The 40 most popular 1950s romance movies, ranked. Click any film for ratings, reviews, trailers, and where to watch.


Sleeping Beauty
1959 · 1h 15m · US
Cursed to die by the evil fairy Maleficent when she was a baby, Princess Aurora is sent into hiding under protection from three good fairies. As she grows up far away, Maleficent becomes increasingly determined to seal the princess's fate.


Cinderella
1950 · 1h 14m · US
Cinderella has faith her dreams of a better life will come true. With help from her loyal mice friends and a wave of her Fairy Godmother's wand, Cinderella's rags are magically turned into a glorious gown and off she goes to the Royal Ball. But when the clock strikes midnight, the spell is broken, leaving a single glass slipper... the only key to the ultimate fairy-tale ending!


Vertigo
1958 · 2h 8m · US
A retired San Francisco detective suffering from acrophobia investigates the strange activities of an old friend's wife, all the while becoming dangerously obsessed with her.


Lady and the Tramp
1955 · 1h 16m · US
Lady, a golden cocker spaniel, meets up with a mongrel dog who calls himself the Tramp. He is obviously from the wrong side of town, but happenings at Lady's home make her decide to travel with him for a while.


Some Like It Hot
1959 · 2h 3m · US
In Prohibition-era Chicago, musicians Joe and Jerry witness a mob hit, and flee the state in an all-female band disguised as Josephine and Daphne, but further complications set in.


Singin' in the Rain
1952 · 1h 43m · US
In 1927 Hollywood, a silent film star falls for a chorus girl just as he and his paranoid screen partner struggle to make the difficult transition to talking pictures.


Roman Holiday
1953 · 1h 59m · US
Overwhelmed by her suffocating schedule, touring European princess Ann takes off for a night while in Rome. When a sedative she took from her doctor kicks in, however, she falls asleep on a park bench and is found by an American reporter, Joe Bradley, who takes her back to his apartment for safety. At work the next morning, Joe finds out Ann's regal identity and bets his editor he can get exclusive interview with her, but romance soon gets in the way.


Sabrina
1954 · 1h 54m · US
After two years in Paris, chauffeur's daughter Sabrina returns home elegantly transformed and immediately catches the attention of David, the playboy son of her father's rich employers. David woos and wins Sabrina, who has always been in love with him, however their romance is threatened by David's serious older brother Linus, who runs the family business and is relying on David to marry an heiress in order for a crucial merger to take place.


On the Waterfront
1954 · 1h 48m · US
A prizefighter-turned-longshoreman with a conscience goes up against labor leaders to expose corruption, extortion, and murder among the union ranks.


To Catch a Thief
1955 · 1h 46m · US
When a string of jewel robberies hits the French Riviera, suspicion falls on retired thief John “The Cat” Robie. To clear his name, he sets out to trap the copycat himself—entangling a wealthy widow and her beguiling daughter in a seductive game of pursuit, deception, and desire.


Sissi
1955 · 1h 42m · AT
The young Bavarian princess Elisabeth, who all call Sissi, goes with her mother and older sister Néné to Austria where Néné will be wed to an emperor named Franz Joseph, Yet unexpectedly Franz runs into Sissi while out fishing and they fall in love.


Istanbul
1957 · 1h 24m · TR
A suspected diamond smuggler returns to Istanbul and finds the lady love he thought was dead...or does he?


Gigi
1958 · 1h 55m · US
A home, a motorcar, servants, the latest fashions: the most eligible and most finicky bachelor in Paris offers them all to Gigi. But she, who's gone from girlish gawkishness to cultured glamour before our eyes, yearns for that wonderful something money can't buy.


The Black Forest Girl
1950 · 1h 40m · DE
The painter Hans Hauser falls head over heels in love with the "Black Forest girl" Bärbele Riederle. He travels to her home village and soon the two realize that they are made for each other.


The Seven Year Itch
1955 · 1h 45m · US
When his family goes away for summer vacation, a hitherto faithful publishing executive with an overactive imagination is tempted by an attractive new neighbor.


Around the World in 80 Days
1956 · 3h 2m · US
Based on the famous book by Jules Verne the movie follows Phileas Fogg on his journey around the world. Which has to be completed within 80 days, a very short period for those days.


Kangaroo
1952 · 1h 24m · US
In turn-of-the-century Australia, two criminals ingratiate themselves with a rancher in order to swindle him. However, the two partners become rivals for the affection of the rancher's beautiful daughter.


High Society
1956 · 1h 52m · US
With socialite Tracy Lord about to remarry, her ex-husband - with the help of a sympathetic reporter - has 48 hours to convince her that she really still loves him.


Orpheus
1950 · 1h 35m · FR
A famous poet in postwar Paris, scorned by the Left Bank youth, is in love with both his wife Eurydice and a mysterious princess. Seeking inspiration, the poet becomes obsessed and follows the princess from the world of the living to the land of the dead.


Houdini
1953 · 1h 46m · US
By the early 1900s, the extraordinary Houdini earned an international reputation for his theatrical tricks and daring feats of extrication from shackles, ropes, handcuffs and... Scotland Yard's jails.


Battle Cry
1955 · 2h 29m · US
The dramatic story of US Marines in training, in combat, and in love, during World War II. The story centers on a major who guides the raw recruits from their training to combat.


Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
1953 · 1h 31m · US
Lorelei Lee is a beautiful showgirl engaged to be married to the wealthy Gus Esmond, much to the disapproval of Gus' rich father, Esmond Sr., who thinks that Lorelei is just after his money. When Lorelei goes on a cruise accompanied only by her best friend, Dorothy Shaw, Esmond Sr. hires Ernie Malone, a private detective, to follow her and report any questionable behavior that would disqualify her from the marriage.


Hiroshima Mon Amour
1959 · 1h 32m · FR
The deep conversation between a Japanese architect and a French actress forms the basis of this celebrated French film, considered one of the vanguard productions of the French New Wave. Set in Hiroshima after the end of World War II, the couple -- lovers turned friends -- recount, over many hours, previous romances and life experiences. The two intertwine their stories about the past with pondering the devastation wrought by the atomic bomb dropped on the city.


Funny Face
1957 · 1h 43m · US
A shy Greenwich Village book clerk is discovered by a fashion photographer and whisked off to Paris where she becomes a reluctant model.


The House of the Three Girls
1958 · 1h 42m · AT
Vienna, 1826. The penniless composer Franz Schubert lives with friends in the house of court glazier Tschöll and his wife. Because of their three beautiful daughters, Hederl, Haiderl, and Hannerl, the property is called the "Three Girls' House." Hederl and Haiderl celebrate a double wedding with the gentlemen, master saddler Bruneder and postmaster Binder. Due to an intrigue by soprano Lucia Grisi, Hannerl, with whom Schubert is in love but dares not reveal herself, turns away from him and marries singer Franz von Schober. Schubert is left with nothing but music.


Party Girl
1958 · 1h 39m · US
Slick lawyer Thomas Farrell has made a career of defending mobsters in trials. It's not until he meets a lovely showgirl at a mob party that he realizes that there's more to life than winning trials. Farrell tries to quit the racket, but mob boss Rico Angelo threatens to hurt the showgirl if Farrell leaves him.


Born Yesterday
1950 · 1h 43m · US
Uncouth, loud-mouth junkyard tycoon Harry Brock descends upon Washington D.C. to buy himself a congressman or two, bringing with him his mistress, ex-showgirl Billie Dawn.


The King and I
1956 · 2h 13m · US
Widowed Welsh mother Anna Leonowens becomes a governess and English tutor to the wives and many children of the stubborn King Mongkut of Siam. Anna and the King have a clash of personalities as she works to teach the royal family about the English language, customs and etiquette, and rushes to prepare a party for a group of European diplomats who must change their opinions about the King.


Yankee Buccaneer
1952 · 1h 26m · US
A United States Navy ship in the first half of the 19th century, under the command of Captain David Porter, is expecting to put ashore after a year on the seas; but the arrival of one of Porter's ex-students, the willful and independent Lieutenant David Farragut, brings a new mission: to disguise the ship and crew as a pirate ship and help the Navy locate the criminals who have been robbing America's merchant fleet. But as Farragut's disobedience threatens the safety of the crew, they stumble upon an international conspiracy.


Limelight
1952 · 2h 17m · US
A fading music hall comedian tries to help a despondent ballet dancer learn to walk and to again feel confident about life.


Helen of Troy
1956 · 2h 1m · US
Prince Paris of Troy, shipwrecked on a mission to the king of Sparta, meets and falls for Queen Helen before he knows who she is. Rudely received by the royal Greeks, he must flee...but fate and their mutual passions lead him to take Helen along. This gives the Greeks just the excuse they need for much-desired war.


From Here to Eternity
1953 · 1h 58m · US
In 1941 Hawaii, a private is cruelly punished for not boxing on his unit's team, while his captain's wife and second in command are falling in love.


Sugarfoot
1951 · 1h 20m · US
The lawless west had never met a gun-throwing gent like...


Fireworks
1954 · 1h 37m · DE
The quiet life of an extended family is shaken up when a circus comes into town.


Quo Vadis
1951 · 2h 54m · US
After fierce Roman commander Marcus Vinicius becomes infatuated with beautiful Christian hostage Lygia, he begins to question the tyrannical leadership of the despotic emperor Nero.


Scaramouche
1952 · 1h 50m · US
In 18th-century France, a young man masquerades as an actor to avenge his friend's murder.


Absolutely Right
1957 · 1h 35m · BR
A man who's memorized his town's telephone directory tries his luck on a TV Show. But a small group of people who control the bettings in town try to get advantage of his simple-mindedness.


Don Juan
1950 · 2h 4m · ES
Don Juan leaves Venice and gets back to Seville, his home city. When he arrives there, he learns that his father is dead and has left all his properties to him, on codition that he marries Doña Inés. Don Juan makes up a former marriage, but when he meets her he becomes fascinated by her beauty.


War and Peace
1956 · 3h 28m · IT
The love story of young Countess Natasha Rostova and Count Pierre Bezukhov is interwoven with the Great Patriotic War of 1812 against Napoleon's invading army.


White Christmas
1954 · 2h · US
Two talented song-and-dance men team up after the war to become one of the hottest acts in show business. In time they befriend and become romantically involved with the beautiful Haynes sisters who comprise a sister act.
1950s cinema fought television with everything it had: widescreen formats, colour, and spectacle. Underneath the scale, it was also the decade of Japanese cinema's international breakthrough and the birth of the modern art film.
Romance is the genre most shaped by its era's ideas about intimacy, which makes watching across decades a genuine education. It spans the screwball comedies, the sweeping melodramas, and the modern indie two-hander.