played by Hunter.
Where to Get It: Amazon.com
20. The Palm Beach Story …
Starring: Joel McCrea and Claudette Colbert
This is a movie that a lot of my friends haven’t watched, but I caught it on a classic movie channel a few years ago, and I just fell in love with it. Set in the years following the Great Depression, McCrea and Colbert play a down-on-their-luck couple who ultimately decide to divorce. Both fly off to Palm Beach, where they meet rich suitors. Ultimately, their love brings them back together, but the journey along the way is both romantic and witty!
Where to Get It: Amazon.com
Those movies are my favorite love stories on film of all time! Sometimes, you just can’t beat romance in black and white. Do you have a classic romantic movie that I’ve not seen? If you do, I’d love to hear your review of it!
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!
[...] Here is the original post: Top 20 Classic Romantic Movies … [...]
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 :)