To Be or Not to Be
Satirical comedy. When the Nazis invade Poland, a group of Polish actors with a lot of Nazi uniforms on their hands find a new role to play. As a spy arrives in Warsaw to give the Nazis his latest information, the actors, led by Joseph Tura and his wife Maria, lead the Nazis a merry dance with various charades, rescues and escapes.
Cast & credits
Cast
- Maria Tura Carole Lombard
- Joseph Tura Jack Benny
- Lieutenant Stanislav Sobinski Robert Stack
- Greenberg Felix Bressart
- Rawitch Lionel Atwill
- Professor Alexander Siletsky Stanley Ridges
- Colonel Ehrhardt Sig Ruman
- Bronski Tom Dugan
- Dobosh, the producer Charles Halton
- actor-adjutant George Lynn
- Captain Schultz Henry Victor
- Anna the maid Maude Eburne
- General Armstrong Halliwell Hobbes
- Major Cunningham Miles Mander
- [make-up man] Armand Curly Wright
- [stage manager] Ernst Verebes
- [captain] Leslie Dennison
- [Dr Bojalski, Polish official] Frank Reicher
- [William Kunze, Hitler Youth child] Peter Caldwell
- [Mr Sztaluga, man in bookstore] Wolfgang Zilzer
- [Polonius in Warsaw] Olaf Hytten
- [reporter] Charles Irwin
- [reporter] Leyland Hodgson
- [Scottish farmer] Alec Craig
- [Scottish farmer] James Finlayson
- [prompter] Edgar Licho
- [Gestapo sergeant] Rudolph Anders
- [pilot] Roland Varno
- [co-pilot] Helmut Dantine
- [co-pilot] Otto Reichow
- [Polish RAF flyer] Maurice Murphy
- [Polish RAF flyer] Gene Rizzi
- [Polish RAF flyer] Paul Barrett
- [Polish RAF flyer] John Kellogg
- [German soldier] Sven Hugo Borg
Credits
Direction
- Directed by Ernst Lubitsch
- Assistant Director William Tummel
- Assistant Director William McGarry
Production
- © Romaine Film Corporation
- Released through United Artists
- Alexander Korda presents Alexander Korda
- an Ernst Lubitsch production Ernst Lubitsch
- Produced by Ernst Lubitsch
- Production Manager Walter Mayo
Casting
- Casting Director Victor Sutker
Writing
- Screenplay by Edwin Justus Mayer
- Original Story by Melchior Lengyel
- [Original Story by] Ernst Lubitsch
Photography
- Photographed by Rudolph Maté
Special Effects
- Special Effects by Lawrence Butler
Editing
- Film Editor Dorothy Spencer
Design
- Production Designed by Vincent Korda
- Associate Art Director Joseph Mcmillan Johnson
- Interior Decoration Julia Heron
- [Props] Jack Caffey
Costumes
- Miss [Carole] Lombard's Costumes Irene
Make-up
- Makeup Artist Gordon Bau
Music
- Musical Score by Werner R. Heymann
Sound
- Sound Frank Maher
- Sound System Western Electric
Stunts
- Technical Supervision Richard Ordynski