To Be or Not to Be

Synopsis
Feature film. A comedy drama set in German-occupied Warsaw in World War II. Stars Jack Benny as Joseph Tura, the principal actor in a Polish troupe performing Hamlet. The film was controversial, not least in the notorious Nazi comment on Tura’s performance ‘what he did to Shakespeare, we are now dong to Poland’. There are also brief readings from The Merchant of Venice. The lines `...if you prick us, do we not bleed?' (III i) are used throughout as a comment on the situation of the Jews.
Language
English
Country
United States
Medium
Film
Technical information
Black-and-white / Sound
Year of release
1942
Duration
99 mins; 8,897 feet

Credits

Director
Ernst Lubitsch
Producer
Ernst Lubitsch
Cinematographer
Rudolph Maté
Screenplay
Edwin Justus Mayer; Ernst Lubitsch; Lengyel Melchior
Music
Miklos Rosza
Cast
Jack BennyJoseph Tura (Hamlet)
Carole LombardMaria Tura

Additional Details

Production type
Fiction Films
Plays
Hamlet; Merchant of Venice, The
Subjects
Drama
Keywords
Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)
Related items
Jack Benny Show, The [08/03/1942]
To Be or Not to Be

Notes

Notes
Available on DVD region 1 only (9/2007).

Production Company

Name

United Artists

Archive

Name

Library of Congress, Motion Picture, Broadcasting & Recorded Sound Division

Web
http://catalog.loc.gov/ External site opens in new window
Phone
(20) 707-8572
Fax
(20) 707-237’1
Address
Motion Picture & Television Reading Room
James Madison Building, LM 336
101 Independence Avenue, SE
Washington, D.C.
20540-4690
United States

Distributor (Sale)

Name

British Film Institute

Web
http://www.bfi.org.uk External site opens in new window
Phone
020 7255 1444
Fax
020 7436 7950
Address
21 Stephen Street
London
London
W1T 1LN

Online Retailer

Name

amazon.com

Web
http://www.amazon.com External site opens in new window

How to cite this record

Shakespeare, "To Be or Not to Be". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/shakespeare/search/index.php/title/21744 (Accessed 12 Nov 2024)