THE STANFORD THEATRE
To Be or Not to Be poster

To Be or Not to Be

1942 ★ 93 min
Starring: Carole Lombard, Jack Benny, Robert Stack
Director: Ernst Lubitsch
Writer: Edwin Justus Mayer
Producer: Ernst Lubitsch

To Be or Not to Be is a 1942 American black comedy film produced and 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.

Trivia

  • Nominated for: Academy Award for Best Original Dramatic or Comedy Score.
  • Lubitsch had never considered anyone other than Jack Benny for the lead role in the film.
  • Benny, thrilled that a director of Lubitsch's caliber had been thinking of him while writing it, accepted the role immediately.
  • Benny was in a predicament as, strangely enough, his success in the film version of Charley's Aunt (1941) did not interest anyone in hiring the actor for their films.

Filming Locations

  • The film was shot at United Artists, which allowed Lombard to say that she had worked at every major studio in Hollywood.

Previous Showings

16 Runs • 9 Festivals

21,026 tickets sold

Original Billings: 1 run (May 7, 1942)

Original Run: May 7, 1942 (Thursday - Saturday)

All runs on record (16):

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