Classics
- Adam’s Rib
- Woman of the Year
- Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
- To Have and Have Not
- The Big Sleep
- It Happened One Night
- Casablanca
- Gone with the Wind
During the Golden Age of Hollywood, kisses in romantic comedies were few and far between, yet the films we call classics set a standard. With dialogue dripping with sexual innuendo and black and white to set the mood, the films featured private detectives, well-coiffed leading ladies or perfect pairs meant to share the silver screen.
Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn brought out the best in each other as loyal and quick-witted equals. The love they secretly shared off-screen radiated large in all nine of the movies they made together including Adam’s Rib, Woman of the Year and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.
An age gap of 25 years didn’t stop sultry Lauren Bacall from sizing up gruff Humphrey Bogart on and off the screen in To Have and Have Not and film noir film The Big Sleep. Clark Gable, the McDreamy of his day, and Claudette Colbert fall for each other in the screwball comedy It Happened One Night. Of course, no classic romance list would be complete without Casablanca or Gone with the Wind. Better add these to your Netflix queue – you’ve got a lot of classics to cover.
Good Cries
- Shakespeare in Love
- The Notebook
- Titantic
- Moulin Rogue
- Ever After
- Roman Holiday
- Tristan and Isolde
Grab a box of tissues before you pop one of these romantic movies in the DVD player – there’s devotion, death and plenty of drama in these tragic picks. Shakespeare in Love follows the man himself as he finds his muse in Gwyneth Paltrow and pens his play Romeo and Juliet. The couple’s story parallels the star-crossed lovers, but spoiler alert — no poison or happy dagger here.
We’re willing to bet there’s not a dry eye in any dorm room after a screening of The Notebook. Characters Allie and Noah prove that love can last a lifetime in this WWII era tearjerker. Who didn’t fall in love with Leo in Titanic? Kate and Leo had a whirlwind romance aboard the doomed ship that included a steamy session inside a car and an au naturel portrait sitting.
Another movie that will break your heart is the musical Moulin Rogue about a cabaret star in Paris and poor poet who loves her. If you can ignore the misplaced Madonna songs, you’ll get an epic albeit tragic romance set to music. Not done tearing up? Watch Ever After, Roman Holiday or Tristan and Isolde. Just remember that it’s OK to cry once in a while.
