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The greatest comedy of all time was made in 1940, according to Bradley Cooper: “It felt innovative”
Bradley Cooper has named Ernst Lubitsch’s 1940 film *The Shop Around the Corner* his favourite comedy, praising the way its humour and separate storylines come together. His choice highlights how a relatively under-recognised classic helped shape romantic-comedy conventions that still resonate.
James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan play Budapest shop employees who bicker as colleagues while unknowingly falling for each other through anonymous letters. The film uses sharp dialogue, misunderstandings and dramatic irony, while also exploring money worries and loneliness at work. Its premise later echoed in films such as *You’ve Got Mail* and *The Lake House*.
In short
- Bradley Cooper calls *The Shop Around the Corner* his favourite comedy.
- The 1940 film pairs workplace rivalry with an anonymous pen-pal romance.
- Its humour and themes influenced later romantic comedies.
Explained simply
The Shop Around the Corner is a 1940 romantic comedy directed by Ernst Lubitsch, a German-born filmmaker known for his light touch and witty dialogue. Set in a Budapest shop, it follows two employees, played by James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan, who clash at work while writing affectionate letters to anonymous pen pals.
The film’s humour comes partly from viewers knowing that the two letter-writers are each other, even as the characters do not. Alongside the romance, it depicts everyday concerns such as money and loneliness at work.
Its anonymous-correspondent plot has been echoed in later romantic comedies, including You’ve Got Mail and The Lake House. The film is often discussed as an early example of story devices that became familiar in the genre.