☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
To Be or Not To Be (1942) -- E. Lubitsch
I wouldn't rank this
as Lubitsch's greatest (Shop Around the Corner, Ninotchka, Heaven Can Wait, and
Trouble in Paradise are all funnier/smoother) but this film scores extra points
just for the sheer ballsiness of mixing Hitler and comedy. No one can properly
define "The Lubitsch Touch" but for me that feeling you get when the
plot mechanism clicks gently into place, exactly as it should (without too much
telegraphing or obviousness), mixing amusement and awareness of
humanity/darkness, is close. Here, Jack Benny and Carole Lombard play actors
who get caught up in defending the Polish Resistance from a Nazi spy using all
of their actorly arts and crafts. Pokes a finger in Hitler's eye but was judged
to be inappropriate at the time.
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