by Amy Crocker

While San Francisco may not have the reputation for romance as, say, Paris or a beach in Hawaii, plenty of great love stories have unfolded here. To help you celebrate Valentine's Day, we'd like to recommend a few films that are set in the jewel by the Bay. But be warned, much like the streets on which they take place, the course of these true loves does not run smooth.

Vertigo (1958) Hitchcock's films are known for their icy blondes, and Kim Novak is no exception. She and James Stewart star are drawn together after he rescues her from a plunge in San Francisco Bay. But Novak's Judy/Madeline isn't what she seems (spoiler alert: she's a brunette).

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy and Sidney Poitier star in this classic film about interracial romance. Hepburn and Tracy are an upper class, liberal San Francisco couple who have to put their money where their mouth is when their daughter brings home a man who is kind, articulate and successful, but black.

Harold and Maude (1971) In this extreme-cougar romance, Maude is a 79-year-old woman who begins a relationship with 19 year old Harold. This cult-omedy was filmed around the bay in places including Berkeley, Half Moon Bay, the Sutro Baths, and Santa Cruz.

So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993) Mike Myers stars as a San Francisco poet who falls for a woman who may be more than she seems (hint: an axe murderer; hint II: it's a terrible film).