The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Ernst Lubitsch

Writers:

Samson Raphaelson (screenplay)
Miklós László (play)

Release Date:

12 January 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance | Drama

Plot:

Two employees at a gift shop can barely stand one another, without realizing that they're falling in love through the post as each other's anonymous pen pal.

Plot Keywords:

Gift | Pen Pal | Post Office Box | Hospital | Jealousy

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Margaret Sullavan	...	Klara Novak
James Stewart	...	Alfred Kralik
Frank Morgan	...	Hugo Matuschek
Joseph Schildkraut	...	Ferencz Vadas
Sara Haden	...	Flora
Felix Bressart	...	Pirovitch
William Tracy	...	Pepi Katona
Inez Courtney	...	Ilona Novotny
Sarah Edwards	...	Woman Customer
Edwin Maxwell	...	Doctor
Charles Halton	...	Detective
Charles Smith	...	Rudy

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (certificate #5967) | Canada:G (video rating) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | UK:U

Company:

Loew's

Trivia:

Later remade as a musical, In the Good Old Summertime (1949).

Goofs:

Continuity: Pirovitch looks through the right side of the Cafe window from outside and tells Alfred he can't see Klara's face at first because she is sitting behind a coat rack. When Alfred joins Klara inside, she's sitting at the far end of the window with the coat rack well behind her.

Quotes:

Alfred Kralik: Pirovitch, did you ever get a bonus?
Pirovitch: Yes, once.
Alfred Kralik: Yeah. The boss hands you the envelope. You wonder how much is in it, and you don't want to open it. As long as the envelope's closed, you're a millionaire.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Il y a longtemps que je t'aime (2008)

Soundtrack:

Ochi Tchornya (Dark Eyes)

Oozes With Charm

The cast really helps make this a pleasant surprise and a cut above the normal man-vs.-woman-argue-all-the-time-but-wind up-in love-type of Hollywood screwball romance/comedy.

I usually don't go for those type of films and that tiresome storyline but this one was refreshing, fun to watch, and oozes with charm.

Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullavan play off each other well and make a very handsome couple. The supporting cast is outstanding - from the always-likable Felix Bressart to the villain Joseph Schildkraut.

Frank Morgan also plays one of the most interesting characters I've ever seen him do in his career. He takes the film and turns it around into a whole different mood for awhile when something dramatic happens to him. That "twist" is another reason this film rises above others of its kind.

Once again, when a film has a good mix of categories, it usually succeeds. This is a great example of that. In this movie, it's romance, comedy and drama and it's well done. I'll take this over the re-make "You've Got Mail," any day. No comparison.