MovieChat Forums > To Be or Not to Be (1942) Discussion > One of the best political satires ever m...

One of the best political satires ever made....and yet ppl call it 'bad'

posted 19 years ago by classicfilmbuff
23 replies | jump to latest

Ok so by now you all should get my position when ppl make outrageous remarks about good movies, i tend to get skeptical becuz either there are no strong points about their argument or just becuz they want to be different. But when it comes to the classic movies, obviously the movies I thrive upon, it just gets me mad. To Be or not to be in my opinion is BY FAR top five of the best political satires ever made...Dr. Strngelove, MASH, Duck Soup, The Great Dictator included. And it the BEST film of that year because of its brilliant script and all around performances...obviously I shall exclude Casablanca for objectivity if one has to argue my statement.

TBONTB features a hilarious performance by great Jack Benny, playing egocentric "ham" actor Joseph Tura whose self-confidence excels a little bit further than his skills at Shakespeare. At one point Joseph asks a Nazi officer what he thought about his acting and the officers immediately replies: "What he did to Shakespeare we are doing now to Poland." Jack Benny, known for his long pauses, dsiplays his genius in this movie as he stutters and gasps himself throughout several situation. Check out the scenes in which he says "To Be or not to be", he almost never continues with his monologue after those words which adds to the moment in itself.

Carole Lomabard in her first comedy in five years makes a rather grand return as she walks into a Nazi Concentration camp in a gold dress. Obviously she is an actress and wife of Joseph Tura, Maria. Although more reserved in the roles she was kwown prior...she nevertheless added a sense of wit and charm to a rather flirtatious character. This film is mostly noted as her final film and showed how patriotic she really was.

Well there are more reasons why I feel why this film deserves more recognition as one of the better comedies...and yet there are still ppl who oppose by saying these bs remarks. WHY??? Can anyone give any good reasons why they think film is not funny?

"Remember, you're fighting for this woman's honor, which is probably more than she ever did."

[–] Mimi38 18 years ago

I agree with you.

[–] itchyfriend9 18 years ago

You're asking for reasons why a movie isn't funny? Humor is subjective, and something is either funny to a person, or it isn't. With a few exceptions (the real Colonel Earhardt saying "So they call me Concentration Camp Earhardt," the pilots jumping out of the plane at the end), this movie isn't very funny. You want a reason? Well, I didn't laugh very much, so that right there was a clue that it wasn't very funny.

Seriously, what's the point of getting angry just because people don't like a movie you love? Seems pretty silly.

[–] donrogers42 18 years ago

"If I shouldn't come back, I forgive you what happened between you and Sobinski." [Pause] "But if I come back, it's a different matter."

For my money, that is one of the funniest, cheekiest, most memorable lines from any movie. One of the reasons this movie works so well for me is that, like Dr. Strangelove, the plot works well enough as a straightforward wartime thriller. I've heard that the play Arsenic and Old Lace was originally conceived as a straight murder thriller, and was tanking in tryouts until George Abbott doctored it into a comedy thriller. Whether that's true or not -- and I guess I don't see why it's relevant in any case -- To Be or Not to Be has to be right up there with The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, in terms of bracingly smart, unsentimental World War II comedies.

I know he's not credited -- I know he's not even uncredited -- but does anybody else get the idea that somehow or other Billy Wilder must have contributed to this script?

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] brooklyn9555 18 years ago

Both Billy Wilder and Ernst Lubitsch left Germany for Hollywood during the end of the Weimar Era. Given the option of having either Lubitsch or Fritz Lang as a mentor, Wilder chose Lubitsch, who contributed greatly to his sensibilities, and so any connections you find between them can probably be answered this way.

[–] catramos 18 years ago

Excellent review!

Additionally, I always though Carol Lombard remarkable for being so physically beautiful and such an accomplished comedienne, BOTH at the same time.

The scene which, to my mind most comically and frighteningly harbingers the "I was just following orders" defense was the ending scene in which Shemp Howard, disguised as the Feuhrer himself, opens a door on the airborne "get-away" plane and orders the two Nazi soldiers on board to "Jump!" AND THEY DO SO!

Similar philosophy is expressed in "Conan the Barbarian" when the cult leader played by James Earl Jones orders a young girl high on a precipice above him to come down to him, and she leaps off the precipice to where he is- and to her death!

Cults = (Death of Individuality) = Suicide (and/or Suicide/Homocide Terrorists) = (If your own life is not important why is anyone else's?) = Genocide

See Woody Alan's "Antz." Except it is not the military that erases individuality- it is the "popular" culture of 24-hour-a-day NewsSpeak TV and government-by-Social-"Scientist" "education."

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] sunsetboulevard16 18 years ago

It is not the funniest film I've ever seen; I think a comedy has to be funny (and To Be or Not To Be is one of the most amusing films I've ever seen), but that is not what makes it better as a movie.

I think To Be or Not To Be is the most perfect, clever and satisfactory film ever made. Quite sincerely, it is the only one among my favourite films which has never had that status changed through the years: it remains incredibly witty and complex, intelligently estructured and it has no low points. Just perfect.

I know some people may find this statement weird, but I just needed to say it; especially considering it is not in the top 250 list. Anyone shares my lunacy?

Best wishes.

[–] james_gb 18 years ago

sunsetboulevard16...To Be or Not to Be is a great film, one of my top 20 certainly but it's not greater than...Sunset Boulevard

[–] panquin 18 years ago

Why would people say it's not funny? Easy answer to that one, as far as I'm concerned. This is a movie that requires giving as much as getting - or, like all great art, you have to do more than just show up and prepare to be entertained. You have to give of yourself, your fullest attention, and you have to be - let's face it, and screw the political correctness - smart, intellectually curious, in possession of a working triple-digits IQ, etc. That is why someone will say this movie is boring and Shrek is funny. Shrek, as a funny movie, is big-time news to me; boring, ludicrous, product-placement rehasher of older, better comedy routines/lines is more like it.

Today's moviegoer says, "I paid money and I want my entertainment! Give it to me now! Now now now!" To Be Or Not To Be requires that you pay attention when you're paying your money...an all-but-lost art on its own, nowadays.

[–] cengelm 17 years ago

To Be Or Not To Be requires that you pay attention when you're paying your money...an all-but-lost art on its own, nowadays.

From a comedy I don't expect a challenge to follow the story. It just demonstrates that it is flawed. Anyways, it actually failed back then in the 1940s which means that the "art on its own" to follow this movie was probably never existent.

"Today's moviegoer" was never confronted with this film.

[–] classicfilmbuff 17 years ago

I did a class on the 1940s cinema, it is no different than any other film that era structurally but i think it handled the war too lighthandedly than ppl would like. IMO it is not flawed.

"Remember, you're fighting for this woman's honor, which is probably more than she ever did."

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] cengelm 18 years ago

I prefer Mel Brooks' remake. In the original version I have problems to keep the characters apart. That problem probably hurt the box-office success.

[–] martyfrommiami 17 years ago

Just one small correction gang:

That ain't Shemp Howard, playing the phony Adolph H., who orders the two Nazi airmen to jump out of the plane; it is Tom Dugan.

[–] Percivalx 17 years ago

I watched this movie last night and absolutely LOVED it. It's very funny, fast, and the cast is tremendous.

Let's see if you bastards can do 90.

[–] arian_8769 17 years ago

The best political comedy ever!!!without doubt!!!

[–] Errington_92 13 years ago

Besides from satirising the Nazis, I felt "To Be or Not to Be" was impressive in satirising actors through the portrayal of Josef whose vanity is a motif through out the film with such lines as "Her husband is that great, great Polish actor, Josef Tura. You've probably heard of him."

"I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not".