Cary Grant and Irene Dunn in "The Awful Truth"

Scanning those endless lists that people like to post at Amazon.com, I’m struck by the fact that if they were to delete all the movie lists that include Sleepless in Seattle, When Harry Met Sally and While You Were Sleeping, the folks at Amazon could probably reduce their webspace by half. I realize that young people tend to be attached to the films that they saw at a formative age, but at some point you have to explore your film heritage. As a starting point, here’s a guide to ten hugely enjoyable classic romantic comedies to watch with someone you love.

The Apartment (1960)—Billy Wilder’s multiple Oscar winner was hailed as a satire on business ethics, but it stands the test of time as a romance between office cog Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine as his boss’s mistress. General rule of thumb for you young’uns: rent anything with Wilder’s name on it; if you can’t find this for VD, get Sabrina or Some Like it Hot.

The Awful Truth (1937)—Cary Grant and Irene Dunne get divorced, then do their best to ruin each other’s new romances. Directed by Leo McCarey, whose 1937 Love Affair (which he remade in 1957 as An Affair to Remember) was the basis for Sleepless in Seattle.

Ball of Fire (1941)—Parodying Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Barbara Stanwyck is burlesque singer Sugarpuss O’Shea, who hides out from the police in a brownstone inhabited by eight reclusive professors writing an encyclopedia—one of whom (Gary Cooper) turns out to be a most unlikely Prince Charming.

Bringing Up Baby (1938)—Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn on the loose in Connecticut searching for an escaped leopard and a lost dinosaur bone. It’s not precisely a romance, but last year it was released to home video for the first time ever, so what are you waiting for?

The Bishop’s Wife (1947)—Cary Grant as an angel sent to help a struggling young bishop (David Niven) whose financial troubles have caused him to neglect his wife (Loretta Young). Yes, there’s a lot of Cary Grant on this list. You got a problem with that?

His Girl Friday (1940)—As another divorced couple who just can’t seem to stay away from each other, Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell spit out some of the fastest dialogue ever heard in Howard Hawks’ adaptation of the classic newspaper comedy The Front Page.

Ninotchka (1939)—“Garbo laughs!” proclaimed the ads, and so did everyone else at the adventures of Greta as a Soviet official on business in Paris who is seduced by capitalism in the suave form of Melvyn Douglas. Directed by Ernst Lubitsch from a script co-written by Billy Wilder.

The Palm Beach Story (1942)—Writer-director Preston Sturges packs an entire movie under the opening credits of this astonishing comedy that begins with Claudette Colbert deciding to divorce impecunious inventor husband Joel McCrea so that she can marry a millionaire who will be able to fund his research. The second half slows down, but you’ll be so exhausted by then that you’ll appreciate the breather.

Remember the Night (1940)—Preston Sturges wrote this hard–to–find gem starring Barbara Stanwyck as a shoplifter forced by circumstances to spend Christmas at the country home of the assistant DA (Fred MacMurray) who is prosecuting her. Hard to find but well worth the effort. While you’re at it, look for Sturges’ Hail the Conquering Hero, The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek, Sullivan’s Travels, The Lady Eve, and The Great McGinty, every one of them worth owning.

The Shop Around the Corner (1940)—James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan both work at a Vienna department store, and don’t like each other. Little do they know that each is the secret pen pal the other has been dying to meet. Typically sparkling Ernst Lubitsch fare: it would ruin it to tell you that it was remade as You’ve Got Mail, so I won’t.

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