The Shop Around the Corner (Full Screen): Amazon.ca: Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Frank Morgan, Joseph Schildkraut, Sara Haden, Felix Bressart, William Tracy, Inez Courtney, Sarah Edwards, Edwin Maxwell, Charles Halton, Charles Smith, William H. Daniels, Ernst Lubitsch, Gene Ruggiero, Ben Hecht, Mikl�s L�szl�, Samson Raphaelson: DVD

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One of the most charming and romantic films around, this 1940 comic romance finds James Stewart (Vertigo, It's A Wonderful Life) working in a small shop in Budapest and longing for a girl to call his own. His coworker, Margaret Sullavan, feels the same, and soon they are both corresponding and falling in love with their respective pen pals. What they don't realize is that they are writing to and falling in love with each other, but the problem is that they can't stand each other in person. The beguiling nature of the mistaken identity formula that influenced countless films is done to perfection here, and the wry combativeness and delightful banter between the two leads makes this a very special film. --Robert Lane

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Customer Reviews

35 Reviews

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.7 out of 5 stars (35 customer reviews)

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars YOU'VE GOT MAIL..., Feb 17 2003

By

Lawyeraau (Balmoral Castle) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Shop Around the Corner (VHS Tape)

This is a delightful vintage movie that has had several remakes, the most recent being "You've Got Mail" with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Having seen both versions, this 1940 film has got it beat. Beautifully directed by Ernst Lubitsch, this is a charming, romantic comedy that sets the standard for this genre of film.

The premise of the film is simple. In Budapest, Hungary, a young woman advertises for a pen pal, with the proviso that each are to remain anonymous. A young man responds to her ad, and they begin corresponding and fall in love through the mail. Unbeknownst to them, these two amorous correspondents, Alfred Kralik (James Stewart) and Klara Novak (Margaret Sullavan) are co-workers in a leather goods shop owned by Hugo Matuschek (Frank Morgan of Wizard of Oz fame). Unfortunately, they do not appear to get along, and the words fly fast and furious between them at times.

There is also a strong sub-plot in this film, involving the cuckolding of Mr. Matuschek by his wife of twenty two years. It is a sub-plot that causes a greatly anguished Mr. Matuschek to turn on an employee whom he holds most dear. This sets in to motion a sequence of interconnecting events and revelations that work beautifully, setting the film for its final resolution between the two main protagonists, Kralik and Novak.

James Stewart gives a terrific performance as Kralik, the working stiff who is just looking for the right girl and finds her where he least expected. Stewart always shines when playing the classic Everyman. Margaret Sullavan, as Novak, gives a pert and sassy performance that belies her longing for romance in her life and for her knight in shining armor. Her sharp tongued banter with Kralik disguises an attraction that even she does not fully understand. As they say, there is a fine line between love and hate.

Frank Morgan gives a well-nuanced, scene stealing performance as Matuschek, the shopkeeper whose heart is initially broken on a number of fronts. In the end, he rights what went wrong and finds some surcease for his psychic pain by bringing some happiness to another person. Felix Bressart, as the kindly Pirovitch, Kralik's friend and co-worker, and Joseph Schildkraut, as the unctuous Ferenc Vadas, a co-worker whom Kralik detests, are also to be lauded for their performances. William Tracy, as the indefatigable Pepi Katona, the store messenger on the make, is absolutely delightful.

This is a masterfully directed film, with wonderful performances by the entire cast. It is a film to be remembered and added to one's personal collection. Bravo!

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5.0 out of 5 stars Honest & Heartfelt, July 3 2004

By

Polkadotty (Mountains of Western North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Shop Around the Corner (Full Screen) (DVD)

Here's a movie with charm in spades, and a beguiling premise. A man and a woman begin a correspondence, and through this correspondence they fall in love, while in real life despising each other. And what two better to do this sort of thing than Jimmy Stewart (Alfred Kralik) and Margaret Sullavan (Klara Novak). The setting is an odd goods shop in Budapest, staffed by a superb supporting cast, each tossing into the storyline their own minor dramas. Mr Matuschek with his bothersome home life, Mr Pirovitch who serves as Alfred's confidante, Mr Vadas who holds a clandestine affair, Miss Novodny and her gentleman friend ~ who is he? ~ that presents her with lavish gifts, Pepi with his heart of gold, and my favorite, the mousish Flora who devotes her life to her mother, and whom you just know is dreaming of a romance of her own. It is said that Stewart and Sullavan held a deep personal respect for each other off screen, and this makes for a genuine on-screen chemistry between them. This chemistry is of the intellectual variety, and ~ to this viewer at least ~ their sparring conversations and confrontations are greatly more interesting and engaging than any purely physical romance could ever be. Sullavan is terrific, wavering between what she reads in books and thinks she ought to believe, and what her heart is prompting her to feel. Stewart is marvellously put out by all of this, sniffy and sulky, yet finds himself drawn to the prickly Klara despite himself. Everyone is impeccable in their roles, the wit and the banter sparkles. Here's a film that shall grow on you, that shall take you in completely, and will demand repeat viewings ~ and possibly the use of a tissue or two. Intelligent and heartwarming, and infused with a kind of a quiet magic, 'The Shop Around the Corner' ought melt any heart, save the most unmeltable. A romantic masterpiece. Directed by Ernst Lubitsch, who also did 'Eternal Love', 'Ninotchka', and the original 'Heaven Can Wait'.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, Jun 14 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Shop Around the Corner (Full Screen) (DVD)

I loved this DVD I really sudgest it to any classic Romantic

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