The Shop Around the Corner

"EVERY GIRL OR FELLOW WHO EVER KEPT A “BLIND DATE”"

1940 1h 39m EN

🙌

8.1

BANGER

★8.1TMDB · 870

ComedyDramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Two employees at a gift shop can barely stand one another, without realising that they are falling in love through the post as each other's anonymous pen pal.

“EVERY GIRL OR FELLOW WHO EVER KEPT A “BLIND DATE””

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Cast

Margaret Sullavan
Klara Novak
James Stewart
Alfred Kralik
Frank Morgan
Hugo Matuschek
Joseph Schildkraut
Ferencz Vadas
Sara Haden
Flora
Felix Bressart
Pirovitch
William Tracy
Pepi Katona
Inez Courtney
Ilona

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Ernst Lubitsch
Writers: Samson Raphaelson
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

86 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Ernst Lubitsch, shot by William H. Daniels. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Werner R. Heymann. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Gene Ruggiero shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart and Frank Morgan carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "EVERY GIRL OR FELLOW WHO EVER KEPT A “BLIND DATE”".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0033045 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Ernst Lubitsch directs. William H. Daniels behind the camera. Werner R. Heymann scores. Gene Ruggiero cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
286 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Ernst Lubitsch, shot by William H. Daniels. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Werner R. Heymann. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Gene Ruggiero shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart and Frank Morgan carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "EVERY GIRL OR FELLOW WHO EVER KEPT A “BLIND DATE”".
8IMDB entry: tt0033045 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 19 themes, including "salesclerk", "secret love", "lovesickness", "budapest, hungary".
10Released under 14 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: William H. Daniels
Original score: Werner R. Heymann
Editing: Gene Ruggiero
Makeup / hair: Sydney Guilaroff
Runtime: 99 min · 1h 39m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $500,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

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Ernst Lubitsch

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2019-12-28
★ 9/10
Ah, epistolary love, delightful. This is the story of Matuschek and Company - - of Mr. Matuschek and the people who work for him. It is just around the corner from Andrassy Street - - on Balta Street, in Budapest, Hungary. Klara Novak seeks work at Hugo Matuschek's Budapest store, after initially being turned down by head clerk Alfred Kralik, she gains employment after impressing the originally gruff Matuschek himself. This annoys Alfred and both he and Klara take an instant dislike to each other, completely unaware that they are I fact both each others lonely hearts pen pal. Boy oh boy was this production in safe hands. Produced and directed by the fabulous Ernst Lubitsch ("To Be Or Not To Be" & "Heaven Can Wait") and starring James Stewart (take your pick of many classics), Margaret Sullavan ("The Good Fairy" & "So Red the Rose") and Frank Morgan ("The Wizard Of Oz"). Adapted by Samson Raphaelson from Miklós László's play ("Parfumerie"), The Shop Around The Corner ranks up with the best of the romantic comedies from the classic era. Blending charm with community spirit, and dark moments with beams of light, it's a concocted remedy for the blues at a time when war was at the forefront of everyones minds. Unashamedly sweet as it is, it's important to note the intricacies of the plot, with people being desperate for work, even forming rivalries within the confines of the shop, they even manage to flesh out an infidelity arc to really keep the viewer on their respective toes. All the efforts here are first class, Stewart gives the kind of performance that is often overlooked, no middle America "Aww Shucks" on show here, it's precise and with feeling, this is a truly great Stewart performance. Sullavan is sadly something of a forgotten actress, and her films are so hard to find as well, it's a shame because she's right on the money and matches Stewart pound for pound in both humorous and emotive acting. Director Lubitsch once said that for human comedy he was never as on form as he was with The Shop Around The Corner, so who wishes to argue with that? Because the evidence suggests he was right, and I can only add that it is not merely just a romantic comedy, it's an experience all around the table - and then some. 9/10
CinemaSerf2022-06-23
★ 8/10
Frank Morgan is super in this delightful comedy drama. His general goods store finds itself with a new employee in "Klara" (Margaret Sullavan) who has loads of new techniques and a style that manages to irk long time supervisor "Kralik" (James Stewart). What we know from early on is that both are engaged, enthusiastically, in a pen-pal relationship unaware of the true identities of each other - and their antics as the first meeting looms ever closer make for highly entertaining stuff to watch. Things take a bit of a downturn when, suddenly, "Kralik" falls a little foul of his normally jovial, somewhat dithery, boss - and though the audience can readily guess why, it takes a while for the old gent to realise the error of his ways. There is something immeasurably genial about the whole thing. The scenes in the stockroom where they are moving what are clearly empty boxes, the character actors in support - especially Joseph Schildkraut ("Vadaz") and the ever reliable Felix Bressart ("Pirovitch") frequently raise a smile but it's always Morgan who steals the scenes as the amiable employer who gets the wrong end of the stick. Certainly a classic film from Ernst Lubitsch, well worth searching out on a big screen if you can.