A curated list of the most delightful romantic comedies from Hollywood’s Golden Age (roughly the 1930s to early 1960s), celebrating charm, wit, and unforgettable chemistry.
Sections
4
Screwball Essentials
Sophisticated Charmers
Stars in Sync
Lighter Laughs & Hidden Gems
Screwball Essentials
Fast-talking, chaotic, and full of gender-bending antics, these films defined the screwball comedy subgenre.
A scatterbrained heiress and a stuffy paleontologist chase a leopard (and love) in one of cinema’s most chaotic romps.
Bringing Up Baby (1938)
A fast-paced newsroom comedy where exes can't quit each other—or the thrill of the scoop.
His Girl Friday (1940)
A runaway heiress and a cynical reporter find love on the road in the first film to win all five major Oscars.
It Happened One Night (1934)
Sophisticated Charmers
These urbane romances mix glamour with sharp dialogue and grown-up stakes.
A socialite’s wedding is upended by her ex-husband and a tabloid reporter in this high-class love triangle.
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
A man torn between wealth and freedom falls for his fiancée’s unconventional sister.
Holiday (1938)
A bold ménage-à-trois comedy where a woman refuses to choose between two equally charming men.
Design for Living (1933)
Stars in Sync
Rom-coms where iconic on-screen pairings shine with magnetic chemistry.
Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn battle it out in court—and at home—in this gender politics classic.
Adam's Rib (1949)
Cary Grant and Irene Dunne try to sabotage each other's rebound romances while resisting reconciliation.
The Awful Truth (1937)
Another Tracy-Hepburn gem, where careers and egos clash in a marriage between a sportswriter and a political columnist.
Woman of the Year (1942)
Lighter Laughs & Hidden Gems
Effervescent and slightly offbeat, these comedies bring joy with a softer, sometimes forgotten touch.
Wartime housing shortages force an unlikely cohabitation that leads to love and laughter.
The More the Merrier (1943)
A salesgirl is mistaken for a baby’s mother and goes along with the lie—with romantic consequences.
Bachelor Mother (1939)
A woman disguises herself as a child to get a cheaper train ticket—and ends up in a military academy.
