The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
The Shop Around the Corner is a 1940 comedy movie directed by Ernst Lubitsch, with a running time of 1h 39m. It stars Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart and Frank Morgan.
A gift shop in Budapest, and two clerks who cannot get through a single workday without bickering. Alfred Kralik and the newly hired Klara Novak snipe across the counter over everything from merchandise to manners. What neither of them knows is that the tender, literary letters each has been trading with a beloved anonymous pen pal are coming from the person they most dislike at work. Ernst Lubitsch keeps the whole thing running on charm and small human embarrassment, warming a simple mix-up into one of the most quietly romantic comedies of its era.
Quick answers
What is The Shop Around the Corner about?
A gift shop in Budapest, and two clerks who cannot get through a single workday without bickering. Alfred Kralik and the newly hired Klara Novak snipe across the counter over everything from merchandise to manners. What neither of them knows is that the tender, literary letters each has been trading with a beloved anonymous pen pal are coming from the person they most dislike at work. Ernst Lubitsch keeps the whole thing running on charm and small human embarrassment, warming a simple mix-up into one of the most quietly romantic comedies of its era.
When was The Shop Around the Corner released?
The Shop Around the Corner was released on 12 January 1940.
How long is The Shop Around the Corner?
The Shop Around the Corner runs 1h 39m.
Who made The Shop Around the Corner?
The Shop Around the Corner was directed by Ernst Lubitsch.
Where can I watch The Shop Around the Corner?
The Shop Around the Corner is available on Philo, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home, Google Play Movies and YouTube.
Where to watch The Shop Around the Corner
Stream: Philo
Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Cast
- Margaret Sullavan as Klara Novak
- James Stewart as Alfred Kralik
- Frank Morgan as Hugo Matuschek
- Joseph Schildkraut as Ferencz Vadas
- Sara Haden as Flora
- Felix Bressart as Pirovitch
- William Tracy as Pepi Katona
- Inez Courtney as Ilona
- Sarah Edwards as Woman Customer
- Edwin Maxwell as Doctor
- Charles Halton as Detective
- Charles Smith as Rudy
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A few thoughts on The Shop Around the Corner
For the same anonymous-letters spark, P.S I like you hides its longing in notes left in a school locker, two people falling for the words before they know whose they are. The Light and the Dark tells its whole love story in letters as well, correspondents pouring themselves onto the page for a reader they can only imagine.
Workplace enemies who quietly fall in love
The Shop Around the Corner sets two feuding clerks behind the same counter, sniping all day without knowing they adore each other on paper. These office romances run on that same friction, colleagues who cannot stand each other slowly discovering the person they dread is the one they want.
Falling for a stranger through letters and messages
The whole ache of The Shop Around the Corner is two people in love by mail, blind to who is actually writing. These stories keep that epistolary pull, romance built through letters, emails, and anonymous notes, where the words arrive long before either person sees the truth.
Gentle romance rooted in everyday working life
Lubitsch grounds The Shop Around the Corner in the small embarrassments of shop work, wages, managers, and merchandise. These gentle romances stay rooted in ordinary working life, love that grows between shifts and behind counters, warm and low-key rather than sweeping or grand.