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      The Shop Around the Corner

      1940, Romance/Comedy, 1h 37m

      98 Reviews 10,000+ Ratings

      What to know

      Critics Consensus

      Deftly directed by Ernst Lubitsch from a smart, funny script by Samson Raphaelson, The Shop Around the Corner is a romantic comedy in the finest sense of the term. Read critic reviews

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      The Shop Around the Corner  Photos

      "The Shop Around the Corner photo 1" "The Shop Around the Corner photo 2" "The Shop Around the Corner photo 3" "The Shop Around the Corner photo 4" "The Shop Around the Corner photo 5" "The Shop Around the Corner photo 6" "The Shop Around the Corner photo 7" "The Shop Around the Corner photo 8" The Shop Around the Corner (1940) The Shop Around the Corner (1940) The Shop Around the Corner (1940) The Shop Around the Corner (1940) The Shop Around the Corner (1940) The Shop Around the Corner (1940) The Shop Around the Corner (1940) The Shop Around the Corner (1940) The Shop Around the Corner (1940) The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

      Movie Info

      Alfred Kralik (James Stewart) and Klara Novak (Margaret Sullavan) are employees at Matuschek and Company, a general store in Budapest. Klara and Alfred are constantly at odds with each other, butting heads and disagreeing on almost everything. Both are enamored of their respective pen pals, who serve as welcome distractions in their lives. Little do they know, they are each the other's pen pal and, despite outward differences, have unwittingly fallen in love through their letters.

      • Genre: Romance, Comedy

      • Original Language: English

      • Director: Ernst Lubitsch

      • Producer: Ernst Lubitsch

      • Writer: Miklós László, Samson Raphaelson

      • Release Date (Theaters):  wide

      • Release Date (Streaming):

      • Runtime:

      • Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

      • Production Co: Metro Goldwyn Mayer, Loew's Inc.

      Cast & Crew

      James Stewart
      Frank Morgan
      Sara Haden
      William Tracy
      Inez Courtney
      Sarah Edwards
      Gertrude Simpson
      Grace Hayle
      Charles Arnt
      William Edmunds
      Mary Carr
      Mabel Colcord
      Werner R. Heymann
      William H. Daniels
      Gene Ruggiero
      Cedric Gibbons
      Edwin B. Willis
      Douglas Shearer
      Wade B. Rubottom

      News & Interviews for The Shop Around the Corner

      Critic Reviews for The Shop Around the Corner

      Audience Reviews for The Shop Around the Corner

      • Mar 13, 2021
        Predictable at every point, but nonetheless a charming tale of love, community and trust.
        Super Reviewer
      • Jan 01, 2019
        A great love story about the power of empathy, something we could all use a little more of these days.
        Super Reviewer
      • Dec 28, 2018
        A film with many layers and a joy to watch, itâ(TM)s a real triumph for director Ernst Lubitsch. He gives us a romantic comedy in which the romance is just a part of a larger canvas, one that touches us in so many ways: the loneliness of the holiday season, the humiliation of betrayal, needing to endure other people and the boss at oneâ(TM)s workplace to support a family, and of course, an unlikely love that only comes from scratching beneath the surface. Lubitsch is so complete in the way he tells this story, and yet seems to tread lightly as he does so. He fleshes out his characters in the simplest of ways, with little gestures and comments. He exercises the deftness of restraint in all things, from the slyness of his comedy to letting silence and his actorsâ(TM) faces say it all when appropriate. He gives us a rich symphony of human emotions, showing us human dignity and the angels of our better natures, but also our pettiness, jealousy, vanity, and disdain. In love, he shows us the importance of inner character but also acknowledges physical appeal. In community, he gives us a sense of comradeship, but also the inevitable pecking order and little rivalries. There is real wisdom in his observations of how people behave, but also a philosophical acceptance and elegant refinement in how he presents it. He always seems to thread the needle, and maybe thatâ(TM)s the essence of what the â~Lubitsch touchâ(TM) is all about. One theme in the film is how people communicate, and the need to be honest and yet graceful. We see this in how one salesman (Jimmy Stewart) talks to the boss (Frank Morgan) contrasted to the way another does (Joseph Schildkraut), a guy who sucks up and is an example of grace without truth. We also see it in how Stewart and the new saleswoman (Margaret Sullavan) antagonize each another, never giving one another the benefit of the doubt, and often being forthright but lacking grace. They are of course much more eloquent and kind to one another as anonymous pen-pals, and it shows us how much our openness and attitude towards someone else shapes our view of them. The cast is fantastic, led by excellent performances from Morgan and Stewart. Felix Bressart as the family man and William Tracy as the errand boy stand out in supporting roles. I wasnâ(TM)t as wild about Margaret Sullavan, but she fits the part quite well. The scene she has with Stewart in the cafà (C) is wonderfully acerbic, and is preceded by Bressart pointing out just who has the copy of Anna Karenina with the red carnation in a clever way. Another great scene is Stewartâ(TM)s dismissal, which is one he and Lubitsch both execute as true masters. I also loved that moment Frank Morgan has with the new errand boy after seeking someone to go to dinner with. There is such a genuine feeling to this film, where Lubitsch really takes us into the world of this little shop. As in life, there is despair, humiliation, and bickering, just as there is warmth, friendship, and higher love. This is an old film to seek out.
        Super Reviewer
      • Oct 09, 2013
        A Hungarian clerk falls in love with a pen pal who turns out to be his co-worker, with whom he has an antagonistic relationship. A remarkably dark romantic comedy, The Shop Around the Corner falls well short of charming (any claim it has to that adjective comes in the person of the naturally delightful Jimmy Stewart). Instead subplots of infidelity and a failing business cloud whatever romantic juice can be squeezed out of the primary plotline. The film is not boring nor are the characters bland, but the heavy air of the Hungarian milieu and the heavier subplots bring the story to a slow climb toward nothing interesting. Overall, I suspect the modern You've Got Mail might have a better tone but less substance, and as a whole, this story feels too uneven.
        Super Reviewer

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