Rotten Tomatoes

Movies / TV

    Celebrity

      No Results Found

       View All       Movies Tv shows Shop News Showtimes

      To Be or Not to Be

      Released Mar 6, 1942 1h 39m Comedy List
      96% Tomatometer 52 Reviews 93% Audience Score 5,000+ Ratings Acting couple Joseph (Jack Benny) and Maria Tura (Carole Lombard) are managing a theatrical troupe when the Nazis invade Poland. Maria is having an affair with Lieutenant Sobinski (Robert Stack), who suspects Professor Siletsky (Stanley Ridges) is a Nazi spy. With Siletsky in possession of a list of members of the Polish resistance, the Turas' company takes action. Using their skill for impersonation, Joseph and company must confuse the Nazis and stop Siletsky from handing over the list. Read More Read Less Watch on Max Stream Now

      Where to Watch

      To Be or Not to Be

      Max

      Watch To Be or Not to Be with a subscription on Max.

      To Be or Not to Be

      What to Know

      Critics Consensus

      A complex and timely satire with as much darkness as slapstick, Ernst Lubitsch's To Be or Not To Be delicately balances humor and ethics.

      Read Critics Reviews

      Critics Reviews

      View All (52) Critics Reviews
      Michael Blowen Boston Globe The running gags, swift direction, and concise script makes it the best comedy about Fascism since Chaplin's The Great Dictator. May 17, 2023 Full Review Richard Brody New Yorker The film’s high purpose propels Lubitsch to unsurpassed extremes of inventive audacity. Jul 5, 2022 Full Review Kate Cameron New York Daily News It isn't, I am sorry to say, Lubitsch's most intriguing comedy, nor is it the best of Jack Benny vehicles, but it will do until another buggy comes along. Rated: 3.5/4 Jan 18, 2018 Full Review Sean Axmaker Stream on Demand It took the mix of grace, sex, and slapstick energy that makes up the Lubitsch touch to create the funniest film ever made about the German invasion of Poland. Jul 1, 2023 Full Review Hannah Brown Jerusalem Post It stars Jack Benny, one of the great Jewish-American comedians of the 20th century, and Carole Lombard, a wonderful screwball comedian, as well as Robert Stack and Sig Ruman. May 2, 2022 Full Review Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review Throughout To Be or Not to Be, Lubitsch orchestrates a comic work of art whose central theme of acting offers perhaps the most accurate assessment of and staggering blow against the Nazi movement ever put to film. Rated: 4/4 Feb 23, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

      View All (375) audience reviews
      Michael L Come on Carole Lombard and Jack Benny...how can it miss! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/29/24 Full Review Lars N Hilariously complex and ingeniously put together. What a joy. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/14/23 Full Review Red T All Time Classic. The closest I can describe this is it feels almost like a Hal Ashby movie except this is 60% Comedy and 40% War rather than 50/50. The editing is excellent. While there really isn't a main character the entire way this is a very heavy plot driven story and it moves at a very focused and balanced tone wise progression. The cinematography is excellent and so is the pacing. The visual jokes are excellent, well shot, and filled with a lot of memorable scenes which is surprising given how complex the story is. I never found this difficult to follow though at all surprisingly. This is able to ramp tension up instantly from comedic situations into serious ones and that's a testament to the excellent comedic acting that also knows how to play it straight. The comedy in this doesn't come from slapstick, gross out, or spoofing but rather an intelligent witty screwball type script that's really smart, and that's where the laughs come from. There also a few witty jokes as well and the "Heil Hitler" gag becomes funnier the more it's done. Add a really good musical soundtrack onto this and you get a really unique comedy that is something everyone should give a try once. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/13/23 Full Review Matthew D A fun bit of espionage and humor at the expense of Nazis. Director Ernst Lubitsch's war espionage comedy To Be or Not to Be (1942) is very funny, but also has heart and empathy for the invaded Polish people. It's interesting that the original concept from Ernest Lubitsch and Melchior Lengyel sets the story at the start of WWII in Warsaw, Poland. Taking actors and making them into spies against the SS is funny. I most enjoyed screenwriter Edwin Justus Mayer's wordplay and repeated gags that just get funnier as the film goes onwards towards its silly finale. Casting director got serious comedic talent for this absurd ensemble. Carole Lombard hilariously plays up the flirty, famous Polish actress Maria Tura. Her insistence in doing what or whom she wants is quite modern and Lombard nails all her lines. I do wish she was in the movie more than just a supporting role. Even her dramatic part of having to entertain the awful Germans as they try to seduce her is compelling due to her sympathetic performance. Jack Benny steals the film as the insecure Polish actor Joseph Tura. His ego and fragile sensitivity make each inquisition funnier than the last as he disguises himself as various German officials. Robert Stack is great as the concerned and charming Lt. Stanislav Sobinski, until you realize his Polish airman wants to subjugate Maria into a farming housewife. Felix Bressart is surprisingly touching as Jewish actor Greenberg, who simply wants the opportunity to show his acting prowess as Skylock from Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice. Lionel Atwill is hysterical as usual as Rawitch, the foolish ham actor. Stanley Ridges is fearsome and sleazy as the duplicitous spy Professor Alexander Siletsky. I got chills when he corners Carole Lombard in his SS hotel office. Sig Ruman actually hilarious as the violent and foolish Gestapo commander Col. Ehrhardt. Tom Dugan is amazing as Bronski, especially with his outrageous impersonation of Adolf Hitler. Editor Dorothy Spencer has very swift cuts for precise comedic timing and a fast pace. Cinematographer Rudolph Maté creates a brooding Warsaw in shadows and swarmed by German soldiers in stunning wide shots. Production designer Vincent Korda recreates Poland and the stage for a touching backdrop for this war era picture. I can see why audiences at the time were moved. Art direction from J. McMillan Johnson shows Germans in shadows and darkness for all their cruel evils, while lighting the heroes in illuminating brightness. Composer Werner R. Heymann's plucky orchestral score is melodramatic and delightful. I find it adorable his musical cues are timed to visual gags for extra cute laughs. Sound editor Frank Maher ensures each moment is accentuated by the music in sharp cuts. Irene's lovely costumes give Carole Lombard dazzling dresses and evening gowns. Makeup artist Gordon Bau does funny mustaches for all the guys with real care. In short, To Be or Not to Be is a fun 99 minutes! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/09/23 Full Review Steve D Ends up being quite amusing. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 05/27/23 Full Review deke p Very interesting. Both comedic & serious anti-Nazi film. In the middle of WW2. Never heard of it before saw most on Jan 1, 2023 on the Movie Channel. I don't think I've ever even heard of a JACK BENNY movie before. And CAROL LOMBARD! & ROBERT STACK wayback then. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

      Cast & Crew

      Show Less Cast & Crew Show More Cast & Crew

      More Like This

      View All Best Movies to Stream at Home
      100% 73% My Favorite Blonde 70% 52% The Big Store 89% 84% The Talk of the Town 100% 89% Ball of Fire 82% 58% Roxie Hart Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

      Movie News & Guides

      View All Movie News & Guides

      This movie is featured in the following articles.

      13 Essential Jewish American Films Daniel Brühl’s Five Favorite Films Now Streaming: The Blacklist Season Two, Cinderella, And More

      Photos

      View All To Be or Not to Be photos

      To Be or Not to Be

      To Be or Not to Be (1942) To Be or Not to Be (1942) To Be or Not to Be (1942) To Be or Not to Be (1942) To Be or Not to Be (1942) View more photos

      Movie Info

      Synopsis Acting couple Joseph (Jack Benny) and Maria Tura (Carole Lombard) are managing a theatrical troupe when the Nazis invade Poland. Maria is having an affair with Lieutenant Sobinski (Robert Stack), who suspects Professor Siletsky (Stanley Ridges) is a Nazi spy. With Siletsky in possession of a list of members of the Polish resistance, the Turas' company takes action. Using their skill for impersonation, Joseph and company must confuse the Nazis and stop Siletsky from handing over the list.
      Director
      Ernst Lubitsch
      Producer
      Alexander Korda
      Screenwriter
      Melchior Lengyel, Ernst Lubitsch, Edwin Justis Mayer
      Distributor
      Warner Home Vídeo, United Artists
      Production Co
      Ernst Lubitsch-Film
      Genre
      Comedy
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Mar 6, 1942, Original
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Oct 15, 2020
      Runtime
      1h 39m
      Most Popular at Home Now