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Mwah!
Even in this day of one high-tech special effect after another, a passionate kiss in a movie or in real life has the power to send shivers down our spines like little else. In honor of Valentine’s Day, we decided to take a look back at some of the most memorable kisses of all time. Here are 13 of them.
Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr (‘From Here to Eternity’)
One of the most erotic scenes in movie history had the adulterous Karen Holmes (Kerr) enjoying a steamy make-out session with Sgt. Milton Warden (Lancaster). The film’s two lovers initially were shot kissing while standing up, but then Lancaster suggested they do it again lying down, as the surge of the tide washes over them. The result was one of the sexiest on-screen moments of all time — especially considering the film came out in 1953.
Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
Michael Caine and Christopher Reeve (‘Deathtrap’)
This comedy-mystery-thriller from 1982 is famous in large part for its gay plot twist. Straight actors Caine and Reeve share a passionate kiss in a scene that did not appear in the earlier play of the same name. The kiss was one of the first homosexual smooches on-screen. The controversy surrounding the kiss inspired the comical 2007 Tom Smith song “Two Guys Kissin’ (Ruined My Life).”
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Al and Tipper Gore at Democratic National Convention
Who can forget when Al planted a big one — that lasted a full three seconds — on his wife, Tipper, as he walked onstage at the 2000 convention? Political analysts called the move an attempt to humanize the vice president, who was often seen as robotic. But back then, Time magazine wrote, “The sheer carnality of the kiss — the can’t-wait-to-get-back-to-the-hotel-room urgency, the sexual electricity flowing south — was riveting.”
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Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh (‘Gone With the Wind’)
After Scarlett sharply says, “You’re a fool, Rhett Butler. When you know I shall always love another man,” Rhett scoops her up in his arms and says, “Stop it. You hear me, Scarlett? Stop it. No more of that talk.” The kiss that followed still leaves fans of the 1939 classic swooning.
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Taye Diggs and Angela Bassett (‘How Stella Got Her Groove Back’)
When Diggs’ character, Winston Shakespeare, seduces Stella, played by Bassett, in a steamy shower scene during a vacation in Jamaica, women the world over were trying to figure out where they could go to get their own grooves back. In a word, this 1998 movie is “hot.”
Courtesy Everett Collection
Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman (‘Casablanca’)
The star-crossed lovers in this 1942 classic can’t ever seem to get their act together and wind up taking audience members on an emotional roller-coaster ride. But all is forgiven when Ilsa finally confesses her love for Rick, followed by a kiss that’s just about as passionate as it gets.
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