Old Hollywood Romances: Bygone Era of Love Onscreen and Off

In the early days of studio dominated Tinseltown, love was a commodity

That could be exploited to gain box office sex appeal and earn big bucks

Attractive pairings that had the right spark of attraction, hate and love

A Molotov Cocktail that made for fascinating viewing on the screen

Women who jumped off the screen with a wiry caginess that was lively

Men who lurked in the background with an intensely quiet masculinity

Putting the two together was like Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall

Or Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn circling each other in all of their 9 films

Dancing in a verbal sparring match that underlined their true feelings for eachother

Revealed many years later that they supposedly had a 27 year off-screen affair

Wasn't exposed until after his death out of respect for his family life and image

Vivien Leigh going to toe to toe with Clark Gable in Gone With the Wind

A strong visual image of two opposing forces coming together for a brief moment

Before exploding in the foreground after one too many combative rounds

Onscreen chemistry also meant turbulent relationships after the word "cut"

Take for instance Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton's two marriages

Loved each other ceaselessly, but couldn't make it work despite best efforts

Movie studios manipulating viewers into believing in fairy tales of true love

A course that didn't always run smoothly, despite the relentless marketing campaign

Generated to make moviegoers see their latest generic romantic comedy

Spoon-fed a lie that two big named movie stars can make it work

When they truly found it hard to love each other and maintain two separate careers

One always suffered, while the other often flourished to even greater heights

Causing the once strong marriage to wither on the vine

Sure, not all movie star marriages were meant for certain doom

Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward managed to make theirs last for decades

Showcased how equally talented ladies took a backseat to their husbands' careers

Woodward earned a lot of kudos for her acting, but she had to sideline her career

In order for Newman to be the big time movie star he became

Loved watching these classic movies of a long past era of classical love stories

Also, an era where strong women were dominated by equally strong men

Forced into being vulnerable onscreen in order for audience to love them

Gain the respect of their peers for being kind and humble creatures

A time period where talent was used and exploited for capital gains

Bitter break-ups and scandalous affairs garnered unexpected attention

Good girls and bad girls going head to head for the affections of one man

Usually with the good girl getting it all, while the bad one got what was coming

Nowadays, all women have a bit of both personalities in themselves

No one lived in just one area of morality and immorality

Sinners and saints tended to blur together without meaning to do so

Enduring talented rebels like Jane Fonda have withstood the test of time and age

Shame that those days of Hollywood lore have come and gone

Time to watch some classic flicks to return to the good old days of movie romance

Chemistry that was often too good to be faked.