Margaret Sullavan

The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

The Great Movie Re-Watch

The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

Director:

Ernst Lubitsch

Writer:

Samson Raphaelson

Starring:

Margaret Sullavan

James Stewart

Frank Morgan

Joseph Schildkraut

Blurb:

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

Thoughts:

You’ve Got Mail was inspired by this movie. Even if you didn’t know, specific conversations in the film should clue you in. At least two are almost verbatim. The Shop Around the Corner is not the original of this story, though. That would belong to a Hungarian play titled Parfumerie by Miklós László. You’ve Got Mail is also not the only adaption. I have another version of this story that is coming up relatively soon, In the Good Old Summertime with Judy Garland. I clearly like this story. I should probably look into the play.

This film is from the 40s, so it’s very dated, especially in its views of women. Clara, Margaret Sullavan, talks a lot about how she won’t have to work anymore because she’ll be married soon. Kralik, James Stewart, discusses supporting a family on his salary.

I want to take a step back and focus on that for a moment. Kralik was a sales clerk. He had worked at the store the longest, so had more responsibilities, but he was still a sales clerk. There was also another clerk there that was married and had children. They were able to support a family on the salary of a sales clerk. Eighty years ago, one person could support themselves, in a city, on the salary of a retail worker. Sure, this was set in Hungary, but it was made for American audiences. Can you imagine a salesperson in a department store being able to support a family nowadays? It’s mind-boggling.

Back to the movie. Writing letters and falling in love in that way is one of my favorite tropes. It feels like the ultimate romantic storyline. Two people, who’ve never met, fall in love through words. In some cases, it’s so much easier to be yourself through words. Of course, it’s also easier to deceive, but I prefer to think of the previous scenario.

Obviously, I’m keeping this movie. It’s one I re-watch fairly frequently, even though I only own it on DVD. I should probably look into upgrading that, actually.

Re-Watch The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

Shop Around the Corner

The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

Director:

Ernst Lubitsch

Starring:

Margaret Sullavan

James Stewart

Frank Morgan

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.

Review:

This is one of my favorite Jimmy Stewart movies. He plays a store clerk that has come to a point in his life where he wants a little bit more out of his life. So naturally he answers a personal ad in the paper.

One thing leads to another and he falls in love with the girl he writes to, evidently the idea of it being a dude doesn’t enter his mind. Such a trusting time. When he finally gets to meet her, he’s nervous that she’s going to be fugly, then he finds out it’s the woman he works with and hates.

Since it’s Jimmy Stewart and he’s not a total dick, though I’m not sure if anyone’s a total dick, he ends up wooing her as himself and not just through letters. It’s beautiful.

I do think Margaret Sullavan’s character is a bit of a bitch at times. There are also some dark moments, attempted suicide and infidelity, though, not from Jimmy or Margaret. It’s a great story and a nice look at depression era sensibilities.

5/5