Rent To Be or Not to Be (1942)
3.8 of 5 from 104 ratings
1h 35min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
In Warsaw at the beginning of WWII, Maria Tura (Carole 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. - Actors:
- Carole Lombard, Jack Benny, Robert Stack, Felix Bressart, Lionel Atwill, Stanley Ridges, Sig Ruman, Tom Dugan, Charles Halton, George Lynn, Henry Victor, Maude Eburne, Halliwell Hobbes, Miles Mander, Rudolph Anders, Paul Barrett, Sven Hugo Borg, Danny Borzage, Buster Brodie, Peter Caldwell
- Directors:
- Ernst Lubitsch
- Producers:
- Ernst Lubitsch
- Writers:
- Melchior Lengyel, Edwin Justus Mayer, Ernst Lubitsch
- Others:
- Werner Heymann
- Studio:
- StudioCanal
- Genres:
- Classics, Comedy
- Collections:
- 10 Films to Watch if You Like To Be or Not to Be, A Few More Screen Princes, All the Twos: 1902-62, All You Need to Know About Dump Month Movies, Award Winners, Films to Watch If You Like..., Getting to Know..., Getting to Know: Tilda Swinton, Hitchcock in the 1940s, Paramount's Laughing Thirties, The Biggest Oscar Snubs: Part 1, A Brief History of Film..., The Instant Expert's Guide, The Instant Expert's Guide to Wes Anderson, The Instant Expert's Guide to: Mel Brooks, Top 10 Best Last Films: World Cinema, Top 10 Bookshop Scenes, Top Films
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Reviews (2) of To Be or Not to Be
Polish Caper - To Be or Not to Be review by NO
I could not make my mind as to whether this was a comedy or a serious war film.There were moments of humour mixed up with seriousness,then sheer silliness.I also never knew that Jack Benny acted in films,I had only heard him on radio.Tragically this was Lombards last film.Robert S tack looked so young,I did not regognise him at first.Rather
dated but worth seeing.
4 out of 4 members found this review helpful.
Joy amidst the Bombs - To Be or Not to Be review by CH
To return to this film after some while is to appreciate all the more how much there is in it. To embrace farce, smart dialogue and drama without a creak is a marvel made all the greater by the dexterity with so many of the cast switch national costume as they fend off a Nazi plot to kill off the underground in wartime Warsaw. Those who have seen it will know something of this; those who have not done so should be assured that here is cinema's plenty., the actors revelling in their work.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.