To Be or Not to Be

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To Be or Not to Be (1942)

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Set in Warsaw, Poland, during and after the German invasion of 1939, this comedy-drama mixed dedicated Nazis, ham actors, and earnest pilots and resistance fighters into a surprisingly (and, in 1942, uncomfortably) entertaining topical satire.

Movie|Not Rated|1 hr. 38 min.|

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Title Details

Title	To Be or Not to Be (1942)
Runtime	1 hr. 38 min.
Studio	Criterion Collection
Genres	Comedy \| Drama \| Family
Description	Ernst Lubitsch stretched the envelope of good taste to the breaking point and beyond with To Be Or Not To Be -- and, in the process, showed off the acting ability of Jack Benny and Carole Lombard to the best advantage that either of them ever had. Set in Warsaw, Poland during and after the German invasion of 1939, this comedy-drama mixed dedicated Nazis, ham actors, and earnest pilots and resistance fighters into a surprisingly (and, in 1942, uncomfortably) entertaining topical satire.

4 months ago

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I don't think the remark about concentrating and camping was in poor taste (for the writers); rather it shows the Nazis in a bad light ... which is rather the point. Although in 1942 I think it was still a secret that Poles and other Jews were not just being herded off, but taken to their deaths.

One thing the devil can not bear, and that is to be laughed at.

9 months ago

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mostly pretentious Hollywood inside humor. Ha Ha, we're just actors! Lame.

9 months ago

It's a classic bit of 'dry comedy'. Mel Brooks also did his remake of this classic. There have been an extreme amount of 'serious' films made about ww2 and the fruit of the month (aka Hitler). It's only natural to have some people succeed at making a comedy about tragic events. Sometimes that is the only way to deal with such horrific tragic events---If you don't laugh--you'll cry. Or would you also consider a show like "Hogan's Heroes" to be a failed attempt--and they should have done that as a serious drama?

10 months ago

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What a delight this film was! I'd never seen Jack Benny in a film--only on his TV show in the 1950s. And to be paired with Carole Lombard! Wow. Her talent for comedic timing has always been touted and she sure was great in this film. How sad she died before its release. Such a young Robert Stack--again, I only knew him from his TV role in the Untouchables as Elliot Ness was it? It's so hard to even remember old TV in these days of fast-paced digital. I like how the credits hold for so long, too; now credits are zipped thru so fast you can't even see who played what. Everything was so well done in this film--even the snow looked real. A must see for sure! Bravo hulu!!! I love when you offer these great old B&W films!

10 months ago

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Clarification:
The first line should have begun: "While returning from ..." See 1 other reply

10 months ago

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Ostensibly billed as a "comedy", this might better be described as a satirical wartime espionage farce with serious overtones. A victim of bad timing (see my 'Discussion') it took years for this movie to be appreciated by critics and audiences as the classic that it is.

Although there was some last minute editing (e.g.: Lombard's line: "What can happen in a plane?" -- she died in a plane crash prior to this film's release ), there are still a few lines that seem callus in retrospect, such as "We do the concentrating and the Poles do the camping." ~Benny, disguised as Nazi Col. 'Concentration Camp' Ehrhardt.

Viewed in perspective, this is a "must see" for fans of Hollywood classics.

10 months ago

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By the time of release (6 March 1942), Lombard had been killed in a plane crash, the US had entered the war, and the Axis was still on the offensive.

Audiences were in no mood for laughter in general, and about the war in particular; Lombard's image on the big screen was more likely to evoke tears than laughter.

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