14 Romantic Vintage Movies, Perfect For Valentine’s Day 4

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, now is the perfect time to start planning a romantic evening of binge watching. Snuggle up with someone you love, and enjoy these vintage movies.

Gone with the Wind (1939)

Rich, beautiful and self-centered Scarlett O’Hara has everything she could want – except Ashley Wilkes. As the war devastates the South, Scarlett discovers the strength within herself to protect her family and rebuild her life. Through everything, she longs for Ashley, seemingly unaware that she is already married to the man she really loves – and who truly loves her – until she finally drives him away. Only then does Scarlett realize what she has lost … and decide to win him back.

Favorite Quote: [Rhett Butler to Scarlett] “Open your eyes and look at me. No, I don’t think I will kiss you, although you need kissing badly.”

“Gone With the Wind” – Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, 1939

Casablanca (1942)

Resistance leader Victor Laszlo relies on Rick Blaine, a cynical American who sticks his neck out for no one (especially Victor’s wife Ilsa , the ex-lover who broke his heart). Ilsa offers herself in exchange for Laszlo’s transport out of the country and bitter Rick must decide what counts more – personal happiness or countless lives hanging in the balance.

Favorite Quote: [Rick] “Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine.”

“Casablanca” – Humphry Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, 1942

Brief Encounter (1951)

In a cafe at a railway station, housewife Laura Jesson meets Dr. Alec Harvey. Although they are each married (to someone else), they gradually fall in love with each other. They continue to meet every Thursday at the small cafe, although they know that their love is impossible.

Favorite Quote: [Laura Jesson – secret thoughts] “I felt suddenly quite wildly happy.”

“Brief Encounter” – Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, 1951

From Here to Eternity (1953)

Passion and tragedy collide on a military base as a fateful day in December 1941 draws near. Private Prewitt is a soldier and former boxer being manipulated by his superior and peers. His friend Maggio tries to help him but has his own troubles. Sergeant Warden and Karen Holmes tread on dangerous ground as lovers in an illicit affair. Each of their lives will be changed when their stories culminate in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Favorite Quote: [Karen Holmes] “I never knew it could be like this! Nobody ever kissed me the way you do.“

“From Here to Eternity” – Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr, 1953

An Affair To Remember (1957)

A man and a woman, both engaged (to other people), meet on a cruise and fall in love. To test the depth of their commitment to each other, they promise that if they’re still in love at the end of six months, they will meet again at the top of the Empire State Building.

Favorite Quote: [Terry McKay] “I’m not prudish or anything but my mother warned me not enter a man’s room first in any month ending in R.”

“An Affair to Remember” – Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, 1957

Breakfast At Tiffany’s (1961)

A flighty young New York socialite, Holly Golightly, becomes interested in a young man who has moved into her apartment building.

Favorite Quote: [Holly Golightly] “It should take you exactly four seconds to cross from here to that door. I’ll give you two.”

“Breakfast at Tiffany’s” – Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard, 1961

Splendor in the Grass (1961)

Set in 1928, a Kansas girl and a handsome young man from the town’s most powerful family are in love. The pressures of sex in society and from their families drives her to heartbreak and madness. 

Favorite Quote: [Wilma Dean] “Though nothing can bring back the hour of splendor in the grass, glory in the flower, we will grieve not. Rather find strength in what remains behind…”

“Splendor in the Grass” – Natalie Wood, Warren Beatty, 1961

Love Story (1970)

A boy and a girl from very different backgrounds fall in love and build their life together, despite their opposite backgrounds. They believe love can fix everything, but fate has other plans.

Favorite Quote: [Oliver Barrett IV] “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.”

“Love Story” – Ali McGraw, Ryan O’Neal, 1970

The Way We Were (1973)

A classic love story sparked by the attraction of opposites, played out against the backdrop of American life during times of foreign war, domestic prosperity and McCarthy-era paranoia in Hollywood. Their story starts in the late 1930s through the 1950s and depicts their relationship over that time period.

Favorite Quote: [Hubbell Gardner] “Are you really so sure of everything you’re so sure of?”

“The Way We Were” – Barbra Streisand, Robert Redford, 1973

When Harry Met Sally (1989)

Harry and Sally meet when she gives him a ride to New York after they both graduate from the University of Chicago. The film jumps through their lives as they both search for love, but fail, bumping into each other time and time again.

Favorite Quote: [Harry Burns] “I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.”

“When Harry Met Sally” – Meg Ryan, Billy Crystal, 1989

Ghost (1990)

Sam Wheat is a banker, Molly Jensen is an artist, and the two are madly in love. However, when Sam is murdered by a friend and corrupt business partner Carl Bruner over a shady business deal, he is left to roam the earth as a powerless spirit.

Favorite Quote: [Sam Wheat] “It’s amazing, Molly. The love inside, you take it with you. See ya.”

“Ghost” – Demi Moore, Patrick Swayze, 1990

Sleepless in Seattle (1993)

A romantic comedy about two people drawn together by destiny. Sam Baldwin, a widowed father who, thanks to the wiles of his worried son, becomes a reluctant guest on a radio call-in show. He’s an instant hit with thousands of female listeners who deluge his Seattle home with letters of comfort.

Favorite Quote: [Annie Reed] “Destiny is something we’ve invented because we can’t stand the fact that everything that happens is accidental.”

“Sleepless in Seattle” – Meg Ryan, Tom Hanks, 1993

Titanic (1997)

A seventeen-year-old aristocrat falls in love with a kind but poor artist aboard the luxurious, ill-fated R.M.S. Titanic.

Favorite Quote: [Jack – yelling, standing on the bow with his arms stretched outwards] “I’m the king of the world!”

“Titanic” – Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio, 1997

You’ve Got Mail (1998)

Two business rivals who despise each other in real life unwittingly fall in love over the Internet.

Favorite Quote: [Kathleen Kelly – in an email to Joe Fox] “The odd thing about this form of communication is that you’re more likely to talk about nothing than something. But I just want to say that all this nothing has meant more to me than so many somethings.”

“You’ve Got Mail” – Meg Ryan, Tom Hanks, 1998

Do you have any other romantic movies to add to the list? Please share in a comment below.

 Synopsis paraphrased from Wiki articles written about each movie.