TO BE OR NOT TO BE Movie Review

1942 Ernst Lubitsch

The horrors of Nazism make it an almost impossible subject for comedy, but that didn't stop Ernst Lubitsch from creating a masterpiece. He translates many of his favorite themes and humorous asides—along with the famous “Lubitsch touch”—to make a romantic comedy-thriller that transcends its propagandistic roots. So many of the jokes are based on eternal truths of marriage and show business that the film remains as fresh and funny now as it was in 1942.

A complicated introduction sets the stage, both figuratively and literally, in Warsaw, Poland, 1939. A troupe of actors perform Hamlet on the eve of Hitler's invasion. Josef Tura (Jack Benny) is the star, though his stunning wife Maria (Carole Lombard) easily outshines him. She has caught the eye of a handsome young Polish pilot, Lt. Sobinski (Robert Stack), and has embarked on a mild flirtation with him behind her husband's back. “What a husband doesn't know won't hurt his wife,” her maid Anna (Maude Eburne) notes. Before anything can really develop, the Nazis arrive. Sobinski becomes a flier for the R.A.F. while the Turas and their fellow actors are trapped in Warsaw. Then Sobinski discovers that a German spy has learned the names of the Polish underground and goes back to his homeland to prevent the revelation.

The rest of the film is a smoothly paced series of scenes involving actors impersonating Nazi officers, switched identities, more dalliance, banter and, naturally, escape. The first scene in which the three protagonists finally all confront each other is as brilliant a bit of business as anyone has ever constructed. It doesn't take place until almost the midpoint, and the participants elevate the conventional “who's been sleeping in my bed” routines to a rarified level. The supporting cast, including Lionel Atwill, who's seen most often as a villain, and the aforementioned Maude Eburne, who might have been given more to do, could not be better, and they become much more important in the second half.

Though Stack is fine as the earnest, smooth-faced juvenile, the film really belongs to Jack Benny and Carole Lombard. Sadly, it was her final appearance—she was killed in a plane crash while taking part in a war bond selling tour—and she combines beauty with intelligence and courage so well that she makes a potentially silly role seem effortless. In her silver dress, she is as sexy as any woman who ever appeared in front of a camera. For his part, Josef is equal parts shameless ham, jealous husband, and reluctant hero, and though Benny has always been most famous for his dry one-note routines, he turns in a solid, multifaceted performance. Even if he is slightly removed from his natural comedic element, his sense of timing is perfect in the punchlines.

The only criticism that can be leveled at the film is unfair. As the two Nazis who are the butt of many jokes, Col. Ehrhardt (Sig Rumann) and Capt. Schultz (Henry Victor), are the obvious models for similar caricatures on TV's Hogan's Heroes. To Be or Not to Be never stoops to such a level. It's thoughtful light humor that never takes its subject too lightly, and never lets politics get in the way of a good joke.

Cast: Carole Lombard (Maria Tura), Jack Benny (Josef Tura), Robert Stack (Lt. Stanislav Sobinski), Sig Rumann (Col. Ehrhardt), Lionel Atwill (Rawitch), Felix Bressart (Greenberg), Helmut Dantine (Co-pilot), Tom Dugan (Bronski), Charles Halton (Dobosh), Stanley Ridges (Prof. Alexander Siletsky), George Lynn (Actor-Adjutant), Halliwell Hobbes (Gen. Armstrong), Miles Mander (Maj. Cunningham), Henry Victor (Capt. Schultz), Leslie Denison (Captain), Frank Reicher (Polish official), John Kellogg (RAF flyer), James Finlayson (Farmer), Roland Varno (Pilot), Maude Eburne (Anna); Written by: Ernst Lubitsch, Edwin Justus Mayer, Melchior Lengyel; Cinematography by: Rudolph Mate; Music by: Werner R. Heymann, Miklos Rozsa. Producer: Alexander Korda, Ernst Lubitsch, United Artists. Awards: National Film Registry '96; Nominations: Academy Awards '42: Best Original Dramatic Score. Running Time: 102 minutes. Format: VHS, Beta.