The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

The Shop Around the Corner is the movie You've Got Mail was based on - however, it has a much darker tone. The Christmas element only came in during the last half-hour or so, but still, it was a fun holiday movie. I still don't know why they decided to set it in Budapest, though.

Lubtisch beautifully tells his stories. This simple movie transcends genre or style and is instead a morality tale. Only the great masters can achieve this level of simplicity and legacy.

I can't do better with this review than others have done, and I wholeheartedly agree with everything they have said. This is a perfect movie, truly--the directing, acting, editing, writing are all flawless. For an unexplained reason, I have just finished watching the movie five nights in a row and I have enjoyed it every time. The scenes between Margaret Sullivan and Jimmy Stewart are so delightful that I hold my breath to watch them. Especially Margaret Sullivan is so much fun to watch as she puts Jimmy Stewart down and is so charming in doing so that you can't help but love her. The whole cast is outstanding. The young man who plays Pepi almost steals the movie. What he does with the role is so rich and full and multi-layered and unique in its portrayal and interpretation. But they are all perfectly cast and work together so well. I don't understand why this movie didn't get multiple Oscar nominations in 1940, including Best Picture.

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.