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Best Romantic Comedies of All Time

Best Romantic Comedies of All Time

Romantic comedies typically follow the same formula: A man and a woman meet cute, resist their initial attraction to each other, conquer humorous and sometimes unbelievable obstacles on their way to love, and end up together at the film’s conclusion. (There are variations — like “Roman Holiday” and “Annie Hall” — in which the lovers eventually go their separate ways, but they’re in the minority.)

Viewed today, the premises of some of these movies strain credibility. It’s hard to believe no one realized that Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon are really men in rather gaudy drag in “Some Like It Hot” — but the movie is such a wild romp that it’s just fun to go along for the ride.  

Then there’s “Manhattan,” which centers on a 42-year-old dating a 17-year-old. Subsequent accusations against director Woody Allen give the movie a darker tone today than it would have had for audiences when it premiered in 1979. Modern-day viewers can decide for themselves whether the film is hopelessly out of date or just plain objectionable — or whether it’s still one of the best movies you’ll remember if you grew up in the ‘70s. 

To identify the best romantic comedies of all time, 24/7 Tempo reviewed a database of over 17,000 movies and calculated an index of each movie’s IMDb rating and both audience score and Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes. IMDb is an online movie database owned by Amazon. Rotten Tomatoes is an online movie and TV review aggregator. Information on each movie’s cast also came from IMDb.

24/7 Tempo has assembled a list of the best romantic comedies of all time. They cover almost 70 years of cinema, from the Silent Era to the ‘90s. A number of them are the so-called “screwball comedies” of the 1930s and ‘40s. Many are classics starring some of the best known comedic actors and romantic leads in film history — like Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Cary Grant, Gary Cooper, Katherine Hepburn, Barbara Stanwyck, and Rosalind Russell. If you’re not quite ready to go back into the theatres again — these are the best comedy movies available to stream right now.

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

25. Groundhog Day (1993)
> Score: 2.69 — #347 highest out of 17,179 movies in all genres
> Starring: Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, Chris Elliott, Stephen Tobolowsky

Have you ever felt you’re living the same day over and over again? That’s what happens to cynical newsman Phil (Murray), who goes to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania to cover the annual ritual of a groundhog emerging from his hole to predict whether there will be an early spring, or endless winter. After realizing he’s stuck re-living the same day, Phil decides to become a better person and explore love with his producer, Rita (MacDowell).

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

24. The Lady Eve (1941)
> Score: 2.69 — #327 highest out of 17,179 movies in all genres
> Starring: Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda, Charles Coburn, Eugene Pallette

When con artist Jean Harrington (Stanwyick) picks what she thinks is the perfect mark — rich, naive Charles Pike (Fonda) — she finds herself the mark instead when she falls for him. Pike dumps her when he learns of her deception. But she devises another persona — the Lady Eve Sidwich — to win him back. Somehow it works and the two admit they really do love each other once she drops her fake identity and he forgives her.

Source: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

23. Ninotchka (1939)
> Score: 2.69 — #312 highest out of 17,179 movies in all genres
> Starring: Greta Garbo, Melvyn Douglas, Ina Claire, Bela Lugosi

A battle between communism and capitalism plays out in a romantic comedy about a stern Russian functionary, Nina Ivanovna “Ninotchka” Yakushova (Garbo), sent to Paris to keep some fellow Russians in line as they sell confiscated jewels for the good of the motherland. Instead of doing her job, she finds herself falling in love with charming Count Léon d’Algout (Douglas). How do we know it’s love? He makes her laugh — quite a turnabout for the usually stoic Garbo.

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures

22. Charade (1963)
> Score: 2.69 — #306 highest out of 17,179 movies in all genres
> Starring: Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau, James Coburn

After Regina Lampert (Hepburn) learns that the husband she had planned to divorce has been murdered, she finds herself the target of thieves who want the money they believe her late spouse stole during World War 11. The rather convoluted plot is hard to follow at times, but not so the budding romance between Hepburn and Cary Grant, who may or may not be a good guy.

Source: Courtesy of United Artists

21. Manhattan (1979)
> Score: 2.69 — #306 highest out of 17,179 movies in all genres
> Starring: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Mariel Hemingway, Michael Murphy

In this pre-#MeToo era picture, divorced middle-aged writer (Allen) falls for and then breaks up with 17-year-old Tracy (Hemingway), arguing that she is too young for him. (She is.) He then enters into a relationship with the mistress (Keaton) of a cheating friend, only to realize he shouldn’t have let Tracy go. Perhaps the true love story in this film isn’t between a man and women, but between Allen and the island of Manhattan, which is romantically depicted in beautiful black-and-white images accompanied by George Gershwin’s bittersweet songs.

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

20. Auntie Mame (1958)
> Score: 2.69 — #303 highest out of 17,179 movies in all genres
> Starring: Rosalind Russell, Forrest Tucker, Coral Browne, Fred Clark

Auntie Mame Dennis (Russell) raises her young nephew, Patrick, after the boy’s father dies. When the 1929 stock market crash bankrupts Mame, she and Patrick go on a series of adventures as the free-spirited aunt tries to get Patrick to loosen up and live life to the fullest, despite the protests of the straitlaced trustee of his fortune. Mame loves and loses one husband, but never loses her zest for life.

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

19. Ruggles of Red Gap (1935)
> Score: 2.70 — #295 highest out of 17,179 movies in all genres
> Starring: Charles Laughton, Mary Boland, Charles Ruggles, Zasu Pitts

Snobbish butler Marmaduke Ruggles finds himself in the remote Washington state town of Red Gap in 1908 after his employer, a British earl, loses his services in a card game to millionaires Egbert and Effie Floud. At first, Ruggles doesn’t fit in with the rough American crowd, but soon finds himself falling in love with his adopted homeland, where he can be what he wants to be.

Source: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn Distributing Corporation

18. The Navigator (1924)
> Score: 2.70 — #286 highest out of 17,179 movies in all genres
> Starring: Buster Keaton, Kathryn McGuire, Frederick Vroom, Clarence Burton

Two rich, pampered socialites (Keaton and McGuire) find themselves stranded on a cruise ship. Although McGuire had previously rejected Keaton’s proposal, the two learn how to survive together — and fall in love — during a series of comedic missteps in this silent classic.

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

17. Holiday (1938)
> Score: 2.71 — #233 highest out of 17,179 movies in all genres
> Starring: Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Doris Nolan, Lew Ayres

Sibling rivalry factors into the plot of this rom-com as Johnny (Grant) plans to marry rich Julia (Nolan), but falls instead for her sister, Linda (Hepburn). Johnny wavers between wanting to please his future in-laws by getting a job, or taking a holiday. In the end, he chooses freedom and Linda.

Source: Courtesy of RKO Radio Pictures

16. Ball of Fire (1941)
> Score: 2.71 — #233 highest out of 17,179 movies in all genres
> Starring: Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Oskar Homolka, Henry Travers

Proper grammar professor Bertram Potts (Cooper) meets nightclub performer Katherine “Sugarpuss” O’Shea to study American slang. The two are attracted to each other, and she hides in his home to escape questioning by the police, who are after her mob boss boyfriend. After Bertram busts up a wedding between Sugarpuss and the mobster, Sugarpuss says she isn’t good enough for the professor. His kisses convince her of his love.

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

15. His Girl Friday (1940)
> Score: 2.71 — #225 highest out of 17,179 movies in all genres
> Starring: Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Bellamy, Gene Lockhart

Newspaper editor Walter Burns (Grant) desperately tries to stop the marriage of his ex-wife, star reporter Hildy Johnson (Russell), by asking her to file one last story on a wrongly convicted murderer. In the end, the man is saved and Hildy and Walter end up together again.

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures

14. My Man Godfrey (1936)
> Score: 2.72 — #219 highest out of 17,179 movies in all genres
> Starring: William Powell, Carole Lombard, Alice Brady, Gail Patrick

Down-on-his luck Godfrey “Smith” Parke (Powell) becomes the butler for the rich family of Irene Bullock (Lombard) in one of the first so-called screwball comedies. Parke, who is actually from an elite Boston family, ends up saving the Bullock’s fortune and gets back on his feet. And Irene gets her man Godfrey.

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

13. Top Hat (1935)
> Score: 2.72 — #206 highest out of 17,179 movies in all genres
> Starring: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edward Everett Horton, Erik Rhodes

Remembered today more for the sublime dancing of its two stars than for its story line, “Top Hat” follows Dale Tremont (Rogers) and Jerry Travers (Astaire) as they fall in love. But she’s reluctant to pursue him because she mistakenly thinks he is the cheating husband of a friend. He’s not, and eventually he wins her over with one final dance.

Source: Courtesy of United Artists

12. Annie Hall (1977)
> Score: 2.73 — #182 highest out of 17,179 movies in all genres
> Starring: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts, Carol Kane

Can a romantic comedy be a romantic comedy when the couple breaks up at the end? Yes, if it’s comedian Alvy Singer (Allen) and singer Annie Hall (Keaton), who like many couples love each other, but grow apart. Told from Singer’s point of view, the movie examines why the relationship went wrong. Even though he’s sad at the end, Singer admits that he was glad he fell in love with Annie and that love is worthwhile even when it doesn’t end well..

Source: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn Pictures Corporation

11. Seven Chances (1925)
> Score: 2.73 — #169 highest out of 17,179 movies in all genres
> Starring: Buster Keaton, Ruth Dwyer, T. Roy Barnes, Snitz Edwards

Junior broker Jimmy Shannon (Keaton) is elated to learn he will inherit $7 million — but only if he marries that same day. He asks his sweetheart Mary Jones (Dwyer) to marry him, but when she finds out it’s because of the money, she refuses. Jimmy then frantically asks other women to be his bride, even putting an ad in the newspaper. In the end, Jimmy convinces Mary to marry him just in time to inherit the money.

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

10. Roman Holiday (1953)
> Score: 2.75 — #132 highest out of 17,179 movies in all genres
> Starring: Gregory Peck, Audrey Hepburn, Eddie Albert, Hartley Power

Crown Princess Ann (Hepburn) escapes from her stifling royal duties with American newspaper reporter Joe Bradley (Peck) for a whirlwind day in Rome. Joe knows who she is, but doesn’t report on their day together. The movie ends with Ann returning to her royal life, and Joe content with his memories.

Source: Courtesy of United Artists

9. The Apartment (1960)
> Score: 2.75 — #121 highest out of 17,179 movies in all genres
> Starring: Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray, Ray Walston

As a way to climb the corporate ladder at his insurance company, C.C. “Bud” Baxter (Lemmon) lets his superiors bunk in his apartment for extramarital trysts. When his boss’s mistress, elevator operator Fran Kubelik (MacLaine), attempts suicide in the apartment after finding out that the cheating boss was cheating on her, Bud saves her. Fed up with his boss, Bud quits his job, but finds himself a girl — Fran.

Source: Courtesy of United Artists

8. The Circus (1928)
> Score: 2.76 — #106 highest out of 17,179 movies in all genres
> Starring: Steve Murphy, Charlie Chaplin, Merna Kennedy, Al Ernest Garcia

In this melancholy silent movie, the Tramp (Chaplin) stumbles into a circus and finds love with a mistreated horse rider (Kennedy). Unfortunately, she loves someone else, a tightrope walker, Rex. In a rarity for a rom-com, the Tramp doesn’t end up with the girl. Instead, he smiles as the tightrope walker and the horseback rider move on together and he leaves the circus.

Source: Courtesy of United Artists

7. Some Like It Hot (1959)
> Score: 2.76 — #99 highest out of 17,179 movies in all genres
> Starring: Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, George Raft

A comedy of mistaken identity, two musicians Joe and Jerry (Curtis and Lemmon) escape the mob after witnessing the infamous St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in Chicago. Dressing up as women to join an all-female band traveling the country, Joe (Curtis) falls for Sugar (Monroe) and Jerry finds himself the love object of another man. Sugar and Joe kiss in the end, and Jerry admits to his admirer that he is, in fact, a man. Unfazed, his suitor says, “Well, no one’s perfect.”

Source: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

6. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
> Score: 2.76 — #95 highest out of 17,179 movies in all genres
> Starring: Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart, Ruth Hussey

Snobbish Tracy Lord (Hepburn) is set to marry George Kittredge, but is soon distracted by reporter Macaulay “Mike” Connor (Stewart) — and her ex-husband, C.K. Dexter Haven (Grant). With too attractive men to choose from, can Tracy go wrong?

Source: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

5. The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
> Score: 2.77 — #88 highest out of 17,179 movies in all genres
> Starring: Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Frank Morgan, Joseph Schildkraut

Warring shop clerks Alfred Kralik (Stewart) and Klara Novak (Sullavan) are really secret pen pals. The two fall in love through their written words, but don’t know they are really co-workers, setting off a series of miscues. Once that little misunderstanding is cleared up, the two finally declare their love for each other.

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

4. It Happened One Night (1934)
> Score: 2.77 — #86 highest out of 17,179 movies in all genres
> Starring: Jameson Thomas, Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Walter Connolly

Heiress Ellen “Ellie” Andrews (Colbert) hightails it away from her father, who wants to annul her marriage to a fortune hunter. She meets up with unemployed newspaper reporter Peter Warne (Gable) on a bus trip to New York City. When the bus breaks down, Ellie and Peter hitchhike and (you guessed it) fall in love.

Source: Courtesy of Metro Pictures Corporation

3. Sherlock Jr. (1924)
> Score: 2.78 — #73 highest out of 17,179 movies in all genres
> Starring: Buster Keaton, Kathryn McGuire, Joe Keaton, Erwin Connelly

A movie projectionist (Keaton) falls in love with a beautiful girl, but his rival for her affections, “the sheik,” frames him for stealing a watch from the girl’s father. The projectionist falls asleep and dreams that he is Sherlock Holmes, tracking down the thief. The happy ending finds the awakened projectionist and his love together and the rival exposed.

Source: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

2. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
> Score: 2.83 — #23 highest out of 17,179 movies in all genres
> Starring: Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Jean Hagen

Famed for its singing and dancing and Technicolor photography, “Singin’ in the Rain” is about a silent movie star, Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly), who falls in love with a chorus girl, Kathy Selden (Reynolds), just as “talkies” are threatening to overtake silent films. But Kathy proves elusive and Lina (Hagen), Don’s frequent leading lady, thinks Don is in love with her. Lina’s secret is that she sounds squeaky and unpleasant, and Kathy dubs her voice on film. All is eventually, and Kathy and Don kiss at the film’s end.

Source: Courtesy of United Artists

1. City Lights (1931)
> Score: 2.85 — #14 highest out of 17,179 movies in all genres
> Starring: Charlie Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Florence Lee, Harry Myers

The Little Tramp (Chaplin) falls for a blind flower girl (Cherrill). This classic silent movie displays Chaplin’s immense gift for physical comedy, but its heart comes from the flower girl accepting him as he is after he pays for the operation to restore her sight. What could be more romantic than that?

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