PIC of the Week – The Shop Around the Corner
Article Series by Ray Schillaci
Many of the Warner Archives are true treasures for movie lovers. This week, the studio dips into its vaults to deliver a Blu what should be a Christmas classic, The Shop Around the Corner starring James Stewart, Margaret Sullavan, and Frank Morgan, best known as the Wizard from Oz. It’s more than likely that anyone born after 1960 would not be aware of this charming film.
Why? Probably because another James Stewart-starring vehicle became enormously more popular throughout many generations, Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life. Although the Capra classic is a more fanciful fantasy, this Ernst Lubitsch romantic comedy is grounded in reality and can easily warm the hardest of hearts.
The Shop Around the Corner was originally a Hungarian play that was made into a film, produced and directed by Lubitsch who set the film in Budapest. He did so because he felt at the time that American audiences would be more tolerant of what some considered racy behavior from European characters. Not that anybody in the film speaks in a foreign language and only one character has a distinct accent. But, the charm instilled in the movie as a whole excuses this lapse of logic.
James Stewart plays the opinionated, stuffy control freak, Alfred Kralik, top salesman of a leather goods store run by the uptight and demanding Hugo Matuschek, portrayed with great zeal by Frank Morgan. Matuschek’s is littered with a small band of employees with distinct personalities. The standouts being Pirovitch, Kralik’s good friend, an older family man that avoids any kind of decision making, Ferencz, the kiss-ass weasel nobody cares for, but apparently a good enough salesman for Matuschek to keep on, and Pepi, an ambitious and devilish delivery boy.
It’s an enjoyable character study where everyone plays well off each other. But, the real fun begins when Klara Novak, Margaret Sullavan, enters the store with every intention on being employed there. Kralik, being so tuned in to the owner of the shop, tries to dissuade her from an interview. But, Klara proves her sales skills and Matuschek hires her even though he was reluctant in hiring anyone else for the holiday season.
Klara and and Kralik butt heads immediately. They are like an amusing old couple bickering away at each other. It’s almost as if they cannot stand one another. But, they do have something secretly in common. Both have secret pen pals that they are falling in love with. Kralik’s infatuation is with what appears in writing to be an intelligent, cultured woman. Klara’s anonymous beau is a well-to-do gentleman of wit, charm and good taste. What neither realizes is that they are actually corresponding with each other’s alter-ego.
Does this sound familiar? It should. The film has been remade three times as a radio broadcast, and for those familiar with stars of the past it will be interesting to note that the first broadcast was with the original stars, James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan. The second broadcast was with Van Johnson (The Caine Mutiny) and Phyllis Thaxter (Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo), and the third with Don Ameche (Trading Places) and Claudette Colbert (It Happened One Night).
The film was also turned into a Broadway musical in 1963 with She Loves Me. And, there were two successful film remakes, the 1949 musical In the Good Old Summertime starring Judy Garland and Van Johnson and in 1998 Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan found an updated love in You’ve Got Mail. What does all this say? The source material is priceless and it’s well worth you checking out this latest incarnation on Blu.
As with so many films of its day, The Shop Around the Corner is presented in a full frame ratio, meaning you will see the black bars on both sides of your TV screen. I know this is annoying to some just like B&W cinematography, but once you get into the lives of these fabulous characters you will forget anything that may rub you the wrong way about an “old” movie. Warner Archive has done a wonderful restoration. What may be the only glaring oddity to some is that you can definitely tell when a backdrop has been used rather than an actual set. This is usually noticeable with most older movies like Gone With The Wind and The Wizard of Oz. But, it never really detracts from our enjoyment.
This is a dialogue-driven film and I’m happy to say that the sound quality is up for the task. The English Dolby Digital 2.0 does this film justice. Gone are the hisses and pops associated with so many older films. A nice clean track where subtitles are not a necessity.
Extras are minimal. Perhaps Warner Archive does not place it in as high regard as some of their other classics. I would have loved some insight into director Lubitsch and his handling of the material. Also, it would be nice if Warner dug a bit deeper to unearth outtakes of some of their older movies. Nevertheless, what we get is…
• Theatrical Trailer
• Two radio drama adaptations: 1940 and ’41 versions
• A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound
The Shop Around the Corner is a wonderful film that can be enjoyed by the whole family unless you cannot get over the fact that no one looks like they are from Budapest and you’ve become so PC that you cannot get over the way women are treated in the film. Not that it’s bad, it’s just a product of its time. That should be taken under consideration. There are those that take a dim view of Margaret Sullavan’s character. But, that’s like over analyzing any true Hollywood classic. If you do that, you’re missing a truly charming experience.
*Lowest Price – $21.99 – Amazon
*If you happen to have HBO Max, you will find The Shop Around the Corner in the TCM hub.
Visit Ray’s blog at themonsterinmyhead.com
