The Shop Around the Corner (1940) on Netflix
Passed19401h 39mComedyDramaRomance
Alfred Kralik is the top salesman at a leather goods shop in Budapest. Klara Novak, hired as a saleswoman, does not get along with him, and both have anonymous pen pals.
- Netflix4.5/5
- IMDb8.0/1044,736 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes99%
Trailer
Plot summary
In Budapest, Hungary, the Matuschek and Company store is owned by Mr. Hugo Matuschek and the bachelor Alfred Kralik is his best and most experienced salesman. When Klara Novak seeks a job position of saleswoman in the store, Matuschek hires her but Kralik and she do not get along. Meanwhile the lonely and dedicated Kralik has an unknown pen pal that he intends to propose very soon; however, he is fired without explanation by Matuschek on the night that he is going to meet his secret love. He goes to the bar where they have scheduled their meeting with his colleague Pirovitch and he surprisingly finds that Klara is his correspondent; however, ashamed After being let go he does not disclose his identity to her. When Matuschek discovers that he had misjudged Kralik and committed a mistake, he hires him again for the position of manager. But Klara is still fascinated with her correspondent and does not pay much attention to Alfred. Alfred works out a plan to reveal himself to Klara's who he is attracted to now that he sees past her attitude.
Cast
Show all 20 cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Lubitsch decided the studio should use "real snow" for the Christmas Eve scenes instead of fake snow, and as a result thirty tons of ice were shaved to create the effect.
- MGM had bought the rights to the film from Lubitsch for $62,500 before he joined the studio; when MGM wanted him to produce and direct Ninotchka, he agreed on the condition that he also produce and direct The Shop Around the Corner.
- According to author Scott Eyman, the film ran in Paris for 66 weeks in 1986-1987, making it the most successful reissue ever in France.
- Nora Ephron's You've Got Mail reworked the story for the email age: Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) owns a bookstore called "The Shop Around the Corner" and unknowingly falls in love with her business rival Joe Fox (Tom Hanks).
- Dolly Haas, Margaret Tallichet and Janet Gaynor were each at one point attached to the film before Margaret Sullavan was cast in the lead role alongside James Stewart.
