Love may be a many-splendoured thing, but it also involves sacrifice and obstacles, finding light when only despair surrounds. As the following romantic screen couples prove, love is worth fighting for, even if the ending is not as happy as they'd hoped.
1. The tramp and the flower girl, City Lights (1931)
Poor and alone, the tramp comes across a beautiful blind flower girl in the street and falls madly in love, so much so that he will do absolutely anything for her. That anything includes stealing money from a wealthy friend to pay for his love's eye surgery, even though it means going to prison -- and not knowing if she'll still have feelings for him once she can "see" who he really is.
2. Harry and Marie, To Have and Have Not (1944)
OK, so the film is essentially a copy of Casablanca, the movie the American Film Institute named America's Greatest Love Story. But -- and this is a big but -- To Have and Have Not offers viewers way more sparks between the leading players. This is, after all, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall's first movie together, and watching it is really about watching two people fall in love. The sexually charged dance between Harry and Marie is really that of Bogie and Bacall, and the many double entendres ("You know how to whistle, don't you, Steve?") send the mind reeling with delight.
3. Joe and Princess Ann, Roman Holiday (1953)
She wants to see the world, he wants an exclusive. It's not long, however, before the relationship based on convenience between Princess Ann and reporter Joe Bradley turns into one based on love. One problem remains: she's royalty, he's a commoner. And it's a problem that cannot be resolved. After 24 hours together, they return to their own worlds, but will always remember how accidental finding love can be and how painful it is to lose.
4. Nickie and Terry, An Affair to Remember (1957)
Granted, Cary Grant is the most romantic leading man of all time, regardless of whether he's in a screwball comedy, a Hitchcock thriller or a poignant drama. But it's his turn as the supposedly snubbed Nickie that truly gets hearts pumping. A chance meeting quickly morphs into love between Nickie and Terry, who inspire each other to pursue their dreams and achieve success on their own terms, and in the end prove that love really does conquer all.
5. Yuri and Lara, Doctor Zhivago (1965)
Considered one of the most romantic movies of all time, Dr. Zhivago tells the tale of Yuri and Lara, a doctor and nurse, who are united and separated by death, the revolution, marriage and war. Their longing for each other, their search for each other and their love for each other transcend the world in which they live -- a world that will ultimately keep them apart forever.
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