Top 10 Classic Romantic Movies

Here’s my list of my 10 favorite classics when it comes to romantic movies. By classic, I mean pre-1970. I couldn’t keep the list to 10, so at the end, I have 5 honorable mentions.

10. Miracle In the Rain (1956)

Directed by Rudolf Mate

Starring: Jane Wyman, Van Johnson

This obscure film nobody’s heard of is guaranteed to put a lump in your throat.

9. Sabrina (1954)

Directed by Billy Wilder

Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn

One of my many favorite Humphrey Bogart movies. This one has an ugly duckling turning into a swan theme. There’s a later version with Harrison Ford, but this is the best version.

8. Gigi (1958)

Directed by Vincent Minelli

Starring: Leslie Caron, Louis Jourdan

Touching story of a romance of a girl whose been raised to be a mistress.

7. Notorious (1946)

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Starring: Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman

Technically this isn’t a love story, but the passion between the two main characters explodes on the screen.

6. The African Queen (1951)

Directed by John Huston

Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Katherine Hepburn

Two unlikely people fall in love during World War 1. The acting can’t get any better than this.

5. West Side Story (1961)

Directed by Jerome Robbins, Robert Wise

Starring: Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer

The original is almost always better than any remake. Make sure you have tissues handy for this modern take of Romeo and Juliet.

4. Casablanca (1942)

Directed by Michael Curtiz

Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman

This movie, which many rate as their number one favorite, is brilliant in its simple triangle love story in the middle of political upheaval and war.

3. To Have and Have Not (1945)

Directed by Howard Hawks

Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Becall

This was the first movie Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Becall starred in together, and it can’t be beat. It was based on a novel by Ernest Hemingway, and William Faulkner wrote the screenplay. so considering the writers and the actors, how could it not be awesome.

2. The Sound of Music (1965)

Directed by Robert Wise

Starring: Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer

One of my all time favorite movies set during the Nazi regime in Austria. This movie was based on a true story.

1. An Affair To Remember (1957)

Directed by Leo McCarey

Starring: Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr

This is my all time favorite classic love story. It brings a tear to my eye every time I watch it. One thing that explodes on the scene is the chemistry between Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr.

Honorable Mentions:

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947)

Starring: Gene Tieny, Rex Harrison

It Happened One Night (1934)

Starring: Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert

Test Pilot (1938)

Starring: Clark Gable, Myra Loy, Spencer Tracy

Made For Each Other (1939)

Starring: Jimmy Stewart, Carole Lombard

My Fair Lady (1964)

Starring: Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison