Best Romance Movies of 1961

The highest-rated romance films from 1961, ranked by MovieMagicScore based on authentic viewer ratings.

Romance 1960 Romance 1962 All Time Romance

Action Comedy Drama Horror Science Fiction Thriller Animation Documentary Fantasy Crime

Breakfast at Tiffany's

1961

Holly Golightly is an eccentric New York City playgirl determined to marry a Brazilian millionaire. But when young writer Paul Varjak moves into her apartment building, her past threatens to get in their way.

7.6

La Notte

1961

A day in the life of an unfaithful married couple and their steadily deteriorating relationship in Milan.

7.9

The Hustler

1961

Fast Eddie Felson is a small-time pool hustler with a lot of talent but a self-destructive attitude. His bravado causes him to challenge the legendary Minnesota Fats to a high-stakes match.

7.7

West Side Story

1961

In the slums of the upper West Side of Manhattan, tensions are high as a gang of Polish-Americans compete against a gang of recently immigrated Puerto Ricans, but this doesn't stop two romantics from each gang falling in love.

7.2

Last Year at Marienbad

1961

In a strange and isolated chateau, a man becomes acquainted with a woman and insists that they have met before.

7.4

A Woman Is a Woman

1961

Longing for a baby, a stripper pursues another man in order to make her boyfriend jealous.

7.3

Splendor in the Grass

1961

A fragile Kansas girl's unrequited and forbidden love for a handsome young man from the town's most powerful family drives her to heartbreak and madness.

7.4

A Raisin in the Sun

1961

Walter Lee Younger is a young man struggling with his station in life. Sharing a tiny apartment with his wife, son, sister and mother, he seems like an imprisoned man. Until, that is, the family gets an unexpected financial windfall.

7.7

The Parent Trap

1961

Two identical twin sisters, separated at birth by their parents' divorce, are reunited years later at a summer camp, where they scheme to bring their parents back together. The girls, one of whom has been living with their mother and the other with their father, switch places after camp and go to work on their plan, the first objective being to scare off a gold-digger pursuing their father.

7.0

#10

Lola

1961

A bored young man meets with his former girlfriend, now a cabaret dancer and single mother, and soon finds himself falling back in love with her.

7.1

#11

The Misfits

1961

While filing for a divorce, beautiful ex-stripper Roslyn Taber ends up meeting aging cowboy-turned-gambler Gay Langland and former World War II aviator Guido Racanelli. The two men instantly become infatuated with Roslyn and, on a whim, the three decide to move into Guido's half-finished desert home together. When grizzled ex-rodeo rider Perce Howland arrives, the unlikely foursome strike up a business capturing wild horses.

6.9

#12

Léon Morin, Priest

1961

Barny, although a Marxist, is intrigued by the mysteries of religion. In confession, she teases a priest, Léon Morin, but he is a young and intelligent man and ready to discuss anything.

7.0

#13

El Cid

1961

Epic film of the legendary Spanish hero, Rodrigo Diaz ("El Cid" to his followers), who, without compromising his strict sense of honour, still succeeds in taking the initiative and driving the Moors from Spain.

6.8

#14

Lover Come Back

1961

Jerry Webster and Carol Templeton are rival Madison Avenue advertising executives who each dislike each other’s methods. After he steals a client out from under her cute little nose, revenge prompts her to infiltrate his secret "VIP" campaign in order to persuade the mystery product’s scientist to switch to her firm.

6.9

#15

Blue Hawaii

1961

Chad Gates has just been discharged from the Army, and is happy to be back in Hawaii with his surf-board, his beach buddies and his girlfriend.

5.8

Best Romance Movies of 1961

This ranking features the top romance movies released in 1961, sorted by MovieMagicScore viewer ratings. Looking for more? Browse all genres from 1961 or see the best romance movies of all time.