The Vintage Chanteuse's Favorite Retro Rom-Coms!

Hello Vintage-ista's!  Every now-and-again I want nothing more than to pour myself a glass of wine, put on my favorite baby doll nightie, and curl up for an evening full of old movies. Here are just a few of my favorite mid-century romantic comedies (it was hard even narrowing it down to 10)!

1. Doris Day will always be one of my favorite singers and actresses! She is the queen of rom-coms!  However, I think my favorite has to be Pillow Talk.

"Rock Hudson and Doris Day, two of the screen's most popular and enduring stars, are together for the very first time! When Jan Morrow (Day), uptight interior decorator, is forced to share a party line with carefree playboy Brad Allen (Hudson), there's no connection between them. But when the two accidentally meet, the smitten Brad pretends to be a wealthy Texan, wooing Jan with seductive late-night calls. Their phone line is sizzling until Jan discovers her caller's true identity and calls his bluff. Winner of an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, this delicious romp co-stars Tony Randall and Thelma Ritter."

2. The Reluctant Debutant is delicious! Sandra Dee, Rex Harrison, and Angela Lansbury are so fabulous together. The fashions are divine and the comedic timing is perfect. This film is a very close second only to, well, any Doris Day movie!

"It's social season in London, and amid the swirl of coming-out balls the aristocratic Broadbents (real-life marrieds Rex Harrison and Kay Kendall) are intent on giving their American-educated 17-year-old daughter Jane (Sandra Dee) the right entry into society and a proper upper-class beau. One complication: flighty Mabel Claremont (Angela Lansbury) is eager to match that same beau with her daughter. And another: Jane, of course, has her own ideas about these matters - and an eye for a guy (John Saxon) who's a drummer in the dance band. Comedy is in season for The Reluctant Debutante, a rib-tickler of societal foibles and follies given spirited direction by Vincente Minnelli and featuring a full dance card of deft badinage."

3. Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable, Laren Bacall, and 1950's New York City all in one film?! How to Marry a Millionaire is classic old Hollywood cinema from the orchestral suites to the beautiful cinematography of mid-century NYC. I think this is Marilyn Monroe's best film!  
 

"They're three beautiful models, looking for the man and the money of their dreams! Almost broke, they pool their funds to rent a posh Manhattan penthouse in which they plan to lure their victims. But the gold digger's plans suddenly go awry when two of them fall for men who appear to be poor! Trying to stop each other from marrying the wrong guy, Monroe, Grable, Bacall deliver the finest comedic performances of their careers. And they learn that a rich man is actually worthless- unless you're in love with him!" 






4. "Tammy, Tammy, Tammy's in love..."  Debbie Reynolds glows in as the title character in Tammy and the Bachelor. This is the first of a series of Tammy Movies which later stars the sweet and fiery Sandra Dee. This film co-stars a young and dashing Leslie Nielsen as well and includes one of my favorite scenes in all of the Tammy movies.





"Tammy and the Bachelor: Academy Award nominee Debbie Reynolds stars in this romantic comedy, the first feature in the delightful Tammy series. Meet young Tammy, a homespun Mississippi gal who, in the course of her first extraordinary adventure, teaches a sophisticated bachelor (Leslie Nielsen) about love, an uptight Southern town about fun, and a modern family about happiness."







 5. Sandra Dee is delightful as the spirited and opinionated Gidget. This is another first in a series of Gidget movies and later television show, of which my favorite in the series has to be Gidget Goes Hawaiian! 

"The original surfer girl gets her own three-film DVD collection, dippy fun from a more innocent time. 1959's Gidget made real surfers nauseated, but it's a kicky movie with some great lounge-era lingo. Sandra Dee, perkiness personified, plays the curious teen who breaks the gender line in surfing. She's also got the attention of surf-happy Moondoggie (James Darren) and the big Kahuna (Cliff Robertson), the latter the prototype of the surf bum who roams the globe in search of the endless summer. The film actually kicked off the great boom in surfing popularity (the Beach Boys and the Beach Party movies followed), much to the chagrin of purists. It was based on a novel by Frederick Kohner, who was inspired by his daughter's experiences."




 6. That Funny Feeling is the film in which Bobby Darin (of Beyond the Sea fame) met his future wife Sandra Dee. This is an adorable romantic comedy about a typical case of mistaken identity!

"Sandra Dee stars as Joan Howell, a young and pretty maid-for-hire, who meets and begins dating wealthy New York City businessman Tom Milford (Bobby Darin). Embarrassed about taking him home to her tiny apartment, Joan brings Tom to a swanky apartment she cleans - not knowing it's really his place. Tom carries on the deception until Joan discovers who he really is and sets out to exact sweet feminine revenge in this madcap romantic comedy of mistaken identity."






7. An Affair to Remember is a classic and a must on any romantic comedy list. It's one of the McLain girl's favorites. There is a reason why this movie is quoted and emulated by so many other films! You just have to see it to understand. Oh, and don't forget the tissues!

"In this poignant and humorous love story nominated for four Academy Awards, Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr meet on an ocean liner and fall deeply in love. Though each is engaged to someone else, they agree to meet six months later at the Empire State Building if they still feel the same way about each other. But a tragic accident prevents their rendezvous and the lover's future takes an emotional and uncertain turn."

8.  I'm a sucker for a good murder mystery and who does them better than Alfred Hitchcock? Rear Window, with Grace Kelly and Jimmy Stewart, is at the top of my murder mystery list. I know this is supposed to be a rom-com list but there is a little romance in there too! And, Grace Kelly's style is impeccable!

"Directed by the Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window is an edge-of-your-seat classic starring two of Hollywood’s most popular stars. When a professional photographer (James Stewart) is confined to a wheelchair with a broken leg, he becomes obsessed with watching the private dramas of his neighbors play out across the courtyard. When he suspects his neighbor of murdering his nagging wife, he enlists his socialite girlfriend (Grace Kelly) to help investigate the suspicious chain of events, leading to one of the most memorable and gripping endings in all of film history."



9. So, I am not a fan of westerns, but John Wayne's McLintock is just so fun and I cannot resist Maureen O'Hara! Ever since watching her in The Parent Trap as a little girl I have loved her as an actress.

"Cattle baron George Washington McLintock fights his wife, his daughter, and political land-grabbers, finally "taming" them all in this Western comedy with Taming of the Shrew overtones."











10. Ah, and finally, Sabrina. I fell in love with Paris before even stepping foot in the city because of this movie. This quote says it all: "I have learned how to live, how to be IN the world and OF the world, and not just to stand aside and watch. And I will never, never again run away from life. Or from love, either."

  


"Bogie and Holden are the mega-rich Larrabee brothers of Long Island. Bogie's all work, Holden's all playboy. But when Sabrina, daughter of the family's chauffeur, returns from Paris all grown up and glamorous, the stage is set for some family fireworks as the brothers fall under the spell of Hepburn's delightful charms."







Well, there you have it! What are your must watch retro movies when you are home alone on those rare Saturday nights? I would love to expand my film collection!

Happy Watching!

The Vintage Chanteuse