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Girl Shy
The first rom-com to make it as a film was in 1924; the American silent movie 'Girl Shy.' The cast included Harold Lloyd and Jobyna Ralston. The movie was written by Sam Taylor, Tim Whelan and Ted Wilde and was directed by Fred C. Newmeyer and Taylor.This film was the first to combine comedy and romance genres into one which has heavily influenced the rest of film and established the 'Rom-Com' genre as an individual genre which has had a massive impact on film since the 1920s. -
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The Development of Romantic Comedies
This timeline focuses on how the romantic comedy genre of films has developed and focuses on few significant and successful romantic comedies from the last 80 years. -
His Girl Friday
His Girl Fridays an American screwball comedy film from 1940. It was directed by Howard Hawks, and was based on the existing play The Front Page by Hecht and MacArthur, which was adapted by Charles Lederer, Charles MacArthur and Ben Hecht in order to fit this movie. The lead roles in this film were given to Rosalind Russel and Cary Grant. Cary Grant was a very popular actor within the Romantic Comedy genre and was known as one of Hollywood's late 'leading men' starring in 74 films overall. -
The Seven Year Itch
The Seven Year Itch is a 1955 American film based on a play by George Axelrod. The film was co-written and directed by Billy Wilder, and starred Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell, It features one of the most iconic images of the 20th century – Monroe standing on a subway grate as her white dress is blown above her knees by a passing train. Marilyn Monroe was a successful and popular actress in the late 1940's til early in the 1960's and became a sex symbol in Hollywood. -
Harold and Maude
Harold and Maude is a 1971 American dark comedy film directed by Hal Ashby and released by Paramount Pictures. It incorporates elements of dark humor and existentialist drama, with a plot that revolves around the exploits of a young man intrigued with death, Bud Cort and Ruth Gordon are the two leading roles in this film. When it was first released, the film wasn't successful but since has become very popular and iconic within the romantic comedy genre. -
When Harry Met Sally
This is a film from 1989 written by Nora Ephron and directed by Rob Reiner. The two main characters are played by Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal. The main plot questions whether men and women can ever just be friends and focuses on the idea of what love is and how it is developed. Columbia Pictures used the platform technique and released the film in only a few cities first to see the reaction and after generating a huge amount of interest through word of mouth, it has been an outstanding success. -
Notting Hill
Notting Hill is a British film set in London. The screenplay was by Richard Curtis and it was produced by Duncan Kenworthy and directed by Roger Michell. The main characters are Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts. Both Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts are extremely significant actors in romantic comedy films in the 21st century. The film was very well received and became the highest grossing British film released that year. It also won the Audience Award for Most Popular Film at the BAFTAs in 2000. -
Just Go With It
Just Go With It was directed by Dennis Dugan and starred Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston, again, well established actors in the romantic comedy genre. The film was based on the film Cactus Flower, from 1969. This had been adapted from an earlier Broadway stage play based upon the French play Fleur de cactus. This was written by Abe Burrows. Financially, it was a huge success, however received mainly negative views from the critics which was unexpected due to the high concept actors involved.
