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"
The Iron Petticoat (1956)
5.3/10
Director: Ralph Thomas
Starring: Robert Helpmann, Katharine Hepburn, Bob Hope, James Robertson Justice, Noelle Mi...
This remake of 'Ninotchka' casts Katherine Hepburn as a no-nonsense Russian officer romanced by bodyguard Bob Hope. Two powerhouse stars at the top o... Read more
The Rains Of Ranchipur (Blu-ray) (1955)
5.8/10
Director: Jean Negulesco
Starring: Lana Turner, Richard Burton, Fred MacMurray, Joan Caulfield, Michael Rennie
Despite marital problems, English Lord Albert Esketh and his rich American socialite wife Lady Edwina Esketh travel to India to buy a prize horse from... Read more
Love is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955)
6.6/10
Director: Henry King
Starring: William Holden, Jennifer Jones, Murray Matheson
Nicely mounted film set in Hong Kong at the time of the Korean War. Jennifer Jones is a Eurasian doctor who falls in love with war correspondent Willi... Read more
Picnic (1955)
7.4/10
Director: Joshua Logan
Starring: William Holden, Rosalind Russell, Kim Novak
One of the biggest box-office attractions of the 1950s, "Picnic" was adapted by Daniel Taradash from the Pulitzer Prize-winning William Inge play abou... Read more
Sabrina ( Blu-ray ) (1954)
7.7/10
Director: Billy Wilder
Starring: Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart, William Holden
Aka 'Sabrina Fair'. Audrey Hepburn is the shy chauffeur's daughter who becomes a stunning beauty, and William Holden and Humphrey Bogart are the socia... Read more
Three Coins in the Fountain (1954)
6.3/10
Director: Jean Negulesco
Starring: Dorothy McGuire, Jean Peters, Clifton Webb, Louis Jourdan
In this charming comedy, three women make wishes for romance at Rome's magnificent Trevi Fountain, spurring several amorous adventures. Won Oscars for... Read more
Forever Darling / The Long, Long Trailer (1954)
Director: Alexander Hall, Vincente Minnelli
Starring: Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, James Mason, Marjorie Main
Double Feature: "The Long, Long Trailer" is a riotous comedy in which a cumbersome travel trailer creates havoc for a newlywed couple (Lucille Ball an... Read more
Indiscretion Of An American Wife (1953)
6.3/10
Director: Vittorio De Sica
Starring: Jennifer Jones, Montgomery Clift, Gino Cervi
A married American woman (Jennifer Jones) is torn between leaving her Italian lover (Montgomery Clift) and returning back home. He endeavours to persu... Read more
Roman Holiday (1953)
8.1/10
Director: William Wyler
Starring: Gregory Peck, Eddie Albert, Audrey Hepburn
A delightful comedy about a newspaperman in Rome (Gregory Peck) who meets and falls for a lonely princess (Audrey Hepburn) travelling incognito. Featu... Read more
My Cousin Rachel (1952)
7.2/10
Director: Henry Koster
Starring: Olivia de Havilland, Richard Burton, Ronald Squire, John Sutton
When Philip Ashley's (Richard Burton) wealthy cousin, Ambrose (John Sutton), dies suddenly, his suspicions drift to Ambrose's new and icy wife, Rachel... Read more