The Best Clean Romances
Because sometimes, innocent romances can be a breath of fresh air in our jaded and hyper-sexualised culture.
All the titles on this list have an IMDb user rating of 6.0 or higher.
Disclaimer: different people will have different ideas as to what constitutes a "clean" romance. My guidelines for this list were: no sex scenes, and minimal swearing/crass humour. You should still exercise discretion if you were planning on watching one of these with a maiden aunt or young niece, etc.
All the titles on this list have an IMDb user rating of 6.0 or higher.
Disclaimer: different people will have different ideas as to what constitutes a "clean" romance. My guidelines for this list were: no sex scenes, and minimal swearing/crass humour. You should still exercise discretion if you were planning on watching one of these with a maiden aunt or young niece, etc.
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- DirectorMark PalanskyStarsChristina RicciJames McAvoyReese WitherspoonA modern romantic tale about a young aristocratic heiress born under a curse that can only be broken when she finds true love with "one who will accept her as one of their own."
- DirectorDouglas McGrathStarsGwyneth PaltrowJames CosmoGreta ScacchiWhile matchmaking for friends and neighbours, a young 19th Century Englishwoman nearly misses her own chance at love.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsHumphrey BogartKatharine HepburnRobert MorleyIn WWI East Africa, a gin-swilling Canadian riverboat captain is persuaded by a strait-laced English missionary to undertake a trip up a treacherous river and use his boat to attack a German gunship.
- DirectorDouglas SirkStarsJane WymanRock HudsonAgnes MooreheadAn upper-class widow falls in love with a much younger, down-to-earth nurseryman, much to the disapproval of her children and criticism of her country club peers.
- DirectorLeo McCareyStarsCary GrantDeborah KerrRichard DenningA couple falls in love and agrees to meet in six months at the Empire State Building - but will it happen?
- DirectorGeorge SidneyJoseph BarberaWilliam HannaStarsFrank SinatraKathryn GraysonGene KellyA pair of sailors on leave try to help a movie extra become a singing star.
- StarsMegan FollowsColleen DewhurstMarilyn LightstoneAnne Shirley accepts a teaching position at a girls boarding school in a town dominated by a rich and belligerant family determined to make her life miserable.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsCary GrantPriscilla LaneRaymond MasseyA Brooklyn writer of books on the futility of marriage risks his reputation after he decides to tie the knot. Things get even more complicated when he learns on his wedding day that his beloved maiden aunts are habitual murderers.
- DirectorMichel HazanaviciusStarsJean DujardinBérénice BejoJohn GoodmanWhen George, a silent movie superstar, meets Peppy Miller, a dancer, sparks fly between the two. However, after the introduction of talking pictures, their fortunes change, affecting their dynamic.
- DirectorCharles WaltersStarsDavid NivenShirley MacLaineGig YoungA salesgirl falls for the younger of two brothers who run a company. The elder falls for her but plans to help her get his brother because he doesn't know he's in love.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsGary CooperBarbara StanwyckOscar HomolkaA group of professors working on a new encyclopedia while living in a Manhattan mansion take in a mouthy nightclub singer who is wanted by the police to help bring down her mob boss lover.
- DirectorGary TrousdaleKirk WiseStarsPaige O'HaraRobby BensonJesse CortiA prince cursed to spend his days as a hideous monster sets out to regain his humanity by earning a young woman's love.
- DirectorJulian JarroldStarsAnne HathawayJames McAvoyJulie WaltersA biographical portrait of a pre-fame Jane Austen and her romance with a young Irishman.
- DirectorRichard QuineStarsJames StewartKim NovakJack LemmonA modern-day witch likes her neighbor but despises his fiancée, so she enchants him to love her instead.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsKatharine HepburnCary GrantCharles RugglesWhile trying to secure a $1 million donation for his museum, a befuddled paleontologist is pursued by a flighty and often irritating heiress and her pet leopard, Baby.
- DirectorJoshua LoganStarsMarilyn MonroeDon MurrayArthur O'ConnellA naive but stubborn cowboy falls in love with a saloon singer and tries to take her away against her will to get married and live on his ranch in Montana.
- DirectorHenry KingStarsGordon MacRaeShirley JonesCameron MitchellFifteen years after his death, a carousel barker is granted permission to return to Earth for one day to make amends to his widow and their daughter.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsHumphrey BogartIngrid BergmanPaul HenreidA cynical expatriate American cafe owner struggles to decide whether or not to help his former lover and her fugitive husband escape the Nazis in French Morocco.
- DirectorStephen BridgewaterStarsEdward AsnerJohn NewtonAlice EvansUS soldier visits the town from where an inspirational Christmas card was sent to him by a church group that mails cards out to servicemen as a goodwill effort.
- DirectorRobert MulliganStarsRock HudsonGina LollobrigidaSandra DeeYounger generation vs. "older" folks on vacation at an Italian villa.
- DirectorJean NegulescoStarsFred AstaireLeslie CaronTerry MooreA wealthy American has a chance encounter with a joyful young French woman, and anonymously pays for her education. She writes letters to her mysterious benefactor, nicknaming him from the description given by some of her fellow orphans.
- DirectorTim WhelanStarsMerle OberonLaurence OlivierBinnie BarnesDivorce lawyer Everard Logan thinks the woman who spent the night in his hotel room is the erring wife of his new client.
- DirectorDiarmuid LawrenceStarsKate BeckinsaleBernard HeptonMark StrongFaithful, enchanting adaptation of Jane Austen's nineteenth-century tale of Emma Woodhouse--a clever young woman whose mischievous matchmaking schemes nearly end up jeopardizing her own shot at romance.
- StarsRomola GaraiMichael GambonJonny Lee MillerEmma Woodhouse, a wealthy young woman living in the early 19th century, whose misplaced confidence in her matchmaking abilities occasions several romantic misadventures, which leads her into deeper meanings of love and life
- DirectorKevin LimaStarsAmy AdamsSusan SarandonJames MarsdenA young maiden in a land called Andalasia, who is prepared to be wed, is sent away to New York City by an evil Queen, where she falls in love with a lawyer.
- DirectorJohn CromwellStarsDorothy McGuireRobert YoungHerbert MarshallA plain maid and a wounded war veteran are transformed by their love for each other while residing in an enchanted honeymoon cottage.
- DirectorAndy TennantStarsDrew BarrymoreAnjelica HustonDougray ScottThe Brothers Grimm arrive at the home of a wealthy Grande Dame who speaks of the many legends surrounding the fable of the cinder girl before telling the "true" story of her ancestor.
- DirectorNicholas RentonStarsPaloma BaezaJonathan FirthNigel TerryA vain, pretty girl has recently taken over her uncle's farm. Her independent, naïve personality leaves her torn between the three men who wish to marry her.
- DirectorRalph NelsonStarsCary GrantLeslie CaronTrevor HowardDuring World War II, a man persuaded to live on an isolated island and spot aircraft finds himself responsible for a teacher and several students, all female.
- DirectorSteve MinerStarsMel GibsonJamie Lee CurtisElijah WoodDuring a cryogenics test, a pilot frozen in 1939 awakes in 1992 but time is running out, as his body starts to age rapidly.
- DirectorStanley DonenStarsAudrey HepburnFred AstaireKay ThompsonAn impromptu fashion shoot at a book store brings about a new fashion model discovery in the shop clerk.
- DirectorRonald NeameStarsShirley MacLaineMichael CaineHerbert LomAn English cat burglar needs a Eurasian dancer's help to pull off the perfect heist, but even the most foolproof schemes have a way of backfiring.
- DirectorVincente MinnelliCharles WaltersStarsLeslie CaronMaurice ChevalierLouis JourdanWeary of the conventions of Parisian society, a rich playboy and a youthful courtesan-in-training enjoy a platonic friendship which may not stay platonic for long.
- DirectorCharles WaltersStarsLeslie CaronMichael WildingKeenan WynnTomboyish outcast "Cinder" Ella and the duke's charming son Charles fall in love in this comedic rendition of the classic fairy tale.
- DirectorVictor FlemingGeorge CukorSam WoodStarsClark GableVivien LeighThomas MitchellA sheltered and manipulative Southern belle and a roguish profiteer face off in a turbulent romance as the society around them crumbles with the end of slavery and is rebuilt during the Civil War and Reconstruction periods.
- StarsDouglas BoothJack RothRay WinstoneThe orphan Pip becomes a gentleman when his life is transformed by a mystery benefactor.
- DirectorMike NewellStarsToby IrvineRalph FiennesJason FlemyngA series of events change the orphaned Pip's life forever as he eagerly abandons his humble origins to begin a new life as a gentleman.
- DirectorMelville ShavelsonStarsCary GrantSophia LorenMartha HyerA widower, his three young children, and an Italian nanny get to know each other better when circumstances have them living together aboard a badly neglected houseboat.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsHumphrey BogartLauren BacallWalter BrennanDuring World War II, American expatriate Harry Morgan helps transport a French Resistance leader and his beautiful wife to Martinique while romancing a sensuous lounge singer.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsAudrey HepburnPeter O'TooleEli WallachThe daughter of an art forger teams up with a burglar to steal one of her father's forgeries and protect his secret.
- DirectorMichael PowellEmeric PressburgerStarsWendy HillerRoger LiveseyPamela BrownA young Englishwoman goes to the Hebrides to marry her older, wealthier fiancé. When the weather keeps them separated on different islands, she begins to have second thoughts.
- DirectorHyun-seung LeeStarsLee Jung-jaeJun Ji-hyunMu-saeng KimIn 1999, a voice actor moves from Il Mare, a seaside house, and leaves a Christmas card in its (magical) mailbox. An architecture student receives it in 1997, and a friendship separated by 2 years begins.
- DirectorOliver ParkerStarsRupert EverettColin FirthFrances O'ConnorIn 1890s London, two friends use the same pseudonym ("Ernest") for their on-the-sly activities. Hilarity ensues.
- DirectorBobby RothStarsCari ShayneBrigitta DauPaul Anthony StewartA 19th-century woman, companion to a blue-blooded New England girl, falls for an aristocrat.
- DirectorFred SchepisiStarsTim RobbinsMeg RyanWalter MatthauA mechanic romances the mathematician niece of physicist Albert Einstein, with help from him and his friends.
- DirectorAndrew BergmanStarsNicolas CageBridget FondaRosie PerezA police officer promises to share his lottery ticket with a waitress in lieu of a tip.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsClark GableClaudette ColbertWalter ConnollyA rogue reporter trailing a runaway heiress for a big story joins her on a bus heading from Florida to New York and they end up stuck with each other when the bus leaves them behind at one of the stops along the way.
- DirectorMelville ShavelsonStarsClark GableSophia LorenVittorio De SicaDays before his wedding, a Philadelphia lawyer travels to Naples in Southern Italy to settle the estate of his late brother, only to find that he has an Italian nephew who is being cared for by his maternal aunt, a cabaret singer.
- StarsZelah ClarkeTimothy DaltonCarol GilliesA young governess falls in love with her mysterious employer, but a terrible secret puts their happiness at risk.
- DirectorFranco ZeffirelliStarsWilliam HurtCharlotte GainsbourgAnna PaquinJane Eyre is an orphan cast out as a young girl by her aunt, Mrs. Reed, and sent to be raised in a harsh charity school for girls. There she learns to become a teacher and eventually seeks employment outside of the school. Her advertisement is answered by the housekeeper of Thornfield Hall, Mrs. Fairfax.
- DirectorCary Joji FukunagaStarsMia WasikowskaMichael FassbenderJamie BellA mousy governess who softens the heart of her employer soon discovers that he's hiding a terrible secret.
- DirectorMark WatersStarsReese WitherspoonMark RuffaloDonal LogueA lonely landscape architect falls for the spirit of the beautiful woman who used to live in his new apartment.
- DirectorJames MangoldStarsMeg RyanHugh JackmanLiev SchreiberAn English Duke from 1876 is inadvertently dragged to modern day New York where he falls for a plucky advertising executive.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsMatthew BroderickRutger HauerMichelle PfeifferThe thief Gaston escapes the dungeon of medieval Aquila through the latrine. Soldiers are about to kill him when Navarre saves him. Navarre, traveling with his spirited hawk, plans to kill the bishop of Aquila with help from Gaston.
- DirectorAlejandro AgrestiStarsKeanu ReevesSandra BullockChristopher PlummerA lonely doctor who once occupied an unusual lakeside house begins to exchange love letters with its former resident, a frustrated architect. They must try to unravel the mystery behind their extraordinary romance before it's too late.
- DirectorMark CallumStarsMark CallumClaire Walker VauseLauren BaldwinThe story of a family's holiday from hell. They were just on a short camping trip when they were witnesses to a terrible shooting. What was supposed to be a peaceful break, turned into a camping trip from hell? The family now on the run for their lives. Can they survive the dangers ahead of them while being hunted down to be silenced by their pursuers?
- DirectorMichael MannStarsDaniel Day-LewisMadeleine StoweRussell MeansThree trappers protect the daughters of a British Colonel in the midst of the French and Indian War.
- DirectorOtto PremingerRouben MamoulianStarsGene TierneyDana AndrewsClifton WebbA police detective falls in love with the woman whose murder he is investigating.
- DirectorAnand TuckerStarsAmy AdamsMatthew GoodeAdam ScottAnna Brady plans to travel to Dublin, Ireland to propose to her boyfriend Jeremy on February 29, leap day, because, according to Irish tradition, a man who receives a marriage proposal on a leap day must accept it.
- DirectorGuy GreenStarsOlivia de HavillandGeorge HamiltonYvette MimieuxUpper class Americans Noel and Meg Johnson have a twenty-six year old daughter named Clara Johnson. Clara suffered a head injury as a child which resulted in her being mentally disabled. Clara's mental capacity is equivalent to that of a ten year old. In many social situations, Clara's disability can be passed off as a simple joy of life. The issue of Clara's care has placed a strain between Noel and Meg, the latter who clings to the hope that one day Clara can lead a "normal" life. While on an extended vacation through Italy, Meg and Clara meet a twenty-three year old Italian named Fabrizio Naccarelli in Florence. Fabrizio is instantly smitten with Clara, who returns the affection. Always protecting Clara, Meg initially resists Fabrizio's constant measures to insinuate himself into their lives. But as Meg learns more about Fabrizio and meets his family, Meg begins to believe a marriage between Fabrizio and Clara is Clara's chance for that normal life, all the while not telling the Naccarellis of Clara's issue. This belief places a further strain between Meg and Noel, who still wants Clara placed in some sort of institution. Not having met the Naccarellis, Noel also believes they have ulterior motives in their actions. But what happens if the Nacarellis find out about Clara's disability?
- DirectorCharles WaltersStarsLeslie CaronMel FerrerJean-Pierre AumontAn orphaned young woman becomes part of a puppet act and forms a relationship with the anti-social puppeteer.
- StarsMatthew MacfadyenClaire FoyTom CourtenayThe Dorrits are a family whose life revolves around the Marshalsea, a debtor's prison. Amy Dorrit's kind nature brings the family into contact with a wide swath of English society, from the poorest to the richest, and back again.
- DirectorGillian ArmstrongStarsSusan SarandonWinona RyderKirsten DunstThe March sisters live and grow in post-Civil War America.
- DirectorMike BarkerStarsNeil FinnighanJack BaverstockTrevor CooperAgainst a backdrop of political and religious upheaval, a farmer falls in love with the "queen" of the notorious Doone clan --a family that he has sworn vengeance on.
- StarsJemima RooperMorven ChristieAlex KingstonAmanda, an ardent Jane Austen fan, lives in present day London with her boyfriend Michael, until she finds she's swapped places with Austen's fictional creation Elizabeth Bennet.
- DirectorMichael Landon Jr.StarsKatherine HeiglDale MidkiffCorbin BernsenA young woman on her way to a new life in the 1800's suddenly finds herself a widow. Now she must live with a recently widowed young man and his daughter. Can any of them find love again?
- DirectorHenry KingOtto LangStarsWilliam HoldenJennifer JonesTorin ThatcherA widowed Chinese-English doctor falls in love with a married American correspondent in Hong Kong during China's Communist Revolution.
- DirectorDan CurtisStarsCampbell ScottJennifer Jason LeighDavid Dukes20th century computer games designer Scott exchanges love letters with 19th century poet Elizabeth Whitcomb through an antique desk that can make letters travel through time.
- DirectorArthur HillerStarsAli MacGrawRyan O'NealJohn MarleyA boy and a girl from different backgrounds fall in love regardless of their upbringing - and then tragedy strikes.
- DirectorJeff BlecknerStarsLauren AmbroseAdam KaufmanSusie EssmanA quirky love story revolving around the unexpected wedding and unconventional married life of a 26-year-old widow and her late husband's brother, a handsome 30-year-old cardiologist.
- DirectorBrent ShieldsStarsKeri RussellSkeet UlrichMare WinninghamPregnant out of wedlock, an educated young woman is pressured by her father into an arranged marriage with a lonely farmer in this drama set during WWII.
- DirectorGeorge MillerStarsKirk DouglasTom BurlinsonTerence DonovanIn 1880s Australia, after young Jim Craig's father dies, he takes a job at the Harrison cattle ranch, where he is forced to become a man.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsRock HudsonPaula PrentissMaria PerschyThe author of a best-selling fishing guide is actually extremely inexperienced in the sport, which causes mayhem when he is entered into a competition.
- DirectorIain B. MacDonaldStarsJulia JoyceDouglas HodgeMaggie O'NeillThe classic tale by Jane Austen of family scandal, social graces, and the unrequited love between cousins.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsGary CooperBarbara StanwyckEdward ArnoldA penniless drifter is recruited by an ambitious columnist to impersonate a non-existent person who said he'd be committing suicide as a protest, and a social movement begins.
- DirectorBharat NalluriStarsFrances McDormandAmy AdamsCiarán HindsGuinevere Pettigrew, a middle-aged London governess, finds herself unfairly dismissed from her job. An attempt to gain new employment catapults her into the glamorous world and dizzying social whirl of an American actress and singer, Delysia Lafosse.
- DirectorSandra NettelbeckStarsMartina GedeckMaxime FoersteSergio CastellittoWhen a headstrong chef takes charge of her equally stubborn 8-year-old niece, the tensions between them mount... until an Italian sous-chef arrives to lighten the mood.
- DirectorMichael SwitzerStarsRichard ThomasAnnabeth GishAugust SchellenbergBased on a true story and spanning fifteen years during the turmoil of the Second World War, this is an incredible, inspiring saga of two young people whose very special relationship helps them fulfill each other's dreams. Jean Treadway, a beautiful young girl in her twenties, comes from a world of wealth and privilege. Gordon Holly is a handsome but humble rancher, the pride of his small town, and honest to a fault. But they share something which makes the love that blossoms between them all the more pure and intense: both are totally blind. Against all odds, they marry and head out West to Gordon's ranch. There, side by side, they build a future which includes responsibility and independence.
- DirectorJoseph PevneyStarsDebbie ReynoldsWalter BrennanLeslie NielsenAn unsophisticated young woman from the Mississippi swamps falls in love with an unconventional southern gentleman.
- DirectorJean NegulescoStarsClifton WebbDorothy McGuireJean PetersThree American women working in Rome, Italy share a spacious apartment and the desire to find love and marriage. Each one experiences a few bumps in her journey to romance.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneMaureen O'HaraBarry FitzgeraldA retired American boxer returns to the village of his birth in 1920s Ireland, where he falls for a spirited redhead whose brother is contemptuous of their union.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyAnthony MannStarsRobert TaylorDeborah KerrLeo GennAfter fierce Roman commander Marcus Vinicius becomes infatuated with beautiful Christian hostage Lygia, he begins to question the tyrannical leadership of the despotic emperor Nero.
- DirectorDelbert MannStarsErnest BorgnineBetsy BlairEsther MinciottiA middle-aged butcher and a school teacher who have given up on the idea of love meet at a dance and fall for each other.
- DirectorChris NoonanStarsRenée ZellwegerEwan McGregorEmily WatsonThe story of Beatrix Potter, the author of the beloved and best-selling children's book, "The Tale of Peter Rabbit", and her struggle for love, happiness, and success.
- StarsDaniela Denby-AsheRichard ArmitageTim Pigott-SmithNorth and South is a four-part adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's love story of Margaret Hale, a middle-class southerner who is forced to move to the northern town of Milton.
- DirectorFred ZinnemannStarsGordon MacRaeGloria GrahameGene NelsonIn Oklahoma, several farmers, cowboys and a traveling salesman compete for the romantic favors of various local ladies.
- DirectorMarc LawrenceStarsHugh GrantDrew BarrymoreScott PorterA washed up singer is given a couple days to compose a chart-topping hit for an aspiring teen sensation. Though he's never written a decent lyric in his life, he sparks with an offbeat younger woman with a flair for words.
- DirectorJon JonesStarsGeraldine JamesMichael JuddJulia DeardenA young woman's penchant for sensational Gothic novels leads to misunderstandings in the matters of the heart.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsAudrey HepburnRex HarrisonStanley HollowayIn 1910s London, snobbish phonetics professor Henry Higgins agrees to a wager that he can make crude flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, presentable in high society.
- DirectorMichael HoffmanStarsMichelle PfeifferGeorge ClooneyMae WhitmanThe lives of two strangers and their young children unexpectedly intersect on one hectic, stressful day in New York City.
- DirectorGregory La CavaStarsWilliam PowellCarole LombardAlice BradyA scatterbrained socialite hires a vagrant as a family butler - but there's more to Godfrey than meets the eye.
- DirectorMichael O. SajbelStarsTiffany DupontLuke GossJohn NobleIn Biblical times, a girl disguises her Jewish origins when the Persian king comes looking for a new bride among his subjects.
- DirectorTerrence MalickStarsColin FarrellQ'orianka KilcherChristopher PlummerThe story of the English exploration of Virginia, and of the changing world and loves of Pocahontas.
- StarsPaul McGannKeeley HawesDominic MafhamIntertwining tales of love, greed, and secret identities in Charles Dickens's 1860s London.
- DirectorGuy GreenStarsSidney PoitierShelley WintersElizabeth HartmanA blind, uneducated white girl is befriended by a black man who becomes determined to help her escape her impoverished and abusive home life by introducing her to the outside world.
- DirectorRoger MichellStarsAmanda RootCiarán HindsSusan FleetwoodTheatrical film of Persuasion with Ciaran Hinds & Amanda Root. Directed by Roger Michell.
- DirectorAdrian ShergoldStarsSally HawkinsAlice KrigeAnthony HeadAnne was in love with Frederick, who was rejected by her snobby parents 8 years ago. They've now hit hard times and rent out their mansion to his brother-in-law. He returns a Royal Navy captain. Will he remember Anne?
- DirectorJoel SchumacherStarsGerard ButlerEmmy RossumPatrick WilsonA young soprano becomes the obsession of a disfigured and murderous musical genius who lives beneath the Paris Opéra House.
- StarsColin FirthJennifer EhleSusannah HarkerWhile the arrival of wealthy gentlemen sends her marriage-minded mother into a frenzy, willful and opinionated Elizabeth Bennet matches wits with haughty Mr. Darcy.
- DirectorJoe WrightStarsKeira KnightleyMatthew MacfadyenBrenda BlethynSparks fly when spirited Elizabeth Bennet meets single, rich, and proud Mr. Darcy. But Mr. Darcy reluctantly finds himself falling in love with a woman beneath his class. Can each overcome their own pride and prejudice?