Romance
"Alice's Festival Of Romance"
Romantic films often explore the essential themes of love at first sight, young (and older) love, unrequited love, obsessive love, sentimental love, spiritual love, forbidden love, sexual and passionate love, sacrificial love, explosive and destructive love, and tragic love. Romantic films serve as great escapes and fantasies for viewers, especially if the two people finally overcome their difficulties, declare their love, and experience life "happily ever after" - implied by a reunion and final kiss.
Here "Alice's Festival of Romance" has been assembled below as an aphabetical list. Should more precise scrolling be required, one should go to the specific genre, ie "Classic Romance", "Comedy Romance" , "Drama Romance" or even "Queer Cinema"
Right: Julianne Moore and Dennis Quaid star in Todd Haynes'
"Far From Heaven"
Waterloo Bridge (1940)
7.8/10
Director: Mervyn LeRoy
Starring: Vivien Leigh, Robert Taylor, Lucile Watson
The second of three adaptations of Robert E Sherwood's acclaimed play, this 1940 film was noticably dampened by the omnipotent Motion Picture Producti... Read more
His Girl Friday (1940)
8/10
Director: Howard Hawks
Starring: Cary Grant, Ralph Bellamy, Rosalind Russell
This must-see film has Cary Grant as a conniving editor and Rosalind Russell as a star reporter (and his ex-wife), with Ralph Bellamy as the mama's bo... Read more
Eternally Yours (1939)
5.8/10
Director: Tay Garnett
Starring: David Nixon, Loretta Young, Broderick Crawford, Zasu Pitts
Lovely Loretta Young discovers that being a magician's wife can be tricky. She's jealous of hubby David Niven's professional status, and believes that... Read more
Only Angels Have Wings (1939)
7.7/10
Director: Howard Hawks
Starring: Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, Rita Hayworth
This quintessential Howard Hawks masterpiece examines the lives and loves of the pilots of a small commercial airline in Latin America. Exemplary acti... Read more
Wuthering Heights (1939)
7.7/10
Director: William Wyler
Starring: Merle Oberon, Laurence Olivier, David Niven
An internationally acclaimed version of Emily Bronte's classic story of passion, hatred and revenge. Laurence Olivier claimed that William Wyler taugh... Read more
Three Comrades (1938)
7.2/10
Director: Frank Borzage
Starring: Robert Taylor, Margaret Sullavan, Franchot Tone, Robert Young, Guy Kibbee, Lione...
The close friendship of three German soldiers is strengthened by their shared love for the same woman, who is dying of tuberculosis. Read more
Le Quai Des Brumes ( Port of Shadows ) (1938)
7.7/10
Director: Marcel Carne
Starring: Jean Gabin, Michel Simon, Michele Morgan
Deserter Jean arrives in Le Havre and looks for a shelter before leaving the French territory. Housed in a shed on the docks, he meets the mysterious... Read more
Holiday (1938)
7.8/10
Director: George Cukor
Starring: Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Doris Nolan
Based on Philip Barry's Broadway play, 'Holiday' is stylishly directed by Oscar-winner George Cukor. This classic film stars Katharine Hepburn and Car... Read more
SOS Coast Guard (1937)
6/10
Starring: Ralph Byrd, Bela Lugosi, Richard Alexander
A 12-episode serial. The government of Marovania hires the wicked Boroff to manufacture a powerful gas that causes mass disintegration. Boroff is en r... Read more
The Hurricane (1937)
7.3/10
Director: John Ford
Starring: Dorothy Lamour, Jon Hall, Mary Astor, C Aubrey Smith, Thomas Mitchell, Raymond M...
In the colonial era, island native Terangi (Jon Hall) spends a blissful honeymoon with his bride, Marama (Dorothy Lamour). Soon after, however, their... Read more