Stometer Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Siflutter It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Cheryl A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

MisterWhiplash It's easy to see romantic comedies containing ridiculous premises - we've had them now with Hollywood for decades - but like so much in cinema what has to work is the execution. You could have a meet cute that involves two people meeting by accidentally bumping into each other and striking up a conversation about their dogs in 2016 (sound familiar at all?) and it could be a terrific, entertaining, engaging and artistically driven film if there's some heart behind it, if we can get behind the characters, and the actors and director are sympatico with how to add some humanity to the situation. Ernst Lubitch and Margararet Sullivan and Jimmy Stewart have that with Shop Around the Corner, and that's what counts.Hell, the movie may sound familiar because it IS now remade (1998's You've Got Mail): Klara gets a job through showing off a skill (apparently it is one) to sell an object like a music box to a newcomer to the owner of Matuschek's (Frank Morgan, Oz's Wizard in an apt role), and yet this doesn't sit well with Alfred, who can't stand the music box (mpph, he says, what if someone smokes 20 cigarettes a day, it'll get in their heads!) or maybe even her for that matter. But his animosity is also met by her's, and yet unbeknownst to each other they have a correspondence going with people they find "wonderful" and arrange some months after - it cuts ahead in time, it's fine - to finally meet. And of course they are writing to one another.So it's cute, it's precious maybe, but everything in this script is realistically drawn by Samson Raphaelson (from a play, and apparently it's why this takes place in Hungary for some reason or another). That is to say, no one really acts too much like an idiot (a common problem with today's rom-coms, when they do some out but you know what I mean), and there's even an element of sadness to the film, of things not working out for people and betrayal and mistrust. In a way it's as much about trust and belief in others as it is about love if not more-so, and a lot of this comes out in a sub-plot that makes the film as good as it is.What happens with this sub-plot? Well, Mr Matuschek is becoming more brusque with his employees as time goes on - he cares that things get sold and that his employees do things like stay after, just ONCE per year, to help set things up for Christmas - and it leads to an argument with Alfred that later in the same day results in Alfred being let go from the job. This isn't the kind of scene many might expect when coming to a screwball romantic comedy (and this isn't really screwball, but you also know what I mean). It's dealt with in a degree of reality, and that there's sadness to what's happened to Alfred and how Stewart and Morgan act the scene together when the boss tells him employee he's fired it's not something explosive or melodramatic, it's subtle and it cuts deep since we know there's this connection between the two going back years (Alfred being the oldest employee he has).And then there's Matuschek's marriage, which drives a lot of this sub-plot conflict, and it's not silly or meant for laughs. If anything the movie may lack some laughs in places, but there are enough that it satisfies as a comedy, if not *as* much as Trouble in Paradise or To Be or Not to Be (very different movies but also films dealing with romance and status in society). I think the real juggling act for Lubitsch here is to have this light tone, to have the kind of "ooh, I can't STAND you!" dynamic that Stewart and Sullivan have here - and I think Stewart is a better fit than in the other 1940 mega Rom-Com, The Philadelphia Story, which is possibly more entertaining overall but not as strong as a story - and there's that part of it, and then there's the dramatic parts. This is a business we're meant to take seriously as a place that Matuschek's made for his employees to feel like they're at home (with one exception, who I won't mention here but is revealed to be the sort of "heel" of the movie), and when this old man gets drama in his life it tears him apart despite his work life.I wish I could put into words what makes this movie so special, and I think that it's *because* that Lubitsch has this plot contrivance involving these two people and their correspondence, and how Alfred finds out first that Klara has been writing to him all along and he doesn't mention anything about it when he goes into that restaurant (only to let the tension and words and verbal aggression continue), that he has something to work with. It's fun to see this push and pull between the two, but then also how they naturally, mostly from Klara to Alfred, build attraction over the course of the story.So by the time it gets to that ending, it's not corny or cheesy, it's earned and emotional and it feels like a fable come true in some odd way. The Shop Around the Corner both reflects the economic uncertainty of the period (remember this is still pre WW2 and though it's Europe I'm sure it wasn't so different as in the US far as lack of work goes) and fulfills a good part of drama for how characters see one another and how misconceptions can drive things to a tipping point (and will one go over or not), and then also how a sweet romance can be concocted amid all of this. 9.5/10

Python Hyena The Shop Around the Corner (1940): Dir: Ernst Lubitsch / Cast: James Stewart, Margaret Sullavan, Frank Morgan, Joseph Schildkraut, William Tracy: Delightful romantic comedy that sometimes surrenders to jerking us around, but often times it is relentlessly charming. The action centres around a small shop where James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan star as employees who are unknowingly pen pals. Frank Morgan plays the shop owner who wants everything in tip top shape for Christmas. Director Ernst Lubitsch does a fine job at presenting relationships within an ordinary corner shop, but the film has tremendous depth as well. Stewart is terrific as someone who has mastered the shop and maintained its order but a misunderstanding results in his firing. Sullavan plays the female counter part who regrets the actions against Stewart despite their disagreements. Morgan steals his moments as he learns to take a closer look at life in the shop and demonstrate benefits to those of hard work. Joseph Schildkraut plays the film's villain whose tactics lead to the one act of violence where he is sacked in the jaw. William Tracy plays a young delivery boy who frequents the shop and eventually prevents a tragedy. While the ending is corny, the film's presentation of the characters through the walls of this little shop make for an interesting observation of those of us who must tolerate one another through eight hour periods. Score: 8 / 10

cb2369 In the wide range of the Lubitsch touch, The Shop Around The Corner most certainly falls more deeply in the romance category than the comedic side, represented by his other masterpieces like To Be Or Not To Be. As another reviewer said, this is one of the saddest romantic comedies around, but we'll all be happy to know that the screenwriter couldn't help but put in a few clever quips that Lubitsch is so wonderfully known for. The script could easily be one of the tightest scripts of all time, and it is admirable how much mileage they get out of a single room and few relationships. I highly suggest this film to anyone who finds joy in simple stories made fun through the sheer mastery of the craft of film.

gsygsy The good things: faultless ensemble playing; superb photography, costumes and set dressing; excellent script; perfect pacing, both within scenes and overall. Not-so-good things? Can't think of any.Although the film, in deference to the play on which it is based, is set in Budapest, its themes are eternally human. As is so often the case, emphasis on a particular locality has the paradoxical effect of heightening general truths. It's this that has enabled this wonderful piece to be turned into two musicals and be updated to the digital age with equal success.It does concern me that the sheer joy of this movie might become less appreciated as the years go by. It takes effort to look into films headlined by stars such as Sullavan and directors such as Lubitsch, whose names are not, let's face it, as prominent as they were in their own day. An even worse fate could befall, and perhaps already has befallen, THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER, described on my DVD cover as 'the original of YOU'VE GOT MAIL.' In this case, whatever might be said positively about the update, the original is better, by a long, long way. Lubitsch's film is a classic.