The Shop Around the Corner (1940) by Ernst Lubitsch — Movie Discussion
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Lubitsch’s exquisitely wrought tale of two workplace lonelyhearts has the power to put all other romantic comedies to shame. James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan play contentious colleagues who can barely stand one another at a Budapest general store during the Depression. Each of them is falling in love with an unseen pen pal found via the personals page of the newspaper. Neither suspects that they might be falling for one another. An achingly perceptive sketch of singlehood and modern romance in the big city, a template for generations of workplace comedies, and a warm, deeply felt expression of holiday spirit, The Shop Around the Corner simply has it all.
"Shop is one of the most perceptive movies ever made about the workplace: It sees employees as members of a fractious family and acknowledges that each has a story worth telling (the focus on two potential lovers seems mere happy accident)." (Entertainment Weekly)
"A picture of infinite charm." (Los Angeles Times)
"If there's a richer film out there about the invisible fault lines of the working world, the subtle and precarious gradations of class and position, the shape of solidarity, and the perpetually disarming, cussed strangeness of human relationships, I've never seen it." (MUBI)
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Let's discuss the movie The Shop Around the Corner (1940) by the acclaimed German-American director of comedies Ernst Lubitsch, recently voted the 225th greatest movie of all time in Sight & Sound's international survey of filmmakers.
Please watch the movie in advance.
You can stream it here (check the settings for subtitles and to adjust video quality) or rent it on various platforms online (for best quality.)
Check out other film discussions in the group every Friday and occasionally other days.