To Be or Not to Be is a 1942 comedy film directed by Ernst Lubitsch, about a troupe of actors in Nazi-occupied Warsaw who use their abilities at disguise and acting to fool the occupying troops. It was adapted by Lubitsch (uncredited) and Edwin Justus Mayer from the story by Melchior Lengyel. The film stars Carole Lombard, Jack Benny, Robert Stack, Felix Bressart, Lionel Atwill, Stanley Ridges and Sig Ruman. The film was released two months after actress Carole Lombard was killed in an airplane crash.
The title is a reference to the famous "To be, or not to be" soliloquy in William Shakespeare's Hamlet.
Plot
The movie chronicles the adventures of a Polish theater company before and during Nazi occupation, especially those of the resident ham, Josef Tura and his wife, Maria. The film opens with the seemingly impossible appearance of Adolf Hitler in Warsaw (this is before the 1939 invasion). We discover that this is a local actor, Bronski, who is playing Hitler in a planned new work satirizing the Nazis (the play's highly realistic sets and costumes will be crucial later on). After Bronski halted rehearsals by improvising, "Heil myself!", his resemblance to Hitler was called into question, so he took to the streets to prove himself. His effort fails when a young girl asks for the autograph of "Mr. Bronski."
The action then shifts to later that night. While rehearsing the new play, the theater company has also been performing Shakespeare's Hamlet, with Maria as Ophelia and Tura in the title role. Bronski commiserates with his friend and colleague, Greenberg, about always being the ones to "carry a spear," instead of having starring roles. Greenberg reveals it has always been his dream to perform Shylock, especially the famous "Hath not a Jew eyes?..." speech.
Meanwhile, Maria is inspecting a bouquet of flowers she has received, the third bunch in as many days. These turn out to come from a handsome young pilot named Lieutenant Stanislav Sobinski. Sobinski sends a note asking for permission to finally meet Maria, and she agrees, telling him to come to her dressing room when her husband begins his "To be or not to be..." speech, so they can be sure of privacy. As a result, the young man walks out (very obviously) just as Tura begins his monologue — causing the highly-strung actor great distress. Maria is attracted to Sobinski when they meet, and the two arrange to meet again.
A few days later, at another performance of Hamlet, Sobinski again walks out during Tura's speech (this has clearly become his and Maria's "thing"). Sobinski by now assumes that Maria will leave her husband, give up acting, and come live with him on a farm. Before Maria can finish putting him right, her maid rushes in, saying Germany has declared war on Poland. Sobinski leaves to join the fight and the actors take shelter under the theater as bombs begin to fall.
A montage and voice-over show us Hitler conquering Poland, and tell us that the Polish division of the British Royal Air Force is fighting to free its mother country. We cut to this very division, where Lt. Sobinski and other young pilots are singing a rousing song with an apparent Polish resistance leader named Prof. Siletsky. Siletsky intimates that he will be returning to Warsaw soon, and joyous at the chance to contact their families, the pilots write down addresses for the professor to visit. Sobinski asks Siletsky to give Maria the message "To be or not to be", but his suspicions are aroused when Siletsky, who claims to have lived in Warsaw, does not know who the famous Maria Tura is.
Sobinski tells his superiors, who send him to Warsaw to warn the resistance about Siletsky. Sobinski is unable to contact them but does manage to reach Maria, who passes the message on in his stead. Immediately after, she is stopped by two Nazi soldiers, who have been ordered by Siletsky to bring her to his hotel. Siletsky delivers Sobinski's message and invites Maria to dinner, hoping to recruit her as a spy for the Nazis. She pretends to be interested and goes home "to change her clothes." Just before she arrives at her apartment, Tura returns and Maria, Tura and Stanislav end up in a three-way conversation in which Maria and Stanislav try to figure out what to do (kill Siletsky, they conclude), and Tura tries to figure out what on Earth is going on. In the end, Tura proclaims that he will kill Siletsky.
Later that evening, Mrs. Tura returns to the professor's room and pretends to be attracted to him. Just as they kiss, there is a knock at the door. It is a Nazi officer (whom we recognize as one of the members of the acting company). He informs the professor that he is wanted at Gestapo headquarters, but actually escorts him to the theater, which has been hastily disguised with props and costumes from the play.
Tura pretends to be Col. Ehrhardt of the Gestapo, but Siletsky sees through the ruse. He tries to escape, but is shot and killed by Sobinski on the stage of the theater. Tura returns to the hotel disguised as Siletsky in a fake beard and glasses, to destroy the information about the Polish resistance that Siletsky has in his trunk. Unfortunately, he's met at the hotel by the real Col. Ehrhardt's adjutant, Capt. Schultz, and taken to meet Ehrhardt himself. Luckily, Tura manages to pass himself off as Siletsky and learns during their meeting that Hitler himself will visit Poland the next day.
The next day, the real Siletsky's body is discovered in the theater. Ehrhardt sends for Maria to tell her, but she is unable to warn Tura in time, and he arranges another meeting with Ehrhardt, again posing as Siletsky. When Tura arrives, Ehrhardt sends him into a room with Siletsky's dead body in it, hoping to frighten him into a confession. Ad libbing like a pro, however, Tura shaves off Siletsky's beard and then attaches a spare fake beard that he was carrying in his pocket. He then calls Ehrhardt into the room and manipulates him into pulling Siletsky's now-fake beard off. This seems to prove that the real Siletsky was actually the imposter, but just as Tura is about to make his escape, the other actors (sent by Maria and again in Nazi costume) storm into Ehrhardt's office, yank off Tura's false beard and pretend to drag him away to prison. This does get Tura out of Gestapo headquarters, but now he cannot leave the country on the plane Ehrhardt had arranged for him, and it's only a matter of time before the actors' ruse is discovered.
Now the actors make their boldest gambit of all. The Nazis put on a show at the theater to welcome Hitler (the soldiers perform), and Sobinski and the actors sneak in, again dressed as Nazis. Prominent among them is Bronski, initially without his Hitler mustache from the play. The actors hide in the powder rooms until Hitler arrives and takes his seat, and then, as the Nazis are singing the German national anthem inside, Greenberg suddenly appears from the ladies' room and charges toward Hitler's box. This distracts the Führer's guards long enough for Bronski, now wearing a Hitler mustache, to emerge unnoticed from the men's room and pretend to have come out of Hitler's box surrounded by his "entourage."
Playing the head of Hitler's men, Tura demands to know what Greenberg wants from the Führer, and Greenberg finally gets his chance to deliver Shylock's famous speech, infusing it with all his love for Poland and his hatred of the Nazis that have subjugated it. He ends with a ringing "if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?!" and Tura orders his "officers" to take Greenberg away. He also recommends that Bronski/Hitler leave Poland immediately, and all the actors march out, get in Hitler's car and drive away.
Meanwhile, back at her apartment, Maria is waiting for the actors to pick her up on their way to the airport. They all intend to leave on Hitler's plane, but Col. Ehrhardt shows up and tries to seduce her (offering extra butter rations and a beautiful bracelet he confiscated just that day). Ehrhardt is utterly floored, however, when the door opens and Bronski walks in disguised as Hitler. He's come up in place of Tura, who's lost his fake mustache and can't leave the car (the real Nazis driving it would realize he's a fake). Equally shocked, Bronski turns and walks out in silence, but Ehrhardt immediately thinks that Maria is having an affair with Hitler and that he has just been caught trying to steal the Führer's girl. It's the perfect opportunity for Maria, who dashes after Bronski calling, "Mein Führer, Mein Führer!" and escapes with the other actors.
All the actors take off in the plane. They easily dispose of the real Nazi pilots — Bronski, still dressed as Hitler, simply orders them to jump out of the plane (without parachutes from who knows how many feet up); the mindlessly obedient pilots instantly leap to their deaths. Sobinski flies the plane to Scotland, where Bronski causes a little surprise when he parachutes into a farmer's bale of hay in his Hitler costume and makeup. The actors are soon revealed as heroes. Asked what reward he'd like for his service to the Allies, Tura hems and haws in a show of false modesty, but Maria quickly answers in his stead, "he wants to play Hamlet."
In the movie's final scene, Tura is once again on stage as Hamlet and reaches the moment of "To be or not to be." He eyeballs Sobinski in the audience as he begins the speech, but both of them are struck dumb when a new young man gets up and heads backstage.
Cast
- Carole Lombard as Maria Tura — an actress in Nazi-occupied Poland.
- Jack Benny as Joseph Tura — an actor and Maria's husband.
- Robert Stack as Lt. Stanislav Sobinski — a Polish airman in love with Maria.
- Stanley Ridges as Professor Alexander Siletsky — A Nazi spy masquerading as a Polish resistance worker; tries to seduce Maria in order to persuade her to become a Nazi spy.
- Sig Ruman as Col. Ehrhardt - The bumbling Gestapo Commander in Warsaw.
- Tom Dugan as Bronski - A member of the Acting company who impersonates Hitler.
- Felix Bressart as Greenburg - A Jewish Member of the Acting Company who plays bit parts and dreams of playing Shylock.
- Lionel Atwill as Rawich - A Ham Actor in the Acting Company.
Production
Lubitsch had never considered anyone other than Jack Benny for the lead role in the film. He had even written the character with Benny in mind. Benny, thrilled that a director of Lubitsch's caliber had been thinking of him while writing it, accepted the role immediately. Benny was in a predicament as, strangely enough, his success in Charley's Aunt was not bringing in anyone else who wanted the vaudeville actor for any roles in their films.
For Benny's costar, the studio and Lubitsch decided on Miriam Hopkins, whose career had been faltering in recent years. The role was designed as a comeback for the veteran actress, but Hopkins and Benny did not get along well, and Hopkins left the production.
Lubitsch was left without a leading lady until Carole Lombard, hearing his predicament, asked to be considered. Lombard had never worked with the famous director and yearned to have an opportunity. Lubitsch agreed and Lombard was cast. She got along so well with Lubitsch that her husband, Clark Gable, suspected them of having an affair. The film also provided Lombard with an opportunity to work with friend Robert Stack, whom she had known since he was an awkward teenager.
The film was shot at United Artists, which gave Lombard boasting rights to say that she had worked at every major studio in Hollywood. During the post-production of this film, Lombard was killed in a plane crash. Following the release, Lombard's performance was heavily applauded, although most people found her choice to work on a satire about Nazis in poor taste. Lubitsch, on the other hand, found heavy critique with this film and it diminished his status in Hollywood.
Reception
To Be or Not To Be, now regarded to be one of the best films out of all Lubitsch's, Benny's, and Lombard's careers, was not appreciated by the general public, who felt that making fun of such a real threat as the Nazis was revolting. It was said that during the premier, Benny's own father walked out of the theater, so disgusted was he that his son was in a Nazi uniform during the first scene, and he vowed not to set foot in the theater again. Benny convinced him otherwise and his father eventually ended up loving the film.
The same could not be said for the critics, however. While they praised the late Lombard, they scorned Benny and Lubitsch. To one critic Lubitsch wrote, "What I have satirized in this picture are the Nazis and their ridiculous ideology. I have also satirized the attitude of actors who always remain actors regardless of how dangerous the situation might be, which I believe is a true observation. It can be argued if the tragedy of Poland realistically portrayed as in To Be or Not to Be can be merged with satire. I believe it can be and so do the audience which I observed during a screening of To Be or Not to Be; but this is a matter of debate and everyone is entitled to his point of view, but it is certainly a far cry from the Berlin-born director who finds fun in the bombing of Warsaw," (Courtesy TCM). The critic Mildred Martin later reviewed another of Lubitsch's films and referred with a derogative nature to his German birth and his comedy about Nazis in Poland.
The critics were especially offended by Colonel Earhardt's line: "Oh, yes I saw him [Tura] in 'Hamlet' once. What he did to Shakespeare we are now doing to Poland." However, the film has since become a comedy classic.
The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture.
Awards and honors
In 1996, To Be or Not to Be was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
American Film Institute recognition
Remakes
A radio drama adaptation of To Be or Not to Be was produced by the Screen Guild Theatre on Jan. 18, 1943, starring William Powell and Diana Lewis.
The film was remade in 1983 by Mel Brooks. See: To Be or Not to Be (1983 film).
A stage version opened on Broadway in 2008. See: To Be or Not to Be (play).
Analysis
Judaism
Lubitsch, himself of German Jewish origin, was cautious in the film over making overt references to "Jewishness" (including avoiding use of the words Jewish or Jew). Just one character, Greenberg (played by Felix Bressart), an actor in the theatrical company, is made obviously Jewish. This is first conveyed during the opening sequence: when Greenberg is quarreling with another actor, he declares, "What you are I wouldn't eat!" to which the second responds, "How dare you call me a ham!" It emerges that Greenberg's lifelong ambition is to play Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, yet the three times that Greenberg recites sections of Shylock's most famous speech, the word "Jew" has in each case been written out.
A prescient line was cut out of the film after the death of Carole Lombard: when Lombard is invited by Robert Stack's smitten airman to fly in a plane with him, she says: "What can happen on a plane?" The line has since been restored to available prints of the film.
Notes
External links
|
Films directed by Ernst Lubitsch |
|
| 1910s |
|
|
| 1920s |
|
|
| 1930s |
|
|
| 1940s |
|
|
| Short films |
Fräulein Seifenschaum · Aufs Eis Geführt · Blindekuh · Zucker Und Zimmt · Der Erste Patient · Der Letzte Anzug · Der Kraftmeier · Wo Ist Mein Schatz? · Schuhpalast Pinkus · Der Gemischte Frauenchor · Das Schönste Geschenk · Der G.m.b.H. Tenor · Leutnant auf Befehl · Seine Neue Nase · Ossis Tagebuch · Der Blusenkönig · Wenn Vier Dasselbe Tun · Das Fidele Gefängnis · Prinz Sami · Der Rodelkavalier · Der Fall Rosentopf · Ich Möchte Kein Mann Sein · Das Mädel Vom Ballet · Meyer Aus Berlin · Das Schwabenmädel · Kohlhiesels Töchter · Romeo Und Julia Im Schnee · If I Had A Million (segment "The Clerk")
|
|
