Someone recently asked me to list my favorite classic romantic comedies. This person knew me well enough to know adding in the word “classic” was vital. I am the girl, after all, who has only truly loved two rom-coms in recent Hollywood history. There are a few I like just fine, but I’ve only looooved two from the past decade or so.
What this person didn’t know was that asking me to list my favorite classic romantic comedies is like turning me loose in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. I’m pretty sure that while I was rambling endlessly about dialogue and plots, said question-asker was plotting an escape from this dialogue.
Eventually I decided to turn my rambling into a blog post. It’s just the right thing to do for humanity. So here we go:
Melissa’s Top 10 Classic Rom-Coms
Before we get started, I should mention that in Melissa-world, a movie is only defined as a romantic comedy if it offers rom and com in equal measures. An Affair to Remember, for instance, is a wonderfully romantic classic that stands the test of time—but there’s not enough comedy in it for me to call it a rom-com. Arsenic and Old Lace is hilarious and brilliant and yes, there’s some romance…but the romance really doesn’t have much to do with the main plot, thus I don’t consider it a rom-com. It’s more straight-up screwball comedy.
Also, it’ll probably be clear pretty early in this list that I have a certain brand of rom-com love. You’ll notice multiple movies with the same leads and I will likely use the word “dialogue” so many times it’s not even funny.
Lastly, a note about the order. 10-6 I have in order of how I’d really rank them. The last five, though, are pretty much my five favorite movies (along with It’s a Wonderful Life which I don’t really consider a rom-com and What’s Up Doc which I’m including as a bonus fave) so there’s no real order to how I arranged those five. It was too hard!
10. Holiday (1938, Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, Director: George Cukor)
Of Hepburn and Grant’s four films together, this is one of the lesser-known but I LOVE it. Grant is a free-thinking man from a humble past trying to fit into his wealthy fiance’s family. Hepburn plays his fiance’s sister, who’s having just as much trouble fitting into her own family as Grant. It’s funny, it’s definitely romantic…and the dialogue, OH the dialogue. I watched this movie with someone once who said, “Nothing much happens in it.” I mentally wept for the rest of the night.
9. Some Like it Hot (1959, Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, Director: Billy Wilder)
Basically, Jack Lemmon makes this movie for me. And Tony Curtis trying to talk like Cary Grant! Basically, Lemmon and Curtis witness a mob murder, so they flee the state by joining an all-girls band dressed as women. Which is great until Curtis falls for the band’s singer, Marilyn Monroe. The reason this movie makes my top 10 list is partially because of Billy Wilder’s brillance…but mostly simply because it’s fun to watch Curtis and Lemmon cross-dress:
8. Mr. and Mrs. Smith (1941, Carole Lombard and Robert Montgomery, Director: Alfred Hitchcock)
First of all, I think Carole Lombard was a comic genius and I get honest-to-goodness emotional at the thought of her dying at 33 in a plane crash. Secondly, this is the only comedy Hitchcock directed in the U.S. And it has such a Hitchcock flavor…the screwball hilarity is spot-on, the romance is great, yes, but what I really adore is the sliver of Hitchcockian dark comedy.
The gist of the movie is that after a three-year “marriage,” Lombard and Montgomery both find out separately that due to a glitch in paperwork, they’re not actually married. Montgomery plans a fancy dinner that night and Lombard (wrongly) assumes he plans to re-propose so they can get married properly. The whole thing unravels, though, and so much fun ensues. The best is when Lombard goes on a date with a teetotaler who gets accidentally drunk from medicinal liquor. OH and this scene in which there’s a great conversation about garters and we’re reminded MARRIED WOMEN CAN’T HAVE JOBS. LOL!
7. You Can’t Take it With You (1938, Jean Arthur and Jimmy Stewart, Director: Frank Capra)
Jean Arthur is my second or third favorite actress (tied with Carole Lombard behind Katharine Hepburn) and she absolutely shines opposite Jimmy Stewart. In this movie, Arthur is from a slightly whackadoo family—she’s the only one with an actual job—and Stewart is from a straight-laced, wealthy family (read: rich snobs). And oh yes, Stewart’s family’s business needs Arthur’s family’s property. There’s a whole ensemble of quirky characters in this movie and the film is as heart-warming as it is hilarious.
This is what I call an ensemble cast! You Can’t Take it With You won Best Picture at the Oscars that year, won Capra his third Best Director Award and was the highest-grossing movie of the year.
6. Roman Holiday (1953, Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck, Director: William Wyler)
Possibly the only movie that might make a girl not want to be a princess…because if being a princess means [SPOILER] you have to give up Gregory Peck, IT’S JUST NOT WORTH IT. Hepburn, in her first major role, is the princess who just wants to live a normal day. Peck is a reporter in need of a story. Seriously, this movie is fabulous. The dialogue is witty and romantic and it has one of the most quiet and heart-tugging endings ever. I adore it. Fun fact: After they filmed this movie, Peck was so sure Hepburn would win an Oscar for it (which she did) that he told producers to put her name above the title (which they did).
One of the things I love about this movie is it was purposely filmed in black and white so the actors wouldn’t be upstaged by the beautiful Italian scenery and architecture. It’s also the first U.S. movie to be filmed entirely in Italy.
5. My Man Godfrey (1936, Carole Lombard and William Powell, Director: George La Cava)
I have watched this movie SO many times and it never gets old. Basically, Lombard is a scatterbrained rich girl and Powell is the homeless man she finds and hires as a family butler. Although, there’s more to Powell than she realizes…you’ll have to watch to discover what. But oh my goodness, Lombard is FABULOUS and Powell is as debonair and awesome as always. And the dialogue! Plus Alice Brady as Angelica and her protege Carlo (Mischa Auer) are hilarious.
By far the best line in the movie.
Sidenote about this one: William Powell and Carole Lombard were once married, though they broke up three years before this movie. But Powell is actually the one who suggested Lombard for the leading role, saying their real-life romance was similar to the movie. Bonus fun fact: My Man Godfrey was the first movie to be nominated for Academy Awards in all four acting categories.
4. It Happened One Night (1934, Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable, Director: Frank Capra)
I will forever love Frank Capra for making this movie. It’s generally considered the first major rom-com. It won all the “Big Five” Academy Awards and became a culturally impacting film. Funny thing is, after they’d completed filming, Colbert complained that it was “the worst picture in the world.” WRONG.
I can never decide which I love more about this movie—the romance or the wit. Seriously, the dialogue, people! The storyline is simple: Lombard is a spoiled, stranded socialite who’s trying to get back to New York and the man she loves. Gable is the rogue reporter who promises to help her get home.
3. Bringing Up Baby (1938, Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, Director: Howard Hawks)
I love Howard Hawks! I just do…he made some of the best movies ever, this one included. The crazy thing to me about Bringing Up Baby is that people just didn’t appreciate it at the time…which I do not understand. At all. Because it’s SO funny. The dialogue is fast and clever and Hepburn as a crazy heiress and Grant as a staid paleontologist are both perfect…and oh yeah, there’s a leopard named Baby. I literally love everything about this movie AND it’s the first classic rom-com I remember seeing…it’s the reason I love classic movies today. I probably quote it more than any other movie with the exception of What’s Up Doc.
Here’s one of Bringing Up Baby’s most iconic scenes:
2. His Girl Friday (1940, Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant, Director: Howard Hawks)
I was destined to be a fan of this movie because a) it takes place in a newsroom, b) Cary Grant! and c) it changed dialogue in movies forever. It’s the first movie that really let characters talk over each other…and talk fast. Like, ridiculously fast. We’re talking 240 words per minute (average human speech is 100-150 WPM). The movie is only 90-some minutes long, but the length of the script—due to all the dialogue—in normal cases would stretch into three hours. In addition to the dialogue, the newsroom setting is a fun peek into the world of yellow journalism.
Grant plays a newspaper editor who’s trying to woo his ex-wife and ex-reporter, Russell, back to the newspaper and incidentally, to himself. Their back and forth dialogue is seriously amazing. AHH I just want to go watch it now.
1. The Philadelphia Story (1940, Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart, Director: George Cukor)
Okay, I know I’ve talked a lot about dialogue, but hands-down, this movie has the BEST dialogue of any movie ever. I really can’t get over it. I could just listen to this movie and be satisfied. Plus, it’s the ultimate trifecta of casting. My favorite thing about it is watching uptight Katharine Hepburn begin to see herself through everybody else’s eyes…and slowly crumble. I adore it so much. It’s basically about a socialite whose upcoming nuptials are complicated by the sudden arrival of both her ex-husband (Grant) and a tabloid mag journalist (Stewart).
This movie has one of my favorite lines ever: “The time to make up your mind about people is never.” And I may or may not have borrowed Grant’s nickname for Hepburn in the film (Red) in my last book. Here’s one of the funniest scenes:
BONUS: What’s Up Doc? (1972, Barbra Streisand and Ryan O’Neal, Director: Peter Bogdanovich)
I kept debating whether this movie belonged on the list. It’s one of my favorite movies ever…EVER. I love it so much I can’t really even talk about it intelligently. But in making this list, it felt so different…it’s much more recent (if you can count 42 years old as recent) and in color, whereas the others are all b&w. So I decided to cheat and call it a bonus. It’s hilarious, people. I’m not even going to try to list all the reasons I love it. Just take my word for it and watch it. PLEASE.
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Wonderful choices! I love the drunk scene in “The Philadelphia Story” . . . and the scream scene in “You Can’t Take It with You” . . . and “He put me in the shower!” 🙂
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Oh that scream scene! It’s so fabulous. It’s been quite awhile since I watched You Can’t Take it With You and writing this post made me want to watch it again. Truthfully, it made me want to watch all of them again.
Fabulous choices all! I’d have to add The More the Merrier in there somewhere…not sure what I’d bump tho. 😉
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OH man, that’s one I haven’t seen in so long. I barely remember it. Jean Arthur, right?
Melissa, I would have 6 of these on my list. We truly are sisters separated by distance. Such great movies. So when I do a similar post, don’t be surprised when 6 are identical 🙂
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Ooh now I’m excited to hear which six make your list and what four movies fill up the remaining slots. I love that we are movie-kindred-spirits.
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE “Roman Holiday” so much! Gregory Peck – I mean – sigh….
And I LOVE “What’s Up Doc”! Talk about fast, hysterical dialogue!
I also have to mention “That Touch of Mink” with Doris Day and Cary Grant. Since it was made in the 60’s it may not count as a “classic”, but it is adorable and sweet and funny.
I haven’t seen a few of these – The Philadelphia Story is one I am going to have to watch soon – I love Jimmy Stewart (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington anyone? Not a Rom-Com but such a great movie!).
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YAY another What’s Up Doc? lover! I feel like there aren’t many people in the world who love it or have even seen it, so any time I meet someone else who loves it, I just want to hug them. 🙂
Love That Touch of Mink! Yeah, when it comes to movies in the late 60s and into the 70s, I always wonder if they can legitimately be called classics yet. I almost think they can because “classic” doesn’t necessarily have to mean old. But yeah, that’s definitely a fun one.
Looooove Mr Smith Goes to Washington. For awhile I had an honorary mentions list going on this post, but it got too long. That one was on the HM list…but like you, I debated whether it was technically a rom-com or more of a drama-romance with some comedy thrown in.
I love your parameters for this list. Thanks for sharing.
‘The Philadelphia Story’ is still one of my favorite oldies as is ‘You Can’t Take it With You’ – both my dad and I laugh so hard whenever we watch it. Aside from the fairytale story, ‘Roman Holiday’ wasn’t a favorite although I did love the “adventure” of it and seeing Audrey Hepburn in something since I always associate her with ‘My Fair Lady.’ Someday I need to see ‘His Girl Friday’ and ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’ sounds really cute too – that one was unfamiliar to me.
Loved this list, Melissa. 🙂
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Glad you like the parameters. I felt like if I didn’t give myself some boundaries, the list would get out of hand. 🙂 And yes, I definitely hope you get to see His Girl Friday and Mr. and Mrs. Smith someday. They’re both so good. Little secret: the full movie of His Girl Friday is on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0sgTkRSljA
🙂
Oh, Melissa, one weekend we shall just have a rom-com movie marathon.
Yes? Yes!!!
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Yes, we definitely need to do this. I have a group of friends who I watch Gilmore Girls with and we chat on FB all the way through it. We could do that with some classic rom-coms. I’d be all for that. 🙂
Oh my gosh, What’s Up Doc is one of my all time favorites! My husband & I quote it all the time! You’re right, lots of people have never seen it. “Come on, Steve, buy her the radio, it’s on sale.” “I am Hugh (you)” “You’re upsidedown.”
The whole thing is so hilarious! I have to go watch it! 🙂
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YAY I love meeting people who love What’s Up Doc! It is one of the greatest movies in the world…might be my all-time favorite. Every line is funny to me.
“My name is Howard Bannister and I’m from Ames, Iowa.”
“No excuse!’
🙂
Oh dear! I have only seen one. I’d better get to watching. 🙂 I need a well-rounded rom/com education. Thanks for the list, Melissa!
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Getting to help provide a well-rounded rom-com education is one of the great joys of my life, Nichole. LOL! But yes, I would highly recommend every movie on this list…they are amazing and about a thousand times better than any rom-coms Hollywood’s producing these days. Promise! 🙂
Great list! I’ve seen and enjoyed all of those except for My Man Godfrey, which I haven’t seen yet, and The Philadelphia Story, which I don’t like…don’t hate me! =) I keep giving that movie second chances, and I can’t understand why I don’t like it (I mean, Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart and Katharine Hepburn!). It just doesn’t click with me for some reason, no matter how much I try to appreciate it.
I tried making a list of my own, and it was harder than I thought it would be to pick 10 classic movies that would probably be considered “romantic comedies.” A lot of the ones I love have big doses of other things, too. Here’s my top ten: His Girl Friday, The Awful Truth, It Happened One Night, Roman Holiday, Sabrina, The Thin Man (this one might be pushing the romantic comedy label since it’s technically a mystery), Charade, How to Steal a Million, You Can’t Take It With You, and Christmas in Connecticut. In no particular order, except that It Happened One Night, Charade, and How to Steal a Million are my top three. =)
I also don’t like many modern romantic comedies, but I do adore Penelope (I guess that would be considered a romcom?), You’ve Got Mail, and While You Were Sleeping. Cheesy as they may be, those are three of my favorite movies. (I also like Leap Year, but not nearly as much as those three.)
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I hope you get to watch My Man Godfrey sometime. I adore it. Carole Lombard is awesome, no matter what role she’s playing–ditzy (as in the case of this) or demure. And William Powell is endlessly wonderful.
You know, I know others who don’t like Philadelphia Story. I actually just watched it (well, part of it) with a friend about a month ago and I don’t think she was in to it at all. But I adore it…the dialogue, especially, and watching Katharine Hepburn’s character change. There’s just something about that character journey that hugely resonates with me.
Love that you added The Awful Truth to your list…we pretty much have that movie to thank for Cary Grant becoming the beloved actor he was. And he almost dropped out of the filming! You added some other fabulous choices–The Thin Man (Myrna and Loy–love!) and How to Steal a Million (I’ve been wanting to re-watch that). I love Charade, too, even if the age diff between Hepburn and Grant is a bit obvious. 🙂
I definitely enjoy both You’ve Got Mail and While You Were Sleeping…I don’t have the same I LOVE THEM! feeling I get with the classics, but I certainly like them. I also adore, adore, ADORE Dan in Real Life. It’s by far my favorite rom-com of the past, oh, probably 30 years.
Now I need to have a movie marathon!
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YAY movie marathons. I always know someone is a true kindred spirit when they consider movies a good use of time. I had a friend once say, “If we’re going to hang out, we can’t just watch a movie. We need to actually do something.” And I was like, “Watching a movie and loving it and endlessly talking about the story afterward IS doing something.” Haha!
I was behind in getting over here but HAD to see this post b/c I LOVE so many of the same movies as you:) And you’re spot on here. From why they’re rom-coms to the movies that mad the list. Makes me want to go have my own mini-marathon!
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I want a movie marathon too! Someday I’m going to gather together all my classic movie watching friends for one big party. 🙂
Yes! Yes! Yes! There might be one or two of those I haven’t seen, but just knowing a few of the cast members makes them a yes in my book!
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Woohoo! I love talking about classic movies with people who love them as much as I do. 🙂
Oooh, what a fun list! I’ve only seen a handful of these, but I already had Holiday on my watchlist. Thanks so much. I plan to enjoy them all. God bless, Lynn