To Be or Not to Be

Ernst Lubitsch's "To Be or not to Be" is one of the most serious comedies ever made, which makes it all the more hilarious. It is one of those movies that remind you how important it is to laugh at something utterly serious because the reality behind it can be utterly devastating. It is an unapologetic comedy about a group of Polish actors who thwart a Nazi plot to exterminate the underground resistance. It was made in 1942 right in the middle of the second world war as a bitter indictment on the atrocities of the Third Reich, but it's also hilarious.

The film stars Jack Benny as a famous actor Joseph Tura, he's is vein, egotistical, and a great ham. Joseph, along with his wife Maria Tura (Carol Lumbard in her final film) are two of Poland's most famous actors. They love each other, yet they bicker constantly mostly about who's name should come first on the marquee. Also despite their love, that doesn't stop Maria from carrying on a rendevous romance with a young admirer of hers named Stanislav Sobinski (Robert Stack) a young Navi flyer. Each night, Stanislov goes to meet Maria in her dressing room while her husband is on stage playing Hamlet. The cue for Stanislov to meet Maria is once Joseph goes into his "To be or not to be...." speech during the play. Each night at the same time, Stanislov gets up from the audience and leaves to meet Maria in her dressing room, all the while Joseph is under the impression that this is just a regular audience member who is walking out on his performance, something that completely horrifies him.

But pretty soon, this love triangle is interrupted by the very real life occurrence of Germany invading Poland; soon the city of Warsaw is bombed, the theatre is closed, markets and shops are destroyed, and some members of the acting company are seen shoveling snow. Stanislav goes off to fight in the war, but he soon finds out about a double agent for the Nazi's by the name of Professor Siletsky (Stanley Ridges)who has acquired the names of people in the Polish underground movement. Stanislav's is to apprehend Siletsky before he meets the Nazis, but it all goes wrong, and pretty soon it falls on Maria, Joseph, and their troupe of actors to save the day.

The movie has a very straight forward comedic plot which is as hilarious as it is suspenseful. There are some real tense moments such as Maria being stuck in Professor Siletsky's hotel room which is crowded and run by Nazis. There's also a moment where Joseph is disguised as Siletsky to fool the Nazis but he is then put in a room which contains the very real, and very dead person he is impersonating. Yet we forget that we are watching a comedy, and the solutions to these tense moments relieve us with hearty laughter.

Much of the fun of "To Be or Not to Be" has to do with the life and ego of actors. The role of Joseph Tura was specifically written with Jack Benny in mind, and he has never made a more memorable part in the movies. Benny revels in Tura's vanity, and also his insecurity. During the film's moments when Tura is disguised as Siletsky, he often asks the people he's with if he has heard of "that great actor Joseph Tura" to which the reply is mostly a no; however in one of the film's most notorious lines, one of the main officers, Col Ehrhardt (Sig Ruman) replies that he has heard of Tura and saw him performing "Hamlet" once. He goes on to say that "What he did to Shakespeare, we are now doing to Poland". That line, among others is the reason the film was considered bad taste when it was first released.

Indeed the film did not receive a warm reception in its initial release which was due to the scathing satirical take on the Nazi war machine. No doubt it was sensitive material at the time it was made, however I felt watching it that there was a certain immediacy to it that perhaps took the audience off guard. The film takes a brave approach in its portrayal of the Nazis and their political message which, to Lubitsch was absurd. The main fool of the film comes from Ruman's character Col. Earhardt, a bafoonish military officer who is seen on the phone ordering people shot without investigating them, then there is a running joke of him putting blame on his underling everytime he is wrong about something. Earhardt is a rather broad representation of the sense Hitler's Third Reich made to the sane individual.

But the main aim of ridicule here is Hitler, who know doubt was a fearful conqueror to the Polish people at the time, and who's threats were probably seen as no laughing matter. But the idea the film does take is to deflate Hitler's importance, and it does this by laughing at him and his mindless policies which caused the deaths of millions. This is an angry film but with a lot of heart to it.

Ernst Lubitsch was the director of this film, who, in all of the photographs I've seen him in, he's never without a cigar, and is usually carrying a mischievous grin on his face. He was known for his comedies, he thrived in the silent era beginning in Germany, then became greatly known in Hollywood for his sophisticated style in films like "Trouble in Paradise" and "Design for Living". At some point his films were described as having that "Lubitsch Touch" something that has never been explained quite fully. The reason it's never been explained is because "The Lubitsch Touch" means something different to everyone else, yet it all adds up to a signature that is no doubt belongs to him. When it comes to "To Be or Not to Be", I believe his touch has something to do with tact. I don't think Lubitsch ever became explicit, which is why I'm amazed that this film was considered, or could ever be thought of as tasteless. Lubitsch doesn't need to be crass or derogatory to get his point across, he always took the high road with the targets he aimed at. That comes out in the very brief but righteous scenes the film takes, none more so than when one of the troupe of actors played by Lubitsch regular Felix Bressart must be a distraction during a drastic moment at an Opera Hall. This actor has always wanted to play Shylock from "The Merchant of Venice", and when he is captured by the Nazis, he is given his chance to say that character's famous monologue, "If you prick us, do we not bleed..."here Lubitsch sums up the sentiment of the film, a protest against the madness that Hitler stood for. These moments are scattered tactfully by Lubitsch throughout the film to give it weight; a way to stand up against dehumanization by throwing in an ounce of humanity.

Of all types of films that are lost from Hollywood's golden age, it's the Lubitsch ones I think I miss the most. To spend the evening with a Lubitsch film is like spending one with people who always know what the right thing to say is in any situation. With "To Be or Not to Be", Lubitsch is commenting that there are serious, and evil things going on in the world, but sometimes the best way to deal with those things is to laugh at it, he knew that comedy, when done right, could be the source of great courage.