My Answers to Valentine's Day Movie Survey from Meredith of Forever Classics

Meredith of Forever Classics http://foreverclassics.blogspot.com/ posted Valentine's Day Movie Meme. I decided my answers to this survey would be the perfect post for this weekend !

1. What is your favorite romantic comedy?
This is hard for me. Of more modern films, I adore Murphy's Romance from 1985. This movie starred James Garner and Sally Field in a story of friendship blossoming into love. It's great May-December romance story. Garner gives a charming performance as the old-fashioned gentleman most women would love to find. I have always found James Garner sexy so I can totally believe Sally Field falling in love with him despite their difference in age.

From Hollywood's Golden Age, there are a number of romantic comedies I could watch over and over. I Married a Witch starring Frederic March and Veronica Lake is great! March could do any genre convincingly. He is in top form as the descendant of a man who burned Lake and her father at stake for being witches in 17th century Salem.

I also adore It's Love I'm After. This 1937 Warner Brothers film stars Bette Davis and Leslie Howard as a very high maintenance acting couple, Basil Underwood and Joyce Arden, who have been engaged forever. Their egos and his female fans have prevented the two from marrying.It appears the couple may finally make it to the altar. Enter a very young Marcia West (Olivia DeHavilland), an adoring fan of Basil Underwood. Marcia's fiancee Henry (Patric Knowles) asks Basil's help in disillusioning Marcia. Basil is to feign love for Marcia while at the same time behaving like a cad. Basil reluctantly agrees to the favor and that's when all hell breaks loose! Howard, Davis, and DeHavilland are best remembered for their dramatic roles, but this movie shows they were adept at comedy when given the opportunity.

2. What is your favorite romantic drama?
Without a doubt, Now, Voyager and Casablanca are two of my all time favorite films. However, I don't know if you can limit either film to the category of romantic drama.

That being said. My all time favorite romantic drama has to be One Way Passage. William Powell and Kay Francis are touching as the ill- fated couple. Powell and Francis had excellent chemistry, I completely believe they fall in love at first sight. In addition, the secondary romance between Aline MacMahon and Warren Hymer is charming too. Add Frank McHugh for comic relief and you've got a classic!

A close second has to be Portrait of Jennie. Again, the actors in this movie make the story work. Jennifer Jones and Joseph Cotten had a natural chemistry. They seemed like a couple, not two actors playing a couple. Both Jones and Cotten had a gentle quality that the other seemed to draw out in the films in which they co-starred. That works perfectly here since theirs is a love that breaks the boundaries of time and space. You must be able to suspend your disbelief to accept that Jennie travels through time and space to find her true love. Cotten is wonderful as the artist who opens his mind and heart to accept that he and Jennie were destined to be together. Again, add the great supporting cast of Ethel Barrymore, Lillian Gish, Cecil Kellaway, and David Wayne and you have a true timeless romantic classic.

I never get tired of watching the following romantic dramas:
Random Harvest with Ronald Colman and Greer Garson
Love Affair with Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer
All This and Heaven, Too with Bette Davis and Charles Boyer
Algiers with Charles Boyer and Hedy Lamarr
Morocco with Marlene Dietrich and Gary Cooper
An Affair to Remember with Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr
In Name Only with Cary Grant, Carole Lombard, and Kay Francis
Jane Eyre with Joan Fontaine and Orson Welles
Shop Around the Corner with James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan


3. Worst romance film you've seen?
I have feeling I'm in the minority with this choice, but here goes. I did not like the 1941 version of Back Street released by Universal Studios. I adore Charles Boyer -- he is one of my favorite actors. However, I did not see any spark between him and Margaret Sullavan in this movie. I also did not like either of their characters. It was hard to accept their selfish behavior. I hated that Sullavan's character broke the heart of a decent man who loved her. I also did not understand what drove Boyer to maintain the affair with Sullavan. In the 1961 version produced by Ross Hunter, we understand that the man is the victim of a shrewish wife who only wants the social standing associated with being his wife. The 1941 version just does not work for me. However, I must admit Boyer's final scene is outstanding.

I also must add Love Story and The Way We Were to my personal list of the worst romance films of all time!

4. How do you feel about the majority of romantic films being labeled "chick flicks"?
It is a disservice many times for a film to be given this moniker "chick flick." Many films that get placed in this category have excellent subplots. For instance, Mr. Skeffington starring Bette Davis and Claude Rains is often called a "women's weeper." However, it is a great story that reflects the changes in America and the world from the early 1900's through to 1940's. It also touches upon important themes such as fear of growing older and anti-semitism. Therefore, to think it is merely a "chick flick" is short-sighted in my opinion.

5. Favorite on-screen couple?
No contest for me. William Powell and Myrna Loy were the perfect on screen couple. My husband David said as a kid he always thought they must have been married in real life. I agree! They had a natural intimacy and genuine affection that goes beyond just being great actors.

Second place goes to Errol Flynn and Olivia DeHavilland. Their movies stand the test of time as does the chemistry between the two. She softened him and he gave her sex appeal. They complimented each other perfectly.

6. Favorite off-screen couple?
I admire those couples who  managed to stay together for many years despite the pressures of Hollywood. Here are four of my favorites:

Alexis Smith and Craig Stevens

Anne Jeffreys and Robert Sterling

Bing and Kathryn Crosby



Tony Martin and Cyd Charisse

 7. Best kiss in a movie?
In The Farmer's Daughter, I love when Glenn Morley (Joseph Cotten)  goes to see Katie (Loretta Young) at her family farm after her reputation has been smeared. Katie is embarrassed to see Glenn and tries to run away from him. Glenn grabs her arm, embraces Katie in his arms, and kisses her. It is done so effortlessly by Cotten that it is a great moment.

8. Favorite romantic scene?
I love in Now, Voyager  when Paul Henreid lights two cigarettes in his mouth  and gives one to Bette Davis. I also adore the final scene of Now, Voyager when Bette Davis tells Paul Henried, "Oh, Jerry, don't let's ask for the moon. We have the stars." This line recited by a lesser actress is laughable. However, Bette makes me cry every time I watch the film.

9. Who are 2 film characters you wished had gotten together, but never did?
This is a tough one for me. I still believe Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds) and Cosmo Brown (Donald O'Connor) belong together in Singin' in the Rain. They make such a cute couple! I also believe Nora (Jean Arthur) belongs with Professor Michael Lightcap (Ronald Colman) in The Talk of the Town. I know most people believe Nora should have chosen Leopold (Cary Grant) as she did. However, I believe Michael sends Nora to Leopold because Leopold needs Nora. Nora accepts this decision because she loves both men. But you will never convince me that Nora chose Leopold over Michael!

10. Two actors you think would have great chemistry, but have never done a film together?
Wonder what a film with Gene Tierney and Errol Flynn would been like?! I think Errol Flynn and Paulette Goddard would have had some spark too!

11. Favorite romantic song in a film (doesn't have to be from a musical)?

As Time Goes By lends so much to Casablanca. I think Dooley Wilson's interpretation also makes it memorable. Wilson's ability to impart a bittersweet quality to the song makes it so appropriate for the film.

12. Best score from a romance film?

Erich Wolfgang Korngold's score to the 1943 film The Constant Nymph starring Joan Fontaine and Charles Boyer. The ethereal score beautifully compliments the story.

13. Most romantic film quote?

"A woman is beautiful when she's loved, and only then." This line was spoken to the vain Fanny Skeffington (Bette Davis) by her husband, Job (Claude Rains) in Mr. Skeffington. It is a quote that becomes very important to Fanny later in the film.

14. A film you'd recommend to watch on Valentine's Day?

You can't go wrong with any of the films I've mentioned here. I personally will be watching One Way Passage followed by Potrait of Jennie.