THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER (1940) (***1/2)

I saw this story done on the stage first, so I knew the story going in. However, the performances across the board are wonderful and brought life to a story often told on both stage and screen -- most recently as YOU'VE GOT MAIL.

This version stars James Stewart (THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH) as Alfred Kralik and Margaret Sullavan (THE SHINING HOUR) as Klara Novak, two people who strike up a pen-pal romance, but come to hate each other when they unknowingly meet as employees of the department store Matuschek and Co. The two plan to meet, but when Kralik sees that his secret love is Miss Novak, he's unsure what to do. When she sees him she jabs him with a few insults and he leaves not telling her that he's her mystery man. From this point forward, Kralik works to mend his reputation in the eyes of Miss Novak.

Stewart brings his signature wit and down-home charm to his part. Stewart handles the various elements of his character differently. When he's bickering with Miss Novak, he is wry, but when he's trying to court her he turns on the charm. Then he becomes the born leader when problems arise around the shop. Sullavan gives Miss Novak a touch of frantic desperateness. She really needs the clerk's job and sees Alfred as a threat. She's desperate to meet her letter-writing Mr. Right and just loves to rub it in Alfred's face.

In a subplot, boss Hugo Matuschek (Frank Morgan, WIZARD OF OZ) gets word that one of his clerks is having an affair with his wife. He suspects Mr. Kralik at first and this leads to tragic results. Morgan's performance is subtle and honest as a man who feels that his life has been put into a painful new perspective. In addition, William Tracy's (MR. AND MRS. SMITH) performance as young determined bike messenger, Pepi, is a comic gem. His phone call to Mrs. Matuschek, late in the film, is wonderful.

Director Ernst Lubitsch was a master of the smart romantic comedy. The dialogue is witty and all the actors deliver with great timing. He knows how irony draws in an audience when we know more than various characters know. He also knows that humor lasts the test of time when it's based on honest emotions. He never pulls punches with the comedy or the dramatic moments. From this material, I know why this film has been redone so many times.