'39 Forever

Rating: 9/10 (12 June 2006)

Comedies rarely live up to high praise, for whatever the reason, so I won't go to great lengths building up how great I think this film is, although I really think this is a great film. Sure, there are inconsistencies that would be easy to point out, such as the across all borders shared language between the characters from Poland, Germany and Great Britain. Or I could banter on about how unlikely a pairing Jospeh Tura (Jack Benny) and Maria Tura (Carole Lombard) make as husband and wife. Or perhaps you just find the subject matter of the Nazi's rise to power something not to be taken into the cinema for frivolous laughs.
But really this is part of the charm of the film. The film moves between the absurd to the dramatic, though mostly to the absurd, with such ease and flair that the viewing experience becomes a joy, you forgive all of the filmic shortcomings, the suspension of belief, and yes, the arena for bad taste.
The film isn't short on its poignant moments either. The destroyed shop signs of the local merchants towards the beginning of the film help to put a real face on the destruction of war. These aren't just brick buildings being leveled, these are names. There's also the 'once in a lifetime' performance Greenberg (Felix Bressart) gives to his best friend, Bronski (Tom Dugan) who is dressed up in a ruse as Hitler to help create a diversion for escape. This scene hits the marks on a couple of levels; it speaks candidly about the lust for war and its adverse effects and it gives Greenberg his one chance to play the part he's wanted to play all of his life. And he plays it as if his life literally depends on it.
Most of the film showcases Benny having to outwit Nazi buffoons by dressing up as high ranking Gestapo agents or spies, all the while trying to get to the bottom of an affair his wife is having with a Polish Air Force Lieutenant (Robert Stack).
Lombard and Benny are great; they hold most of the film together. Most of what you see from the Nazi side is portrayed in the way that you would come to expect; the Nazi as grand buffoon. Again, this is a minor gaff in the film. The double agent Professor Siletsky (Stanley Ridges) plays his part perfectly and is not played as a buffoon.
The film has lots of running gags that are hilarious and it shouldn't disappoint. It may be cliché to say this about this movie, but it really is a minor masterpiece.