Plot: What’s it about?
Before You’ve Got Mail debuted a few years back, the original movie that it was taken from was entitled The Shop Around the Corner. Granted the year was 1940 and a lot has changed since then, heck…the United States wasn’t even involved in World War II yet! Director Ernst Lubitsch had wanted to make the film earlier, in fact, but stars Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart weren’t available at the time. Instead, he made a little film entitled Ninotchka with Greta Garbo; another film that has stood the (romantic) test of time. While this film and its modern counterpart couldn’t be more different, they do share the common theme of the movie; they’re both in love with each other yet neither one of them knows it. In You’ve Got Mail, Tom Hanks plays the Jimmy Stewart character (Hanks is often referred to as the "Modern day Jimmy Stewart") and Meg Ryan portrays the Margaret Sullavan role. Instead of letters, email is the communication of choice. Though Hanks and Ryan give it their best, the original is still the one to see and its never better than with James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan.
Alfred (James Stewart) and Klara (Margaret Sullavan) are two employees in the same shop owned by Mr. Matusheck (Frank Morgan). Alfred has been with the store for some nine years and is the most trusted and "highest-ranking" employee. As Klara has gotten herself a job with the store, the tension can be cut with a knife between the two. The only thing that either of them looks forward to is the letters that each of them have been exchanging (but neither of them know that it’s the other who is sending them). As time progresses, Mr. Matusheck starts to suspect someone of having an affair with his wife. Tensions with Alfred and Hugo (Matusheck) start to flare and before he knows it, he fires Alfred. Little does he know that he has suspected the wrong person all along and it’s not long after that Alfred is rehired and even given a promotion to run the store.
This, of course, takes a backseat to what the entire film is about…the unknowing relationship between our two leads. As Christmas approaches, the store is in dire need of making a profit and with Hugo out of the picture (he fell ill due to "Psychological" needs after he found out that he fired the wrong man), its up to the store’s employees to make it happen. This and we need to see if the two romantic leads fall in love with one another or this is just all some sick joke. While The Shop Around the Corner has been remade as a movie (with Judy Garland, a musical no less) and a Broadway show, this is still the best incarnation of the theme. This seems to be a rather overlooked film in James Stewart’s catalog of movies, still I feel its one of his better roles. In any case, this is a good romance movie and though it might be old that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s out of style.
Video: How does it look?
Like so many films of the time, The Shop Around the Corner is presented in a full-frame ratio and, for the most part, the image looks about average. Lest we forget that the movie is more than 60 years old, so there’s not a lot that can be done to improve the picture quality. Then again, we look at Citizen Kane and see how good it looks, you have to wonder if certain films are getting a little more attention than others. The film has a few flaws, with some specs being seen here and there and those vertical lines that plague older movies are present at different times. Still, there are scenes, like at the end of the movie, when the snow is falling and there’s almost a 3-D quality to the picture. Nevertheless, this isn’t a movie that you watch to grade the video quality, but its not unwatchable by any means.
Audio: How does it sound?
A mono mix is all that’s supplied here and for the most part, I had no complaints. Some movies of this age tend to have a very distinct "hiss" to them and I’m pleased to say that this isn’t one of them. The film is almost entirely dialogue-driven and it made me realize how much we depend on modern day soundtracks to supply some of the "action" that drives the movie. This isn’t the case here as the plot is more than sufficient and while the audio won’t blow you away, it serves the purpose here…and that’s all it’s supposed to do.
Supplements: What are the extras?
The disc touts a few extras, though none are really that in depth. A featurette entitled "A New Romance of Celluloid" comes from the MGM vaults and essentially shows the movies and how the sound was synched. It tells of how cotton is made to produce celluloid and credits Thomas Edison for the advent of sound. While I’m not sure what this all has to do with this movie (it was released in 1940 and the first "talkies" were around 1927), its interesting at the very least. Additionally, there are some text-based facts on the film and the movies that it inspired (In the Good Old Summertime and You’ve Got Mail) and trailers for those movies as well. While it has more features than say, a Paramount disc, this is a good disc and a great if not overlooked movie.
