My dear Kralik, I think I speak for all of us when I say heartiest congratulations.The Shop Around the Corner · 1940 — Chapter 14 of 19 · 6'17" · B2
Kralik Fires Vadas, Explained: a yes man
The new manager's first real act is to fire the man who smiles at him. "You and I never got along," he says, and Vadas, who will not stop talking, is told plainly: "I'm the manager, and you don't work here anymore."
What happens
Alfred Kralik has just been made manager of Matuschek and Company. Vadas, a fellow clerk, offers congratulations while angling for credit himself. Kralik answers by sending him to rearrange suitcases and then, when Vadas admits he doesn't like him, fires him on the spot. Meanwhile Pepi, on the phone, refuses to fetch Mr. Matuschek and jokes that the boss is up in a balloon with two blondes.
Listen for
beat around the bushin black and bluea yes manif it hadn't been for me
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Now
Phrase of the scene
a yes man
someone who always agrees with the boss
瓦达斯嘴上认了克拉利克是老板，却马上声明自己绝不做一味点头的人，非跟他唱反调不可。
A good adviser is never a yes man.
Also in this scene
- beat around the bush
to avoid saying what one really means
- in black and blue
beaten until bruised
- if it hadn't been for me
without me, things would have gone badly
Everything marked in this scene
42 notes across 137 lines
My dear Kralik, I think I speak for all of us when I say heartiest congratulations.What a load off my mind.Now we're all one little happy family again.And Kralik, I want you to be assured of my cooperation to the fullest extent.From now on, you are going to the office.liaison
From now on, you are going to the office.Well, if anybody deserves it, it's you, my boy.That's what you get when you're a good boy.By the way, Kralik, I have some very unusual ideas for that new window display.Well, thank you, Vadas, I think the rest of us will take care of the windows alright.- Ha-ha. I'm a good soldier. - Alright, do it right away.flap
- Ha-ha. I'm a good soldier. - Alright, do it right away.Oh, send me four or five. I'll look them over.And right away, if you please.Listen, folks, I can't give you the whole story, actually and I'm tied up with my word of honor.without me, things would have gone badly
But, uh, if it hadn't been for me, this place would be closed on account of suicide and you'd all be out of a job.But, uh, if it hadn't been for me, this place would be closed on account of suicide and you'd all be out of a job.past unreal conditional
But, uh, if it hadn't been for me, this place would be closed on account of suicide and you'd all be out of a job.Your perfume days are over, Mrs. M!Just at the moment he's up in a balloon with two blondes.Just at the moment he's up in a balloon with two blondes.negative question with would like to
You wouldn't like to speak by any chance to Mr. Vadas?You're a smart young man and my hat's off to you.liaison
You're a smart young man and my hat's off to you.to avoid saying what one really means
Alright, now, let's stop beating around the bush.someone who always agrees with the boss
But I am not going to be a "yes" man. No, sir.be up to someone to do something
I thank you for being so frank, now, at least I know my problem and it's entirely up to me to make you change your mind.unless for a condition
Unless she's absolutely alright tell her not to come today.And tell her to be sure and take good care of herself.After all, I've been around, you know, and I have my eyes open.Only sometimes, you know, she went a little bit too far.She's a fine girl and she's working very hard and she's a good salesgirl, and you shut up!I didn't mean any offense, as a matter of factHe called me a double-crossing two-timer!Prove it to me. Prove it to me in black and white.beaten until bruised
You're gonna get it in black and blue.Alright! Alright. Nice little case of assault and battery.I forgot it. Flora, take a letter.Uh.. To whom it may concern.Mr. Vadas has been in the employ of Matuschek and Company for the last two years during which time he has been very efficient as a stool pigeon, a troublemaker, and a rat.Mr. Vadas has been in the employ of Matuschek and Company for the last two years during which time he has been very efficient as a stool pigeon, a troublemaker, and a rat.Kralik Fires Vadas, explained
What's really going on
Kralik has spent the whole film being pushed around, and the promotion flips the room. Vadas assumes the old rules still hold — flattery, a little credit-taking, a warning about working under a younger man — and keeps smiling as if nothing has changed. What he misses is the new resolve underneath: "But I am not going to be a yes man. No, sir." The suitcases are pure theater of power, a test Vadas fails by complaining. Once the real problem is out — "You know, you and I never got along" — the answer is instant and final: "I'm the manager, and you don't work here anymore." The comedy is that the new manager, still raw from his own humiliation, wields authority almost as clumsily as the people who once used it on him.
Theme
PowerA promotion instantly changes who may speak, who must obey, and who gets fired.
BetrayalVadas flatters and informs on colleagues; the new manager punishes the double-crosser.
What you'll learn
- Use black and white for clear written proof.
- Recognize beating around the bush as indirect talk.
- Use be entitled to for workplace rights.
- Hear polite congratulations as possible sarcasm.
Listen for
- From now on — liaison
- do it right away — flap
- my hat's off to you — liaison
Kralik, this is the age of youth and I always ride with the times.Vadas flatters the younger man who now outranks him, claiming he happily keeps up with the times. It is pure sycophancy, and it gets thrown back at him.
I thank you for being so frank, now, at least I know my problem and it's entirely up to me to make you change your mind.The new manager takes the insult calmly: now that the dislike is out in the open, winning the man over becomes a problem he intends to solve.
But I am not going to be a "yes" man. No, sir.His declaration of independence: he will not rubber-stamp whatever the boss says, even though he has just become the boss himself.
I'm the manager, and you don't work here anymore!The line that ends the argument. Authority is settled in one sentence — and it is not the old owner's authority, but the former clerk's.
Questions about this scene
Why does Kralik fire Vadas?
Kralik has just been made manager and Vadas, a fellow clerk, refuses to accept the new order. After Vadas admits he doesn't like him and keeps talking about Miss Novak, Kralik loses patience and fires him.
Was Kralik right to fire Vadas?
Vadas openly says he dislikes his new boss and keeps pushing, so the ending is not a shock. Still, Kralik fires him without Mr. Matuschek's knowledge, which the film treats as a raw exercise of new power.
Who is Pepi and what is he doing on the phone?
Pepi is the errand boy. He answers a call from Mrs. Matuschek and, instead of fetching her husband, teases her about perfume and claims her husband is off in a balloon with two blondes.
What happened to Kralik before this scene?
He was a clerk who nearly quit after Mr. Matuschek wrongly suspected him over Mrs. Matuschek. When Matuschek tried to kill himself over that mistake, Kralik saved him, and the promotion is the reward.
Did Kralik not like Vadas either?
The feeling is mutual. One of them says plainly, "I don't like you," and the other has clearly had enough, which is why the confrontation escalates into a firing.
The Shop Around the Corner · 19 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 15not in the same planetKralik Visits a Sick Klara
Chapter 1make something out of nothingMorning Gossip at Matuschek's
Chapter 2earn one's daily breadThe Anonymous Letter From Box 237
Chapter 3make up your mindMatuschek's Singing Cigarette Box
Chapter 4go through the whole routineA Job Seeker's Sales Pitch
Chapter 5have a weakness forSelling the Musical Candy Box
Chapter 6knock on woodKralik Reveals His Pen Pal
Chapter 7pick on someoneMatuschek Turns on Kralik
Chapter 8call it a dayKlara Asks Kralik for a Night Off
Chapter 9of one's own accordMatuschek Fires Kralik
Chapter 10mind your own businessMatuschek Learns of the Affair
Chapter 11had enough bad news for todayKralik's Blind Date Is Miss Novak
Chapter 12instead of a heart, a handbagKralik and Novak Meet at the Cafe
Chapter 13kept in strictest confidenceMatuschek Confesses His Jealousy
Watching · Chapter 14a yes manKralik Fires Vadas
Chapter 15not in the same planetKralik Visits a Sick Klara
Chapter 16ruin ChristmasThe Staff Choose Christmas Gifts
Chapter 17from the bottom of my heartMatuschek Returns on Christmas Eve
Chapter 18your whole life ahead of youMatuschek Invites a Lonely Boy Home
Chapter 19swept me off my feetKlara Confesses to KralikChapter 14 of 19 · about 20 min to go