The Warner Bros. Romance Classic Collection is a true delight. It's a time machine that transports you to a bygone era and fills you with nostalgia. If you expect a gourmet meal you'll be disappointed, but if you expect delicious candy, you will be thrilled. This boxed set captures the youthfulness of the early '60s with films that spoke to the youth of that generation. It's the living end! Also, the films have been digitally remastered giving them a visual vibrancy that age had once taken away. I just spent a lovely weekend watching the movies in the set.It contains 4 films starring '60s heartthrob Troy Donahue. First there is Palm Springs Weekend (1963), a hilarious madcap sex comedy geared towards the college-bound. Then it is followed by three coming-of-age stories marking the 2nd, 3rd and 4th time writer/director Delmer Daves teamed up with actor Troy Donahue, the first being A Summer Place (1959). There is Parrish (1961), a soap about a young man torn between three women in Connecticut's Million-Dollar-Mile. Then there is Rome Adventure (1962), a fun escapist movie about a young New England librarian who flees to Italy to find love. Finally there is Susan Slade (1960), a soap about an unmarried young woman who holds a secret that could destroy her romantic and social life. Posts on each of the films are to come.
I find that a lot of classic film fans don't like the movies from the '60s, which in my opinion is an utter shame. Such wonderful movies have came out of this era. It is important to regard these films within the context of the time they came from. Sex comedies and coming-of-age soap operas were escapist vehicles for teenagers and young adults in the '60s. They spoke directly to young audiences in ways that films from previous decades hadn't been able to.
I would recommend this boxed set to anyone who has an open mind and is willing to give films from the 1960s a try. They are all fun and enjoyable to watch. My only complaint about this boxed set is that all the films star Troy Donahue, someone who I've always thought was just bleh. But it is made up for with the likes of such fine personalities as Angie Dickinson, Connie Stevens, Suzanne Pleshette and Stefanie Powers.
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