The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

To me, this movie is perfection.

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

The Shop Around the Corner is the movie You've Got Mail was based on - however, it has a much darker tone. The Christmas element only came in during the last half-hour or so, but still, it was a fun holiday movie. I still don't know why they decided to set it in Budapest, though.

Festive atmosphere flavored family drama, spontaneous love, heartfelt comedy and healthy humor. Director Lubitsch's film spice with warm and everyday human subjects. „THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER" is a pleasant place with a lot of respect and charm. The film is a bit slow. I think that this approach is intentional, because this looks more realistic. The story is more or less everyday. The love affair or the love of the main character are strange spices in the story. Both changes in the daily routine of the protagonists and their views on life. Lonely hearts connected a piece of paper. True. It is fascinating to watch how the director deftly mixes comedy, drama and romance. In this film does not lose the thread, the atmosphere remains the same and only the changing characters. Characterization of the characters is very interesting. Frank Morgan as Hugo Matuschek owns the shop and he is benevolent dictator. James Stewart as Alfred Kralik is a workaholic and a perfectionist and very lonely character who is difficult to adapt. Margaret Sullavan as Klara Novak is safe but lonely. The woman in which the conflict her own and outer world. Felix Bressart as Pirovitch, the man who in life has two stations. Work and family. Two of the greatest love and the two biggest fear. A friend in need. The voice of reason and peace.The film that appeals to the Christmas atmosphere.

It's too bad that more of Miklós László's plays haven't been translated into English. The few that are from the Hungarian-born playwright have made wonderful plays and films. One has been copied and revised a number of times for Broadway production, TV musicals and films. "The Shop Around the Corner" is the original film version, true to the setting. The most recent that modern audiences will recognize is "You've Got Mail" from 1998. Billed as a comedy first, this movie shows us a slice of life of working people in 1930s Budapest, Hungary. Europe was also a part of the worldwide depression that had begun in the U.S. Even as the economies began to improve, jobs were scarce and hard to come by. That sets the stage for this story that has a wonderful mix of light comedy with romance and drama. It's a very good study of people. The entire cast shine in this movie. James Stewart as Mr. Kralik and Margaret Sullavan as Miss Novak play off each other splendidly. Sullavan especially does a wonderful job as Novak subtly comes around after noticing the changes in Kralik. Felix Bressart is perfect as Pirovitch. This wonderful supporting actor had a fine career in film before he died at age 57 from leukemia. Frank Morgan's performance as Mr. Matuschek is also worth noting. He portrayed a worrisome man with something on his mind exceptionally well. As I watched this movie again recently, I remember being curious about the monetary units in the story. We see the cash register tills ring up pengos, and Matuschek talks about the how many pengos they take in. I was a stamp collector for years growing up, and got to know a lot of world geography and other things from those stamps. Among them were monetary systems, capitals, famous historical figures, etc. For instance, I knew that Magyar referred to an area and people of Hungary, and I had stamps in denominations of korona. But the pengo had me stumped, so I just looked it up. The pengo replaced the korona as the basic monetary unit of Hungary from 1927 to 1946, when it was replaced by the forint. It was the equivalent of 100 fillers, making it similar to the U.S. dollar as the form of currency. Encyclopedias explain that the pengo was part of the stabilization program for Europe following WW I. It lasted only 20 years and apparently had the worst hyperinflation of all time. I don't know what the value of the pengo was in U.S. dollars then. The Hungarian Florint for several years now has ranged between one-third and one-half a U.S. cent. At the time this film was made, the pengo was issued only in denominations of 10-, 5- and 2-pengo bills. Minted coins included 1, 2, 10, 20 and 50 filler, and three in pengo amounts of 1, 2 and 5. The front of the 10-pengo bill had a picture of Mary holding the baby Jesus on the left, and a female model bust on the right. The reverse had the picture of a statue of King Stephen astride a horse. The story takes place around the holiday season. "Shop Around the Corner" makes a nice film to add to one's Christmas collection for annual viewing.

I can't do better with this review than others have done, and I wholeheartedly agree with everything they have said. This is a perfect movie, truly--the directing, acting, editing, writing are all flawless. For an unexplained reason, I have just finished watching the movie five nights in a row and I have enjoyed it every time. The scenes between Margaret Sullivan and Jimmy Stewart are so delightful that I hold my breath to watch them. Especially Margaret Sullivan is so much fun to watch as she puts Jimmy Stewart down and is so charming in doing so that you can't help but love her. The whole cast is outstanding. The young man who plays Pepi almost steals the movie. What he does with the role is so rich and full and multi-layered and unique in its portrayal and interpretation. But they are all perfectly cast and work together so well. I don't understand why this movie didn't get multiple Oscar nominations in 1940, including Best Picture.