To Be or Not to Be (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

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 Dobosh
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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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

6 March 1942 (USA)

Also Known As:

Jeux dangereux

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ernst Lubitsch had never considered anyone other than Jack Benny for the lead role in the film. He had even written the character with Benny in mind. Benny, thrilled that a director of Lubitsch's caliber had been thinking of him while writing it, accepted the role immediately

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Goofs

When Maria types the memo to put under the pillow, she types two lines with a total of 18 keystrokes. However, the actual memo is four lines of about 80 plus keystrokes (not counting spaces).

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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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Connections

Featured in The 100 Greatest War Films (2005)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Classic Satirical Comedy That Gets Even Better As It Goes Along

Beneath all the one-liners and amusing gags, this classic comedy has an undertone of satire that is quite effective. Jack Benny plays his role with just the right amount of exaggeration for it to work perfectly, and he, Carole Lombard, and the rest of the cast help Ernst Lubitsch to tell a lively yet worthwhile tale. There are a few slow spots early in the movie, but after it hits its stride, everything fits together well.

Very few film-makers can make something like this succeed, because they take themselves too seriously. Lubitsch does not, and as a result this film provides a caricatured but relatively insightful portrayal of the Nazis, with a light-hearted yet appreciative look at those who opposed them in the occupied countries. The right kind of lighter touch can sometimes be more effective in commenting on important issues than the heavy, emotionally laden harangues that are all too common.

While providing good entertainment, this movie also brings out the Nazis' inherent insecurity, pettiness, and short-sightedness, while also demonstrating their growing capacity for destroying the innocent. For example, the wonderful character actor Sig Ruman is greatly entertaining as a Nazi bureaucrat, yet he also cleverly brings out the pathetic side of such persons.

Aside from a couple of good gags, it starts off just a little slowly. A lot of time is spent on Robert Stack's character, who is (through no fault of Stack's) not very interesting. Likewise, the subplot involving him and Lombard takes up a lot more time than it was worth. Other than that, though, it moves briskly, with many entertaining scenes while it develops the story. As the pace picks up, the members of Benny's acting troupe get some fine moments of their own, Benny himself has some fine scenes with several other characters, and everything builds up nicely towards a good finale.