Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsABFFPride MonthOutfest OutfrontsSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

To Be or Not to Be

  • 1942
  • Passed
  • 1h 39m
IMDb RATING
8.2/10
40K
YOUR RATING
Jack Benny and Carole Lombard in To Be or Not to Be (1942)
ComedyRomanceWar

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

  • Director
    • Ernst Lubitsch
  • Writers
    • Melchior Lengyel
    • Edwin Justus Mayer
    • Ernst Lubitsch
  • Stars
    • Carole Lombard
    • Jack Benny
    • Robert Stack
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    8.2/10
    40K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Ernst Lubitsch
    • Writers
      • Melchior Lengyel
      • Edwin Justus Mayer
      • Ernst Lubitsch
    • Stars
      • Carole Lombard
      • Jack Benny
      • Robert Stack
    • 166User reviews
    • 67Critic reviews
    • 86Metascore
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Top rated movie #230
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 2 wins & 2 nominations total

    Photos258

    To Be or Not to Be (1942)
    Jack Benny, Paul Barrett, Felix Bressart, Tom Dugan, James Gillette, Charles Halton, Maurice Murphy, and Gene Rizzi in To Be or Not to Be (1942)
    Jack Benny, Carole Lombard, Paul Barrett, James Gillette, and Charles Halton in To Be or Not to Be (1942)
    Tom Dugan, Charles Halton, and Stanley Ridges in To Be or Not to Be (1942)
    Jack Benny and Carole Lombard in To Be or Not to Be (1942)
    Tom Dugan in To Be or Not to Be (1942)
    Jack Benny and Carole Lombard in To Be or Not to Be (1942)
    Jack Benny and Carole Lombard in To Be or Not to Be (1942)
    Jack Benny and Carole Lombard in To Be or Not to Be (1942)
    To Be or Not to Be (1942)
    To Be or Not to Be (1942)
    Carole Lombard in To Be or Not to Be (1942)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Carole Lombard
    Carole Lombard
    • Maria Tura
    Jack Benny
    Jack Benny
    • Joseph Tura
    Robert Stack
    Robert Stack
    • Lieutenant Stanislav Sobinski
    Felix Bressart
    Felix Bressart
    • Greenberg
    Lionel Atwill
    Lionel Atwill
    • Rawitch
    Stanley Ridges
    Stanley Ridges
    • Professor Siletsky
    Sig Ruman
    Sig Ruman
    • Colonel Ehrhardt
    Tom Dugan
    Tom Dugan
    • Bronski
    Charles Halton
    Charles Halton
    • Producer Jan Dobosz
    George Lynn
    George Lynn
    • Actor-Adjutant
    Henry Victor
    Henry Victor
    • Captain Schultz
    Maude Eburne
    Maude Eburne
    • Anna
    Halliwell Hobbes
    Halliwell Hobbes
    • General Armstrong
    Miles Mander
    Miles Mander
    • Major Cunningham
    Rudolph Anders
    Rudolph Anders
    • Gestapo Sergeant at Desk at Top of Hotel Stairs
    • (uncredited)
    Paul Barrett
    • Polish RAF Pilot
    • (uncredited)
    Sven Hugo Borg
    Sven Hugo Borg
    • German Soldier
    • (uncredited)
    Danny Borzage
    • Member of Audience at Performance of Hamlet
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Ernst Lubitsch
    • Writers
      • Melchior Lengyel
      • Edwin Justus Mayer
      • Ernst Lubitsch(uncredited)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    The Best Years of Our Lives
    8.1
    The Best Years of Our Lives
    It Happened One Night
    8.1
    It Happened One Night
    Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
    8.1
    Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
    The Grapes of Wrath
    8.1
    The Grapes of Wrath
    The Battle of Algiers
    8.1
    The Battle of Algiers
    The Wages of Fear
    8.2
    The Wages of Fear
    The Passion of Joan of Arc
    8.2
    The Passion of Joan of Arc
    Rebecca
    8.1
    Rebecca
    Pather Panchali
    8.2
    Pather Panchali
    Sherlock Jr.
    8.2
    Sherlock Jr.
    Dersu Uzala
    8.2
    Dersu Uzala
    The General
    8.1
    The General

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      When Jack Benny's father went to see this movie, he was outraged at the sight of his son in a Nazi uniform in the first scene and even stormed out of the theater. Jack convinced his father that it was satire, and he agreed to sit through all of it. His father ended up loving the film so much he saw it forty-six times.
    • Goofs
      Although having Maria Tura give the cue line "To be or not to be" to the men in the audience she wishes to meet in her dressing room is a very funny premise of the film, it actually would be highly impractical for Maria to think she would have time to meet backstage. Hamlet's "To be or not to be" soliloquy is only about 3-4 minutes long and Ophelia has the very next line in the play (in fact Hamlet announces her entrance at the end of his soliloquy), which would barely give Maria any time to meet men in her dressing room.
    • Quotes

      Joseph Tura: [disguised as Professor Siletsky - speaking about Maria Tura] Her husband is that great, great Polish actor, Josef Tura. You've probably heard of him.

      Colonel Ehrhardt: Oh, yes. As a matter of fact I saw him on the stage when I was in Warsaw once before the war.

      Joseph Tura: Really?

      Colonel Ehrhardt: What he did to Shakespeare we are now doing to Poland.

    • Alternate versions
      In Poland, a brief introduction was edited in. Polish actor Kazimierz Rudzki assured the audience that the movie was done with best intentions by their "American friends". At the time the movie screened in Poland, many people still lived in trauma from the events of World War II; few could find comedy in the German invasion of Poland, instead finding the movie in poor taste, offensive, or hard to swallow.
    • Connections
      Featured in Showbiz Goes to War (1982)
    • Soundtracks
      Polonaise in A major, Op. 40, No. 1, 'Military'
      (1838) (uncredited)

      Written by Frédéric Chopin

      Orchestral arrangement by Aleksandr Glazunov

      Heard during the opening and closing credits

    User reviews166

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Witty and mocking
    Joseph Tura and his wife are part of an actors troop in pre-WW2 Poland. When a handsome young pilot is forced to break off his affair with Mrs Tura to go to England and join the RAF, he sends a message through an English agent who offers to take messages to families of all the pilots when he goes to Poland. Realising too late that Professor Siletsky is a double agent taking addresses to the Nazi's, Lt Sobinski alerts Tura who is forced to play several roles to try and outwit the Nazi's and protect the underground resistance.

    Despite having heard it mentioned (and avoided the remake) I had still never seen this film until earlier today. I wasn't sure what to expect as I knew that it had been made during the war and that it's humour might not seem as mocking or sharp today. However I was surprised how funny it actually was while it also dealt with the Nazi issue at the same time. The mocking tone of the film is balanced nicely by a real vein of wit with sharp word play all around. The plot is kept ticking over by this humour until Tura is able to drive the film by his many performances!

    The Nazi's are mocked without taking away from the horrors of what they were. The cast are what really makes the film work for me though. Although he takes second billing, I can't help but feel that Benny is the star of the film as he has all the best characters and the lion's share of the lines. Lombard does very well indeed and shows a real ability for quick witty lines – the fact that she died in a plane crash leaving this her last movie should be considered a great loss. The whole support cast, whether Polish actor or German commander, all play very well managing to bring both wit and pathos to the film.

    Overall a film that is not as uncomfortable to watch as I suspected it might have been, in fact one that is downright hilarious at times and has all the sharpness and wit that I want in a comedy. When Jack Benny says `so they call me Concentration Camp Ehrhardt' for the 5th time, I defy you not to be rolling!
    helpful•41
    33
    • bob the moo
    • Sep 20, 2003

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 6, 1942 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • German
      • French
    • Also known as
      • Sein oder Nichtsein
    • Production company
      • Romaine Film Corporation
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $3,270,000
    • Gross worldwide
      • $4,578,000
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 39 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Jack Benny and Carole Lombard in To Be or Not to Be (1942)
    Top Gap
    By what name was To Be or Not to Be (1942) officially released in India in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.