IMDb > To Be or Not to Be (1942)
To Be or Not to Be
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotes
Overview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv schedule
Awards & Reviews
user commentsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage board
Plot & Quotes
plot summarysynopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotes
Fun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQ
Other Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDesk
Promotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo gallery
External Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clips

To Be or Not to Be (1942) More at IMDbPro »


Overview

User Rating:
8.0/10   8,339 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 5% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Ernst Lubitsch
Writers:
Melchior Lengyel (story)
Edwin Justus Mayer (screenplay)
(more)
Contact:
View company contact information for To Be or Not to Be on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
6 March 1942 (USA) more
Genre:
Comedy | Drama | War more
Plot:
During the Nazi occupation of Poland, an acting troupe becomes embroiled in a Polish soldier's efforts to track down a German spy. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins more
NewsDesk:
(5 articles)
Jude Law ... You Are the Father
 (From TMZ. 11 October 2009, 8:08 AM, PDT)

Curio: 10 Cents for Carole
 (From FilmExperience. 7 October 2009, 11:00 AM, PDT)

User Comments:
Jack Benny as Hamlet more (65 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)

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)
Create a character page for: ?

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)
 
Crew verified as complete


Production CompaniesDistributors
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Runtime:
99 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English | German
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
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

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Carole Lombard took the female lead despite the strenuous objections of her husband, Clark Gable. more
Goofs:
Factual errors: When Tura is disguised as Colonel Erhardt in his meeting with Siletsky he is wearing the uniform of a Major General (actually an SS-Gruppenfuehrer). more
Quotes:
Maria Tura: It's becoming ridiculous the way you grab attention. Whenever I start to tell a story, you finish it. If I go on a diet, you lose the weight. If I have a cold, you cough. And if we should ever have a baby, I'm not so sure I'd be the mother.
Josef Tura: I'm satisfied to be the father.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Il y a longtemps que je t'aime (2008) more
Soundtrack:
German National Anthem (Das Lied der Deutschen) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
9 out of 9 people found the following comment useful.
Jack Benny as Hamlet, 9 April 2006
10/10
Author: krorie from Van Buren, Arkansas

This is one of the great movie farces of all time. I would rank it very close to my all time favorite "Dr. Strangelove." There are several tiers of interpretation as is true of any noteworthy satire. It is not only poking fun at the stupidity and vanity of Nazism, but at aggressive war in general. Referring to Joseph Tura (Jack Benny) playing Hamlet on stage, Colonel Ehrhardt (Sig Ruman) states, "What he did to Shakespeare we are doing to Poland." Only someone with the comic genius of Ernst Lubitsch could compare the Thespian rape of Shakespeare with the physical rape of a country and make it work.

Jack Benny, although one of the most popular entertainers of all time, never got his just deserts for his acting abilities. Though he utilizes many of his physical mannerisms that worked so well for his comedy routines on radio, in the movies, and later on TV, he also does some very fine acting in "To Be Or Not To Be." He is teamed with the multi-talented Carole Lombard yet keeps up with her all the way. The two work well together. Had Carole Lombard not been tragically killed in a plane crash while serving her country just before the release of this film, she would possibly have been teamed with Benny again. The rest of the cast, including newcomer Robert Stack, keep up the pace and give all the support needed to make Lubitsch's film a winner, in particular the histrionics of Sig Ruman, the definitive Nazi stooge, later parodied in the popular TV series "Hogan's Heroes."

The script which Lubitsch himself helped put together blossoms with hilarious one-liners such as "So they call me Concentration Camp Ehrhardt?" To read a few of the most famous ones, see IMDb quotes for the film. Better still, rent or buy a copy of this classic and watch it a few times to hear them for yourself. IMDb only lists some, not all, for that would take several pages.

The story sounds like one for a typical romantic or screwball type comedy. A troupe of Shakespearean actors in Warsaw, Poland, appear to be on the road to success due to the fame of the leading lady, Maria Tura (Carole Lombard). Her husband, Joseph (Benny), seems to be in her shadow, though he does his best as the Prince of Denmark, Hamlet. Yet each time he does the famous soliloquy that begins, "To be or not to be," the same man gets up and walks out. This leads Joseph to think he is a failure as Hamlet until later in the film he learns that the young man, Lt. Stanislav Sobinski (Robert Stack), is leaving each time for a rendezvous with Joseph's wife, Maria. At this point Hitler invades Poland and the theater is closed as the Nazi's come to town. A Nazi professor, Prof. Alexander Siletsky (Stanley Ridges), flies in with a list of names of traitors (Polish patriots) who are to be taken care of by the local Gestapo headed by Col. Ehrhardt (Ruman). It is up to the Shakespearean troupe to keep these names out of the hands of the Gestapo and then to escape with their lives. So they use their acting talents to impersonate Gestapo officers and even Hitler himself. Joseph becomes Ehrhardt but botches it when the professor brings up the relationship between Maria and Lt. Sobinski who is now in Warsaw also. The rest of the film involves several funny mix-ups and mistaken identities filled with satirical buffoonery.

Though this was somewhat controversial when first released because some, including Jack Benny's own father, misunderstood the satire, the film is possibly even more funny and relevant today than during World War II when the Nazi menace was for real. Because Lubitsch made the spoof universal in nature, "To Be Or Not To Be" transcends time and space.

Was the above comment useful to you?
more (65 total)

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for To Be or Not to Be (1942)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Breaking the Code? (Possible MINOR spoiler) user-38
Has anyone noticed the appointment list? jcabc3596
DVD -- March 1 ruggedrascal
Greatest quote... lordxur
It's Not Shemp Howard The Daz
First scene of all tfishandchips
more

Recommendations

If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
- - - - -
Die Blechtrommel Annie Hall The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp Shakespeare in Love The Stunt Man
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
Show more recommendations

Related Links

Full cast and crew Company credits External reviews
News articles IMDb Comedy section IMDb USA section
Add this title to MyMovies

You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.