Subgenre Sampler

Show: All FilmsRental Rental DVD Rental Blu-Ray Rental VHSSales Sales DVD Sales Blu-Ray Sales VHS

Chapter Two (1979): Dir. Robert Moore
Feat. James Caan, Marsha Mason, Valerie Harper; Neil SImon's hit play is competently adapted for the big screen. James Caan in a rare romantic role plays a man recently widowed who falls for a…
Days of Heaven (1979): Dir. Terrence Malick
Feat. Sam Shepard, Richard Gere, Brooke Adams…; The mid–western wheat–fields provide a magnificent backdrop for this poignant tale of two disparate bachelors who vie for the same woman.…
Manhattan (1979): Dir. Woody Allen
Feat. Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Mariel Hemingway; This classy introspective comedy from Woody Allen tributes his beloved city while his neurotic alter–ego searches for romantic and intellectual…
House Calls (1978): Dir. Howard Zieff
Feat. Walter Matthau, Glenda Jackson, Art Carney…; Matthau plays a recent widower who attempts to make up for all the fidelity by womanizing he much as he can, before Glenda Jackson comes along and…
Oliver's Story (1978): Dir. John Korty
Feat. Ryan O'Neal, Candice Bergen, Nicola Pagett…; Ryan O'Neal returns as Oliver Barrett IV in this tender sequel to LOVE STORY.
Roseland (1977): Dir. James Ivory
Feat. Teresa Wright, Lou Jacobi, Geraldine Chaplin…; Three separate but interlocking stories set in New York's famed dance palace, about people trying to essentially, 'find the right dance partner'.…
Semi-Tough (1977): Dir. Michael Ritchie
Feat. Burt Reynolds, Kris Kristofferson, Jill Clayburgh…; A running back and wide receiver scrimmage over the adorable Jill Clayburgh in this loose–lipped satire of professional sport by way of the…
Love Among the Ruins (1975): Dir. George Cukor
Feat. Laurence Olivier, Katharine Hepburn, Colin Blakely…; Nicely polished period TV–movie, with barrister Olivier defending aging beauty Hepburn, who is being sued by a gigolo for 'abandonment'. Of…
Brief Encounter (1974): Dir. Alan Bridges
Feat. Richard Burton, Sophia Loren, Jack Hedley…; The BBC revisit David Lean's classic unrequited romance, with Richard Burton and Sophia Loren excellent as would–be lovers who meet on a train…
Tamarind Seed, The (1974): Dir. Blake Edwards
Feat. Julie Andrews, Omar Sharif, Anthony Quayle…; Languid romantic thriller plays out against the backdrop of the Cold War looming. Andrews plays a British civil servant on holiday in the Caribbean…
Butterflies Are Free (1972): Dir. Milton Katselas
Feat. Goldie Hawn; Early Goldie Hawn vehicle adapts Leonard Gershe's Broadway play, in which Hawn's blind neighbour falls in love with her.
Friends (1971): Dir. Lewis Gilbert
Feat. Sean Bury, Anicee Alvina; Sentimental, page–turning romance blossoms an enternal love between two idealistic French teens head over heels. Hit soundtrack by Elton John…
Love Story (1971): Dir. Arthur Hiller
Feat. Ali MacGraw, Ryan O'Neal, Ray Milland; Romance on a New England campus between Ali MacGraw and Ryan O'Neal. A huge hit. Oscar–winning theme–tune by Francis Lai.
Max and the Junkmen (Max Et Les Ferrailleurs) (1971): Dir. Claude Sautet
Feat. Romy Schneider; French crime drama set in the noir shaded streets of Paris follows a frustrated detective getting tangled up in a love triangle after commissioning a…
Minnie and Moskowitz (1971): Dir. John Cassavetes
Feat. Seymour Cassel, Gena Rowlands, John Cassavetes…; John Cassavetes' most accessible film is an unlikely romance between a museum curator and a parking attendant set over four days and nights.…
Ryan's Daughter (1970): Dir. David Lean
Feat. Robert Mitchum, Sarah Miles; The love triangle is given a sweeping, old–fashioned spin by David Lean, set on the rugged Irish coast during WW1.
There's A Girl In My Soup (1970): Dir. Roy Boulting
Feat. Peter Sellers, Goldie Hawn, Diana Dors…; Romantic comedy set around the unpredictable frission between a ladykilling TV personality (Sellers) and a kooky young thing (Hawn). A bit…
Walk in the Spring Rain, A (1970): Dir. Guy Green
Feat. Ingrid Bergman, Anthony Hopkins; Ingrid Bergman and Anthony Hopkins conduct an illicit affair in their middle age. Romantic slush best enjoyed as unintentional comedy.
Katzelmacher (1969): Dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Feat. Hanna Schygulla; Daring Fassbinder drama focused on a group of Munich friends indulging in the banality of their ordered lives until the arrival of a Greek immigrant…
Winning (1969): Dir. James Goldstone
Feat. Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Robert Wagner…; Paul Newman challenges for Joanne Woodward on and off the track in this high–speed racing melodrama, shot spectacularly amongst the competitive…
Bandolero! (1968): Dir. Andrew V. McLaglen
Feat. James Stewart, Dean Martin, Raquel Welch…; Number three in James Stewart's Western repertoire centred on two brawling brothers who must find a way to work together to avoid the death sentence…
Mayerling (1968): Dir. Terence Young
Feat. Omar Sharif, Catherine Deneuve, James Mason…; Austrian Crown–Prince Omar Sharif neglects the business of running the 19th Century Hapsburg empire, to have a secretive and ill–fated…
Thomas Crown Affair, The (1968): Dir. Norman Jewison
Feat. Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway; Split–screen pyrotechnics accord this 60s–chic pastiche of exotic crime thriller and steamy romance. Steve McQueen is the…
Barefoot in the Park (1967): Dir. Gene Saks
Feat. Robert Redford, Jane Fonda; Newlyweds Robert Redford and Jane Fonda make their bed in a five–story walk up apartment. Neil Simon pens out the funnies for the dynamic star…
Bobo, The (1967): Dir. Robert Parrish
Feat. Peter Sellers, Britt Ekland, Rossano Brazzi…; Sellers chews up the scenery as 'Juan', a singing bullfighter who finally books a job with a famous theatre director on the proviso that he can…
Countess from Hong Kong, The (1967): Dir. Charles Chaplin
Feat. Marlon Brando, Sophia Loren, Syd Chaplin…; None too distinguished final film for dir. Chaplin is set aboard a cruise ship, on which US diplomat Brando finds a stowaway Russian countess…
Elvira Madigan (1967): Dir. Bo Widerberg
Feat. Pia Degermark, Thommy Berggren, Lennart Malmer…; Ultra–romantic story of an army officer and a tightrope dancer who sacrifice everything for each other. Filmed like a shampoo commercial, it…
Far from the Madding Crowd (1967): Dir. John Schlesinger
Feat. Julie Christie, Peter Finch, Terence Stamp…; Pastoral, moody epic set in 18th Century England follows the romantic intrigues of an independent woman farmer with three men. Photography by Nic…
Young Girls of Rochefort, The (Les Demoiselles de Rochefort) (1967): Dir. Jacques Demy
Feat. Catherine Deneuve, Francois Dorleac, Gene Kelly; The carrot of love is dangled in Jacques Demy's positively radiant follow–up to UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG: an unbridled, colour–saturated…
Glass Bottom Boat, The (1966): Dir. Frank Tashlin
Feat. Doris Day, Rod Taylor, Dom DeLuise…; Completely transparent comedy of the fluffy 60s variety, with Doris Day, pursued by Rod Taylor and mistaken for a Soviet spy.
How to Steal a Million (1966): Dir. William Wyler
Feat. Audrey Hepburn, Peter O'Toole, Eli Wallach…; A top cast lifts this romantically–inclined suspense caper, wherein Hepburn must steal a forged sculpture belonging to her own family before it…
Man and a Woman, A (1966): Dir. Claude Lelouch
Feat. Anouk Aimee, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Pierre Barouh; Classic love story is one of the most popular foreign films of all time. Intelligent, sensitive script is ignited with exotic locations and Francis…
Two for the Road (1966): Dir. Stanley Donen
Feat. Audrey Hepburn, Albert Finney; Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney play a married couple who reflect on their twelve year marriage while driving through France in a sports car with…
Walk, Don't Run (1966): Dir. Charles Walters
Feat. Cary Grant; During the Tokyo Olympics, an American athlete shares an apartment with an amorous distraction and a wealthy businessman. Breezy comedy marks Cary…
Doctor Zhivago (1965): Dir. David Lean
Feat. Geraldine Chaplin, Julie Christie, Omar Sharif; Omar Sharif plays the Russian doctor exiled for writing poetry during WW1, and separated from his only love. Complex, beautifully conceived epic will…
Charade (1964): Dir. Stanley Donen
Feat. Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn; Excellently scripted Hitchcock–style thriller crosses the romantic with the macabre.
Umbrellas of Cherbourg, The (1964): Dir. Jacques Demy
Feat. Catherine Deneuve, Nino Castelnuovo; Gorgeous French musical with Catherine Deneuve, in her acting debut, one of its many pleasures. A bittersweet romantic story is allied to a lush…
Householder, The (1963): Dir. James Ivory
Feat. Shashi Kapoor, Leela Naidu, Durga Khote…; A young Indian newlywed is ill–prepared for marriage to his charming but independent wife and seeks advice from his tyrannical mother, a…
Irma La Douce (1963): Dir. Billy Wilder
Feat. Jack Lemmon, Shirley Maclaine, Tura Satana; On patrol in the red–light district of Paris, gendarme Jack Lemmon pines after whore–with–a–heart–of–gold Shirley…
Move Over, Darling (1963): Dir. Michael Gordon
Feat. Doris Day, James Garner; Originally intended for Marilyn Monroe as 'Something's Got to Give', Doris Day and James Garner instead appear in this comedy about a long…
That Touch of Mink (1962): Dir. Delbert Mann
Feat. Doris Day, Cary Grant; Pure–hearted country girl Doris Day becomes a romantic target for rich playboy Cary Grant, after his Rolls splashes her with mud. Other,…
Two For The Seesaw (1962): Dir. Robert Wise
Feat. Robert Mitchum, Shirley Maclaine, Edmon Ryan…; 'Odd couple' comedy set in NYC, where a Nebraskan lawyer (Mitchum) moves to start life anew and hits the romantic playground in the company of kooky…
Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961): Dir. Blake Edwards
Feat. Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard, Patricia Neal…; Audrey Hepburn is just lovely as an uptown Manhattan socialite who proves a major distraction for her writer neighbour. A chic, carefree frolic based…
Come September (1961): Dir. Robert Mulligan
Feat. Rock Hudson, Gina Lollobrigida, Bobby Darin…; Racy romp with Rock on the Riviera as a businessman habitually harangued on holiday when all he wants is to lavish the luscious Lollobrigida.
Fanny (1961): Dir. Joshua Logan
Feat. Leslie Caron, Maurice Chevalier, Charles Boyer…; Adored melodrama set in Marseilles, starring Leslie Caron as the titular character who falls in love with a young sailor (Buchholz) but must grapple…
Goodbye Again (Aimez-Vous Brahms) (1961): Dir. Anatole Litvak
Feat. Ingrid Bergman, Yves Montand, Anthony Perkins…; Elegant love triangle has Bergman falling in love with dashing young Anthony Perkins much to her philandering husband's chagrin. Overly familiar…
Jules and Jim (Jules et Jim) (1961): Dir. Francois Truffaut
Feat. Jeanne Moreau, Oskar Werner, Henri Serre…; Jeanne Moreau stars in this famous New Wave melodrama caught up in the spirit of its swinging times. A twenty–year love triangle, lightening…
Last Sunset, The (1961): Dir. Robert Aldrich
Feat. Kirk Douglas, Rock Hudson, Dorothy Malone…; Melodramatic Western set against the backdrop of the Texas/Mexico border stars Kirk Douglas as a fugitive hounded by Rock Hudson's sheriff, only to…
Lover Come Back (1961): Dir. Delbert Mann
Feat. Doris Day, Rock Hudson, Tony Randall; Doris Day and Rock Hudson spar away as rival ad–execs – Day is the ethical virgin, Hudson the unscrupulous lady–killer, while Tony…
Paris Blues (1961): Dir. Martin Ritt
Feat. Paul Newman, Sidney Poitier, Joanne Woodward…; Undernourished romantic drama has Newman and Poitier asJazz musicians on holiday in Paris forced to decide whether to stay or return to the U.S. for…
Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (1961): Dir. Jose Quintero
Feat. Vivien Leigh, Warren Beatty, Coral Browne…; Middle–aged actress in crisis, Vivien Leigh, finds sexual fulfillment at the hands of the gigolos of Rome, chiefly Warren Beatty's.…
Splendour in the Grass (1961): Dir. Elia Kazan
Feat. Natalie Wood, Warren Beatty, Pat Hingle…; Smitten teens work up considerable sexual frenzy when their respective families won't let them be together. Appropriately, it's the lurid scenes…
Breath of Scandal, A (1960): Dir. Michael Curtiz
Feat. Sophia Loren, Maurice Chevalier, Angela Lansbury…; Soufflé–light romance tuned to the love streams of Vienna, with a regal Sophia Loren courted by handsome American John Gavin. Sweet,…
Grass Is Greener, The (1960): Dir. Stanley Donen
Feat. Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum; The wife of an English Earl falls in love with an American millionaire tourist. Songs by Noel Coward.
Heller in Pink Tights (1960): Dir. George Cukor
Feat. Sophia Loren, Anthony Quinn; Dysfunctional stagecoach high jinx with Anthony Quinn and Sophia Loren fleeing with a theatre company into the American's heartland. While lush as a…
It Started in Naples (1960): Dir. Melville Shavelson
Feat. Clark Gable, Sophia Loren, Vittorio De Sica; Winning combination of Gable and Loren guided by director Shavelson (HOUSEBOAT) team up again for this romantic comedy drama set in Naples following…
Lola (1960): Dir. Jacques Demy
Feat. Anouk Aimee; Irresistible 'New Wave' confection breezily spins its romantic tale around the alluring presence of Anouk Aimee, here a cheery cabaret–dancer…
Sons and Lovers (1960): Dir. Jack Cardiff
Feat. Dean Stockwell, Trevor Howard, Dame Wendy Hiller…; Richly photographed rendition of D.H. Lawrence's classic novel, in which the son of a coal–miner (Stockwell) struggles to find his path in the…
Tall Story (1960): Dir. Joshua Logan
Feat. Jane Fonda, Anthony Perkins; A young Jane Fonda makes her screen debut in this candy–coated comedy as a bubbly co–ed with romantic yearnings for basketballer Anthony…
Where the Boys Are (1960): Dir. Henry Levin
Feat. Dolores Hart, George Hamilton, Yvette Mimieux…; Fairly 'swingin' sixties beach romp with Hart, Hamilton and a cast of bright young co–eds on Spring Break vacation at Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.…
World of Suzie Wong, The (1960): Dir. Richard Quine
Feat. William Holden, Nancy Kwan; Aspiring artist William Holden courts the Chinese prostitute of the title (Nancy Kwan) in 1950s Hong Kong. Lukewarm dramatically, but with some…
Black Orpheus (1959): Dir. Marcel Camus
Feat. Breno Mello, Marpessa Dawn, Lourdes De Oliveira; Get caught up in the rhythms and colour of Rio De Janiero at Carnival time for an exotic, utterly unique spin on the Greek legend of doomed lovers…
Hiroshima, Mon Amour (1959): Dir. Alain Resnais
Feat. Emmanuelle Riva, Eiji Okada; Romance between a French actress and a Japanese architect rekindles their traumatic wartime experiences. The twin threads of despair and sensual love…
Pillow Talk (1959): Dir. Michael Anderson
Feat. Doris Day, Rock Hudson, Tony Randall; Party–line adversaries Rock Hudson and Doris Day conduct a hilarious romance of deception in this imaginative sex comedy. With Rock as the…
Summer Place, A (1959): Dir. Delmer Daves
Feat. Dorothy McGuire, Sandra Dee, Troy Donahue; Lush melodrama set on a remote isle with the entire cast trapped in romantic asides and anxieties.
A Time to Love and a Time to Die (1958): Dir. Douglas Sirk
Feat. John Gavin, Jock Mahoney, Don DeFore…; Bittersweet WWII melodrama finds Douglas Sirk at his gravest; John Gavin plays a returning German solider who falls in love under the shadow of war.…
Barbarian and the Geisha, The (1958): Dir. John Huston
Feat. John Wayne, Sam Jaffe, Eiko Ando; Uncharacteristic John Wayne vehicle has the big lug play an ambassador to Japan following the US intervention in 1863. Eiko Ando plays the titular…
Carve Her Name With Pride (1958): Dir. Lewis Gilbert
Feat. Virginia McKenna, Paul Scofield, Jack Warner…; Brit war–time romance centred on a lady living in London during WW2 who marries and has a child with a French soldier. Upon hearing of his…
Christine (1958): Dir. Pierre Gaspard-Huit
Feat. Romy Schneider, Alain Delon, Micheline Presle; Vienna set classic love triangle between an unfaithful man, his current love interest (played by darling French actress Romy Schneider) and an…
Desire Under the Elms (1958): Dir. Delbert Mann
Feat. Sophia Loren, Anthony Perkins, Burl Ives; Anthony Perkins and Sophia Loren requite their love over a heated land dispute in this mild star vehicle for the then–wildly popular Loren.…
Houseboat (1958): Dir. Melville Shavelson
Feat. Cary Grant, Sophia Loren, Martha Hyer…; Fortunes change for widower and father–of–three Cary Grant when he takes up residence on a floating home, and employs Sophia Loren as his…
Indiscreet (1958): Dir. Stanley Donen
Feat. Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman; Snappy comedy in which sophisticates Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman indulge in a whirlwind romance that cools off smartly when she finds his claim of…
Matchmaker, The (1958): Dir. Joseph Anthony
Feat. Shirley Booth, Anthony Perkins, Shirley Maclaine…; Farcical adaptation of the Broadway play about a meddling madam who prides herself on playing cupid to the young folk around town until one day…
Teacher's Pet (1958): Dir. George Seaton
Feat. Clark Gable, Doris Day, Gig Young…; Self–taught newspaper–man Clark Gable is cynical about journalism school, but becomes enchanted with a teacher (Doris Day) and decides to…
An Affair to Remember (1957): Dir. Leo McCarey
Feat. Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr; Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr meet and decide they're engaged to the wrong people, but their future liaison proves kind of awkward if not dangerous.
Cranes are Flying, The (Letyat Zhuravli) (1957): Dir. Mikhail Kalatozov
Feat. Tatyana Samojlova, Aleksei Batalov, Vasili Merkuryev; A Russian classic which conveys homefront anxieties during WW2 for a young bride whose original fiance has gone to the front. Pursued by his…
Interlude (1957): Dir. Douglas Sirk
Feat. June Allyson, Rossano Brazzi, Marianne Koch…; June Allyson falls for the charms of a married European conductor while being courted by a Munich doctor. One of Sirk's weaker melodramas, this was…
Kiss Them For Me (1957): Dir. Stanley Donen
Feat. Cary Grant, Jayne Mansfield, Leif Erickson…; Very very silly war comedy with Grant and his navy buddies fighting for their right to spend their shore leave as they see fit, which inevitably…
Love in the Afternoon (1957): Dir. Billy Wilder
Feat. Gary Cooper, Audrey Hepburn, Maurice Chevalier; Dark horse Audrey Hepburn classic sees dir. Billy Wilder riff Ernst Lubitsch by way of Gary Cooper and Maurice Chevalier (a wall fixture of…
Raintree Country (1957): Dir. Edward Dmytryk
Feat. Elizabeth Taylor, Montgomery Clift, Eva Marie Saint…; Civil War set romance has Montgomery Clift as a schoolteacher whojoins the Union Army as they march into Georgia in the hope of finding his estranged…
Sayonara (1957): Dir. Joshua Logan, Marlon Brando
Feat. Patricia Owens, Ricardo Montalban, Martha Scott…; An effective, well–acted version of James Michener's novel set during the Korean War, in which ace pilot Brando inconveniently falls in love…
Until They Sail (1957): Dir. Robert Wise
Feat. Jean Simmons, Joan Fontaine, Paul Newman…; 1950s Christchurch is the novelty star of this MGM prestige picture set entirely in Canterbury, New Zealand, with landmarks such as the Christchurch…
Backlash (1956): Dir. John Sturges
Feat. Richard Widmark, Donna Reed, William Campbell…; Richard Widmark and Donna Reed play the tough–talkin', rootin–tootin leads in this gritty horse opera, as they both seek vengeance for…
Forever Darling (1956): Dir. Alexander Hall
Feat. Lucille Ball, James Mason, Desi Arnaz; The unique talents of Lucille Ball is the strongest aspect of this 'dysfunctional marriage' comedy, starring James Mason as her Guardian Angel. Ball…
Naughty Girl (Cette Sacree Gamine) (1956): Dir. Michel Boisrond
Feat. Brigitte Bardot, Francoise Fabian; A con–artist father leaves his devious minx of a daughter in the hands of a performer who discovers the girl is bent on disrupting his life the…
All That Heaven Allows (1955): Dir. Douglas Sirk
Feat. Jane Wyman, Rock Hudson; Middle–aged widow Jane Wyman fights for the respect of her family and upscale community when she conducts an affair with her ‘gardener’ (Rock…
Love is a Many-Splendoured Thing (1955): Dir. Henry King
Feat. William Holden, Jennifer Jones; Romantic splendour set in Hong Kong at the time of the Korean war about a married US war correspondent who embarks on a forbidden love affair.
Summertime (Summer Madness) (1955): Dir. David Lean
Feat. Katharine Hepburn, Rossano Brazzi, Isa Miranda; Katharine Hepburn, middle–aged spinster, flees to Venice on vacation, only for the romance of the city – and a dark, handsome Italian catch –…
To Paris with Love (1955): Dir. Robert Hamer
Feat. Alec Guinness, Odile Versois, Vernon Gray…; Widowed aristocrat Guinness takes his estranged son to Paris where romantic entanglements await. Tepid romantic comedy fails to rise to the standard…
3 Coins in the Fountain (Three Coins in the Fountain) (1954): Dir. Jean Negulesco
Feat. Clifton Webb, Dorothy McGuire, Jean Peters…; Likeable, but modest classic in which three women throw coins into the Fountain of Trevi in Rome, to try their romantic luck. Great tourist locales…
Beachcomber, The (1954): Dir. Muriel Box
Feat. Glynis Johns, Robert Newton, Donald Sinden…; Entertaining and deeply silly romantic yarn with prim missionary Johns falling for slovenly Newton as they team up to fight a cholera outbreak on a…
Elephant Walk (1954): Dir. William Dieterle
Feat. Elizabeth Taylor, Dana Andrews, Peter Finch…; Love–triangle melodrama set on Ceylon tea plantation is a tad overblown, with thunder stolen from the good cast by a climactic elephant…
End of the Affair, The (1954): Dir. Edward Dmytryk
Feat. Deborah Kerr, Van Johnson, John Mills; Original screen adaptation of Graham Greene’s tale of unrequited wartime love, with Deborah Kerr and Van Johnson entangled in a brief but illicit…
It Should Happen to You (1954): Dir. George Cukor
Feat. Judy Holliday, Jack Lemmon; Aspiring model Judy Holliday gets the kind of attention she hadn't bargained for when she advertises herself on a giant billboard. Jack Lemmon's…
Sabrina (1954): Dir. Billy Wilder
Feat. Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart, William Holden; Cinderella–ish comic yarn with a dream cast and director. Audrey Hepburn plays a humble chauffeur's daughter who wins the affections of noble…
Young at Heart (1954): Dir. Gordon Douglas
Feat. Frank Sinatra, Doris Day; Slick musical with Frank Sinatra wooing Doris Day, while trying to make it as a singer.
Indiscretion of an American Wife (1953): Dir. Vittorio De Sica
Feat. Jennifer Jones, Montgomery Clift; Little–seen melodrama with Jennifer Jones and Montgomery Clift as lovers, together for one last fling. An Italian–American…
Madame De... (Earrings Of Madame De..., The) (1953): Dir. Max Ophuls
Feat. Danielle Darrieux, Vittorio De Sica, Charles Boyer; Widely considered one of the dir.'s peak achievements, this gracefully and ironically traces a doomed menage–a–trois in 18th century…
Moon is Blue, The (1953): Dir. Otto Preminger
Feat. William Holden, Maggie McNamara, David Niven; Bright, bristling romantic comedy centered on the courtship of a blithe and carefree commercials actress (McNamara) by the smooth–as–silk…
Roman Holiday (1953): Dir. William Wyler
Feat. Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck; Audrey Hepburn's Oscar–winning and breakthrough performance is her princess who abandons regal responsibilities while abroad to run off with…
Quiet Man, The (1952): Dir. John Ford
Feat. John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara; Ex–boxer John Wayne retires to his Irish homeland in search of tranquillity and maybe the hand of Maureen O'Hara. This romantic comedy was a…
African Queen , The (1951): Dir. John Huston
Feat. Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn; A magnificent combination of comedy, character and adventure with odd companions Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn trying to survive each other…
Astonished Heart, The (1950): Dir. Terence Fisher, Antony Damborough
Feat. Sir Noel Coward, Celia Johnson, Margaret Leighton…; Noel Coward stars in this adaptation of his play; a drawing–room melodrama about a married psychiatrist who unhappily succumbs to the wiles of…
Gone to Earth (1950): Dir. Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Feat. Jennifer Jones, David Farrar, Cyril Cusack; Marvellous Technicolor evocation of the rustic Welsh border–country, set around Jennifer Jones’ entry into the world of passionate desire and…
La Ronde (1950): Dir. Max Ophuls
Feat. Anton Walbrook, Simone Signoret, Serge Reggiani…; A witty chronicle of circular love–affairs and seductions in 19th century Vienna. Lavish sets and extravagent spiralling camerawork complement…
Adam's Rib (1949): Dir. George Cukor
Feat. Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn; A bittersweet battle of the sexes in which married lawyers find themselves on opposite sides of an attempted murder case. High–brow romp was…
My Dear Secretary (1949): Dir. Charles Martin
Feat. Kirk Douglas, Laraine Day; Underrated comedy concerning an aspiring young writer (Laraine Day) hired as the new secretary for a top author (Kirk Douglas) who is bitterly…
Orpheus (Orphee) (1949): Dir. Jean Cocteau
Feat. Jean Marais, Maria Casares, Marie Dea…; Cocteau's surrealist retelling of the classical tragedy stars Jean Marais as Orphee, the writer who retrieves his wife Eurydice from the dead. A…
Passionate Friends, The (1949): Dir. David Lean
Feat. Ann Todd, Trevor Howard, Claude Rains; A wistful Ann Todd divides her loyalty between a secure, older husband (Rains) and a free–spirited toff (Howard) in this rich, unrequited…
Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948): Dir. Max Ophuls
Feat. Joan Fontaine, Louis Jourdan; Joan Fontaine waxes regretfully in a letter to her object of infatuation, a womanizing concert pianist (dishy Louis Jourdan) in late 19th Century…
Portrait of Jennie (1948): Dir. William Dieterle
Feat. Joseph Cotton, Jennifer Jones, Ethel Barrymore…; An exquisite flight of fantasy, in which starving–artist Joseph Cotton is visited upon by an otherworldly Jennifer Jones. Dazzling photography…
Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer, The (1947): Dir. Irving Reis
Feat. Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, Shirley Temple…; Playboy bachelor Cary Grant is ordered by Judge Myrna Loy to escort her teenage sister (Shirley Temple), so that the ‘bobby–soxer’ might get…
Daisy Kenyon (1947): Dir. Otto Preminger
Feat. Joan Crawford, Dana Andrews, Henry Fonda…; Joan Crawford gives one of her greatest performances in this surprisingly compelling soap opera, finding herself torn between Fonda and Andrews.…
Anna and the King of Siam (1946): Dir. John Cromwell
Feat. Irene Dunne, Rex Harrison, Linda Darnell…; The first version of the true story of an English governess (Dunne) who in the 1860s journeyed to South East Asia to look after the King of Siam's 62…
Brief Encounter (1946): Dir. David Lean
Feat. Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Cyril Raymond…; Beautifully controlled rendering of Noel Coward's touching story about a romance that evolves between two happily married strangers. A much loved…
Notorious (1946): Dir. Alfred Hitchcock
Feat. Ingrid Bergman, Cary Grant; Sexy, suspenseful romantic thriller with Ingrid Bergman at her most radiant as an American spy who unwittingly falls in love with her contact, Cary…
I Know Where I'm Going! (1945): Dir. Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Feat. Dame Wendy Hiller, Roger Livesey, George Carney; A headstrong Wendy Hiller seeks marriage and wealth on the Scottish Hebrides, but is sidetracked by true romance. The powerful landscapes and lyrical…
Love Story (A Lady Surrenders) (1944): Dir. Leslie Arliss
Feat. Margaret Lockwood, Stewart Granger, Patricia Roc…; Classy tearjerker with dying pianist Lockwood falling in love with blind pilot Granger. Treacly but satisfying with the two leads performances…
To Have and Have Not (1944): Dir. Howard Hawks
Feat. Lauren Bacall, Humphrey Bogart; In the upper–bracket of Bogart films, this first time match–up with Lauren Bacall still sets the screen alight. Adapted from the…
Uncertain Glory (1944): Dir. Raoul Walsh
Feat. Errol Flynn, Paul Lukas, Lucile Watson; Wartime romance with Flynn playing French criminal Jean Picard who vows to make the ultimate sacrifice, only to fall in love.
Flemish Farm, The (1943): Dir. Jeffrey Dell
Feat. Clive Brook, Clifford Evans, Jane Baxter; Low budget WW2 aviation drama focused on a regiment of Belgian pilots who use a Flemish farm as an airstrip with one of the injured men becoming…
More the Merrier, The (1943): Dir. George Stevens
Feat. Jean Arthur, Joel McCrea, Charles Coburn; Winning romantic comedy with a peerless Jean Arthur allowing two men to share her apartment, one of whom she falls in love with.
Casablanca (1942): Dir. Michael Curtiz
Feat. Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman; The role that immortalised Bogart is that of Rick, the laconic cafe–owner who assists old flame Ingrid Bergman to escape the Nazis with her…
Eternel Retour, L' (1942): Dir. Jean Delannoy
Feat. Jean Marais, Madeleine Sologney, Yvonne de Bray…; (Love Eternal) A contemporary take on the legend of Tristan and Isolde, lovers united after death. Jean Cocteau's script is realised with the…
Major and the Minor, The (1942): Dir. Billy Wilder
Feat. Ginger Rogers, Ray Milland, Rita Johnson…; Billy Wilder’s first film is a dexterous screwball gem: the delectable Ginger Rogers plays a spunky woman posing as a child so she can afford a train…
Now, Voyager (1942): Dir. Irving Rapper
Feat. Bette Davis, Claude Rains, Paul Henreid; Compelling story of unrequited passion with Bette Davis radiant as the repressed spinster turned elegant socialite who falls in love with a married…
Blood and Sand (1941): Dir. Rouben Mamoulian
Feat. Tyrone Power, Rita Hayworth; Steamy romantic tragedy with Tyrone Power as an accomplished but naive matador whose bull–ring heroics take a back–seat for brazen Rita…
Devil and Miss Jones, The (1941): Dir. Sam Wood
Feat. Charles Coburn, Jean Arthur; Tycoon Charles Coburn goes undercover to investigate union activities, and instead falls for shopgirl Jean Arthur. Well–regarded social comedy.
Lady Eve, The (1941): Dir. Preston Sturges
Feat. Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda, Charles Coburn…; One of the greatest Hollywood screwball comedies ever, this begins with naïve zoologist Henry Fonda (“Snakes are my life”) falling in love with a…
Lydia (Illusions) (1941): Dir. Julien Duvivier
Feat. Merle Oberon, Joseph Cotton, Alan Marshall…; Dreamy, melancholic melodrama follows the life and numerous loves of a society gal (Oberron) in New England over thirty odd years. Dir. Duvivier…
Moon Over Miami (1941): Dir. Walter Lang
Feat. Betty Grable, Don Ameche, Robert Cummings; One of Betty Grable's better musical outings, it's a bright and breezy story of two sisters who attempt to ensnare a pair of Miami millionaires when…
That Hamilton Woman (1941): Dir. Alexander Korda
Feat. Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh; Star–chemistry between Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh ignites this portrayal of the infamous romance between Lord Horatio Nelson and Emma…
Down Argentine Way (1940): Dir. Irving Cummings
Feat. Carmen Miranda, Betty Grable, Don Ameche; A horse mad New Yorker falls for a wealthy Argentine rancher in this fluffy technicolor musical, but is hampered by the longstanding feud between…
Philadelphia Story, The (1940): Dir. George Cukor
Feat. Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, James Stewart; A second marriage for a stuffy heiress is threatened by scandal. A witty, sparkling romantic farce with golden trio – Katharine Hepburn, Cary…
Pride and Prejudice (1940): Dir. Robert Z. Leonard
Feat. Laurence Olivier, Greer Garson; Jane Austen's splendid comedy of manners is brought to the screen for the first time, with wit and subtlety firmly in tact.
Rebecca (1940): Dir. Alfred Hitchcock
Feat. Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, George Sanders; A masterful gothic romance about a nobleman's second wife who becomes haunted by the image of his beloved first. Hitchcock's first American film was…
Remember the Night (1940): Dir. Mitchell Leisen
Feat. Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, Beulah Bondi…; Preston Sturges scripted this forgotten yuletide gem, about an assistant D.A. (MacMurray) who, feeling sorry for a glamorous jewel thief (Stanwyck),…
Shop Around the Corner, The (1940): Dir. Ernst Lubitsch
Feat. James Stewart, Margaret Sullavan, Frank Morgan…; One for the pantheon of romantic–comedy this, directed by the illustrious Ernst Lubitsch (of the famed 'Lubitsch touch') and excelling in its…
Waterloo Bridge (1940): Dir. Mervyn LeRoy
Feat. Vivien Leigh, Robert Taylor; Vivien Leigh's follow–up performance to GONE WITH THE WIND is cited as her favourite. It's a sumptuous romantic tragedy about war–torn…
Gone with the Wind (1939): Dir. Victor Fleming, George Cukor, Sam Wood
Feat. Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh; One of the greatest examples of story–telling on film, this maintains one's firm interest for nearly four hours with its romantic story, strong…
Intermezzo (1939): Dir. Gregory Ratoff
Feat. Leslie Howard, Ingrid Bergman, John Halliday; Sweetly sentimental love story sees unhappily married violinist Leslie Howard fall for his protegee Ingrid Bergman.
Jour Se Leve, Le (Daybreak) (1939): Dir. Marcel Carne
Feat. Jean Gabin, Arletty; A renowned example of 'poetic realism', Jean Gabin gives another consummate performance as a doomed anti–hero. His tragic story is told in…
Midnight (1939): Dir. Mitchell Leisen
Feat. Claudette Colbert, Don Ameche, John Barrymore…; Vintage romantic comedy, with a glamorous Claudette Colbert stranded in Paris and chased by two potential suitors: a modest taxi driver who's really…
Ninotchka (1939): Dir. Ernst Lubitsch
Feat. Greta Garbo, Melvyn Douglas, Ina Claire…; “Garbo laughs!” proclaimed the ads for this sparkling romantic comedy, a first for its legendary star, Greta Garbo. She plays a Soviet agent who gets…
Wuthering Heights (1939): Dir. William Wyler
Feat. Laurence Olivier, Merle Oberon; Emily Bronte's passionate romantic classic is immortalised in celluloid with Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon unforgettable as doomed lovers Kathy…
Algiers (1938): Dir. John Cromwell
Feat. Hedy Lamarr, Charles Boyer, Sigrid Gurie…; Remake of a PEPE LE MOKO, in which a dashing jewel thief who has been hiding out for two years in the mysterious, murky Casbah, falls madly in love…
Bank Holiday (Three on a Weekend) (1938): Dir. Carol Reed
Feat. Margaret Lockwood, John Lodge, Hugh Williams…; Minor drama with nurse Lockwood heading to the seaside for an illicit weekend only to have her enjoyment tempered by her job.
Hurricane, The (1938): Dir. John Ford
Feat. Dorothy Lamour, Jon Hall; A doomed South Seas romance between islander natives, provides the melodramatic prelude to an awesome special f/x typhoon. Vintage Hollywood…
Made for Each Other (1938): Dir. John Cromwell
Feat. James Stewart, Carole Lombard; Couple James Stewart and Carole Lombard test their marriage vows through a patch of misfortune in this finely acted soap.
Knight Without Armour (1937): Dir. Jacques Feyder
Feat. Marlene Dietrich, Robert Donat, Herbert Lomas…; Visually sumptuous tale of Russian Countess Marlene Dietrich fleeing the 1917 Revolution with the help of Robert Donat. Dir. Feyder made his name as…
Maytime (1937): Dir. Robert Z. Leonard
Feat. Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, John Barrymore; Love affair between opera soprano and two–bit singer in Paris. An exemplary Jeanette MacDonald/Nelson Eddy musical.
Garden of Allah (1936): Dir. Richard Boleslawski
Feat. Marlene Dietrich; Disaffected socialite Marlene Dietrich journeys to the Sahara looking for meaning in her life, and finds unexpected romance. Rather…
Klondike Annie (1936): Dir. Raoul Walsh
Feat. Mae West, Victor McLaglen; Star–centric comedy based on the play by Mae West with the steamy starlet taking the lead role as a club entertainer dabbling in romantic…
Swing Time (1936): Dir. George Stevens
Feat. Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers; A fine example of Fred and Ginger's magical screen partnership, their sixth together, weaving the music of Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields, into…
She Married Her Boss (1935): Dir. Gregory La Cava
Feat. Claudette Colbert; Pleasant romantic comedy stars Claudette Colbert, who just may regret her marital decision.
L'Atalante (1934): Dir. Jean Vigo
Feat. Michel Simon, Jean Daste; A recently restored master work from the French film archive combines lyrical romance with inspired touches of fantasy.
Of Human Bondage (1934): Dir. John Cromwell
Feat. Bette Davis, Leslie Howard; The film which propelled Bette Davis to stardom, with her vivid personification of a coy, but slutty Cockney waitress who becomes the object of…
I'm No Angel (1933): Dir. Wesley Ruggles
Feat. Mae West, Cary Grant; Man–eater and circus performer Mae West digs for gold, settling on (and suing!) the loaded Cary Grant, only to fall in love for…
Liebelei (1933): Dir. Max Ophuls
Feat. Arthur Schnitzler; An early work from the German maestro of the tracking shot, whose tale of doomed romance between a young soldier and fraulein (taken from a play by…
Love Me Tonight (1932): Dir. Rouben Mamoulian
Feat. Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald, Myrna Loy…; Charismatic tailor Maurice Chevalier makes beautiful music with princess Jeanette MacDonald in this splendiferous romance, one of the great musicals…
Red Dust (1932): Dir. Victor Fleming
Feat. Jean Harlow, Mary Astor, Clark Gable; Steamy jungle–drama that captures Jean Harlow at her tough, raunchy best, playing a Saigon hooker who's competing with Mary Astor for the…
Smilin' Through (1932): Dir. Sidney Franklin
Feat. Norma Shearer, Fredric March, Leslie Howard; Winning tear–jerker with Norma Shearer and Fredric March in dual roles as two sets of unrequited lovers caught in a blood feud.
Street Angel (1928): Dir. Frank Borzage
Feat. Janet Gaynor, Charles Farrell; Janet Gaynor radiates as a streetwalker whose love for an Italian painter is jeopardized by her past brushes with the law. As with 7th HEAVEN, dir.…
7th Heaven (Seventh Heaven) (1927): Dir. Frank Borzage
Feat. Janet Gaynor, Charles Farrell; Eternal lovers Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell endure spiritual turmoil and the ravages of war in this beautiful silent era classic, remarkable for…
Way Down East (1920): Dir. D.W. Griffith
Feat. Lillian Gish, Richard Barthelmess; A prototypical Hollywood melodrama, detailing the innocence, corruption and eventual fate of Lillian Gish in 19th century America. Expertly…

Main menu

Section navigation menu

Subgenre Sampler