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Have you ever encountered that thrill of lust and romance that can only happen when traveling to a new or unique destination? Feeling anonymous and unaccountable for your actions, you’re also fully aware that this fantasy will immediately end when you return home. Whether you’ve experienced one or not, holiday romances have been a recurring theme in classic cinema. There are so many, but the following three are very distinct—and I’m sure there’s one that will hit your hot button.
An unmarried 40-something “fancy secretary,” Jane Hudson (Katharine Hepburn) finally lives her dream of visiting romantic Venice in Summertime (1955). She’s in search of a “wonderful mystical, magical miracle” and hopes to find “what she’s been missing all her life.” However, while surrounded by beauty and seeming romance, a deep sense of loneliness haunts her. This feeling won’t last though, as sensible Jane unexpectedly meets a suave antique shop owner, Renato de Rossi (Rossano Brazzi). Her morals are challenged as they engage in an illicit love affair. As she discovers more about Renato, she also learns that the love and passion that she envies in others isn’t always what it appears to be. While so many romances of the 1950s were naïve and unrealistic, Summertime embraces passion with realism. Though Hepburn plays the usual independent woman, I have never seen her so vulnerable. The supporting cast is also superb, especially Isa Miranda as Signora Fiorini, the owner of Pensione Fiorini, where Jane is staying. The scenery is breathtaking, and I felt that I was reliving my 2005 trip to Venice. If you haven’t visited the city, Summertime will be just the movie to jolt you.
For you serious romantics—and I must admit that I am not one—I have just the movie for you. Realism fades and melodrama takes over in the classic 50s romance, An Affair to Remember (1957). On a New Year’s transatlantic cruise, infamous womanizer Nickie Ferrante (Cary Grant) has his eyes set on not-so-famous night club singer Terry McKay (Deborah Kerr). The problem is that Nickie is engaged to an internationally known heiress and Terry is engaged to handsome, forgiving, and wealthy Kenneth Bradley (Richard Denning). You can tell where my preference lies. Comically, their attempts at discretion never fool the passengers or the ship’s photographer. When the ship disembarks in New York, they vow to meet at the Empire State Building in six months. Will they be willing to “go from pink champagne to beer”? The popular Oscar-nominated tear-jerker kept this jaded pragmatist completely dry-eyed. However, what I found amusing was its reflection of the innocence and idealism portrayed in so many 1950s romances.
A vacation fling doesn’t need to be syrupy to be fun. That is the case for one of my favorites, Shirley Valentine (1989). What does a dreary middle-aged Liverpool housewife (who, upon talking to the wall, receives the same response as she does when speaking to her husband) really need? How about an all-expense-paid trip for two to Greece? That’s exactly what her best friend wins. Better yet, she chooses to take our unappreciated housewife and mother, Shirley (Pauline Collins), with her. Anticipating her husband’s reaction, she simply leaves him a note while sneaking out of the house to begin her journey. Once at her destination, she’s captivated by the beauty and culture of Greece. It doesn’t hurt that she also meets the handsome Costas Caldes (Tom Conti). Romance takes on a totally different meaning in this comedy: falling in love with a country and a lifestyle, in addition to self-discovery following years of repressed sexuality. I won’t give the rest away. I’ll just say that I would have loved to see a well-done sequel; but, then again, why ruin a good movie memory?
Each of these films will provide a unique experience, depending on where you are on the movie romance scale. For some, the pointer may be on idealistic romance, obstructed by tragedy only for love to win in the end. Some may enjoy a more raw experience, even a cynical outcome. It really doesn’t matter. It’s all just vacation fantasy.
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