The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
The second December film I watched this season that centers around letter writing is The Shop Around the Corner (1940), based on the Hungarian play Parfumerie, and starring James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan.
I’ve been curious to watch this movie for years, especially since I’d heard it was the superior Parfumerie retelling compared to this generation’s remake, You’ve Got Mail (1998). I rewatched You’ve Got Mail this past weekend, and while Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan are great, as is Nora Ephron’s directing and writing, I ultimately found it underwhelming and wanted to see how The Shop Around the Corner fared. And considering the third act of the film is set during Christmas, I had a potential new Jimmy Stewart holiday movie on my hands as an alternative to It’s a Wonderful Life (1946).
Set in Budapest, the film follows Alfred Kralik and Klara Novak, two top salespeople at Matuschek and Company, a leather goods shop. During the workday, they cannot stand each other and are often at odds, but in secret, they are anonymous pen pals who have been corresponding without knowing each other’s true identities. What begins as letters about culture gradually turns into romantic writing.
The film reminded me of high school crushes, where some of my first romances grew out of being at odds with someone I eventually came to like. The supporting cast, which rounds out the rest of the shop’s employees, brings a lot to the table, and I found myself laughing at the comedy several times. While I felt the ending, with the two leads finally coming together, was not as strong as in You’ve Got Mail (1998), the film overall is superior and is one I can easily see myself revisiting during future Christmas movie marathons.