Shop Aournd the Corner (1940)

One of my favorite Christmas movies, and one of the best Rom-coms ever made. Favorite characters, moments and dialogue:

Supporting Characters

• Joseph Schildkraut as the shamless toady, yes-man, backstabber, and dandy.
• Pepe looking at Rudy's Bonus and Saying "too much"
• Perovitch hiding whenever Morgan wants a "honest opinion"
• Perovitch:  "Entertain? What are you an Ambassador?"

Frank Morgan

• "She didn't want to grow old with me"
• When he admits to Stewart he's been wrong about him.
• Yelling at his staff, then being nice to a customer, then going back to yelling.
• Morgan telling Rudy about the wonderful Christmas meal they will have.

James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan:

• Stewart's hurt puppy dog look when Sullavan calls him an insignificant clerk
• Sullavan's gloved hand reaching for a letter in an empty mail box
• Are those real diamonds? They're pretty near. 
• Stewart: "Half Shakespeare and half me."
• Sullavan line reading of : My trouble is what one might call......psychological.
• Sullavan's expression of Joy when she gets a letter from "dear Friend"
• The catch in Sullavan voice when she says: "Maybe we'll both be engaged Monday morning"
• Sullivan: "Instead of licking my hand, you barked,  My mistake was I didn't realize that the difference between this glamorous lady.....and me was that she was with the Comédie Française......and I was with Matuschek and Company."
• Stewart: If I were a girl and had to choose between a young, good-for-nothing... ...with plenty of hair,and a solid, mature citizen... ...l'd pick Mathias Popkin every time."
• Sullavan: Who is this very attractive young man? He's just the type women fall for."

Just a word on Margaret Sullavan

I love her in this movie and she has perfect chemistry with Stewart.  She's pretty, intelligent, and has a great attractive voice.  But in listening to several podcast reviews I was amazed that serveral people don't like her.  She's too "mean".  She's not good lookin enough.  Of course, Klara is mean to Stewart at serveral points, but from her point of view its justified.  Until the cafe scence, Stewart has been "all business" with her, and full of criticism. And at the cafe she's afraid he's going to spoil her big date,  and Stewart's hanging around seems like deliberate sabotage.  She's does call him an 'insignficant clerk" but that's only after he called her a Snippy old maid who will never find love. The criticism seems to be indicative of people in the 21st century rerquiring everything to be super obvious and "nice".  Lets not offend anyone!

As for Sullavan not being good looking enough.  Klara is supposed to be  "Just a lovely, average girl". Her clothes were deliberately made average, the kind a shop girl could afford.  Sullavan is pretty enough for the role.  Like Myrna Loy, her voice and face are her best qualities.  She's not supposed to be Grace Kelly or a sexy bombshell.