Monday, December 5, 2011

The Shop Around the Corner (1940): A Lubitsch Christmas


It is only occasionally that a film ages with extraordinary grace. One such film, Ernst Lubitsch's 1940 classic, The Shop Around the Corner, has mellowed as elegantly as a rare and prized bottle of Hungarian Tokaji Aszú...
Balta Street, Budapest
Lubitsch, acclaimed for sophisticated films with a light-as-air "touch," was at an artistic peak in 1940. He took special care with The Shop Around the Corner, one of his favorites among his own films. Of it he would write, “Never did I make a picture in which the atmosphere and the characters were truer…” And this atmosphere is unmistakable. With the first strains of “Ochi Tchornya” heard over Leo the Lion’s roar, the first glimpse of a dreamlike setting near Budapest’s historic Andrassy Street and through an assortment of unique and quirky characters, the spirit of old Europe comes alive on screen. 

Set during Christmastime in the snow-dusted capital, the storyline follows a series of mix-ups and missteps between employees of a picturesque gift shop in the heart of the city. Two clerks carry on a battle-of-the-sexes while romantically pursuing anonymous pen pals; the shop owner suspects betrayal at home and at work; a duplicitous clerk is up to unseemly mischief and a wisecracking errand boy has an eye on his main chance…
Matuschek's gift shop
Samson Raphaelson (Suspicion, Green Dolphin Street) penned a screenplay based on Nikolaus (Miklós) László’s play; William H. Daniels (The Naked City, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof) was behind the camera and Werner Heymann (Ninotchka, To Be or Not to Be) wrote the score.

A sparkling cast boasts an array of MGM’s top supporting players. Among them is Frank Morgan in one of his most charming performances as Mr. Matuschek, the excitable owner of the gift shop. Also featured are Felix Bressart as Pirovich, a meek/endearing sales clerk, versatile Joseph Schildkraut as Vadas, a much less kindly salesman. Veteran character players Sara Haden, William Tracy and Inez Courtney also stand out in the ensemble.


The legendary chemistry between stars James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan is plainly on display here. Stewart is at his most appealing as Mr. Kralik, head sales clerk and right hand man to Matuschek. In this role, Stewart's broad signature mannerisms are tempered by the sensitivity with which he portrays Kralik's romantic yearnings and his sensitivity And Sullavan mesmerizes in an equally fine performance. Her headstrong shop girl, Klara Novak, is a high-strung idealist whose breathless eagerness is offset by her brittle fragility.
Margaret Sullavan
Margaret Sullavan was discovered on Broadway by director John M. Stahl (Leave Her to Heaven) who brought her to Hollywood to star in Only Yesterday (1933) with John Boles. By this time Sullavan had already married and divorced Henry Fonda and would soon marry director William Wyler. By 1936 the actress was married to agent/producer Leland Hayward and about to make her best films: Three Comrades (1938), for which she earned a Best Actress Oscar nomination, The Shopworn Angel (1938), The Shop Around the Corner (1940) and The Mortal Storm (1940). In the last three she co-starred with Stewart. The pair had first worked together on Next Time We Love (1936), a result of Sullavan suggesting her friend Stewart for the part. In The Shop Around the Corner, the third of the their four collaborations, the co-stars seem to all but dance together, such is the rhythm between them.

With the closing scenes of The Shop Around the Corner, Lubitsch demonstrates his consummate finesse…
Frank Morgan and Charles Smith
Mr. Matuschek returns to his store on Christmas Eve to total the day’s receipts, thank his staff and hand out bonuses. It is closing time and as the wistful shopkeeper departs, he says goodnight to - and we have our last glimpse of - most of the other characters as they depart for the holidays.

When the shop's new errand boy, Rudy (Charles Smith), emerges, Matuschek takes him under his wing and out to a glorious Christmas dinner of roast goose, potatoes in butter…and “a double order of apple strudel in vanilla sauce.” The two, no longer facing a lonely Christmas Eve, strike up a jubilant rapport.

Inside the darkened shop, Stewart and Sullavan move in perfect harmony as Kralik and Klara finally discover each other. This last scene, one of the most deeply romantic and witty ever confected, demonstrates the very essence of Lubitsch’s incomparably graceful and witty “touch.”


27 comments:

  1. A lovely post on a special movie, and your opening paragraph alone is sublime.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you, Jacqueline - this is one of my favorite films in any season, but it particularly touches my heart during the holidays.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Haven't seen this in ages, Eve. Thanks for a wonderful overview. It sounds the perfect pix for this time of year.

    I am not fond of Margaret Sullivan and perhaps that might have been the reason I never saw this more than once many MANY years ago.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yvette, I have to admit that it took time for me to warm up to Margaret Sullavan, but I've come to appreciate her, especially in her best films. This is the best of her best and I hope you'll give it another chance.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Truly, this really is a lovely film and the fact that I'm a huge Jimmy Stewart really helps!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. bongalong - This is one of my very favorite of Stewart's performances. His portrays Kralik's sensitivity and romantic longing with such grace, and he is completely believable in the role...

    ReplyDelete
  7. Love this film - it is perfection -like a box of turkish delight! I always remember Louis Brooks' description of Margaret Sullavan's voice - "like singing in the snow."

    ReplyDelete
  8. FlickChick - If I remember correctly, something happened to Margaret Sullavan as a young girl that affected her voice...it turned out to be a good thing.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Eve, wonderful review for a wonderful movie. I would love to spotlight it on N and CF article of the week Dec. 9th. If you do not mind.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Dawn, I'm honored you'd like to highlight this post at Noir & Chick Flicks - thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  11. If I had to name one Christmas movie that should be better known, it's this one. Sullivan is luminous in this, and Stewart is just amazing.

    It's commonly thought that he received his Oscar for "The Philadelphia Story" as a consolation prize for the previous year's Mr. Smith, and that's probably true.

    Still, I always wondered if the Academy was just as much honoring him for his sublime performance here as they were for the same year's "Philadelphia Story."

    I do hope more people can see this one.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Eve, a wonderful and loving post on a great Christmas movie and a great movie of any kind. Lubitsch was one of the masters, and this is my own favorite movie of his. The way he's able to juggle tones in this film is just amazing. It's also my favorite performance by Margaret Sullavan, a gifted and appealing actress who made too few movies before retiring. And my favorite by the wonderful Frank Morgan and one of my very favorites by James Stewart. I wonder if you've read "Haywire," the autobiographical book by Sullavan's daughter Brooke Hayward. She discusses her mother so much that it is practically a biography of her.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Eve, I wonderful post as always. You know how much I love this film and thanks for mentioning my man Felix, he and Frank Morgan ( almost ) steal the film .

    ReplyDelete
  14. Kevin - My favorite performances by James Stewart are in this film and in VERTIGO. He had more range and depth as an actor, I think, than he is sometimes credited with. These two very different films reflect the scope of his talent.

    R.D. - It's my favorite Lubitsch film, too, and I'm happy to know that my deep affection came through. I did read "Haywire," but it was long ago when I was less familiar with Margaret Sullavan's films. I've been meaning to revisit it, though I remember it as "heavy going" (in terms of the family dysfunction depicted).

    Paul - Had there been lesser mortals in the starring roles, Bressart and Morgan would have stolen the film with ease...but the entire ensemble is sublime, each member perfectly cast, each delivering a defining performance.

    ReplyDelete
  15. A movie of infinite qualities and a review to match. Lubitsch truly created a world we want to share peopled by those we understand.

    ReplyDelete
  16. CW, You have such a way with words - "Lubitsch truly created a world we want to share peopled by those we understand" is an apt (and artful) description of an important aspect of his 'touch.'

    ReplyDelete
  17. Another fascinating read! I hope anyone who hasn't seen the film will realize what a holiday treasure this film is. It took me a while to warm to Margaret Sullavan as well. I think the fact that she was such a complex woman offscreen did find its way into her work. From what I've read about Sullavan, she was quite troubled. I think that fragility worked well in many of her movies but not all. That's why I think I have mixed reactions to Sullavan.

    ReplyDelete
  18. LadyEve,
    I haven't seen or thought about this little gem for some time! Thanks so much for doing such a thoughtful review of it and throwing in your trivia on Sullavan.
    Stewart and Sullavan were magical together. Often I've felt Stewart looked too 'boyish' for his romantic leads but they were a perfect fit.

    A wonderful review as always.
    Page

    ReplyDelete
  19. Eve,

    I can only concur what others have already said. Your have written a warm and loving post on a cherished film for this time of the year. I have an affection for films with snow (is this strange?) and this is certainly on this list of great films with snow scenes. Stewart and Sullavan made a fine team and 1940 was a great year for them with this film and THE MORTAL STORM.

    John

    ReplyDelete
  20. Gilby, Page and John - It warms my heart to know that you are all fans of this Lubitsch treasure. Though I'm not surprised!

    More about Margaret Sullavan. I watched her screen test as the 2nd Mrs. deWinter for REBECCA a while ago and didn't think it was very good. But I also found out she'd earlier co-starred on Orson Welles' radio program (the debut episode of his Campbell Playhouse) in that part for his version of REBECCA (Welles was Maxim, Mildred Natwick was Danvers). Though I haven't listened to the episode, I imagine Sullavan's voice would be enchanting in the role on radio.

    John - I like movies with snow, too (HOLIDAY INN, XMAS IN CT, MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS, etc., etc.) - though I'm no fan of cold weather - ?!?

    ReplyDelete
  21. I love this film, and am hoping to see it again over the Christmas period this year. Really enjoyed your review, Eve. I agree that this film very much has a flavour of the old Europe, which had already vanished in the war when it was made, helping to give the feeling of nostalgia. Also agree that Stewart and Sullavan are both wonderful in it.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Judy - Lubitsch recreates the character of Old World Europe so lovingly that there’s no mistaking what it must have meant to him. And it really is one of the most endearing qualities of the film, I think. I hope you do have a chance to watch THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER over the holidays, it's such a special film this time of year.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Charming, sweet, nostalgic -- this movie pictures a world I wish I could live in. You did it justice, Eve. I love this movie.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Becky, Budapest a la Lubitsch is a magical world, isn't it?

    ReplyDelete
  25. Enjoyed the film, but it takes some doing to accept James Stewart as a retail clerk in Hungary.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anyone who doesn't like Margaret Sullavan-- pooh--I adore her!!

    ReplyDelete