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Film Review: The Shop Around the Corner
Lenny Manzo - wrote on 01/17/10
You should include this DVD in your holiday viewing this year. It’s an obscure film that is absolutely delightful, a great movie that cuts through all demographics.
When I saw The Shop Around the Corner, I realized Ernst Lubitsch was a great filmmaker. He is one of the heavies of the old days who is overlooked today when we look back at the golden age of cinema. Case and point The Shop Around the Corner, is a masterpiece and truly a lost gem.
This is a lovely comedy that does not ware down with age. What I enjoyed most was the script and the eloquent way the players delivered their lines. Lubitsch is a master of innuendo and the dialogue is wonderful. A good story craftily woven together, carried through by excellent acting starring James Stewart, Margaret Sullivan and a solid cast of supporting players.
Done with very few sets this movie was done quite efficiently. They probably knocked it out in less than six weeks. Lubitsch is not well known today due to his early death at 55 and the fact that two thirds of his films were made in the silent era. Certainly he ranks with Howard Hawks and John Ford his peers at that time.
This film was remade later with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan and renamed You’ve Got Mail. They did a good job with it, but why not check out the original. Turn off the lights and get ready for a great night in your home theater. This one certainly calls for popcorn.
To find out more about Lenny Manzo you can visit him at his website, www.lennymanzo.com
