Six years before starring in It\u2019s a Wonderful Life<\/em>, James Stewart plays Alfred Kralik, the senior clerk in a Budapest leather-goods shop, Matuschek and Company. He\u2019s hard-working and unassuming, and his biggest thrill is when his boss Mr. Matuschek (Frank Morgan) invites him over for dinner. The only reason he\u2019s found a potential paramour is because he was looking through the newspaper classifieds to buy a used encyclopedia, and he happened to stumble upon a personal ad posted by a woman looking to make an intellectual and spiritual connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alfred doesn\u2019t know it yet, but that woman is his new co-worker, Klara Novak (Margaret Sullavan), with whom he establishes an immediate antagonistic relationship. Klara is just as oblivious to the identity of her pen pal, and that misunderstanding creates plenty of opportunities for gentle comedy. It\u2019s the kind of high-concept set-up that could easily fuel a contrived modern rom-com, and indeed the play by Hungarian writer Mikl\u00f3s L\u00e1szl\u00f3 has provided the source material (both officially and unofficially) for numerous updates, most notably 1998\u2019s You\u2019ve Got Mail<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lubitsch and screenwriter Samson Raphaelson take a more low-key approach, starting with the unveiling of the connection between the main characters, elegantly delivered via a tossed-off line about a planned meet-up one evening. This isn\u2019t a movie about dragging out a contrived central deception, although some element of deception remains in place until the final moments. Alfred and Klara are occasionally manipulative in the way they treat each other, but only because they\u2019re so eager to prove to themselves that their love is genuine, even if their methods for getting there are misguided. Thanks to the effortlessly charming performances from Stewart and Sullavan, it\u2019s easy to see the romantic possibilities between the characters whether they\u2019re swooning over their anonymous letters or arguing over workplace attire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alfred and Klara are not the only people who work in the store, though, and The Shop Around the Corner<\/em> is only partially their movie. \u201cThis is the story of Matuschek and Company \u2014 of Mr. Matuschek and the people who work for him,\u201d reads an opening title card, and Lubitsch takes that designation seriously. The dalliance between Alfred and Klara is only one of the little dramas unfolding in the store, which Matuschek runs as a benevolent dictator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The employees rush to open the taxi door for Matuschek every day when he shows up to work, and there\u2019s plenty of talk about the difficulty of finding employment in the current economic climate. But there\u2019s also genuine, believable affection among the employees for their boss, which is especially evident in the third act after Matuschek suffers a personal tragedy. Although Klara\u2019s two fellow female employees don\u2019t get much to do other than offer support and concern, there\u2019s plenty of comic business for neurotic family man Pirovitch (Felix Bressart), who amusingly runs and hides every time Matuschek starts asking for honest feedback, and ambitious errand boy Pepi Katona (William Tracy), who eventually gets drunk on the perceived power of a minor promotion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lubitsch deftly balances all of these characters and subplots, leading to a quietly heartbreaking revelation about Matuschek and one of the other employees that\u2019s just as significant as the secret between Alfred and Klara. It all plays out almost entirely within the shop itself, with only a handful of scenes elsewhere. As Matuschek says toward the end of the film, he\u2019s spent most of his life in the shop, and it represents the center of the other characters\u2019 lives as well, for better or worse. Even if they end up building a life together, it seems likely that Alfred and Klara will be forever associated with Matuschek and Company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That sounds like a depressing prospect, but The Shop Around the Corner<\/em> makes it warm and comforting, just like the romance between Alfred and Klara. That sense of solidarity and togetherness, more so than the Christmas tree that\u2019s occasionally visible in the background, makes The Shop Around the Corner<\/em> an ideal holiday movie. Matuschek has created a welcoming enclave where hard work pays off, colleagues treat each other with care, and romance can blossom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “The Shop Around the Corner” is streaming on TCM<\/a> and is available for digital rental or purchase<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/shop-still-1024x576.jpg\")
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