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To Be or Not to Be
To Be or Not to Be is a 1942 American black comedy film, directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring Carole Lombard and Jack Benny, and featuring Robert Stack, Felix Bressart, Lionel Atwill, Stanley Ridges and Sig Ruman. The plot concerns a troupe of actors in Nazi-occupied Warsaw who use their abilities at disguise and acting to fool the occupying troops. It was adapted by Lubitsch (uncredited) and Edwin Justus Mayer from the story by Melchior Lengyel. The film was released one month after actress Carole Lombard was killed in an airplane crash. In 1996, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
Plot
The well-known stars of a Warsaw theater company, including "ham" Joseph Tura and wife Maria, are rehearsing Gestapo, a satirical play. That night, when the company performs Hamlet, with Joseph in the title role, one actor, Bronski, commiserates with colleague Greenberg about always being spear carriers. Greenberg, implied to be Jewish, reveals he has always dreamed of playing Shylock in ''The'' ''Merchant of Venice''.
More details
| author | Edwin Justus Mayer |
|---|---|
| contentLocation | Poland |
| director | Ernst Lubitsch |
| editor | Dorothy Spencer |
| events | World War II |
| genre | comedy-drama historical political satire |
| keywords | act air force allies of world war ii ally dead body deutschlandlied dressing room german soldier germany has invaded poland gestapo ham hamlet id invasion of poland kill masquerade nazi spy polish resistance polish resistance movement in world war ii resistance fighter royal air force shylock spear carrier the merchant of venice underground movement |
| musicBy | Werner R. Heymann |
| nomination | Academy Award for Best Original Dramatic or Comedy Score |
| producer | Ernst Lubitsch |
| productionCompany | Romaine Film Corp. |
| publisher | United Artists |
| theme | black comedy screwball comedy |