To Be or Not to Be (1942)

Director:

Ernst Lubitsch

Writers:

Melchior Lengyel (story)
Edwin Justus Mayer (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

6 March 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | War

Plot:

During the Nazi occupation of Poland, an acting troupe becomes embroiled in a Polish soldier's efforts to track down a German spy.

Plot Keywords:

Nazi | Polish Resistance | Actor | WWII | Scotland

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins

Cast

Carole Lombard	...	Maria Tura
Jack Benny	...	Joseph Tura
Robert Stack	...	Lieut. Stanislav Sobinski
Felix Bressart	...	Greenberg
Lionel Atwill	...	Rawitch
Stanley Ridges	...	Professor Siletsky
Sig Ruman	...	Col. Ehrhardt
Tom Dugan	...	Bronski
Charles Halton	...	Producer Dobosh
George Lynn	...	Actor-Adjutant
Henry Victor	...	Capt. Schultz
Maude Eburne	...	Anna
Halliwell Hobbes	...	Gen. Armstrong
Miles Mander	...	Major Cunningham
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Rudolph Anders	...	Gestapo Sergeant at Desk at Top of Hotel Stairs (uncredited)
Paul Barrett	...	Polish RAF pilot (uncredited)
Sven Hugo Borg	...	German soldier (uncredited)
Peter Caldwell	...	Wilhelm (uncredited)
Alec Craig	...	Scottish Farmer without mustache (uncredited)
Helmut Dantine	...	Co-pilot (uncredited)
Leslie Denison	...	Captain (uncredited)
James Finlayson	...	Scottish Farmer with mustache (uncredited)
James Gillette	...	Polish RAF pilot (uncredited)
Leyland Hodgson	...	Second Reporter (uncredited)
Olaf Hytten	...	Polonius in Warsaw (uncredited)
Charles Irwin	...	Reporter (uncredited)
John Kellogg	...	RAF Flyer (uncredited)
Adolf E. Licho	...	Prompter (uncredited)
John Meredith	...	English wireless operator (uncredited)
Maurice Murphy	...	Polish RAF pilot (uncredited)
Russ Powell	...	Bystander (uncredited)
Frank Reicher	...	Polish Official (uncredited)
Otto Reichow	...	Co-pilot (uncredited)
Gene Rizzi	...	Polish RAF pilot (uncredited)
Hans Schumm	...	(uncredited)
Roland Varno	...	Pilot (uncredited)
Ernö Verebes	...	Stage Manager (uncredited)
Armand 'Curly' Wright	...	Makeup Man (uncredited)
Wolfgang Zilzer	...	Man in Bookstore (uncredited)

Directed by
Ernst Lubitsch

Writing credits
Melchior Lengyel		(story)
Edwin Justus Mayer		(screenplay)
Ernst Lubitsch		story (uncredited)

Produced by
Ernst Lubitsch	....	producer

Original Music by
Werner R. Heymann

Cinematography by
Rudolph Maté

Film Editing by
Dorothy Spencer

Casting by
Victor Sutker

Production Design by
Vincent Korda

Makeup Department
Gordon Bau	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Walter Mayo	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
William McGarry	....	assistant director
William Tummel	....	assistant director

Art Department
Julia Heron	....	interior decorator
J. McMillan Johnson	....	associate art director (as J. MacMillan Johnson)

Sound Department
Frank Maher	....	sound

Special Effects by
Lawrence W. Butler	....	special effects (as Lawrence Butler)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Irene	....	costumes: Miss Lombard

Music Department
Miklós Rózsa	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)
Eugene Zador	....	orchestrator: Miklós Rózsa (uncredited)

Other crew
Alexander Korda	....	presenter
Ryszard Ordynski	....	technical supervisor (as Richard Ordynski)

Production Companies

• Romaine Film Corporation

Distributors

• Masterpiece Productions (1948) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Masterpiece Productions (1950) (USA) (TV)
• Film Archives Trading Co. (1969) (USA) (all media)
• Warner Home Video (1998) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2000) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (1990) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Lunaris (1950) (Finland) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1942) (USA) (theatrical)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV) (1969) (Finland) (TV)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2009) (Finland) (DVD)
• Sonoro Filme (Portugal)
• Spiegel Media GmbH
• YLE Teema (2007) (Finland) (TV)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1959) (Finland) (TV)

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Canada:PG (video rating) | South Korea:12 (2003) | Finland:S | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #7834) | West Germany:12

Company:

Romaine Film Corporation

Trivia:

Carole Lombard took the female lead despite the strenuous objections of her husband, Clark Gable.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: During the flight to Warsaw, the wire holding the obviously model airplane is visible.

Quotes:

Maria Tura: No, no, no. I think we've talked much too much about me. Tell me about yourself.
Lieutenant Stanislav Sobinski: Well, there isn't much to tell. I just fly a bomber.
Maria Tura: Oh, how perfectly thrilling!
Lieutenant Stanislav Sobinski: I don't know about it being thrilling. But it's quite a bomber. You might not believe it, but I can drop three tons of dynamite in two minutes.
Maria Tura: Really?
Lieutenant Stanislav Sobinski: Does that interest you?
Maria Tura: It certainly does.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The 100 Greatest War Films (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Polonaise in A Major

One of the great romantic/satirical comedies of all time

There is a famous review of this film by the late Sunday Times critic, Dilys Powell which begins 'Is the joke funny?'... what Miss Powell was getting at was that, given the horror of the Holocaust, it is appropriate to laugh at the Nazis. The answer is, ultimately, irrelevant to the viewing of this modest masterpiece.

Lubitsch was, by this time, coming to the end of an exquisite career that defined the nature of sophistication in 'light' cinema. 'To Be or Not To Be' skips lightly over all of the minefield of a subject like this and it is difficult or impossible to think of any other filmmaker who might have managed it (if you look at Mel Brooks' limp remake, you can see why).

In 1996, I presented a massive season of 'the greatest' films in Belfast for the centenary of cinema - 250 titles in 9 months. Of all of them, this was the film which got the greatest ovation - about 5 minutes with a nearly full house standing and applauding! They may have applauded for many reasons, but here are certainly some of them...

The very complicated narrative is presented virtually flawlessly and the comedy is never allowed to hold up the narrative. The principle actors - Carole Lombard (breathtakingly beautiful) and Jack Benny in particular, but many of the supporting cast as well - throw themselves into the affair with a gusto that is completely infectious. Apart from the satirical aspect of the story and the way in which Hitler and the Nazis are mercilessly ridiculed for their authoritarianism and the fear which is their only motivator, the film pokes gentle fun at the vanity of actors in a warm and happy manner. Finally, and most important, is the notion of farce. Farce rarely works in the cinema, but here it does, and in the grand manner - just look at how many times the situation regarding Professor Siletsky changes profoundly during the film - it is dizzying - yet the characters manage to come up with (often self-defeating or inappropriate) schemes on every occasion.

This is a wonderful work that, I have no hesitation in saying, is absolutely vital for anyone who wants to really understand the glory of the cinema. But to answer Dilys Powell's question... yes, the joke is deliriously funny.