To Be or Not to Be (1942)

Strong and Moving!

Not even bad in a good way

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

If you're one of the many who sneer that contemporary comedies play too much on offensive shock value, try this on for size: an American comedy, released only months after the country had shipped troops over to join the war, with the image of Adolf Hitler casually strolling down the street, only moments after his moustached grimace would have graced the screen in the newsreels. Indeed, between the film's brazenly audacious topicality and the horribly tragic pre-release death of its leading lady, it almost boggles the mind to imagine any audiences chancing a viewing of Ernst Lubitsch's To Be or Not To Be, let alone laughing at it. Thankfully, the benefit of hindsight reveals a true classic waiting in the wings. Taking its place alongside Chaplin's The Great Dictator as one of the bravest (and, by proxy, funniest) films of the era, To Be or Not To Be is a savage satire and comedy of errors, wordplay, and mistaken identities worthy of Shakespeare himself, in addition to being a palpably tense and engrossing war film in its own right. If the notion of making an irreverent wartime satire while at once being sincerely deferential to the fears and hardships of the war might seem contradictory, it's a paradox that Lubitsch embraces full steam ahead. The genius of To Be or Not To Be is its being equal parts comedy and war film, vindicating the struggles of overseas troops while employing laughs as cathartic levity from the fear and uncertainty surrounding them. Appropriately, Lubitsch plays the claustrophobic, paralyzing outrage of the encroaching invasion of Poland and the nailbiting suspense of spying within the Nazi ranks to the hilt, while simultaneously lampoons the blustering bureaucratic ineptitude of a Nazi force fumbling to uphold their own doctrines, often side-by-side within the same scene. The film's screenplay is deftly intricate, with enjoyable meta-Shakespearian plays on disguises and mistaken identities seamlessly blending the strains of espionage and comedy. Still, Lubitsch is the master of the 'verbal repetition as punchline' gag, with several slow-burning bits (ranging from initially innocuous lines of dialogue to Benny's hysterically cringeworthy rendition of the titular soliloquy) building from chuckle-worthy to uproariously hilarious in tandem with the film's steadily mounting tension. And, amidst the beats of irreverence and reverence (and moments of shocking, jarring darkness), Lubitsch leaves room for heart. Although the film's 'secret love' subplot between Lombard and Robert Stack's heartthrob pilot plays as a tad histrionic, the clarion sentiment Lubitsch invests into the film's overall agenda is far more resonant. Above all else, the film serves as a galvanizing wartime call to action: a bold parable to the propensity of every citizen to combat oppression, regardless of profession (or even competence). Here, the goofy dysfunctional troupe of actors are held as equally worth of heroic valourization as Stack's matinee idol pilot by being willing to lay down their lives to combat the Nazi uprising. It's an empowering testament to the human spirit that rings true without the artifice of propaganda, and, while lacking the infectiously rousing power of Casablanca's 'La Marseillaise,' Lubitsch's film is equally uplifting, albeit in a quiet and fundamentally sillier way. Carol Lombard's tragically untimely swan song performance is truly one for the ages. Commanding the screen with effortlessly affable ease, she infuses the film's tenser sequences with palpable stakes and tension, while weaving in the reprieve of a mischievous twinkle in her eye to break the ice and invite laughter back into the frame. Jack Benny is similarly magnificent as "that great, great actor, Joseph Tura," being as reliable a repository of laughs in his subtly scathing facial expressions as his perfectly rapid-fire banter and quipping. Stanley Ridges is perfectly smooth riddled with menace as a suave Nazi spy, while the wonderful Sig Ruman blusters and sputters to jubilant perfection as a perennially outwitted Nazi officer. Minor quibbles of pace and tonal balance aside, To Be or Not To Be is a remarkable juggling act, and as enjoyable as it is a triumphant feat of irreverent wartime defiance. Ticking dual boxes of being one of the most resonant and memorable comedies or war films of the Classical era, Lubitsch's film is an eminently revisable time capsule of the best gallows humour of the WWII era. Ah, what the hell - let's do one for the road: "SCHUUUULLLTZ!!!" -9/10

Husband and wife Carole Lombard (Maria) and Jack Benny (Joseph) are the leading lights in a Polish Theatre Company during the outbreak of World War 2. They are currently performing "Hamlet" and soldier Robert Stack (Sobinski), who is obsessed with Lombard and attends all her performances, is there in the audience on every occasion. Lombard and Stack arrange meetings with a pre-determined code. When Benny gives his "To be or Not to Be" soliloquy, that is Stack's cue to get up and leave and go backstage, much to Benny's outrage at someone getting up and leaving during his finest moment! When traitor Stanley Ridges (Professor Siletsky) passes through Poland on his way to deliver a list of names of Polish Resistance members to Hitler, the actors jump into action to prevent him reaching Germany with the list. Can they get away with their daring charades? This film is funnier than I expected and had me laughing out loud on a few occasions. Jack Benny is excellent in the lead role and the whole cast are on form. There are loads of humorous scenes and the film has a great ending to round things off. It's a shame that they cut Carole Lombard's line about what could possibly happen in a plane from the film. This would have given extra poignancy to the film given that she died in a plane crash after making this film. I think the line should have remained in there.Basically, a gang of actors come good and defeat the Nazis through various deceptions. It's lightweight entertainment that really does entertain.

It Could be Argued that this is Not Near as Good as The Great Dictator (1940), Charlie Chaplin's Nazi Comedy, this is Still Quite a Polished Piece of Cinema. Never Relying on Slapstick, it is All Done with Wit and Timing, Along with a Complicated Narrative Intertwining a Theatre Troupe Dressing Up and Posing as Nazi's with Real Nazi's. It has a Sophistication About it that Cannot be Denied.What Was Denied in the Initial Wartime Release was a Complete Affection for the Satire and Some People and Critics were Taken Aback to Say the Least. It was Mostly Ignored or Shunned and if it was Talked About at All it was Generally Agreed it was in Bad Taste.But it is a Well Pieced Together Plot Wavering Between Intrigue and Scripted One-Liners that Pepper the Picture and is the Glue that Holds it Together. Not All of the Jokes Work, but that is Typical of Most Comedies...Hitler as Cheese...for Example. But when they do they are Terrific...Robert Stack Bragging about His Manhood..."I can drop two tons of dynamite in two seconds".Overall, Jack Benny is Surprisingly Good and Carole Lombard is Masterful with Perfect Timing and a See Through Dress. What You Think of the Film will Largely be a Reflection of Your Mindset and if You Can Laugh at Concentration Camp Jokes. But Any Personal Protests Cannot Obscure the Films Artistry, This is One Sleek and Slick Production.

We needed laughs in 1942.What better thing to laugh at than the thing that was causing us the most tension at the time,World War II? The production of this film came at a very contentious time,and it paid off.The finished product is one to behold if you like to laugh.While the content being satirized may be dated,the humor is timeless.The only downer,I suppose,at the time was the loss of the film's star,Carole Lombard in a plane crash in January of 1942,well before the film's release.This no doubt put a damper on the film's humor for the audiences of the time,so it had to recover from this setback over time.That it has,and it is a must see comedy classic.