MovieChat Forums > The Shop Around the Corner (1940) Discussion > A few problems I have with the movie

A few problems I have with the movie

posted 13 years ago by MichaelMartinDeSapio
14 replies | jump to latest

It gives me no pleasure to write this, because I know this film is widely regarded as having an absolute Mozartian perfection to it. And don't misunderstand, I like this movie very much. But there are a couple things which bother me about it. It seems there is not enough buildup to Alfred and Klara's relationship from the start. It's as if they meet, then fastforward several months and they're suddenly standing outside of the shop bickering. What happened in the intervening time? Why did they start not liking each other in the first place? Why the huge time jump? Whenever I see the movie, it feels as if a chunk was left out. And the final falling-in-love of Alfred and Klara is not convincing to me either. They never really reconciled their differences or found anything in common. I think it would have helped if we actually heard the contents of their letters in more detail. Alfred refers to Klara's high ideals and such, but we're not given any evidence of this, or the "cultural subjects" that they supposedly discussed in the letter. Thus, the central love story of the movie fell flat for me.

The other thing is that in a few moments there seem to be continuity problems. Like when a character says something, then a cut to someone else, then a cut back to the first character, but they have a different expression or posture.

Comments?

[–] Jakezen 13 years ago

Interesting points. I think Nora Ephron must have agreed with you and decided to do a re-write of the story and called it "You've Got Mail." ;-)

[–] LilyLiveredFarmer 13 years ago

Just saw this today and I think that that was one of my favourite things about the film. It felt slightly jarring that we suddenly jump forward such a period of time and with no real understanding of the characters deep-rooted animosity towards each other, but it has such a beautiful pay off in the final scene when Klara chattily reveals that she actually fancied the pants off him at the start and that the mocking and name calling was just an attempt to attract his attention and a front for her awkwardness; suddenly everything falls into place, how the characters seemed to like each other initially (Alfred tenderly refers to the 'quite a nice girl' he first met) and why afterwards both characters feel any slight by the other so keenly like 'old maid' or 'bow-legged' and react so defensively.

It's nice to know the filmmaker wasn't just clumsily making the characters act in the generic 'they hate each on sight so they must be made for each other' romantic comedy mold. The situation was so expertly set-up that at the start of the final scene both characters have behaved so unpleasantly toward each other you can't really see them as potential friends let alone lovers, but in the space of a beautiful few short minutes as they finally kiss they seem so perfectly right for each other it's inconceivable for it to be any other way :)

I too was curious as to what Klara and Alfred were writing to each other when watching the film, but in retrospect I think it might have been slightly clunky to hear voice-overs or to see the characters writing them; better to imagine this meeting of minds and to fill in the blanks, the letters serving instead to illustrate what only becomes clear at the close of the film that underneath the snappish behaviour and misunderstanding these two are truly simpatico.

[–] PillowRock 13 years ago

in retrospect I think it might have been slightly clunky to hear voice-overs or to see the characters writing them; better to imagine this meeting of minds and to fill in the blanks

It's a case where if they quote the letters too extensively, no matter what they put in the letters a large percentage of the audience won't find it sufficiently romantic or meaningful enough to create the emotional attachment that we see. It's better to let the audience fill in the blanks of the letters based on how they see the characters reacting. That way, the reactions are appropriate in each audience member's mind.

In addition, as you point out, the movie would have absolutely ground to halt while we stopped to read a letter every 5 or 10 minutes through the majority of the movie. The time required for that also would have forced a lot of the action and character interaction that was in the movie to be edited out, leaving it a much less rich and complex tapestry of a community of characters in the shop.

[–] cclowell 12 years ago

It gives me no pleasure to write this, because I know this film is widely regarded as having an absolute Mozartian perfection to it. And don't misunderstand, I like this movie very much. But there are a couple things which bother me about it. It seems there is not enough buildup to Alfred and Klara's relationship from the start. It's as if they meet, then fastforward several months and they're suddenly standing outside of the shop bickering. What happened in the intervening time? Why did they start not liking each other in the first place? Why the huge time jump? Whenever I see the movie, it feels as if a chunk was left out. And the final falling-in-love of Alfred and Klara is not convincing to me either. They never really reconciled their differences or found anything in common. I think it would have helped if we actually heard the contents of their letters in more detail. Alfred refers to Klara's high ideals and such, but we're not given any evidence of this, or the "cultural subjects" that they supposedly discussed in the letter. Thus, the central love story of the movie fell flat for me.

So, if I understand you correctly, you didn't like the central characters of the story, nor the way the plotline was constructed or the manner in which the film was shot, which begs the question: what did you like about the movie?

Personally, I think the film's just fine the way it is. Long before Klara confesses her initial attraction to Alfred and her reasons for "treating him like a dog" in the early days of their working together, it's established gradually that Klara and Alfred have been feuding for a number of reasons, including but not limited to, his criticisms of her (criticizing her for wearing an inappropriate blouse, her suggestions for improving the shop, wrapping packages, etc.) so the antagonism between the two characters is mutual.

We also learn that some of Alfred's hostilty toward Klara is the result of Mr. Matuscheck's suddenly turning on Alfred and upbraiding him with a number of petty complaints (such as ordering Alfred to tell Klara the blouse was inappropriate.)

I think the relationship is very well delineated throughout the film to maintain our interest in these characters and generate suspense as to how it will all be resolved until the final, charming, and very romantic fadeout.

[–] maxskyfan-9 11 years ago

I didn’t really see these problems with the story and it was seemingly understandable about how everyone was acting and reacting to each other and there was plenty of dialog in way of storytelling as well. If there was any time jump I didn’t notice it. From start to finish it was neatly told. Oftentimes you will come across a movie with gaping holes of reasoning, where the characters will stop talking completely and you will have to guess to what they are thinking as they walk quickly out of the room. All you will have are gawking stares and silence and then none of your questions will be answered and the movie will just end. This is not one of those movies.

[–] ljspin 11 years ago

To go back to one of the OP's problems -- that the hostility between Alfred and Klara was never established. But it was!

When Klara comes to the shop looking for a job, she talks first with Alfred. He is not a manager then, only the head salesman, but he has the confidence of Mr. Matuschek. He tells Klara that there are no positions available. She wants to speak to Mr. Matuschek himself. That begins their argument: Alfred is upset that Klara won't take his word, and Klara is upset that Alfred won't direct her to Matuschek. Matuschek does appear and, at first, backs up Alfred and says he has no positions available. However, after Klara takes charge and sells one of the musical cigarette boxes, the same boxes that Alfred told Matuschek it was a mistake to buy, and sells it at a higher price than Matuschek intended, he hires her. Alfred takes this as an affront to his authority in the shop and his ability to pick products that will sell. Unreasonable though it may be, he holds this against Klara during their working relationship.

[–] Mademoiselle_Lemon 10 years ago

I won't address the OP's initial complaint, since I think ljspin's and others' posts have answered it sufficiently, but as for the second point:

They never really reconciled their differences or found anything in common. I think it would have helped if we actually heard the contents of their letters in more detail. Alfred refers to Klara's high ideals and such, but we're not given any evidence of this, or the "cultural subjects" that they supposedly discussed in the letter. Thus, the central love story of the movie fell flat for me.

The whole point is that Alfred and Klara did have things in common - they found this out through their correspondence. We hear snippets about their shared interest in literature, and while it might've been nice to hear more, I think the information that was provided to the audience was enough for us to realize why Klara might believe that her mystery correspondent is more educated and cultured than Alfred "the insignificant clerk." Besides, the story isn't really about two people who are very well-read, or about two people whose dislike turns to love, but instead it's about two people who dislike each other because they only see one facet of the other person (and at the same time love each other for the other facet). That's what I took away from it, anyway.

I don't think the filmmakers needed to show that they ironed out any of their differences, mainly because those differences were minimal anyway, but also because that would've dragged out the movie unnecessarily. The romantic comedies of today seem to lengthen endings in a formulaic fashion: Every deception and disagreement must be clarified in a dramatic speech after a montage, rather than just leaving the audience to infer that these will be explained by the characters off-screen. I've noticed that older films, on the other hand, tend to have rather succinct endings and they don't linger around too long after the couple gets together.

[–] CountJohn 10 years ago

They were bickering from the very first scene where they met. Stewart's super serious work demeanor was obviously going to clash with her dreamy idealism, although in their private lives they could get along quite well. There was nothing to be gained by showing the audience a bunch of repetitive scenes of them bickering. One of the biggest strengths of this movie is its pacing.

HO, HO, HO, MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!!

[–] SamoanJoes 9 years ago

Has anyone told you that you look like Kubrick?

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Richard-908 7 years ago

In response to the second point in your post - the continuity errors:
The most notable are several occasions when some extra dialogue seems to have been dubbed in in post-production. Each time it involves Mr Matuschek saying something along the lines of "I just want your honest opinion" and each time, in reaction, we see Mr Pirovich disappearing through a door, scuttling upstairs etc. I've always felt these shots were added to give extra insight into their respective characters, as well as adding to the comedic element of the film.

[–] MsELLERYqueen2 7 years ago

That's just the style of the film. Instead of showing every argument and every letter, the director chose to have the characters discuss what's been happening the past few months. It's an interesting approach to a romantic story, and it gave the filmmakers time to focus on the other plots.

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