Slideshow
TO BE OR NOT TO BE
Sunday, April 23
(1942, Ernst Lubitsch) “So they call me Concentration Camp Ehrhardt.” With Carole Lombard (in the final film before her tragic death) as his Ophelia, Jack Benny – as Joseph Tura, “that great, great Polish actor” – must suffer Gestapo man Sig Rumann’s dramatic criticism. 35mm. Approx. 90 mins.
Following the screening, film historian Foster Hirsch will interview Joan Benny, daughter of the legendary vaudeville, radio, movie and television star Jack Benny
Reviews
“A RACY, RISKY BLACK COMEDY OF MANNER. Every bit the expression of wartime values and classical Hollywood style as [Casablanca].”
– Thomas Doherty, Tablet
“Lombard at her apex, Lubitsch at his most inspired.”
– Andrew Sarris
“Lubitsch’s finest achievement, certainly one of the most profound, emotionally complex comedies ever made, covering a range of tones from satire to slapstick to shocking black humor.”
– Dave Kehr
“One of the most perfectly structured and audacious of screen comedies.”
– Time Out (London)