By the late 1930s, Ernst Lubitsch had firmly cemented his status as one of the top directors working in Hollywood. After starting his career making silent films in Europe, he came to the United States to direct Mary Pickford in 1923’s Rosita. From there, he built a reputation for his distinctive brand of sophistication and easily made the transition from silent films to talkies.
Over the years, Lubitsch directed, wrote, and produced movies for most of the major studios in Hollywood, but many of his signature movies, including Design for Living and Trouble in Paradise, were made at Paramount. The partnership between Paramount and Lubitsch had been successful enough that he became Paramount’s head of production in 1935. Even though this gave Lubitsch the distinction of being the only director to also oversee all productions by one of the major Hollywood studios, it wasn’t a role he was well-suited for and he only held that job for a year. After directing two more movies for the studio, Angel (1937) and Bluebeard’s Eighth Wife (1938), Lubitsch and Paramount parted ways.
After his time with Paramount came to an end, Lubitsch wasn’t without his options. He certainly could have tried to work with other studios in Hollywood, but did he really need the support of a major studio? He decided to find out by exploring the idea of going independent. Enter Myron Selznick.
The name “Selznick” certainly has a lot of meaning for film history enthusiasts, but the first name that comes to mind is likely David O. Selznick. David’s brother, Myron, was also active in the film industry, but was primarily known for his work as a talent agent. As an agent, Myron represented stars like Katharine Hepburn, Carole Lombard, William Powell, Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier, and Ernst Lubitsch. But Myron wasn’t without his ambitions as a producer and worked as a producer or production associate/consultant on a small handful of movies, most notably 1920’s The Flapper, starring Olive Thomas, and Gone With the Wind.
By 1938, Myron Selznick had been out of the production game for over a decade. But his brother, David, had established himself as an independent producer and formed his own studio, Selznick International Pictures, in 1935. Most of the movies produced by Selznick International were distributed by United Artists, the production company launched by Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, and D.W. Griffith in 1919 as a way to give notable talents in the industry more control over their movies. If there was one thing Myron had access to, it was notable talent in the film industry. And with Ernst Lubitsch parting ways with Paramount, Myron saw the potential for Lubitsch to enter that league of top-notch talent by facilitating the production of independent films and partnering with other companies, such as United Artists, for distribution.
In late July 1938, industry trade publications started buzzing about the creation of Ernst Lubitsch Productions, Inc. Ernst Lubitsch Productions was intended to be the first in a series of independent production units created under a company headed by Myron Selznick. These production companies were intended to include actors and writers in addition to directors, and each production unit would be named after the notable figure associated with it. These production units would also allow the talent involved to participate in profit sharing arrangements.
The July 27, 1938 issue of Variety announced the formation of Ernst Lubitsch Productions, describing it as, “…one of the most startling developments in the picture industry years.” Multiple publications cited Myron’s decision to get back into production as being due to his belief that the industry “has reached the point where partnership between important talent and the picture creator using that talent is inevitable.” Selznick also explained this venture by saying, “This puts the big names of the screen in the position of gambling on their own drawing powers, taking their profits or losses according to the popularity of their pictures on the world market.”
On the surface, it appeared as if Ernst Lubitsch Productions was ready to hit the ground running. On July 28, 1938, The Film Daily reported that the first film made by Ernst Lubitsch Productions was to be The Shop Around the Corner, an adaptation of the Miklós László play Parfumerie, with Sampson Raphelson set to write the screenplay and Dolly Haas to star.
Not only was there news about the first film set to be produced by Ernst Lubitsch Productions, by August 1938, trade publications were already reporting that Carole Lombard and William Powell were set to star in the company’s second film, but a story had not been chosen for their film. In the August 20, 1938 issue of Motion Picture Herald, it was noted that this new teaming of Lombard and Powell would not be a comedy. Various reports from the time also named Lombard, Powell, and Janet Gaynor as other talent who could head other production units under Myron’s arrangement.
But, as history tells us, there would not be another teaming of Carole Lombard and William Powell as a follow-up to My Man Godfrey. And while Lubitsch did direct The Shop Around the Corner, it was made at MGM later on, not as an independent film. Ultimately, Ernst Lubitsch Productions – and Myron Selznick’s foray into independent production as a whole – ended just as suddenly as it began. The November 19, 1938 issue of Boxoffice magazine included an article confirming that Myron’s plans for these production companies had either been abandoned or temporarily shelved. The decision to end this venture was a move industry insiders could only speculate about. In the same article from Boxoffice, industry opposition and concerns over the direction of the talent management industry were named as two possible reasons. Securing distribution for movies made under this system may have also been a factor. Just days after Ernst Lubitsch Productions was announced, Boxoffice ran an article in their July 30, 1938 issue about potential complications in creating a distribution arrangement with United Artists, stating that if Myron did move forward with his plans to create multiple production units, it could potentially be too much for United Artists to handle – particularly if United Artists was able to continue their partnership with Selznick International. Articles in industry publications often reported on talks between Ernst Lubitsch Productions and United Artists, but there were also some reports about talks with Grand National as well. Ultimately, a distribution partner was never officially confirmed.
Ernst Lubitsch Productions was a short-lived venture, but it didn’t take long for Lubitsch to find a new home professionally. By the end of December 1938, trade publications were reporting that Lubitsch would be heading to MGM to direct The Shop Around the Corner, as well as Ninotchka, starring Greta Garbo.
The Shop Around the Corner went into production at MGM in October of 1939, and once the wheels were finally in motion, the process seems to have been pretty uneventful. Reports about casting for The Shop Around the Corner started appearing in industry publications in March 1939, citing James Stewart, Margaret Sullavan, and Frank Morgan as being set to star, so it doesn’t seem like there were any big casting shakeups before filming began. The most dramatic story I was able to find about the production of The Shop Around the Corner came in an article titled “We Cover the Studios” by Jack Wade, published in the February 1940 issue of Photoplay, which briefly mentioned a visit Wade made to the set of The Shop Around the Corner and how he knew not to stay around too long because Margaret Sullavan was known not to be a fan of the press.
When a movie becomes as beloved as The Shop Around the Corner is, as both a romantic comedy and as a holiday classic, it can sometimes be interesting to think about what it would have been like had some of the original plans for the movie had gone through. Often, this involves thinking about other actors who had been considered for a famous role. In this case, what would The Shop Around the Corner be like in an alternate universe where it was an independent film by Ernst Lubitsch Productions instead of the MGM classic we know today? While it doesn’t seem like many details about Lubitsch’s early plans for The Shop Around the Corner made their way into the press, we do know two names linked to it: Sampson Raphelson and Dolly Haas.
In terms of writing, it would be reasonable to guess that an independent version of The Shop Around the Corner likely would have been pretty similar to what was released by MGM. Sampson Raphelson was a long-time Lubitsch collaborator, credited as a screenwriter on several Lubitsch films ranging from 1931’s The Smiling Lieutenant to 1948’s That Lady in Ermine. Ultimately, Raphelson stayed with The Shop Around the Corner after production moved over to MGM.
Casting is definitely where some of the most significant changes would have been had The Shop Around the Corner been made as an independent film. Like Margaret Sullavan, Dolly Haas was also known for her work as a stage actress. Haas appeared in plays both in Germany and in the United States, and over the course of her theater career, she worked alongside legends like Lillian Gish, Yul Brynner, and John Gielgud. Haas appeared in several films in Germany and the United States as well, but many of her American film appearances are uncredited. Her most notable film role was as Alma Keller in Alfred Hitchcock’s I Confess. She married famed artist Al Hirschfeld in 1943 and her final appearance as a stage actress was in 1962’s Brecht on Brecht. Whether or not her film career would have had a different trajectory had she starred in The Shop Around the Corner is open to speculation.