The Shop around the Corner premiered January 12th, 1940 and was directed by Ernst Lubitsch. It starred Jimmy Stewart, Margaret Sullavan and Frank Morgan, and is one of my favorite movies. The one-liners are priceless, and Jimmy Stewart's performance is warm and memorable, one of his best. There's something about his voice when he does love scenes. It's soft, gentle strength stands in direct contrast to previous scenes when he bellows and blusters. I am not as fond of Margaret Sullavan. I think she tries to hard to compete with Stuart, to be a strong female character, but it comes off a little shrill, her voice especially. To me she lacks the real strength of Katharine Hepburn, or even actresses like Elizabeth Taylor or Ginger Rogers.
My favorite little scene, a perfect sample of the witty pace of the movie:
Customer- Excuse me. How much is that belt in the window, the one that says 2.95.
Kralick- 2.95.
Customer- Oh no!
The Philadelphia Story, released December 26th, 1940, directed by George Cukor, starred Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart. The story of a wealthy young heiress, Tracy, embarking on her second marriage to a self-made "man of the people," her first marriage to well-to-do alcoholic Dexter played by Cary Grant having dissolved not too long before. Added to the mix is a tabloid journalist, Mike played by Stewart, an aspiring writer who stoops to trashy gossip column pieces to pay the rent, accompainied by his girlfriend, a painter who photographs stars to make a living. This is a movie about the rich and the working-class, about the happy and unhappy. Most of all it is about discovering yourself, about breaking through first impressions to find the heart of a person, and loving them for that person.
Hepburn is stunning in the beginning, haughty and cool, stern and unforgiving. She is sharp and crisp, the perfect snooty, rich princess Hollywood vilifies. Then a change comes over Tracy, partly precipitated by her father's reprimand, and partly by Mike. She knows Mike's true reason for crashing her wedding, to turn in a story to a tabloid, and judges him based on this knowledge. When she finds out he's a writer, she begins to question other things about her life: were Dexter's faults really enough to wreck their true love? Is her new fiance's spotless image enough to make her happy? The transformation Tracy takes, from a shining, sneering queen to a humble, fragile woman is the true heart of the film. To be perfectly honest, however, I prefer Hepburn as the queen.
Dexter- Sometimes, for your own sake, Red, I think you should have stuck to me longer.
Tracy- I thought it was for life, but the nice judge gave me a full pardon.
Dexter- Aaah, that's the old redhead. No bitterness, no recrimination, just a good swift left to the jaw.
Mike- Champagne's funny stuff. I'm used to whiskey. Whiskey is a slap on the back, and champagne's heavy mist before my eyes.
Tracy- The time to make up your mind about people is never.
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