The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Ernst Lubitsch

Writers:

Samson Raphaelson (screenplay)
Miklós László (play)
(more)

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 | Hungary | Budapest Hungary

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Charles Arnt	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Joan Blair	...	Customer Recognizing Matuschek (uncredited)
Mary Carr	...	Grandmother (uncredited)
Mabel Colcord	...	Aunt Anna (uncredited)
William Edmunds	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Grace Hayle	...	Plump Woman (uncredited)
Gertrude Simpson	...	Woman Customer (uncredited)

Directed by
Ernst Lubitsch

Writing credits
Samson Raphaelson		(screenplay)
Miklós László		(play "Parfumerie") (as Nikolaus Laszlo)
Ben Hecht		uncredited

Produced by
Ernst Lubitsch	....	producer

Original Music by
Werner R. Heymann		(musical score)

Cinematography by
William H. Daniels		(as William Daniels)

Film Editing by
Gene Ruggiero

Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons

Set Decoration by
Edwin B. Willis

Makeup Department
Sydney Guilaroff	....	hair stylist: Miss Sullavan

Production Management
Arthur Rose	....	unit manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Horace Hough	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Wade B. Rubottom	....	associate art director

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	recording director

Production Companies

• Loew's
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1940) (USA) (theatrical)
• Loew's (1940) (USA) (theatrical)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1987) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Vídeo (Brazil) (DVD)

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) | Australia:PG | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | UK:U

Company:

Loew's

Trivia:

The play, "Perfumerie" (also known as "Illatszertár"), was copyrighted 10 November 1936.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Klara hurries out of the back room with her hat and coat she rushes past the rest of the employees as they enter the room in a group. Flora is the second-to-last person in the line and she is clearly inside the room before Klara runs past. In the next cut showing Klara hurrying through the store, Flora is the last person in line and is still in the doorway.

Quotes:

Alfred Kralik: Now if I were a girl and had to choose between a young good-for-nothing with plenty of hair and a good, solid, mature citizen, I'd pick Mathias Popkin every time.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Twice in a Lifetime: Matchmaker, Matchmaker (#2.3)" (2000)

Soundtrack:

Ochi Tchornya (Dark Eyes)

Pen pals in Budapest

Ernst Lubitsch's contribution to the American cinema is enormous. His legacy is an outstanding group of movies that will live forever, as is the case with "The Shop Around the Corner". This film has been remade into other less distinguished movies and a musical play, without the charm or elegance of Mr. Lubitsch's own, and definite version.

Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart worked in several films together. Their characters in this movie stand out as an example of how to be in a movie without almost appearing to be acting at all. Both stars are delightful as the pen pals that don't know of one another, but who fate had them working together in the same shop in Budapest.

The reason why these classic films worked so well is the amazing supporting casts the studios put together in picture after picture. In here, we have the wonderful Frank Morgan, playing the owner of the shop. Also, we see Joseph Schildkraut, Felix Bressart, William Tracy and Charles Smith, among others, doing impressive work in making us believe that yes, they are in Budapest.

That is why these films will live forever!