A pretty kettle of bubbling brew it makes under Mr. Lubitsch's deft and tender management and with a genial company to play it gently, well this side of farce and well that side of utter seriousness.

It is told in such a way as to warm the cockles of the heart and send the audience away from the theatre the better for having been permitted this intimate glimpse into the lives and loves of the personnel of the Matuschek store in Budapest.

When the great [Lubitsch's] name appears at the head of the production list, it's a lead pipe cinch that the fan will leave the theater with a chuckle and a feeling of satisfaction.

To use the film's own dialogue, "a very interesting mixture of poetry and meanness" makes this high-concept romance excel — often yielding generous gravitas and humanity as engaging as the amorous sparks.