A very dark and somewhat non-comical comedy.

Rating: 7/10 (1 October 2008)

By no means is this movie not funny at all, but it is by all accounts perhaps the most serious movie Ernst Lubitsch ever made. Taking place in Poland during the "Blitzkreig" of 1939 that jump-started World War II, there is much more satire than screwball in this story, and I have to admit I didn't laugh nearly as much as in Ninotchka or even Trouble in Paradise. Of course, it could be possible Lubitsch wasn't going for the witty laughs. Rather, it seems he was trying to make a serious film about a serious time all the while poking fun at the enemy at the same time.
The cast is very good with the beautiful Carole Lombard leading the way in her final role before tragically dying in a plane crash. Jack Benny is rather obnoxious in his role as a hapless Shakespearean actor married to Lombard, but doesn't realize she is having an affair with a soldier he needs to help defeat the Nazis. The story takes many turns that are far too unbelievable especially in scenes about the Nazis and the ending. Still, for fans of Lubitsch, it is possible to see his beautiful touch on this story even if it is murky with so much war dribble.