In the Good Old Summertime (1949)

In the Good Old Summertime
Directed by Robert Z. Leonard
Written by Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich, Ivan Tors and Samuel Raphaelson from the play “Parfumerie” by Miklós Lázló
1949/USA
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
First viewing/Amazon Instant

[box] Veronica Fisher: Psychologically, I’m very confused, but personally I feel just wonderful.[/box]

Long-time readers will know that The Shop Around the Corner is one of my very favorite romantic comedies.  This musical remake really had no hope of measuring up.  It doesn’t really try.

The setting has been moved from a leather-goods store in Budapest to a music store in Chicago at the turn of the last century.  Andrew Delby Larkin (Van Johnson) meets cute with Veronica Fisher (Judy Garland) when he crashes into her on the sidewalk, elaborately destroying her hat and hairdo in the process of trying to make things right.  They become reacquainted when she comes into the music store where Andrew works as head salesman to look for a job.  She is hired and the two squabble continuously thereafter.

The shop is owned by the tempermental Mr. Oberkuchen (S.K. ‘Cuddles’ Sakall) who drives everyone crazy by soothing himself by screeching on his violin whenever he gets upset.  Mr. Oberkuchen and his bookkeeper Nellie (Spring Byington) are in love. The other employees are Oberkuchen’s nephew Hickey (Buster Keaton) and salesman Rudy.

The pen-pal storyline proceeds just about the same as the plot of The Shop on Main Street (and You’ve Got Mail (1998)) and I won’t repeat it.  In this version, the adultery subplot is replaced with a little drama concerning Andrew’s decision to lend Mr. Oberkuchen’s beloved Stradivarius to a friend for her violin audition.

Some of the dialogue is lifted directly from the script of The Shop on Main Street and those scenes are the best in the movie.  I even teared up at the very end when I heard the “take me out of my envelope” line.  The rest of it is MGM-style glossy fluff.  It was really good to see Buster Keaton on the screen and Garland has some entertaining numbers.

Trailer – the little girl the stars are walking with toward the beginning is Liza Minnelli