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To Be or Not to Be

1942

Ernst Lubitsch

Carole Lombard, Jack Benny, Robert Stack, Stanley Ridges ...

8.5

36,036

Comedy. Mystery Joseph Tura and his wife Maria top the bill at a Warsaw theatre company. Young aviator Lieutenant Sobinski is madly in love with the girl and the two arrange to meet in her dressing room during the play they are putting on (Hamlet). He leaves the theatre to see her just as Joseph starts the 'To be or not to be' soliloquy. Germany invades Poland and Sobinski has to leave for England, although he will have to return to Warsaw to ... [+]

	Author	Review
United States	Variety	"[An] absorbing drama with farcical trimmings. It's an acting triumph for Lombard, who delivers an effortless and highly effective performance"	POS
United States	Dave Kehr Chicago Reader	"One of the most profound, emotionally complex comedies ever made"	POS
United States	Bosley Crowther The New York Times	"Mr. Lubitsch had an odd sense of humor—and a tangled script—when he made this film (...) [but] this film has balance and feeling. There is no question about it."	NEU
United States	Roger Ebert rogerebert.com	"An eclectic comedy that races off into several directions, usually successfully (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)"	POS
United States	Leonard Maltin IndieWire	"This is a film worth sharing and revisiting on a regular basis."	POS
United States	Ed Gonzalez Slant	"'To Be or Not to Be' very much exhibits the German-born director’s signature aesthetic and spiritual approach (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 4)"	POS
United States	Mike D'Angelo AV Club	"Because the second half of 'To Be Or Not To Be', once Benny starts impersonating Nazis, is so outlandishly hilarious, it’s easy to forgive the film’s comparatively sluggish first half"	POS
United Kingdom	Rod McShane Time Out	"It's certainly one of the finest comedies ever to come out of Paramount"	POS
United States	Keith Staskiewicz Entertainment Weekly	"One of Hollywood’s funniest, and most poignant, classics"	POS

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