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To Be or Not to Be (1942)

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; Film. 16mm. b&w. 105 min.
Technical information: Black-and-white / Sound
Year of release: 1942
Year of production: 1942
Notes: Available on DVD region 1 only (9/2007).
Subjects: Drama
Keywords: Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)
Related items: Jack Benny Program, The [08/03/1942]; To Be or Not to Be (1983)

Credits

Director

Producer

Cinematographer

Screenplay

Edwin Justus Mayer; Ernst Lubitsch; Lengyel Melchior

Music

Cast

Carole Lombard
Jack Benny

Distribution Formats

Type: Film
Format: 16mm

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

View this record on the Shakespeare site for additional details

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