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• Hilarious

  • Michele
  • 11/16/11

  Very very funny. The plot has more curves than a scenic railroad (to borrow a line from The Bandwagon). Every time you think you know what's going to happen next, you're wrong. Jack Benny is in fine form here. And the fact that this movie was made at the height of WWII adds to its historical interest. Don't miss this one. And thanks, TCM, for running it - you'd never see this movie anywhere else.

• A True Political Comedy Classic for the Ages

  • Marilyn Young
  • 10/28/08

  I have always loved this film since I first saw it at a prominent film festival in NYC in the 1970's. This 5 star ***** film and its stars get better with the passing years and deserves to be in the ranks of the great political film satires such as Charlie Chaplins the Great Dictator. I am lucky to own this film on DVD but the lack of TV Broadcasting Rights in Canada due to the fact that director / producer Mel Brooks brought the rights to this film in the late seventies and later did a remake ( early 80's) that he directed and starring himself, co-starring Anne Bancroft, Gene Wilder,and Madeline Kahn. Unfortunely it was not a box-office success, but because of this film remake it is just is not available on Canadian TV and this is a shame. The film boasts Jack Bennys best comic performance ( its really to bad that film directors did not make good use of his comic talents) and the always dependable Carol Lomabard adds her conserable class to the proceedings. Highly recommendable and amazing accurate from an historical political and sense of parody. Marilyn Elizabeth Young / Vancouver, Canada

• A hilarous Classic

  • Billy Ray Hughes
  • 10/27/08

  One of those movies to watch every year or so for the sheer pleasure.

• To Be or Not To Be

  • Phillis Schley
  • 7/25/08

  I had seen and really liked this film some time ago. I decided to watch it with friends when it was showing recently. WE we interrupted and did not get to finish seeing the film. My friends hope it will be shown again soon so that they can finish seeing it.

• To Be or Not to be Redone

  • Jarrod McDonald
  • 7/13/08

  When I viewed this film (for the first time) earlier today, it occurred to me that I've really missed a cinematic gem for far too long. I'm so glad I finally took the time to sit down and enjoy it. I don't think this type of film would be made today (and it should be). It would be easy to substitute Saddam for Hitler and to contemporize the political backdrop. I felt that some of the scenes moved rather slowly...I like leisure pacing in film, but I know that modern audiences probably wouldn't pay attention or be so patient. For example, when Jack Benny's character has to keep coming up with dialogue in order to fool the Nazi in the theatre, and he kept repeating the concentration camp line. That was funny the first and second time, but to keep replaying it for another laugh without moving the plot forward was kind of a strain for the average viewer. I really enjoyed the sequence at the end when they impersonated Hitler at the theatre, and I thought those scenes moved too fast. It was like the film spent an inordinate amount of time setting up the premise, then the payoff was too fast. As for the cast, they were superb. Robert Stack was very interesting in this film and almost steals it from the leads. I think what made this film resonate was that director Lubitsch had something to say about Germany and Europe at the time, and as a result, he put extraordinary care into the process of making the film and using art as counter-propaganda (which in itself is a form of propaganda for the 'right' side). I was particularly impressed with the outdoor action sequences mid-way through the film, and I wasn't bothered by stretches of story in which Lombard and Benny did not appear, such as when Stack was trying to send a message back to Lombard and was giving a note to the professor. As for the ending, I think it would've been better if Stack's character was now on stage saying 'to be or not to be,' and Benny was sneaking off to be with his wife!

• To Be or Not To Be

  • Kat
  • 10/6/07

  I am so disappointed that To Be or Not to Be with Jack Benny, Carole Lombard, and Robert Stack is not airing in Canada. i stayed up all night to watch it, and some other movie is playing instead, so I went online to check your schedule only to find it is playing in the US but not in Canada. I saw this play in the 70s and I thought then that it was the funniest play I had ever seen, and have always wanted to see it again. Please air it in Canada as well as in the USA!!! Kat

• What's Up?

  • mrsthursday
  • 10/15/06

  Can anyone clarify why Canada can't see the Jack Benny Carole Lombard, To Be or Not To Be?

• Why not airing in Canada?

  • C. R.
  • 1/29/06

  I'm very disappointed that this film isn't airing in Canada, and I hope that TCM clears the rights/pays the extra costs/does whatever needs to be done in order to get it shown here as well as in the US. I see it's scheduled to air again on Feb. 17th '06, and I'll be keeping my fingers crossed.

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