Review of To Be or Not to Be (1942) by Kevin R — 09 Jul 2011

What a dreadful poster for such a great picture.

I can see why Mel Brooks remade this, it has a totally Mel Brooks feel to it, or should I say it has a totally Jack Benny feel to it. Also it has the Lubitsch touch as everyone has pointed out, I believe this is the first of his films I've seen. Now to watch the Brook's remake.

There are those who see it as being insensitive, I don't know how. It is a funny film on a serious topic and delivers both laughs and a message, also poking fun at Hitler and the Nazis. This and Chaplin's The Great Dictator I would think were powerful weapons during the war. Boosting the moral and spirits of our side while if ever getting to the enemy would surely lower theirs.

I know Jack Benny mostly from his radio days and a little from his tv show. This is the first film I've seen him in that I recall and he is more or less himself without the trademark jokes, he does a bit more acting but not much.

Carol Lombard, again I think I've heard her on Old Time Radio maybe once or twice but looking over her long list of films (especially for someone who died so young at 33) I haven't seen any others. To Be or Not to Be was her last film. She was great in it, a classic Hollywood Beauty!

So maybe I'm being overly generous giving out so many high scores but it also has to do with I try not to waste time watching junk movies.