To Be or Not to Be

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source: To Be or Not to Be

Moviecut—To Be or Not to Be

To Be or Not to Be

A number of interest points here. A brilliant premise. Material that was daring at the time, that one is amazed at what it got away with even if some of it may be an acquired taste. That it was the final film of the lovely Carole Lombard, who died far too young in a plane crash not long after with much more to give. And that it was directed by Ernst Lubitsch, a personal favourite of mine who had one of the most distinctive directing styles for any director often cited as "the Lubtisch touch". Found 'To Be or Not to Be' a truly fabulous film, have seen many very good to masterpiece films recently (as well as inevitably some duds) and this stands out among the very best of them. What could easily have been tasteless and offensive, with what it was satirising and considering the time, turned out to be one of the funniest comedies seen recently and ever actually and wartime comedies have seldom been funnier or more original. It also contains some of the best work of all involved. In front of and behind the camera, am aware that sounds very cliched but to me it's true. 'To Be or Not to Be' looks great, immaculately yet atmospherically designed with a real sense of period and beautifully shot without being too glamorous. The music is neither too jaunty or low key, while Lubitsch's direction is one of 'To Be or Not to Be's' biggest stars in its sophisticated style that one can recognise from anywhere. Regarding the script, it is intricate and full of sharp wit and hilariously quotable lines that as mentioned above in my first paragraph when talking about the material being daring. The opening gag is hysterical and one that one does not expect, while the running joke concerning Robert Stack as Maria's (played by Lombard) admirer is an example of a running joke that doesn't get old prematurely and doesn't get repetitive, dangers with running jokes. 'To Be or Not to Be' is not just non-stop hilarity though, there is also surprising pathos that one doesn't always get in comedy and is genuinely poignant. Affectionate and inspiring are further things to describe and never had any problem with the pace. Lubitsch's direction is one of two particularly wonderful things about 'To Be or Not to Be'. The other is the simply sublime cast, showing Jack Benny at his funniest and Lombard being an absolute joy in all senses (found her touching too but a lot of it was to do with it being her final film and what a talent she was). Stack is amusing and charming and Stanley Ridges and Sig Ruman are great fun. Altogether, fabulous. Even in films that fit in the "loved it" category, improvements can be pointed out in order to be balanced, but in the case of 'To Be or Not to Be' there is nothing to fault. 10/10

The movie begins in Warsaw, Poland in 1939, in the days just before the invasion by Germany and the USSR (though the movie disregards the latter). Though the threat of war is in the air, a theater company's actors and staff spend their time worrying and arguing over theatrical roles and their status in the company. Also, a young bomber pilot has his eye upon an actor's wife (who is an actress herself), and tries to enter an affair with her. The invasion comes. Most of the company has fled Poland, including the pilot, who has joined the Polish exile forces in Britain. However, the actor and his actress wife remain. A professor is sent from Britain to Poland to help the resistance there...but he becomes suspected as a double agent, and the pilot is sent to Poland to stop the professor's intended treachery. He warns the actors who are still there, and they in turn impersonate various Gestapo members to try to foil the professor. Unfortunately for the pilot, the husband he tried to cuckold is upset with him, which complicates things. And unfortunately, it makes everything too complicated and confusing, and ruins the rest of the movie. Also not helping was the joke about "Concentration Camp Gerhardt" which became irritating after being repeated a dozen times. Also, many scenes went on for far too long after they made their point. The movie is notable mainly for being a period piece; as a farce it dropped the ball.

As Adolf Hitler starts ravaging Europe, a polish theatrical Nazi-satire is cancelled, the day of the very first performance. Nevertheless, while Poland is invaded by the Nazi army, the same theatrical team, with the same German soldier costumes, will deliver the best play of their entire career in order to thwart the actions of a spy. This cinematographic gem directed by Ernst Lubitsch is built on a solid script, exquisite dialogues, and outstanding actors, especially Jack Benny , Carole Lombard and Sig Ruman . For obvious reasons, this indecent movie was initially coldly received: a comedy about world war II during world war II. This bitterness and/or bewilderment probably explains the blatant lack of nominations to the main Oscar categories. However, nowadays, we only remember the genius. In bulk, ones of my favorite quotes: May I have your autograph, Mr Bronski? So they call me Concentration Camp Ehrhardt? To be or not to be. If we should ever have a baby, I'm not so sure I'd be the mother. They named a brandy after Napoleon, they made a herring out of Bismarck, and the Fuhrer is going to end up as a piece of cheese! Shall we drink to a blitzkrieg? Hey, wait a minute, you go to the hotel and I'll cross my fingers. I'm a good Pole and I love my country and I love my slippers. We do the concentrating and the Poles do the camping. Well, clearly it's nothing alarming, it's only Shakespeare. I'm willing to die for our Führer, at any moment, except for the next few hours. Schultz!

Sometimes classics live up to their reputations and sometimes they don't. This one didn't. It wasn't bad - some quite funny bits, likeable, never boring, but nothing outstanding, except perhaps in the subject matter. I've been watching a few Lubitsch movies recently and I ended up watching this one within a few days of watching Shop Around the Corner. I was struck by how much sharper and wittier "Shop" (which I felt was everything it was cracked up to be) was in comparison to To Be or Not To Be. Benny's character was a little too buffoonish, Lombard's character was a little too boring (though the first scene between Ehrhardt and the false Siletsky was excellent). Unfortunately, this film was just a little too over-the-top, silly, and conveniently plotted, without ever tapping into the fun of a real screwball comedy. Oh well...

One of the very few people who would think to remake an Ernst Lubitsch picture would be Mel Brooks who satirized just about every genre there was in Hollywood. But I doubt that Jack Benny, Carole Lombard and Robert Stack would have lent themselves to the slapstick type film that Brooks turned To Be Or Not To Be into and Mel's version is very funny. When the film opens the biggest problem that Jack Benny has on his mind is who's this secret admirer who keeps sending flowers to his wife Carole Lombard every night while they're on stage. Although it's helped his Hamlet performance, the angst Benny is feeling about Lombard being faithful, pretty soon Benny, Lombard, Polish airman Robert Stack and the whole touring company that Benny heads are all caught up in the Nazi German invasion of Poland which inaugurates World War II. Stack joins the Polish squadron of the RAF and there's a nice little Polish colony as with other occupied nations during World War II. One of them is Stanley Ridges who does propaganda broadcasts for the BBC. And he gets to be good pals with the airmen. But after he leaves for Germany on a 'secret' mission it's discovered in reality he's a German agent and is going back to Germany with a list of exiled Poles so that the Nazis could retaliate against families. Stack goes back to Poland after Ridges. Where he meets up with Lombard and Benny and the rest their troupe and let's just say that their talents as actors are never more needed than in the series of performances they give the occupying Germans. Whether dealing with marital problems or Nazis breathing down their necks Lombard, Benny, and Stack have no shortage of wits about them. Carole and Jack are old hands at comedy, but Bob Stack showed a nice gift for it as well. Of course Ernst Lubitsch's type of comedy is a great deal more sophisticated than Mel Brooks. He also was making his film at a time when the USA wasn't in the war yet and the outcome for Poland and the rest of the world remained in doubt. Not to mention what was left of a liberal spirit in Germany where Lubitsch was an exile from. This was Carole Lombard's farewell performance. Completed in 1941 To Be Or Not To Be was released just in time for Pearl Harbor and it certainly beats a lot of hastily made propaganda films that came out to tap into the national anger. It also got the same kind of knocks The Great Dictator did in satirizing the authoritarianism of the Nazis. But both films have stood the test of time. And it's not as preachy as The Great Dictator, but Lubitsch gets his point across. As for Lombard she went on a war bond tour which ended abruptly in a plane crash outside Las Vegas. FDR from the White House proclaimed she was as much a war casualty as any GI at the front and there were few who would disagree. If your taste runs to an earthier form of comedy Mel Brooks will certainly satisfy you. But for those who value sophistication as embodied in that phrase the Lubitsch touch, this To Be Or Not To Be still pulls in the laughs.

Having seen most of Ernst Lubitsch American films, we had missed this one because it's not played often these days. "To Be, or not to Be" is a wonderful satire that only a director like Lubitsch, with his European background could have pulled. The film is a good comedy that seems to has kept some of its freshness intact. The film works because of the great contribution of Jack Benny and Carole Lombard, who sadly, died before the film had its premiere. They play the Turas, a Polish theatrical couple that foresee the Nazi invasion of their country. In fact, Jack Benny, a man associated as a comedian, first on radio, then on television, was an actor with an uncanny sense of timing. Mr. Benny was a natural for this type of comedy, as he proves in the film. His pairing with Carole Lombard was a stroke of genius. In fact, for being associated to lighter fare, he demonstrates with his take on Joseph Tura, he was an actor of stature. Carole Lombard is seen as Maria Tura, a grand dame of the Polish theater. Ms. Lombard gave a marvelous performance and her contribution to the success of this film is amazing. Robert Stack is seen as the pilot Sobinski. Other faces in the cast include Felix Bressard, Lionel Atwill, Sig Ruman, George Lynn, and others that are perfect under Ernst Lubitsch guidance. This is a film to be treasured because of the work of Jack Benny and the impeccable direction of Ernst Lubitsch.