White elephant gift exchanges are a fad that has lasted longer than I thought possible and which can die whenever it feels like it.  I always wondered how it started and, though it is unlikely it was inspired by 1940’s The Shop Around the Corner, it has what I think might be the first item of that kind.

It is a cigarette case with a music box mechanism which plays some horrible Hungarian standard each time the lid is opened.  Frank Morgan owns a luxury goods store in Budapest and he stocks a great number of these things, mistakenly thinking they’ll be a hot seller.  Jimmy Stewart, as his most valued salesperson, thinks this is a mistake.  Margaret Sullivan is desperate for a job, and lands one with Morgan after she convinces a heavyset female customer this is a candy box that discourages one from overindulging.  But I think it is fellow employee Felix Bressart who has the right idea, as he buys one to get something for a relative he despises.

This movie is supposed to a romantic comedy, but I didn’t find it be any of the former and only occasionally successful as the later.  That came as quite a surprise, as this was directed by the usually reliable Ernst Lubitsch.

One problem may be the slightly miscast Stewart.  His character is hard to root for, especially with how he treats Sullivan.  He is dismissive towards every suggestion she makes, and he even seems to be determined to criticize her wardrobe.  The plot has them almost go on a blind date together.  Stewart, realizing she is his mystery date, keeps her in the dark and rather cruelly maintains a ruse of a nonexistent suitor corresponding with her.  Naturally, the truth will eventually be revealed, and she will just suddenly go from hating him to being madly in love with him.  I wish she had slugged him instead.

Another core problem I had with the film was it supposedly being staged in Budapest, when the action could have been relocated to anywhere we might have likely encountered people with accents such as those of our leads.  Actually, I even would have accepted an entirely American or British cast supposedly in Hungary, but only if none of the actors sounded like they indigenous to the area.  Instead, we have an awkward mix which includes some actors could pass for Hungarians (such as Bressart), which only makes somebody like Stewart stand out even more awkwardly.

An odd subplot has Morgan correctly suspect his wife of infidelity while incorrectly believing Stewart to be the other man.  Since there isn’t any reason we can tell for Morgan to think this, this plot element seems ridiculous.  Morgan’s rationale is Stewart has been in his house more than anybody else.  But Stewart had only been in his house repeatedly, while it is another associate who has been in his wife. 

I found it frustrating The Shop Around the Corner didn’t click with me.  A second viewing a few years after the first did not increase my appreciation.  The film does have some slight charms, but these are largely courtesy of the minor characters played by the likes of Bressart and William Tracy.  As I have experienced so many times while watching so many movies, I wish I could see a feature that largely follows these characters instead of the leads.

Dir: Ernst Lubitsch

Starring Jimmy Stwart, Margaret Sullivan, Frank Morgan

Watched on Warner Archive blu-ray