To Be Or Not To Be Review- By Michael Carlisle

 Title: To Be Or Not To Be
Year: 1942
Director: Ernst Lubitsch
Country: US
Language: English

 

During the middle of World War Two, one of the most explosive wars in the history of mankind, Ernst Lubitsch asked himself "To Be or Not To Be?" He was not quoting Hamlet's immortal line in the Shakespeare play, but was rather pondering whether the United States was ready for his no holds barred comedy against the Nazi regime. Though the world had already seen the satire of Charles Chaplin's The Great Dictator, this film would prove to be far more risque. 

In Carole Lombard's last onscreen role before her untimely death via plane crash, she plays Maria Tura, a woman in occupied Poland during WWII. Along with a group of stage actors, led by her husband Joseph Tura (Jack Benny) they must outwit the Nazis, by intercepting a German spy who has information which could be very damaging to the Polish resistance.

"They call me concentration camp Ehrhart, though it's the Germans who do most of the concentrating and the Polish who do most of the camping" This is the kind of humor that fills the screen in this film; outrageous, shocking, daring and bold. Lubitsch crosses more boundaries than Chaplin could ever dream to. Even today the jokes will leave your jaw hanging on end, leaving you questioning whether you should be offended or amused. It is so wrong and yet so right. 

To Be or Not To Be is witty, intelligent, sentimental and mad. It is a horse running full speed into a burning stable. Perhaps it was far too much for the audience at the time to take, nobody was in the mood to laugh at war, but since we are 71 years removed from that period we can fully enjoy it. It's a vitually flawless film, its comedy never holds up the narrative, but rather improves it.

In conclusion, Director Ernst Lubitsch never disappoints. All his classic Hollywood films tickle the funny bone while questioning our morals. I would argue that To Be Or Not To Be is his greatest work, but many have good arguments for Heaven Can Wait and Trouble In Paradise. If you haven't seen this man's work, do it asap. Praise it! 5/5