To Be or Not to Be
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Movie Reviews of To Be or Not to Be
Movie Review: Luminous Lombard and a Never-Better Benny Light Up Lubitsch's Classic Nazi Satire
Summary: 5 Stars
There is a certain sense of melancholy I feel when I watch this 1942 classic Ernst Lubitsch movie, as it represents the last appearance of the luminous Carole Lombard, surely the most breathtaking and high-spirited of actresses during Hollywood's golden era. In a rush to get home to husband Clark Gable after a successful war bond tour, she died in a plane crash during the film's post-production, and as the result proves without a doubt, the world lost one of the great treasures of the silver screen. She and co-star Jack Benny play Maria and Joseph Tura, the egocentric stars of a Polish acting troupe who are caught in the 1939 Nazi invasion of Warsaw. As a world-class flirt, she is carrying on with a handsome young pilot named Stanislav Sobinski, and their trysts begin once he hears his cue to get up from his theater seat, Hamlet's famous opening line to his soliloquy as spoken by an increasingly perturbed Joseph.
The romantic triangle quickly takes a backseat to an espionage thriller involving a German spy named Professor Siletsky, who holds the names of members of the Polish underground. His intention is to kill them, but the acting troupe, now with their theater in ruins, band together to stop him. This includes the need for the extremely vainglorious Joseph to impersonate Siletsky in front of the befuddled Colonel Ehrhardt and for Maria to seduce any Nazi official who stands in their way. While it sounds like a piece of wartime propaganda, the film actually becomes more farcical even as people are getting killed.
As Joseph, Benny has never been better, conveying both self-absorption and cunning expertly, and the script by Edwin Justus Mayer and an uncredited Lubitsch gives him a number of great one-liners. With her honey-toned voice and smoky elegance, Lombard is at the top of her game as the seductive Maria, as she dexterously shows her comic and dramatic sides with precision and unparalleled style. Delivering her lines with subtle finesse, she provides a strong match for Benny. Sixty-four years later, and there is still no one who can touch her. The rest of the ensemble is memorable starting with Sig Ruman's hilarious turn as Ehrhardt. A fresh-faced Robert Stack, all of 22, plays Sobinski with a callow, zestful energy, while Felix Bressart excels as the ultimately heroic Greenberg.
The movie makes direct commentaries on the concentration camps, and the satirical aspects are blissfully unapologetic. The stylishness of the comedy in light of the virulent wartime setting is what makes the film memorable and it proves what a master Lubitsch was at this level of subtlety. The 2005 DVD comes with two extras both featuring Benny - an ancient twenty-minute comedy short from 1930 called "The Rounder" and a brief commercial for war bonds. I wish they could have included some tribute to Lombard as it would have been fitting on this disc.
Movie Review: SCHULTZ !!!
Summary: 5 Stars
To Be or Not To Be is an outstanding black comedy that works on every level; I have rarely watched a film with this much humor and action combined. The script was very well written and the casting couldn't have been better. If poor Carole Lombard had to go out of this world after making a film, at least she went out after making this; she recalled that it was the best experience she had as a screen star. The cinematography and the choreography shine and the acting is very convincing as well. If I sound like I'm gushing about this it's because I was thrilled with this picture and it will remain in my collection for years to come. My only quibble is that at certain points the quality of the print could have been a bit better; but this is minor and the sound is excellent.
When the action starts, we see a Polish local theater company preparing for their opening night of a play critical of Hitler and Nazism. Joseph Tura (Jack Benny) and his wife Maria (Carole Lombard) star in the show; but we meet other actors in the troop including Bronski who is playing Hitler; Greenberg who complains that he's only cast as an extra; producer Dobosh (Charles Halton) and more. However, at the last minute a government minister comes to tell them that they cannot put on the play because it might offend Hitler--so they hastily prepare for Hamlet with Joseph playing the role of Hamlet.
Unfortunately, there's even more trouble than the impending Nazi invasion of Poland. Maria, Joseph's wife, Maria, has been getting flowers from an admirer who turns out to be Polish Lieut. Stanislav Sobinski (Robert Stack). Moreover, a trusted and esteemed Polish professor by the name of Siletsky goes on a secret mission for Poland and gets the names of the families who are in the Polish resistance movement--only it turns out that Siletsky is actually working for the Nazis as a spy and he wants to turn over the names of the resistance fighters and their families to the Gestapo.
I don't want to spoil too much of this for you; suffice it to say that there are many quick plot twists that make for a whopper of a movie with action, suspense and some really good laughs. Look also for a great performance by Sig Ruman as Nazi Captain Ehrhardt; In addition, the DVD comes with two extras; we get "The Rounder" and "Buy Savings Bonds! A Patriotic Drama."
To Be or Not To Be rightfully deserves its place as one of the funniest films ever according to The American Film Institute. I highly recommend this film for anyone who enjoys black comedy; and fans of the actors in this film will love it.
Movie Review: Interesting Aspects
Summary: 5 Stars
I won't add my unqualified praise to the long list of enthusiastic reviews, with which I heartily agree.
The other day I saw a documentary about "Gentleman's Agreement," which mentioned that it was the first Hollywood film to use the word "Jew," which had supposedly been taboo because the studio heads did not want to call attention to their own ethnicity.
Actually, Chaplin's "The Great Dictator" had dealt openly with the plight of Jews, in Germany, long before "Gentleman's Agreement."
But "To Be Or Not to Be" scrupulously avoids any reference to Jews, even though the characters in the story are obviously a company of Jewish actors, and director Lubitsch and many of the actors in the film are themselves Jewish.
As if to underline the taboo, or perhaps to poke a little satirical bite at it, early on the script has Jack Benny, in a throw-away line that one could easily miss, nonchalantly order a "salami and cheese sandwich" -- a no-no in the diet of a traditional Eastern European Jew.
The film even goes so far as to misquote Shakespeare, having Felix Bressart substitute the words "I" and "we" for "Jew" in Shylock's most famous speech. This shameless (or shameful, depending upon how you look at it) bowlerism could not have been overlooked by the more literate of those in the audience.
Those same people may also have wondered at the choice of Hamlet's onstage "To Be Or Not to Be" speech as an opportune time for the Carol Lombard character to pursue a backstage assignation.
Lombard's Maria Tura would surely have played Ophelia in the production. Immediately following the "To Be or Not to Be" scene, Hamlet comes upon Ophelia saying her prayers. There could not possibly have been time during the speech for Maria to have an offstage romance and still make her entrance on cue.
These anomalies in the story are perhaps a wink at the audience, and no more improbable than a troupe of Jewish actors in Poland successfully impersonating Nazi soldiers, a general, and even Hitler.
The film is both a social statement, albeit an obvious one, and a brilliant farce, and is one of my all-time favorites.
Movie Review: Laughing to Ease the Tensions (but heighten the sense of responsibility) in the Face of War
Summary: 5 Stars
In the midst of World War II, before the Americans had entered into the fray, Ernst Lubitsch made what appears on the face of it an oxymoron: a light-hearted comedy about the Polish Resistance to the Nazis. (The film was released just after Pearl Harbor, but had been in the works while the United States continued to stand on the sidelines.) Of course, while it does end up being quite funny, the film has a much more serious subtext -- about the responsibilities of Hollywood (and of the United States) in the face of the increasing dangers faced by countries across Europe.
An acting troupe in Warsaw prior to the Polish invasion is planning a production to expose the dangers of Nazism, when they are shut down for fear of angering the Germans. Their practice in portraying Nazis, however, becomes extremely valuable when they are needed to keep information regarding the Polish resistance out of the hands of the Gestapo. The story is very clever, and played with panache by a delightful cast of characters lead by Carole Lombard and Jack Benny.
What makes the film especially interesting, apart from being a fine Lubitsch comedy, is the film's message to the audience and to other filmmakers about the responsibilities and limitations of the artist during wartime. The director of the Polish acting troupe wants them to make a serious play about Nazis; the actors want to make it into a comedy. Still, their actions proceed from a false perception of their safety -- it is easy to criticize the enemy when he is not at the gates. As I take it, the message of the film is that artists (both actors and filmmakers) should not be afraid to use their unique talents in the service of war, and should not be afraid to risk their lives and repuations, and that their power and potential should not be underestimated. A further message seems to be that humor and satire can be more effective than serious propaganda. An enjoyable film in its own right that also provides a valuable window into a period of American and world history.
Movie Review: One of the twenty top North American comedies ever made!
Summary: 5 Stars
Ernst Lubitsch was one of the most talented and daring filmmakers of his generation. Accustomed to make provocative and fearless scripts, he achieved a honor place with this acidic and laughable comedy against the Nazis; specially when just two years ago Charles Chaplin had throwen his hat top ring with The Great Dictator and perhaps for many everything had been said aboiut this awful issue. Tha's why when Lubitsch assumed the task of directing the 1942 political satire classic To Be or Not to Be, the normal expectations turned around what was going on behind stage and the surprise was majuscule for crictics and audiences; the film marked the final screen appearance of comedienne Carole Lombard. In Warsaw at the beginning of WWII, Maria Tura (Lombard) and husband Joseph (Jack Benny) perform anti-Nazi plays with their theater troupe until they are forced to switch to Shakespeare's Hamlet. Lt. Stanislav Sobinski (Robert Stack) falls for Maria and meets up with her during Joseph's famous "To Be or Not to Be" speech as Hamlet. When Stanislav is eventually dispatched for war, he implicates Maria with Professor Siletsky (Stanley Ridges), who has a secret plan to destroy the Warsaw resistance. The Polish theater troupe is then forced to use their theatrical skills to ensure their survival. Eventually, they turn to impersonating Nazi officers -- and even Hitler himself -- in order to outwit the enemy and keep the resistance safe from spies. To Be or Not to Be opened to a controversial release in 1942, when the U.S. was still very much involved in WWII.
Watching it one may note why Mel Brooks bet for making The producers in 1968 and finally to undertake a remake in 1983.
A timeless movie that has acquired a cult status among the most origianl exponents of its genre.