1. "Gidget"
   "The Matchmaker"
2. "Here Comes the Groom"
   "The Honeymoon"

Sandra Dee starred as "Gidget," all about her time as part of the world of surfing which including falling in love with a surfer. This is arguably the first true "beach" movie that became something of a sub-genre for a few years.

1. "Pillow Talk"
   "High Society"
2. "The Seven Year Itch"
   "Desk Set

"Pillow Talk" was the first of three movies that Rock Hudson, Tony Randall and Doris Day made together. It pulled in $18,500,000 at the box office, which, adjusted for inflation, is about $163 million today.

1. "The Bridal Path"
   "How to Marry a Millionaire"
2. "Dream Wife"
   "Spring in Berlin"

"How to Marry a Millionaire" featured Grable, Monroe and Bacall as a trio of golddiggers looking to hook up with rich men. It was the first movie ever to be shown in color on TV several years after its release in 1961.

1. "Our Girl Friday"
   "Father of the Bride"
2. "The Tender Trap"
   "Designing Woman"

"Father of the Bride" featured Liz Tayor and Spencer Tracy as the titular bride and her father. Tracy wanted to have Katharine Hepburn playing his wife in the movie, but apparently the studio felt they made too hot a couple to believed as one that already had raised a family.

1. "Designing Woman"
   "The Seven Year Itch"
2. "High Society"
   "Funny Face"

"The Seven Year Itch" featured Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell. The name of the movie refers to the idea that a man starts losing interest in his wife after seven years of marriage and is actually a term you'll hear psychologists use.

1. "Love is Better Than Ever"
   "Three Guys Named Mike"
2. "The Quiet Man"
   "Roman Holiday"

Not known for romance or comedy much at all, John Wayne took a risk leaving Westerns to make "The Quiet Man" as did director John Ford. The movie was a total shot in the dark at the time, but it won Ford an Oscar for Best Director.

1. "Houseboat"
   "Pillowtalk"
2. "Irene in Trouble"
   "Tammy and the Bachelor"

Debbie Reynolds starred as Tambrey Tyree, aka Tammy, in four separate movies, including "Tammy and the Bachelor." Tammy is a bit of what you might call a rustic tomboy insofar as she runs around the swamp in bare feet and is best friends with a goat.

1. "Gigi"
   "Bell, Book and Candle"
2. "The Statesman"
   "Longshot"

The movie "Gigi" featured Leslie Caron in the title role of Gig, though, in fact, her character's proper name was Gilberte, which was also the name of one of the two main nerds from "Revenge of the Nerds." Not the cutest name, overall.

1. "Gentlemen Marry Brunettes"
   "The Tender Trap"
2. "Some Like it Hot"
   "Dream Wife"

"Some Like it Hot" was a massive success and featured Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and, of course, Marilyn Monroe. Monroe was already quite famous at the time the movie was made, and the director hadn't expected someone of her caliber to want in.

1. "The Farmer Takes a Wife"
   "Long Gone"
2. "Kiss Me Kate"
   "She Said Yes"

"Kiss Me Kate" is an adaptation of William Shakspeare's "The Taming of the Shrew." In a remarkable departure from how modern films save the technology for action blockbusters, this movie was actually filmed in 3-D.

1. "Lady and the Tramp"
   "The Aristocats"
2. "All Dogs Go to Heaven"
   "101 Dalmatians"

One of Disney's best-loved movies and, despite being animated, clearly a romantic comedy, "Lady and the Tramp" came out in 1955. In 1945, an article in Cosmo entitled "Happy Dan, the Cynical Dog" caught Walt Disney's eye and became the basis for the film.

1. "The Tender Trap"
   "The Happy Years"
2. "Guest House"
   "Born to be Loved"

Frank Sinatra performed the song "Love is the Tender Trap" from the movie "The Tender Trap" twice in the movie, while Debbie Reynolds actually sings it once in the movie herself, though her version gets criticized by Sinatra on screen.

1. "Bus Stop"
   "Meet Me After the Show"
2. "Confusion"
   "The Other Road"

"Bus Stop" was still a comedy and even partially a musical, but it offered up a little more drama than most of Marilyn Monroe's previous films had. Monroe put a lot of effort into making her character different from previous roles, including learning a new accent and deliberately being less impressive with her singing and dancing.

1. "Tammy"
   "The Lady Takesa Flyer"
2. "Royal Wedding"
   "Funny Face"

in "Funny Face" Audrey Hepburn sang all of her own musical numbers, unlike in "My Fair Lady," which she made in 1964. She had a solo number as well as a duet with Fred Astaire, who was actually about 30 years her senior at the time.

1. "Indiscreet"
   "Brandy for the Parson"
2. "The Quiet Man"
   "Bell, Book and Candle"

"Bell, Book and Candle" featured Kim Novak as a witch who casts a spell on hew neighbor, played by Jimmy Stewart. The movie also featured a cat named Pyewacket, which was the name of a witch's familiar as described by Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins in 1644.

1. "Adorable Creatures"
   "It's Always Fair Weather"
2. "Girls for the Summer"
   "Indiscreet"

"Indiscreet" featured Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman in the lead roles, but they weren't the original choices for the roles. Clark Gable was lined up for the male lead while the female lead was going to be either Jayne Mansfield or Marilyn Monroe. Just like today, however, casting doesn't always work as planned.

1. "Desk Set"
   "Dream Wife"
2. "Easy to Love"
   "Stefanie"

"Dream Wife" was directed by Sidney Sheldon, who later found fame on TV with the show "I Dream of Jeannie" among several others. He liked the character of Princess Tarji from "Dream Wife" so much that she appeared on a 1966 episode of his show, albeit played by a different actress.

1. "Kismet"
   "Left Right and Center"
2. "The Silken Affair"
   "Desk Set"

"Desk Set" came out in 1957and set Katharine Hepburn at odds with a computer that was invented by the romantic lead Spencer Tracy. This was actually the eighth movie Tracy and Hepburn made together.

1. "Gentleman Prefer Blondes"
   "Teacher's Pet"
2. "Here Comes the Groom"
   "Dream Wife"

"Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" came out in 1953, and you can still see its influence in pop culture today. Marylin Monroe's pink dress and performance of the song "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" has been parodied or done in homage by numerous singers from Madonna to Beyonce.

1. "Sabrina"
   "Gigi"
2. "Let's Do It Again"
   "The Moon is Blue"

Cary Grant was initially supposed to star alongside Hepburn in "Sabrina," but he turned it down and Humphrey Bogart got the role. Bogart had spent most of his career in tough-guy roles, so a rom-com was a definite about-face from his usual roles.

1. "Sabrina"
   "Gidget"
2. "Kiss Me Kate"
   "Love is Better Than Ever"

"Love is Better Than Ever" came out in 1952 starring Liz Taylor and Larry Parks. If you look closely, you'll see the director Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly both had cameos in the movie as patrons at a restaurant.

1. "Funny Face"
   "Singin' in the Rain"
2. "Guys and Dolls"
   "High Society"

"High Society" starred Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Grace Kelly. This was actually the last movie Grace Kelly starred in before she decided on a career change and became the Princess of Monaco.

1. "Ground for Marriage"
   "Love in the Afternoon"
2. "Love Island"
   "Don't Forget Love"

Directed by Bud Pollard, a man known for exploitation films, "Love Island" was about a Navy pilot landing on an island and falling in love with a native girl. The movie used a lot of footage that had been shot for an entirely different film called "Legong: Dance of the Virgins."

1. "Kiss Them For Me"
   "About Time"
2. "Pillow Talk"
   "Three Sisters"

"Kiss Them For Me" featured Suzy Parker, who for a time was one of the biggest models in the world, alongside Jayne Mansfield and Cary Grant. The movie did fairly poorly and actually tanked Jayne Mansfield's career for several years.

1. "The Mating Game"
   "Risky Business"
2. "The Farmer Takes a Wife"
   "Fancy Pants"

"The Farmer Takes a Wife" came out in 1953 and starred Betty Grable and Dale Robertson. It was a remake of a movie by the same name that came out 18 years prior and starred Henry Fonda and Janet Gaynor.

1. "Love in the Afternoon"
   "Gidget"
2. "Abundance of Life"
   "It Should Happen to You"

"Love in the Afternoon" stared Audrey Hepburn and Gary Cooper and followed a bit of a convoluted story of Hepburn first trying to save Cooper's life and then falling in love with him. At the time, Hepburn was 28 and Cooper was 56.

1. "Bus Stop"
   "Here Comes the Groom"
2. "Pat and Mike"
   "Love in the Afternoon"

In real life, Katharine Hepburn was an avid sports fan and athlete herself. The golf and tennis featured in "Pat and Mike" weren't shot with a stand-in; it was Hepburn herself playing everything.

1. "Key to the City"
   "Always With You"
2. "Gentlemen Marry Brunettes"
   "Daddy Long Legs"

Not quite a sequel to "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," "Gentlemen Marry Brunettes" was based on a book by the author of the original which featured Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell. Russell returned for this movie, playing a different character, but Monroe did not.

1. "Ain't Misbehavin'"
   "It Should Happen to You"
2. "Dream Wife"
   "Born Yesterday"

"Born Yesterday" featured Judy Holliday, Broderick Crawford and William Holden. There was some talk of the female lead being played by Rota Hayworth for a while, but eventually, Holiday, who played the character on stage, agreed to the role.

1. "Three Guys Named Mike"
   "Houseboat"
2. "How to Marry a Millionaire"
   "Sabrina"

Cary Grant and Sophia Loren starred in "Houseboat" together. Grant's wife Betsy Drake originally wrote it and was meant to star in it until Grant had an affair with Loren and decided to ditch Drake, have the script rewritten and drop her name from it entirely. Then he and Loren broke up.

1. "Pillow Talk"
   "Here Comes the Groom"
2. "The Quiet Man"
   "Red as a Rose"

Starring Bing Crosby and Jane Wyman, "Here Comes the Groom" premiered back in 1951. In 1952, there was a radio broadcast of the movie that shortened the whole thing to about 60 minutes and featured Jane Wyman in the same role.

1. "Always With You"
   "Let's Dance"
2. "Roman Holiday"
   "Sunny Side of the Street"

"Roman Holiday" featured Gregory Peck opposite Audrey Hepburn, who was playing a princess. Elizabeth Taylor was one of the first choices for the lead and Cary Grant was offered a role as well, but neither one was available to do it, though rumor says Grant turned it down because he felt all the attention would have been on the female role.

1. "Pillowtalk"
   "High Society"
2. "Happy Go Lovely"
   "The Wrong Sister"

"Happy Go Lovely" was a British comedy from 1951 starring David Niven and Vera-Ellen. It also featured Caesar Romero, who would achieve the ultimate degree of kitschy fame as the Joker on "Batman" with Adam West in the '60s.

1. "Ain't Misbehavin'"
   "Forever, Darling"
2. "White Knight"
   "The First Dance"

"Ain't Misbehavin'" featured Piper Laurie, Mamie Van Doren and Rory Calhoun. It's mostly remembered these days for the title song which does get performed in the movie and has managed to outlive the film itself.

1. "It Should Happen to You"
   "Key to the City"
2. "It's Always Fair Weather"
   "Beloved Liar"

Jack Lemmon was asked to change to his name before appearing in "It Should Happen to You" because studio bosses thought the press would pan the movie and call it a lemon, playing off the actor's name. Lemmon declined.

1. "The Seven Year Itch"
   "The Matchmaker"
2. "Wagon's East"
   "Breaking Glass"

Shirley Booth, Anthony Perkins, and Shirley Maclaine starred in "The Matchmaker" a 1958 rom-com. The somewhat more well-known musical "Hello, Doly!" is based on the same play originally.

1. "Some Like it Hot"
   "Designing Woman"
2. "Our Girl Friday"
   "Born to be Loved"

Lauren Bacall and Gregory Peck starred in "Designing Woman." Bacall filmed the movie while her husband Humphrey Bogart was in the end stages of cancer. She took the role to distract herself from what was happening.

1. "Indiscreet"
   "Phffft"
2. "Houseboat"
   "Our Girl Friday"

Aside from having a delightful name, "Phfft" featured Jack Lemmon and Judy Holiday as a couple who divorce and then fall in love and remarry again. It was actually the second movie that year that Holliday and Lemmon made together after "It Should Happen To You."

1. "Three Guys Named Mike"
   "Pat and Mike"
2. "The Tender Trap"
   "Love's Confusion"

Jane Wyman starred in "Three Guys Named Mike" as an airline stewardess with American Airlines who is also a bit of a bungler and managed to get nearly fired from her job about four or five times over the course of the whole film.

1. "This is it"
   "The Long Night"
2. "Our Girl Friday"
   "Roman Holiday"

Joan Collins starred in "Our Girl Friday" as a woman named Sadie who gets stranded on a deserted island with three other people. According to Collins, she was the first woman ever to appear in a movie wearing a bikini thanks to this film.