Underplayed Gems

To Be or Not to Be (1942)

To Be or Not to Be poster
Directed by
Ernst Lubitsch
Genre
war film, comedy drama
Country
United States
Runtime
1h 33m
Rated
NR
Rating
7.8 of 10 from 843 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

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How it feels

A troupe of actors in Nazi-occupied Warsaw use their disguise and performance skills to fool occupying German troops. They become entangled in a dangerous plot that requires them to play roles on and off the stage.

wittytensedarkly comictheatricalsuspensefulcleversatiricalbrisk

What happens

To Be or Not to Be is a 1942 American black comedy film produced and 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. To Be or Not to Be was released one month after 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." (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

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