The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
While the first remake, In the Good Old Summertime, is mostly fluff, and the second remake, You’ve Got Mail, focuses mostly on the romance, the original film, The Shop Around the Corner, is a drama that gives nearly equal attention to everyone in the shop, not just the two romantic leads. Originally based on a Hungarian play, it was translated and worked into a Hollywood movie starring Frank Morgan, James Stewart, and Margaret Sullavan.
Frank is the owner of a small Hungarian shop. James Stewart is his number one employee bucking for a raise, despite his vocal oppositions to his boss’s opinions, and Margaret is the newest hire. There are others in the shop, and they all have their own personalities and subplots. Felix Bressart, the pushover who tries to get along without committing to anything. “All I want is your honest opinion,” Frank says to his employees, and Felix hides in the back storage so he won’t have to participate. Joseph Schildkraut is the exact opposite, a smarmy yes-man who wants to get on everyone’s good side and in the same breath would stab the same person in the back to get ahead. Sara Haden is quiet and plays by the rules, and William Tracy is a mere errand boy who yearns for more responsibility.
The main focus of the movie is in fact the dynamic of the shop employees and the boss, but there is a secondary plot of an adorable and unexpected romance. During the day, James Stewart and Margaret get on each other’s nerves at work and bicker constantly. They have no idea that they’ve accidentally become each other’s pen pal and have fallen in love through their letters. In an immortal scene repeated through the decades, they agree to meet at a café, and while Margaret waits at a table with a book and a flower, Jimmy brings his wingman Felix along to find out if she’s pretty. “If you don’t like Miss Novak, I can tell you right now, you’re not going to like this girl,” Felix says, after a gentle lead-up. “Because it is Miss Novak!”
To me, the romance of the movie is secondary to the characters at the Matuschek shop. Yes, it’s extremely cute to have the contrast of their irritation by day and their love letters in the off hours, but that part could have been taken out of any romantic comedy of the 1940s and could have been played by any of the top stars of the silver screen. Myrna Loy, Rosalind Russell, Miriam Hopkins, Ginger Rogers, Fred MacMurray, Ray Milland, or Clark Gable could have played the pen pals, but the personalities of the Matuschek shop are unique to this cast. Joseph Schildkraut oozes slime as much as Felix Bressart emits kindness. Sara Haden is naturally demure, and William Tracy has enough spunk to show how tired he is of being the boss’s wife’s errand boy. Margaret Sullavan has a conniving edge that follows her character from start to finish. In all her scenes, she’s looking for an angle on how to get what she wants. James Stewart is outspoken because he believes he’s right and knows what’s best for the shop. He’s not self-centered, he just takes pride in his work and loves the shop. Finally Frank Morgan, the real lead even though he has no love interest, has the world on his shoulders. It might be a very small world, but it’s his world and his shoulders. He has to run a business that’s not doing very well right before Christmas, he’s responsible for several people’s livelihoods, and he has a troubled marriage. Here at Hot Toasty Rag, we were proud to honor Frank with his third nomination, as well as a nomination for Felix and the quick, heartwarming screenplay.
If somehow this version of the story has passed you by, you’ve got to rent it this winter. You might not want to watch it right around Christmas, since it has some sad parts, but it’ll be a lot of fun to watch it when it’s snowing outside.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "Meringue in Sugartown USA" for posting!
More Felix Bressart movies here!
Be sure and check out Hot Toasty Rag's review of 1949's In the Good Old Summertime here!
Frank is the owner of a small Hungarian shop. James Stewart is his number one employee bucking for a raise, despite his vocal oppositions to his boss’s opinions, and Margaret is the newest hire. There are others in the shop, and they all have their own personalities and subplots. Felix Bressart, the pushover who tries to get along without committing to anything. “All I want is your honest opinion,” Frank says to his employees, and Felix hides in the back storage so he won’t have to participate. Joseph Schildkraut is the exact opposite, a smarmy yes-man who wants to get on everyone’s good side and in the same breath would stab the same person in the back to get ahead. Sara Haden is quiet and plays by the rules, and William Tracy is a mere errand boy who yearns for more responsibility.
The main focus of the movie is in fact the dynamic of the shop employees and the boss, but there is a secondary plot of an adorable and unexpected romance. During the day, James Stewart and Margaret get on each other’s nerves at work and bicker constantly. They have no idea that they’ve accidentally become each other’s pen pal and have fallen in love through their letters. In an immortal scene repeated through the decades, they agree to meet at a café, and while Margaret waits at a table with a book and a flower, Jimmy brings his wingman Felix along to find out if she’s pretty. “If you don’t like Miss Novak, I can tell you right now, you’re not going to like this girl,” Felix says, after a gentle lead-up. “Because it is Miss Novak!”
To me, the romance of the movie is secondary to the characters at the Matuschek shop. Yes, it’s extremely cute to have the contrast of their irritation by day and their love letters in the off hours, but that part could have been taken out of any romantic comedy of the 1940s and could have been played by any of the top stars of the silver screen. Myrna Loy, Rosalind Russell, Miriam Hopkins, Ginger Rogers, Fred MacMurray, Ray Milland, or Clark Gable could have played the pen pals, but the personalities of the Matuschek shop are unique to this cast. Joseph Schildkraut oozes slime as much as Felix Bressart emits kindness. Sara Haden is naturally demure, and William Tracy has enough spunk to show how tired he is of being the boss’s wife’s errand boy. Margaret Sullavan has a conniving edge that follows her character from start to finish. In all her scenes, she’s looking for an angle on how to get what she wants. James Stewart is outspoken because he believes he’s right and knows what’s best for the shop. He’s not self-centered, he just takes pride in his work and loves the shop. Finally Frank Morgan, the real lead even though he has no love interest, has the world on his shoulders. It might be a very small world, but it’s his world and his shoulders. He has to run a business that’s not doing very well right before Christmas, he’s responsible for several people’s livelihoods, and he has a troubled marriage. Here at Hot Toasty Rag, we were proud to honor Frank with his third nomination, as well as a nomination for Felix and the quick, heartwarming screenplay.
If somehow this version of the story has passed you by, you’ve got to rent it this winter. You might not want to watch it right around Christmas, since it has some sad parts, but it’ll be a lot of fun to watch it when it’s snowing outside.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "Meringue in Sugartown USA" for posting!
More Felix Bressart movies here!
Be sure and check out Hot Toasty Rag's review of 1949's In the Good Old Summertime here!
Hot Toasty Rag Nominations:
Best Actor of 1940: Frank Morgan
Best Supporting Actor: Felix Bressart
Best Comedic Screenplay