Ser ou Não Ser (1942)

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 (original story), Edwin Justus Mayer (screenplay)

Stars:

Carole Lombard, Jack Benny, Robert Stack

Top Rated Movies #192 | Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Carole Lombard	...	Maria Tura
Jack Benny	...	Joseph Tura
Robert Stack	...	Lieutenant Stanislav Sobinski
Felix Bressart	...	Greenberg
Lionel Atwill	...	Rawitch
Stanley Ridges	...	Professor Siletsky
Sig Ruman	...	Colonel Ehrhardt
Tom Dugan	...	Bronski
Charles Halton	...	Producer Jan Dobosz
George Lynn	...	Actor-Adjutant
Henry Victor	...	Captain Schultz
Maude Eburne	...	Anna
Halliwell Hobbes	...	General Armstrong
Miles Mander	...	Major Cunningham

Storyline

In occupied Poland during WWII, a troupe of ham stage actors (led by Joseph Tura and his wife Maria) match wits with the Nazis. A spy has information which would be very damaging to the Polish resistance and they must prevent it's being delivered to the Germans.

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Plot Keywords:

screwball comedy | poland | world war two | national film registry | professor | 

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Genres:

Comedy | War

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Robert Stack played Lieutenant Andrei Sobinski in this film while his 1941 - Ano Louco em Hollywood (1979) co-star Tim Matheson played him in the remake Ser ou Não Ser (1983).

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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.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: Lubinski, Kubinski, Lominski, Rozanski, and Poznanski. We're in Warsaw, the capital of Poland. It's August 1939. Europe is still at peace. At the moment, life in Warsaw is going on as normally as ever. But, suddenly something seems to have happened! Are those Poles seeing a ghost? Why does this car suddenly stop? Everybody seems to be staring in one direction. People seem to be frightened, even terrified! Some flabbergasted! Can it be true? It must be true! No doubt! The man with ...

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Alternate Versions

In Poland the movie edited in a brief introduction by Polish actor Kazimierz Rudzki who assure the audience that the movie was done with best intentions by their "American friends", as the time it screened in Poland many people still lived in trauma from the World War II events and some could find a comedy about the German invasion of Poland in poor taste, offensive or hard to swallow.

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Connections

Referenced in Hitler, ein Film aus Deutschland (1977)

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Soundtracks

German National Anthem (Das Lied der Deutschen)
(1797) (uncredited)
(Also called "Deutschland über alles")
Music by Joseph Haydn (1797)
Lyrics by August Heinrich Hoffman von Fallersleben (1841)
Sung by German military men

User Reviews

A controversial classic that was actually made in 1941

This movie was made before while the US was still playin' both ends against the middle. Makin' huge profits while staying "neutral" The film was not allowed to be released until after, the US entered the war.

Easily the best of the screen versions. The cast is tight and the timing is impeccable. You can really tell that the cast believed in the film. Since America had not taken a formal stance at the time this went into production the producers, cast, and crew were really making something revolutionary and controversial. So much so that the making of this movie was not even mentioned on the Jack Benny radio program. Which is a major deal for those familiar with Old Time Radio, Jack's film career provided excellent material for comedy writers on the radio show, but also the radio show was an excellent opportunity to promote a movie. It is doubtful that this was a missed opportunity, what is more likely is that his sponsor or perhaps the network did not want to advocate a position.

This movie is wonderful for so many reasons. Not only is it hilarious, there is suspense, intrigue, and history. Another poster, mentions the Nazi's jumping out of the plane at the order of a radio transmission by Hitler. The thing to remember here is that the Nazi army was seen as an unstoppable war machine, so efficient, that soldiers would commit suicide if asked. This was less humor than it was to evoke fear of fascism.

Everyone remembers Bob Hope and his travels during WWII, well Jack Benny and Carole Lombard were no slouches either. After all they made this movie. Carole died in a plane crash along with her mother and twenty others returning from a war bond rally before the film was released. Jack went where few if any cameras or radio transmitters could reach. He could be found in the most remote parts of the world entertaining the troops. Not to take anything from Bob, he went there as well, he just had more photo ops.

Bottom line watch this movie--twice, maybe more, the dialogue is so quick and witty there is a good chance you might miss it the first time, them again it is worth at least to looks.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

15 November 1946 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

Ser ou Não Ser

Box Office

Gross USA:

$3,270,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,578,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Romaine Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1