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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

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    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
    10/10
    The Nazis have never been mocked better
    Comedies rarely stand the test of time - this one does: one of the funniest films I have ever seen.

    When I was 16 (20 years ago, sigh...), this was re-released for a short time in a local art-house cinema, and my father insisted I go watching it with a friend. Well, teenagers don't normally line up to see 50 year old black and white comedies, but - man, was I glad I did!

    This is a pitch black comedy that feels as fresh today as it must have then; in fact, this must have been kind of a shock in 1942. There are no cheesy clean characters or cringe-worthy lines: this is a firework of fast, witty dialogue with an edge and the sexiest, cleverest (and most morally ambiguous) female protagonist I have ever seen in a film before the "New Hollywod" era.

    Even the structure and the way the story evolves are very modern; there are flashbacks and twists and turns that might be very common in contemporary films but must have seemed almost "avant-garde" at the time.

    The biggest fun, of course, is how Lubitsch takes the pi** out of Hitler's blind, fanatic followers. I don't believe the Nazis have ever been mocked better than in this comedy masterpiece (and I only hope old Adolf has seen it, too). Mel Brooks' remake is not bad, but the original is simply killer.

    See it, and then see it again (and again).

    Priceless. 10 out of 10

    Favorite films: http://www.IMDb.com/list/mkjOKvqlSBs/

    Lesser-known Masterpieces: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls070242495/

    Favorite Low-Budget and B-Movies: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls054808375/

    Favorite TV-Shows reviewed: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls075552387/
    helpful•104
    22
    • gogoschka-1
    • Dec 20, 2013

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    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

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