A.O. Scott of the New York Times makes a glowing Christmas pick:
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In a second I’ll tell you why this particular film fills me with a sense of Christmas well being…
It is near the close of the film, Christmas Eve, as the stage is set for the wonderful resolution you saw above… But, if you listen very carefully, before the tender ending, as Stewart and Sullavan prepare to lock the doors and shut off the store lights… You can hear the voice of the director… oh yes… you can. It’s a quiet sequence. I’ll have to review the film if any of you are interested and I can give you the time code for when it occurs… I believe it happens as James Stewart is dimming the lights and securing the door, and there must have been a bobble in the action because you can hear Lubitsch say something like, “that’s fine, keep rolling, keep going, keep rolling.”
And, when this happens, every year, I tear up and it feels wonderful. If you’re a regular reader you know I grew up in Hollywood. When I hear Lubitsch speak I sense time’s elasticity – putting me squarely in a place when my father was young and was falling in love with the movies. I have heard similar words spoken countless times on many sets – and it makes me feel right at home. At home, at Christmas, I wish you all the very best.
Wonderful memory to share, Vickie.
Thank you 🙂
Honey you just brought a lump to my throat the size of stage 18 at Metro! Okay where is my hankie?
okay that last scene…Now I am crying! (and you know why)
xo
L
Hugs and squishes, V
No hankies! Have a tissue – when I was little and wore a school uniform in a COLD climate – we young ladies carried our hankies in the cuff of wool/silk blend Oxford shirts under a blue wool sweater. They were used frequently to wipe chilly noses and by the end of the day they were damp and gross. Kleenex is a godsend!!!
I wanted to say Kleenex but I couldn’t remember how to spell it. Thank you for reminding me. As a boy in the third grade I used my …sleeve. Ewww! That’s boys for ya!
You know, I’ve got really long sleeves on right now, what an excellent idea! 😉
LOL…you nut! Sending you a present now…because of Little Shop Around the Corner.
🙂
From behind the camera I whisper: “that’s fine, keep rolling, keep going, keep rolling.”
Merry Christmas with love.
Merry Christmas my darling.
This post is just *beautiful*. The “elasticity of time”, oh, yes, and the permanence of some things in the movie, in memory, in life. Time as a palimpsest, moment laid upon moment and each can be glimpsed beneath the other?
This was moving and lovely Vickie, I’m glad I found it. I feel glowy. That scene is so tender and gorgeous… I have something in my eye… Christmas in the movies. Love in the movies. *sigh*
I love your description of your Dad falling in love with the movies, that feeling, that sensation is indelible. You really DO fall in love with the movies. To me movies as an artform and an entertainment medium can represent love like books. You can learn Love, experience falling IN Love through them even if you are never loved yourself. Sorry, I was philosophizing! Oh, what it is to be moved by the movies, to cry blissful tears… There I go again. 🙂
(not to spoil the mood, but wasn’t The Shop Around The Corner remade as You’ve Got Mail? Dear me, even the title isn’t evocative while the original’s was and that’s before you compare the films!)
Poignant 🙂
Hope you had a wonderful Christmas 🙂 .
We did 🙂 thank you.
Love it! I’ve seen this movie at least fifty times (no exaggeration, I am afraid), including four or five times this year alone.
Like a favorite book? You have piqued my curiosity… Is there a novel you’ve read over and over?
Many, depending on the time of year and my mood.
Dear Enigma-Mae,
Winter, frost etches the windowpane, you have your hand around a warm mug of…and you reach for a dogeared copy of…??? xox, V
Haha, Engima-Mae! In winter I read mostly non-fiction, especially biography and history, as well as plays and poetry. I did a post about that maybe a month ago, but I realize that I named authors and not specific books. When it comes to reading fiction in winter, I rely on classics. A Glastonury Romance. Villette, Great Expectations, or whatever well-loved old book entices me as I walk past my book cases.
Ha! And thank you, now I will read the Powys, it’s new to me! 🙂
This book is my fave of his. It is a dandy.
What a memory. This is a favourite film of mine, so perfect for Christmas. I hope yours was wonderful!
I do love this movie. Much better than that musical remake with Judy Garland.
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