To Be or Not to Be Movie Review

To Be or Not to Be (1942)

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Written by: Melchior Lengyel (original story), Edwin Justus Mayer (screenplay) 
Directed by: Ernst Lubitsch
Starring: Carole Lombard, Jack Benny, Robert Stack
Rated: -[PG]
Watch the trailer

Plot
A group of actors in Poland get mixed up in a Polish soldiers search for a German spy.

Verdict
This is an older black and white movie, but it's witty, combining subtle comedy and smart banter. It's a lot of fun as an acting troupe uses their German costumes to great effect. The troupe is always on the edge of being discovered, and that makes for a fun plot.
Watch it.

Review
I rarely see modern movies with such distinct wit. Subtle comedy is my favorite style, and this nearly perfects both. We also get to see Robert Stack from Unsolved Mysteries (1987). Jack Benny as Josef Tura does a great job, playing multiple roles in this as he attempts to trick the Germans into thinking he's a spy and then an officer.

To Be or Not To Be - Everything a comedy should be.

Benny's banter is quick and smart. One of my favorite exchanges involves a patron who stood up during his famous To Be or Not to Be speech.

Josef Tura: But he walked out on me.
Maria Tura: Maybe he didn't feel well. Maybe he had to leave. Maybe he had a sudden heart attack.
Josef Tura: I hope so.
Maria Tura: If he stayed he might have died.
Josef Tura: Maybe he's dead already! Oh, darling, you're so comforting. 

The writing is great, mixing spies and double agents into a twisting plot that's a lot of fun. A spy dupes the Polish, and then an acting troupe dupes the spy. The charade continues to become more complicated when the Germans arrive.
I can't help but think of Dr. Strangelove (1964) due to the clever dialog, but Dr. Strangelove is much more over the top.
This is solid subtle comedy. It's incredibly quotable. Unless you've seen it, "So, they call me Concentration Camp Ehrhardt." won't mean much, but this movie manages to make mundane dialog funny.

Surprisingly it was set just three years after the war it depicts. This led to some controversy due to the genre of the film.