The Cinematheque

“[Reveals] a profound understanding of the actor’s art and its possibilities … In the end, Lubitsch is talking about serious things.”

Jean Eustache

The deeply serious and profoundly ridiculous mingle in what is surely one of Ernst Lubitsch’s finest, most spectacular comedies. Hamlet’s suicidal quandary of ​“to be or not to be” functions in the film as both an existential prompt for a troupe of actors and an invitation to—what else—a potential love affair. Stage star Maria Tura (Carole Lombard) opens the picture balancing that invitation with the ego of her husband Joseph (Jack Benny), until Hitler’s invasion of Warsaw destroys all sense of material stability. What follows is a high-momentum adventure plot full of suspenseful dread and gallows humour. Lubitsch’s film might look perfect now, but it was deemed in poor taste in 1942, perhaps because, true to the filmmaker’s worldview, fascism here is a social game of flattery, small talk, and idle chatter. Though filmmakers from Chaplin to Tarantino have imitated Lubitsch’s mannered treatment of the führer, none have equalled To Be or Not to Be​’s unflappable sophistication.

“Occupies a place by itself for its singular audacity … [The film’s] comedy is exemplified by Jack Benny and Carole Lombard in their funniest performances.”

Geoffrey O’Brien, New York Review of Books