To Be or Not to Be Movie Review 1942

Sophisticated black comedy set in wartime Poland. Lombard and Benny are Maria and Josef Tura, the Barrymores of the Polish stage, who use the talents of their acting troupe to protect the Warsaw Resistance against the invading Nazis. The opening sequence is regarded as a cinema classic. One of Benny's finest film performances, the movie marks Lombard's final screen appearance--she was killed in a plane crash druing a war bond drive shortly after completing the film. Classic Lubitsch. Remade in 1983 with Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft.

Distribution

Warner Home Video, Inc., 5775 Linder Canyon Rd., Westlake Village, CA 91362, URL: http://whv.warnerbros.com, Remarks: Does not handle retail queries from consumers; contact your local video distributor.

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 102 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Black Comedy, The Resistance, World War II, Nazis & Other Paramilitary Slugs

Screenplay

Ernst Lubitsch, Edwin Justus Mayer, Melchior Lengyel

Cast

Carole Lombard, Jack Benny, Robert Stack, Sig Rumann, Lionel Atwill, Felix Bressart, Helmut Dantine, Tom Dugan, Charles Halton, Stanley Ridges, George Lynn, Halliwell Hobbes, Miles Mander, Henry Victor, Leslie Denison, Frank Reicher, John Kellogg, James Finlayson, Roland Varno

Cinematography

Rudolph Mate

Director

Ernst Lubitsch

Music

Werner R. Heymann, Miklos Rozsa

Producer

Alexander Korda, Ernst Lubitsch, United Artists

Awards

Natl. Film Reg. 1996.