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Taking a big swing is an understatement. How does one poke their finger in the eye of Nazis in 1942 and finding that line between satire and deadly seriousness? Director Ernst Lubitsch, born in Berlin in 1892 does just that. We are placed in Poland and follow Jack Benny and Carole Lombard, a husband and wife team of actors in a local theater in Warsaw, and by all accounts, have a certain amount of celebrity in the area.
As it happens, humans have foibles, and Maria Tura (Lombard) takes interest in a young pilot named Lieutenant Stanislav Sobinski (a young Robert Stack) who has an obvious crush and attends all of her performances. Thus, he sneaks back to her dressing room when Joseph Tura (Jack Benny) is performing the famous "To be or not to be" speech. Hence, the title, which the studio thought would be too "high brow" for audiences of the early 1940's and recommended a change. Ah, the suits. Always thinking they know best.
Then the Nazis storm in, and the lives of the populace are turned upside down. The young pilot goes off to England to be part of the war and the impact of the Nazis becomes paramount.
While in England with some other Polish flyers, Lt. Stanislav has an interaction with a Professor Siletsky, who is a Nazi spy and collecting intelligence on the resistance. He learns this as a result of Siletsky knowing nothing of Maria Tura. Then it's a race against the clock as Lt. Sobinski rushes back to stop the Professor before he can get that information into the hands of the Gestapo.
From there, we are off to races and our merry company of actors take on the Nazis with their steely nerves and acting talents.
Lombard is outstanding in this, and fought hard for the role. Her husband, Clark Gable, even recommended against it. And Jack Benny, while not known primarily as a film actor, is at the top of his game here. Lubitsch sought him out for this role, knowing he would have just the right balance to tie things together.
