The Shop Around the Corner

A leather goods shop in prewar Budapest. Alfred Kralik, the best salesman there, is corresponding with a woman whose name he does not know. At the same time he is constantly at odds with Klara Novak, newly hired. Neither knows the letters are coming from the person in front of them. Ernst Lubitsch directed and produced. The source is Miklós László's 1937 Hungarian play Parfumerie. Samson Raphaelson wrote the screenplay, with uncredited work from Ben Hecht. James Stewart plays Kralik and Margaret Sullavan plays Klara, with Frank Morgan and Joseph Schildkraut in the cast. It opened on 12 January 1940 and resolves at Christmas. It underperformed commercially at first while the reviews praised the performances. Rotten Tomatoes now sits at 99 percent and Metacritic at 96. In 1999 it entered the National Film Registry as culturally, historically or aesthetically significant. The story has been adapted many times, most famously as Nora Ephron's You've Got Mail in 1998. Who it is for: viewers who like classic Hollywood romantic comedy and the Lubitsch touch. Who it is not for: anyone wanting authenticity. Budapest was built entirely on the MGM lot and the film does not try to hide it.