Ernst Lubitsch directs the 1942 political satire classic To Be or Not to Be, which marked the final screen appearance of comedienne
Carole Lombard. In Warsaw at the beginning of WWII, Maria Tura (Lombard) and husband Joseph (
Jack Benny) perform anti-Nazi plays with their theatre troupe until they are forced to switch to Shakespeare's Hamlet. Lt. Stanislav Sobinski (
Robert Stack) falls for Maria and meets up with her during Joseph's famous "To Be or Not to Be" speech as Hamlet. When Stanislav is eventually dispatched for war, he implicates Maria with Professor Siletsky (
Stanley Ridges), who has a secret plan to destroy the Warsaw resistance. The Polish theatre troupe is then forced to use their theatrical skills to ensure their survival. Eventually they turn to impersonating Nazi officers -- and even Hitler himself -- in order to outwit the enemy and keep the resistance safe from spies. To Be Or Not to Be opened to a controversial release in 1942, when the U.S. was still very much involved in WWII. It was remade in 1983 starring
Mel Brooks and real-life wife
Anne Bancroft. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide