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As nervy as it is hilarious, this screwball masterpiece from Ernst Lubitsch stars Jack Benny and, in her final screen appearance, Carole Lombard as husband-and-wife thespians in Nazi-occupied Warsaw who become caught up in a dangerous spy plot. To Be or Not to Be is a Hollywood film of the boldest black humor, which went into production right before the U.S. entered World War II. Lubitsch manages to brilliantly balance political satire, romance, slapstick, and wartime suspense in a comic high-wire act that has never been equaled.
Original Release
03/05/1942
US Release
03/06/1942
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Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Carole Lombard | Maria Tura |
Jack Benny | Joseph Tura |
Robert Stack | Lieutenant Stanislav Sobinski / Lieut. Stanislav Sobinski |
Felix Bressart | Greenberg |
Lionel Atwill | Rawitch |
Stanley Ridges | Professor Siletsky / Professor Alexander Siletsky |
Sig Ruman | Colonel Ehrhardt / Col. Ehrhardt |
Tom Dugan | Bronski |
Charles Halton | Producer Dobosh / Producer Jan Dobosz |
George Lynn | Actor-Adjutant |
Directors
Writers
Ernst Lubitsch, Melchior Lengyel, Edwin Justus Mayer
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Carole Lombard | Maria Tura |
Jack Benny | Joseph Tura |
Robert Stack | Lieutenant Stanislav Sobinski / Lieut. Stanislav Sobinski |
Felix Bressart | Greenberg |
Lionel Atwill | Rawitch |
Stanley Ridges | Professor Siletsky / Professor Alexander Siletsky |
Sig Ruman | Colonel Ehrhardt / Col. Ehrhardt |
Tom Dugan | Bronski |
Charles Halton | Producer Dobosh / Producer Jan Dobosz |
George Lynn | Actor-Adjutant |
Henry Victor | Captain Schultz / Capt. Schultz |
Maude Eburne | Anna |
Halliwell Hobbes | General Armstrong / Gen. Armstrong |
Miles Mander | Major Cunningham |
Rudolph Anders | Gestapo Sergeant at Desk at Top of Hotel Stairs |
Paul Barrett | Polish RAF Pilot |
Sven Hugo Borg | German Soldier |
Danny Borzage | Member of Audience at Performance of Hamlet |
Buster Brodie | Townsman |
Peter Caldwell | Wilhelm Kunze |
Producers
Name | Role |
---|
Ernst Lubitsch | Producer |
Alexander Korda | Producer |
Editors
Year | Type | Category | Won |
---|
1943 | Oscar | Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture | Nominated |