The Shop Around the Corner Synopsis: 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.
Klara, a desperate young woman, wanders into Matuschek and Company looking for a job. She meets some pushback from sales clerk Alfred but manages to charm Mr. Matuschek by selling an ugly cigarette box that Alfred and Matuschek had clashed over. After Klara is hired, she and Alfred consistently butt heads while completely unaware that they’re secret pen pals.
I am sad to say this is the only movie I’ve seen of the four that James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan made together. But it would probably take a lot of persuading that this isn’t their best.
The movie that inspired You’ve Got Mail, The Shop Around the Corner is a charming little film with the perfect amount of holiday spirit and humor. It’s also a classic enemies-to-lovers romance. Klara and Alfred are constantly at odds, unaware they’re actually falling in love through the mail as anonymous pen pals. Klara has a biting wit that Alfred can’t seem to resist reacting to, and Klara seems to take anything snobbish Alfred says as criticism.
Stewart and Sullavan exude chemistry on screen as they banter and bicker. Their hostile relationship drives the movie, but the entire cast is a joy to watch. Frank Morgan plays Hugo Matuschek, owner of the shop, Matuschek and Co. He has a high-maintenance wife who is always in need of money and who Matuschek suspects is having an affair.
That particular plotline gets a bit dark, so I’m not surprised that it was omitted entirely from Nora Ephron’s updated remake. The rest of the supporting cast provided their own various brands of humor, some more subtle than the rest, and I found it balanced the more grounded love story quite nicely.
The Shop Around the Corner is smartly written. I adored Lubitsch’s direction, keeping the unraveling story in check and interesting, even when dealing with the darker aspects of the movie’s plot. Jimmy Stewart is one of those actors I could watch in just about anything. Even when he’s playing arrogant, he’s still so damned charming.
His quirks and awkward mannerisms have become a trademark, but they work so beautifully here, even disarming as they reveal glimpses of his vulnerability beneath his professional, elitist veneer. Loneliness is a theme that is touched upon more than once, not only with Klara and Alfred but also with dear Mr. Matuschek. While the movie is a romance, it’s also a movie about one’s chosen family and how intertwined the workplace can be in our personal lives.
The Shop Around the Corner is such a charming movie, and I found it difficult to find any real fault. I loved watching Klara and Alfred butt heads and then finally become friends… and then more. It warmed my chilly, wintery heart, and I think it’s the perfect movie to watch around this time of year… maybe do a double feature with It’s a Wonderful Life, or hey, even You’ve Got Mail…
Watched: 12/03/2021
Notable Song: Ochi Tchornya (Dark Eyes)