Carole Lombard and Other Points of Interest

Rating: 8/10 (18 January 2015)

***User reviewer theowinthrop ("Swan Song in Warsaw", theowinthrop from United States, 12 November 2005) has an interesting review that covers most of the bases which follow here.***
"To Be Or Not To Be (1942, Ernst Lubitsch)", a comedy about the Nazi invasion of Poland, is worthwhile escapism. It is a product of the time it was made. Completed in 1941, the producers withheld it from release until the US was at war with Germany. When it was being made, the US was still neutral regarding the conflicts raging in Europe. So the Nazi subject matter (e.g., many digs at Adolf Hitler, the references to concentration camps, the Gestapo, etc.), was fairly new to Western audiences. There is a strong propaganda element throughout, and the leading actors are handicapped by the need to kiss up to the Allies while demonizing the Axis powers.
This film may have inspired "Hogan's Heroes" which arrives 25 years later. For both, the Germans are easily defeated. "Hogan's Heroes" also has a Colonel Schultz who is particularly dim-witted.
Even though the Saturday crowd was laughing out loud, many of the gags seem pretty antiquated today. What makes "To Be Or Not to Be" enjoyable is the performance by the three principal leads. Also, the Edwin Justic screenplay is energetic.
In the tradition of 1930s screwball comedies, Robert Stack as Lieutenant Stanislav Sobinski is a very handsome young man in pursuit of love but inexperienced at it. He is more than a capable bombardier and soldier, but love is a more difficult battle altogether.
Jack Benny's Joseph Tura, a pompous actor obsessed with his wife's presumed infidelities, is quite brilliant. Even though Tura repeats himself frequently, Benny has the skill to keep it interesting. Benny might have become a clown to rival Bob Hope if he had made more films. However, for many reasons Carole Lombard (as Maria Tura) is obviously the main attraction here.
Lombard did not live to see this film released. She was killed at age 33 while flying to a war bond rally. Her departure was a terrible loss for world cinema. Not only is Carole Lombard breathtakingly beautiful, she is vastly talented. She excelled in comedic repartee. Her Maria Tura thinks very fast on her feet while captivating throughout. Carole Lombard was an elite performer during the fabled Golden Era of Hollywood.
Cinephiles will enjoy "To Be or Not to Be." Just don't board an aircraft with an unpressurized cabin getting to the revival theater showing this.