I only know Jack Benny from his television work, but he is hilarious here. Although known for her comedic timing, she was also quite a beautiful woman. In the film's most tense scene, the Nazi's discover Joseph is a fake.Ĭarole Lombard never looked so good. Maria seems surrounded by Nazi's who want to have sex with her. To Be or Not to Be is a comedy first but it works well as a drama. You might not believe it, but I can drop three tons of dynamite in two minutes." When Maria goes to Siletsky's room, he pours her a drink and says, "Should we drink to a blitzkrieg?" She quickly, yet cooling, responds, "I prefer a slow encirclement." Maria states that Stanislov and Maria never actually had sex, but watch her interest peak when Stanislov tells her, "I don't know about it being thrilling. I like how these older films make sexual suggestions in vague ways. He assures members of the underground that he can play the role, "I am going to do the impossible, I am going to surpass myself." This involves Maria going to dinner with Siletsky and Joseph impersonating a Nazi officer. Maria, Stanislov and Joseph devise a plan to kill Siletsky. He propositions her to spy for Germany as well as start an affair. "How did you get here?" "I jumped from a plane." "Right into my bed aye?" Siletsky has Maria brought in for questioning. He has to stop the spy, who is in Warsaw, before he reveals too much information. He told Stanislov he lived in Warsaw, but he never heard of Maria. Stanislov parachutes back into Poland after discovering a professor, Siletsky, is a spy. Although this is a comedy it also works well as a World War II adventure tale. Stanislov goes to England to fly with the Royal Air Force while Maria and Joseph join the Polish underground. Maybe he had a sudden heart attack." To which Joseph replies, "I hope so."ĭuring a production of Hamlet, Germany attacks. A narrator speaks of patriotism and the use of "V" for victory as a symbol of hope. He complains about it to Maria, who says that, "Maybe he didn't feel well. This upsets Joseph, but not because he is visiting his wife but because he is walking out during his performance. He visits her backstage whenever Joseph starts reciting Hamlet's soliloquy. This causes her to flirt with and date a Polish Air Force pilot named Stanislov. He is so conceited that he loves himself more than his wife. Lombard plays Maria, a patriotic Polish actress married to an extremely vain actor, Joseph. Her last words before entering her plane in Indiana were, "Before I say goodbye to you all - come on - join me in a big cheer- V for victory!" She was flying around the country selling war bonds. It was released nearly two months after Carole Lombard's death in a plane crash. It takes place two years earlier in Warsaw, when Germany invaded Poland. Carole Lombard and Jack Benny in To Be or Not to Be.
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