Trivia
The tagline "Garbo laughs!" came before the screenplay was written; the film was built around that single, now legendary, slogan.
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According to published newspaper reports in the spring of 1939, Spencer Tracy was a leading contender for the role of Leon. William Powell, Robert Montgomery and Cary Grant were also considered for the part.
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Greta Garbo had her misgivings about appearing in a comedy and was particularly nervous about the drunk scene, which she considered to be highly vulgar.
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Curiously enough, this was the very movie Arnold Schwarzenegger studied when he was trying to find his character for Red Heat. The exercise - emulate Greta Garbo - was recommended to him by his director Walter Hill.
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Ernst Lubitsch only signed on as director after George Cukor decamped for Gone with the Wind. As part of his deal for directing, MGM agreed to make The Shop Around the Corner for Lubitsch afterwards.
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Ernst Lubitsch disliked Gottfried Reinhardt and S.N. Behrman's original screenplay, so he commissioned a rewrite from Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett and Walter Reisch. Lubitsch himself made some significant uncredited contributions to the screenplay.
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Although Greta Garbo's famous hat in the film was made by her regular costumier Adrian, it was actually based on a sketch by Garbo herself.
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This was one of Ernst Lubitsch's personal favorite films. His other favorites were The Shop Around the Corner and Trouble in Paradise.
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Allegedly, after a test screening of Ninotchka, one audience member wrote on the preview card: "I laughed so hard, I peed in my girlfriend's hand!"
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