In the Good Old Summertime (1949)

The first remake of the adorable love story The Shop Around the Corner was made into a musical with Judy Garland and Van Johnson. It's a much lighter film than the 1940 version, with S.Z Sakall as the amiable shop owner, replacing Frank Morgan's dark, depressive role in the original. As far as remakes go, I like the modern You've Got Mail better. The 1949 version, while skipping the serious realism in the dramatic elements, also misses most of the story's charm as it turns into a mediocre 1940s musical for Judy Garland.Judy and Van don't get off to a very good start, and while they spend the entire movie bickering with each other at work, after-hours they're unknowingly involved with each other through letters. Will the two paths ever cross? It's a very cute story, but with Judy's pouting and signature "Dorothy Gale" temper and Van's conceit, neither lead is really likable. And while in the original, James Stewart and Felix Bressart have darling interactions about his pen-pal relationship, Van and Clinton Sundberg make their scenes fall flat. Buster Keaton is included in the supporting cast, but I can never get enough of him, so the few scenes he has aren't really enough. Why couldn't he have had Clinton's part?The famous song "I Don't Care" holds a special place in my heart. My older brother-and older brothers aren't normally known for their awareness of Judy Garland movies-actually remembers this song from when I compiled a Judy Garland film montage in high school. To him, Judy's most famous moment in screen history is waving her arounds around in a red dress singing "I Don't Care". So, when you watch that song, think of my brother!

Quaint would really be the best way to describe this. Mild but colorful reworking of The Shop Around the Corner trades that films exquisite pathos for a sunny tone and loses something in translation but is miles ahead of the travesty that is You've Got Mail. The musical score is full of charming songs from the period socked across by the great Judy although she seems terribly jittery here. Of all her films this is the one where her resemblance to Liza Minnelli is the strongest so it seems fitting that Liza plays her daughter in a bit at the end. As for the rest of the cast, Spring Byington and Cuddles Sakall are cute and well matched in a much more gentle version of the shop keeper and his wife than the original film, but Buster Keaton is almost totally wasted in a small part.

Plot: Pen pals fall in love on paper and (unwittingly) battle each other at work, with music! Drive-in Rating: Pull over and watch! Absolutely enjoyable and mostly faithful to the original of 1940, now located in Chicago and with the added perk of Judy Garland in song (and dance). For the modern viewer, this may be an easier transition to the original plot than the black and white original, "The Shop Around the Corner." Also recommend considering which star is a bigger draw for you (Judy or Jimmy Stewart). If you've enjoyed "Meet Me in St. Louis," odds are you'll enjoy this, though Meet Me… is far more acclaimed. This version gives you the added benefit of silent movie great Buster Keaton (yes, he talks) and dashing all-American leading man Van Johnson.

My first thought was how refreshing it is to see Judy Garland playing a feisty girl with witty lines. Usually her characters are more about the look in those huge emotional eyes - but she actually has lines.I was completely struck dumb, though, when one scene was right out of You've Got Mail, Nora Ephron's follow-up to Sleepless in Seattle. Obviously, this came first, so Nora must have lifted a page from this book - much as she based Sleepless on An Affair to Remember.All in all - I prefer this version to YGM. It's much more common for the male lead in old movies to have a laugh at the expense of the female lead and it works much better in the period. But maybe that's not fair to Nora...casting played a big part in why I didn't love YGM. Tom Hanks just doesn't do jerk well.