Carol Lombard was one of the true comedy stars of her day. She stars in To Be or Not to Be, alongside Jack Benny. She plays Maria Tura, who is the wife of Joseph Tura, (Jack Benny). Benny is a part of an acting troupe in Warsaw, Poland, before the war, and during. He is a terrible actor, who is starring in a play, satirizing the Nazi’s. The play is cancelled after the blitzkrieg of Poland. A serious moment comes in this film, after the Nazis, bomb Warsaw. The terrified actors emerge from shelter, and see their city destroyed.
The film’s main point is to show the bravery of the people, and keep the resistance movement going. Professor Siletsky, (Stanley Ridges) is a Nazi spy. Carol Lombard and Ridges have good scenes together. They are both trying to get information. Professor Siletsky is discovered by the resistance and killed. He is replaced by Joseph Tura. Jack Benny does well in these scenes, trying to convince the Nazis, that Siletsky is still alive. It is comical when it is found out that Tura is the imposter. That is because the Nazi’s have been replaced by Tura’s acting company. This confounds Colonel Earhardt, (Sig Ruman). It becomes a nightmare for the colonel, when he makes advances toward Maria Tura. He later sees her romantically linked with Adolph Hitler. It isn’t Hitler, but an actor playing him. The actors, working with the resistance have made fools of the Nazi’s, and head off to England, in a Nazi plane. They are hailed as heroes, by British intelligence, and they ask Tura what he wants in return. Maria answers for him, and says he wants to play Hamlet. Joseph Tura is on the British stage playing Hamlet, and an audience member walks out on his soliloquy. This was a running gag throughout the movie, with Lieutenant Stanislav Sobinsky, (Robert Stack) doing it through most of the film.
To Be or Not to Be, was Carol Lombard’s last film. She was killed in a plane crash, coming back from a war bond drive. The movie was released after her death. It was a very tragic thing, that the world was deprived of her comedic acting talents.Carol Lombard was beautiful, and the camera highlights this. She was excellent alongside Jack Benny. He played an unlikeable character on the radio, and plays a hammy actor here. He did have great talent, and is able to effortlessly work with Carol Lombard.
This film shows the Nazis in two ways:evil and buffoonish. It shows them as destroying Poland and civility. It also shows their indifference to life. Colonel Earhart is reminded that he already signed an execution order, for someone. He replies that he signs so many, that he can’t remember their names. Sig Rugman plays his character very well, showing the thin line between humanity and inhumanity. The movie puts into perspective how peoples lives are affected by war. It is an effective satire, well done by it’s director, Ernst Lubitsch. He was also one of the writers on the film. The point of the film is made, when a Jewish actor, in the troupe, Greenberg, (Felix Bressart), recites Shylock’s speech, from The Merchant of Venice. It isn’t on the stage, but in front of Hitler’s SS. Comedy is difficult to convey on the silver screen. Satire is even harder. Ernst Lubitsch and his troupe of actors have achieved that very difficult thing.