To Be or Not to Be (1942)

Director:

Ernst Lubitsch

Writers:

Melchior Lengyel (story)
Edwin Justus Mayer (screenplay)

Release Date:

6 March 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | War

Plot:

During the Nazi occupation of Poland, an acting troupe becomes embroiled in a Polish soldier's efforts to track down a German spy.

Plot Keywords:

Nazi | Polish Resistance | Actor | WWII | Scotland

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins

Cast

Carole Lombard	...	Maria Tura
Jack Benny	...	Joseph Tura
Robert Stack	...	Lieut. Stanislav Sobinski
Felix Bressart	...	Greenberg
Lionel Atwill	...	Rawitch
Stanley Ridges	...	Professor Siletsky
Sig Ruman	...	Col. Ehrhardt
Tom Dugan	...	Bronski
Charles Halton	...	Producer Dobosh
George Lynn	...	Actor-Adjutant
Henry Victor	...	Capt. Schultz
Maude Eburne	...	Anna
Halliwell Hobbes	...	Gen. Armstrong
Miles Mander	...	Major Cunningham

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Canada:PG (video rating) | South Korea:12 (2003) | Finland:S | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #7834) | West Germany:12

Company:

Romaine Film Corporation

Trivia:

Carole Lombard took the female lead despite the strenuous objections of her husband, Clark Gable.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Tura is disguised as Colonel Erhardt in his meeting with Siletsky he is wearing the uniform of a Major General (actually an SS-Gruppenfuehrer).

Quotes:

Joseph Tura: Well, Colonel, all I can say is... you can't have your cake and shoot it, too.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "L.A. Law: TV or Not TV (#6.2)" (1991)

Soundtrack:

Polonaise in A Major

Sublime

This movie proves that comedy can be sublime. At a time when the gods are crazy, this movie swims with the current, seeking to outdo their craziness. That's why it's also very touching. The outcome of the craziness was unknown at the time. That also makes this film daring. Whether intentionally or not, the film implies that Hitler himself was a Hitler-impersonator, that Hitler is a kind of unattainable ideal, a Platonic idea of pure evil. A similarly sublime and bold and touching film made during another craziness (not twenty years thereafter, as its more applauded cousins!) is "THE GAY DECEIVERS" (1969). It too dances with the gods, and breaks your heart as it makes you laugh.