Here's the story. Two people begin an anonymous correspondence by letter, and they grow to like each other very much by mail. Then they make arrangements to meet in person. It turns out that they already know each other in real life -- and here, they don't like each other much at all. In fact, they're almost sworn enemies. The man of the couple realizes the truth of the letters first and keeps it a secret from the woman. She eventually admits to him that she's been corresponding with a wonderful man, not knowing that she's talking to the very man she has been writing to. Eventually the man reveals his identity to her, but only after he has a little fun and digs a little deeper to find out how she really feels. Surprise! Do they fall in love for good? You'll have to watch the whole movie to find out.

The main characters here are Alfred Kralik (Jimmy Stewart) and Clara Novak (Margaret Sullivan). Both of them work at Matuschek & Co., a leather goods store on Balta Street in Budapest, Hungary. The store has been in business for 35 years. Alfred is the head clerk, and Clara is the newest hire. Immediate friction comes between them. They're two of a handful of employees in this busy shop. Alfred shares his secret about the letters with colleague and friend Pirovitch (Felix Bressart), who becomes a sort of silent partner in crime.

These are the pre-war years, when musical cigarette boxes make popular gifts, and bosses can smoke cigars in their offices. The boss here is Hugo Matuschek (Frank Morgan), a gruff and demanding owner who can act kindly only on the rarest of occasions. A secondary plot centers on Mr. Matuschek's relationship with Emma, his wife. He comes to a certain misunderstanding that causes him to take several drastic actions. Does everything work out in the end? You decide.

The two dozen musical cigarette boxes provide comic prop humor. When opened, each one plays "Ochi Tchornya," as they say in the movie. It's the Russian folk song known as "Dark Eyes." You are sure to recognize the tune as one you have heard before. You may even grow tired of it before the movie ends. Other cultural and literary references are made to Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy and Crime & Punishment by Feodor Dostoevski.

A few slight challenges come to watching this film. Viewers have to suspend their disbelief a bit, since the movie features Hungarian settings, names and currency values, and yet somehow all of the characters speak and do their business in English. And you have to pay close attention to dialogue because both Clara Novak and clerk Ferencz Vadas (Joseph Schildkraut) tend to talk quite fast. You may not catch some of their sentences, if you watch too casually.

Otherwise, the story and the characters' reactions are timeless and are still relatable to us today. The concept of falling in love as being "psychologically mixed-up" is brilliant. Margaret Sullivan looks good in her hats. And it's always great to see young Jimmy Stewart in action. In one scene, his concerned call of "Clara! Clara!" seems to be an eerie foreshadow of the anguished "Mary! Mary!" he cries six years later in It's a Wonderful Life. A special treat comes in the amusing role of delivery boy Pepi Katona (William Tracy), who has the best lines in the script and delivers them with perfect panache. He steals the show and saves the day, to boot.

The Shop Around the Corner was reimagined and brought into the computer age almost 60 years later in the Nora Ephron movie You've Got Mail, featuring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Watch both back to back, and make your own comparisons. They are two of my favorite romantic comedies.