"The Shop Around the Corner" with Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullavan (1940)

This is another reposting of a review from a couple of years ago; I never let the holiday pass by without watching this one;

This 1940 film by Ernst Lubitsch, starring Jimmy Stewart and Magaret Sullavan is one of the most beautifully crafted films ever made, and is based on the play by Miklós László. The story is simple, in the weeks leading up to Christmas in Budapest, the department store of Matuschek and Company, is gearing up for the holiday season. 

The owner, Hugo Matuschek is played brilliantly by Frank Morgan, known to millions worldwide as the Wizard of Oz. His right hand man, Alfred Kralik, is played by Jimmy Stewart. The two are very close, Mr. Matuschek values the opinions of his manager. Things are going very smoothly, with Kralik expecting a promotion by Christmas. Enter Margaret Sullavan as Klara Novak, an unemployed and high strung young woman. Through a bit of trickery she lands a job at Matuschek and Company, which in turn drives a wedge between Mr. Matuschek and Kralik.

While Kralik has been exchanging letters with an unknown "friend" through the classified ads, Ms. Novak has been doing the same. Without knowing, they have been exchanging letters with one another, stretching the truth a bit where necessary. So, neither one has any idea that their co-worker is the object of their affections. In fact, the opposite is true, as they grate on one another’s nerves, and the Christmas holiday approaches. And to top it all off, they are both thinking about marriage to their prospective "pen pals", although they have never met.

At the same time, a subplot is taking place as the shops "dandy", Ferencz Vadas, played exceptionally by Joseph Schildkraut, does all he can to make life unbearable for his fellow employees. He is also one of my favorite character actors, and even appears in a few of the old “Twilight Zones.”

With a cast of character actors such as Felix Bressart, who plays Kraliks friend and fellow employee Pirovitch, and William Tracy as Pepi, the stores delivery boy, this movie will easily call you back year after year for a look at Christmas in Hungary in the days before all the madness began.

The movie has at least 3 endings. By that I mean there are 3 separate times when the movie could end, leaving the audience happy, but Ernst Lubitsch, being Ernst Lubitsch, has so many tricks up his sleeve, that you will find yourself enjoying 3 endings, each one wrapping up a portion of the film that you may have forgotten about. This is the art of Ernst Lubitsch. Just when you think it's over - it's not.

One of the all-time great Christmas movies, this film was remade in the 1990's with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan as "You've Got Mail." I have never been able to sit through that entire film. That’s simply because this 1940 version by Ernst Lubitsch captured my heart so many years ago.

Here is a scene from the beginning of the movie;

                            

"The Shop Around The Corner" with James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan (1940)

This is another reposting of a review from a couple of years ago; I never let the holiday pass by without watching this one;

This 1940 film by Ernst Lubitsch, starring Jimmy Stewart and Magaret Sullavan is one of the most beautifully crafted films ever made, and is based on the play by Miklós László. The story is simple, in the weeks leading up to Christmas in Budapest, the department store of Matuschek and Company, is gearing up for the holiday season. The owner, Hugo Matuschek is played brilliantly by Frank Morgan, known to millions worldwide as the Wizard of Oz. His right hand man, Alfred Kralik, is played by Jimmy Stewart. The two are very close, Mr. Matuschek values the opinions of his manager. Things are going very smoothly, with Kralik expecting a promotion by Christmas. Enter Margaret Sullavan as Klara Novak, an unemployed, and high strung young woman. Through a bit of trickery she lands a job at Matuschek and Company, which in turn drives a wedge between Mr. Matuschek and Kralik.

While Kralik has been exchanging letters with an unknown "friend" through the classified ads, Ms. Novak has been doing the same. Without knowing, they have been exchanging letters with one another, stretching the truth a bit where necessary. So, neither one has any idea that their co-worker is the object of their affections. In fact, the opposite is true, as they grate on one anothers nerves, and the Christmas holiday approaches. And to top it all off, they are both thinking about marriage to their prospective "pen pals", although they have never met.

At the same time, a subplot is taking place as the shops "dandy", Ferencz Vadas, played exceptionally by Joseph Schildkraut, does all he can to make life unbearable for his fellow employees.

With a cast of character actors such as Felix Bressart, who plays Kraliks friend and fellow employee Pirovitch, and William Tracy as Pepi, the stores delivery boy, this movie will easily call you back year after year for a look at Christmas in Hungary in the days before all the madness began.

The movie has at least 3 endings. By that I mean there are 3 seperate times when the movie could end, leaving the audience happy, but Ernst Lubitsch, being Ernst Lubitsch, has so many tricks up his sleeve, that you will find yourself enjoying 3 endings, each one wrapping up a portion of the film that you may have forgotten about. This is the art of Ernst Lubitsch. Just when you think it's over - it's not.

One of the all time great Christmas movies, this film was remade in the 1990's with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan as "You've Got Mail." I have never been able to sit through that entire film. Simply because this 1940 version by Ernst Lubitsch captured my heart so many years ago.

Here is a scene from the beginning of the movie;
 

Finding "Oz" Where You'd Least Expect It.

By 1900, L. Frank Baum, a pro-communist and former proponent of the Free Silver Movement; a failed general store owner and former publisher of the Aberdeen Saturday Post, a local newspaper in South Dakota; had returned back East, settling in Chicago. It was there that he continued writing, landing a job with the Evening Post.

It was at this time that he also began writing children's books, his most famous being, of course, "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", which was first published in 1900. It was the first in a series of books about a land called Oz, similar to the Harry Potter novels which would appear about 100 years later.

Twice in this past week that first book has been referenced in either a movie, or book, which I have reviewed here. The first time was in connection to the independent film "The Way", with Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez, and then again by author Matthew Algeo in his book about Grover Cleveland, "The President Is a Sick Man." This gave me pause for thought. How could one children's book, written over 100 years ago, still be relevant today, either in an inspirational film, or in a book about history?

In the film, "The Way", with Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez, the director, Mr. Estevez, has cited "The Wizard of Oz" as an inspiration for his film. In the book "The President Is A Sick Man", author Matthew Algeo cites the book as an allegorical tale of the Free Silver Movement. Indeed, in that book, Dorothy is wearing silver slippers, in lieu of ruby ones, as she trods down the Yellow Brick Road. The slippers were supposed to be representative of the working man, Free Silver adherents for the most part, being forced to walk down a road made of Gold, representing the interests of the bankers, and surrounded at all times by peril. How is it possible for the same book to yield so many different points of view?

The answer lies in interpretations, and, as we all know, any interpretations are themselves open to interpretation. Which brings to mind The Beatles and "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", from the album Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Long associated with LSD, the truth behind that song is so innocent, and well documented, as to give credence to what I call literary coincidences, or imaginative interpretations.

In the case of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", John Lennon's son Julian came home with a simple drawing he'd done that day. He was about 6 at the time, and when his dad asked him what it was, he said it was "Lucy, a classmate, in the sky with diamonds." That story has been checked, and verified, over the past 40 odd years, culminating in a benefit concert for the "real" Lucy about a year ago to help pay some medical expenses. So much for interpretations. But, in the context of the times in which it was written, the misinterpretation can be understood.

The same can be said of the analogy between the film "The Way" and "The Wizard." They are, after all, on a journey of discovery, just as Dorothy and her companions were. They are both spiritual journeys.

When it comes to the interpretation offered in the book “The President Is a Sick Man” by Mr. Algeo, it too, is no less valid in the context of the time in which it was written. There really was a struggle between the working class and the wealthy, where the gold standard was concerned. It was keeping the rich richer, and the poor poorer. And, just as Dorothy's dissatisfaction lead to her dilemma, the Free Silver adherents were actually causing massive inflation, furthering their own travails.

There are no hidden meanings to this post, just me being a bit introspective. It fascinates me to no end how the human mind, my own included, can interpret things in just about any way it feels. I'm not knocking it either. I'm one of the guilty ones. I'm always looking for the deeper meaning. Even when it's not there.

I once reviewed the film version of "The Wizard of Oz", casting the Wizard as an allegory for Adolph Hitler. He was, after all, hiding behind a curtain, so to speak, as he imposed his will on the people, much like the venerated Wizard. I wrote that review in Juinor High School, and received a grade of 95.

For more on the links between the film "The Way" and "The Wizard of Oz', see the interview with Emilio Estevez here;

http://www.avclub.com/articles/martin-sheen-emilio-estevez,62918/