MovieChat Forums > The Shop Around the Corner (1940) Discussion > Pepi was such a scheming little scut

Pepi was such a scheming little scut


He is an errand boy ,basically a nobody.
he just happens by coincidence to catch Mr Matuschek trying to commit suicide and stops him. Then while visiting Mr Matuschek in the hospital he starts his scheming, basically milking Mr Matuschek into making him a clerk .

Then he walks into the shop all haughty taughty . picks up the phone and calls an employment agency to hire a new errand boy . Who the hell gave him the right to do so, he's not the manager or the owner .Then he basically tells Mrs Matuschek off on the phone about Vardash- telling everyone to draw their own conclusions when Matuschek told even Mr Kralik not to mention it to anyone. When they ask him who made him a clerk. even Pirovitch says " who would do such a horrible thing" and he says "well if it wasn't for him youd all be out of jobs this xmas" real snotty like.

And to top it off , when Mr Matuschek is giving out Xmas bonuses ,he hands the new errand boy Rudy some money to which Pepi says to Rudy "it's too much". What a scheming little stuck up scut. For a sales clerk , he seems to think he ran the place and that Rudy worked just for him. I would have kicked his tail out the door .




"So, a thought crossed your mind? Must have been a long and lonely journey"

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Don't take Pepi too seriously when he does that. Most of that is a put-on.

Don't forget your tsvets!

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Don't take Pepi too seriously when he does that. Most of that is a put-on.


It most certainly was not a put on. His character was written as a weasel.
He took advantage of a bad situation and used people for his own gain. From being made a sales clerk by blackmailing the boss to just hiring someone without permission then berating that new delivery boy and then telling the delivery boy that his Xmas bonus was too much. I mean he gets the job as clerk and then it's like he thinks he's the boss and sticks his nose up at the other clerks. Matuschek
should have fired him on the spot or at the very least had the police arrest him for blackmail.


"So, a thought crossed your mind? Must have been a long and lonely journey"

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[deleted]

He was a manipulator, but he did it all so charmingly, I couldn't help but like him!

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He was cute but in an extremely obnoxious, self-serving way. He totally spilled the beans about the attempted suicide and what led to it and used being in the right place at the right time in a bad situation to his own advantage.

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I agree, smrhyne-1. He and Vadas are both ambitious, and they both use charm strategically, but they are also different. I think Pepi is a better person than Vadas.

Also, regardless of what we think of Pepi, it must be said that William Tracy gave a brilliant performance. Once Pepi becomes a clerk, he practically steals the film (in his own scenes, anyway).

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I think Mr Matuschek knew Pepi very well, and had already intended to make him a clerk upon Kralik's promotion to manager.



"Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?" H. M. Warner, Warner Brothers, 1927

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When discussing major plot turns, it's customary to alert readers with "SPOILER ALERT."

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When discussing major plot turns, it's customary to alert readers with "SPOILER ALERT."


If this were the Film General Board, I would agree.

I can only speak for myself, but I've never read the comments on the message board of a specific film until after I've seen it.




Hair today. Goon tomorrow.

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That's "Mister Katona" to you! :)






Get me a bromide! And put some gin in it!

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The other clerks like the two Women and Kralik's friend, I can't remember His Name, didn't have a lot of respect for Him. When Pepi announced that Mr. Matuschek had made Him a Clerk, the Man said, "Who did this dreadful thing"? And, He was the nice one.

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Pepi is a truly awful person if you take everything seriously, but the way he was played, I feel made him into more of a comic character. I found myself laughing at his ego and puffed up sense of himself.

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I agree.

He was definitely put in for comic relief.

~~~~~
Jim Hutton (1934-79) & Ellery Queen = 

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I was watchin with my son, a medical student, and he cracked up at Pepi's explanation of Mr M's condition which is nonsensical doubletalk.

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I also like the way he handles Mrs. M when she calls (after the suicide attempt). "Your perfume days are over, sister." 

~~~~~
Jim Hutton (1934-79) & Ellery Queen = 

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On the other hand, he was also very faithful to the store and to his boss. He is the one who saved Mr. M's life, probably got him an ambulance, stayed at the hospital with him, contacted Kralik, etc. His boss knew that they would need an extra employee and he couldn't do the hiring himself, so he just decided that Pepi would be fine. Basically Pepi was promoted.

I think that the scenes later on were put in for comic relief.

~~~~~
Jim Hutton (1934-79) & Ellery Queen = 

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