To Be or Not to Be (1942 film)

To Be or Not to Be
Theatrical release poster
Directed byErnst Lubitsch
Screenplay byEdwin Justus Mayer
Ernst Lubitsch (uncredited)
Story byMelchior Lengyel
Produced byErnst Lubitsch
StarringCarole Lombard
Jack Benny
Robert Stack
Felix Bressart
Lionel Atwill
Stanley Ridges
Sig Ruman
CinematographyRudolph Maté
Edited byDorothy Spencer
Music byWerner R. Heymann
Miklós Rózsa (uncredited)
Production
company
Romaine Film Corp.[1]
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release date
  • February 19, 1942 (1942-02-19) (LA)[2][3]
Running time
99 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.2 million[4]
Box office$1.5 million (US rentals)[5]

To Be or Not to Be is a 1942 American black comedy film, 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.[6] The film was released one month after actress Carole Lombard was killed in an airplane crash.[7] 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."[8][9]

  1. ^ To Be or Not to Be at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
  2. ^ "Motion Picture Daily". New York [Motion picture daily, inc.] February 4, 1942. p. 1 col. 4.
  3. ^ "Variety Feb 18, 1942".
  4. ^ Balio, Tino (2009). United Artists: The Company Built by the Stars. University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 978-0-299-23004-3. p173
  5. ^ "Variety (January 1943)". New York, NY: Variety Publishing Company. June 14, 1943 – via Internet Archive.
  6. ^ "To Be or Not to Be | BFI | BFI". Explore.bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2012-07-11. Retrieved 2014-04-08.
  7. ^ "To Be or Not to Be (1942) - Notes". TCM.com. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  8. ^ "National Film Registry (National Film Preservation Board, Library of Congress)". Loc.gov. 2013-11-20. Retrieved 2014-04-10.
  9. ^ "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2020-05-13.