To Be or Not to Be

This is a bright comedy set in one of history’s darkest periods: World War II. A troupe of Polish actors are about to put on a play about Hitler invading Poland. Hitler does invade Poland and the play is abruptly cancelled. A performance of Hamlet is hastily staged instead. The vanity of the play’s main stars, Maria Tura (played by Carole Lombard), and Joseph Tura (played by Jack Benny) leaves us unprepared for their deep courage as they fight for the resistance with hammy bravado and light-hearted innuendo.

GREENBERG
You want my opinion, Mr. Dobosh?

DOBOSH
No, Mr. Greenberg, I do not want your opinion.

GREENBERG
All right. Let me give you my reaction.

There are secrets plots, misunderstandings and undercover identities that keep the suspense high. At the same time, there are hilarious running gags that get funnier every time they come into play, including false beards and moustaches, something about cheese, and the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune – emphasis on the “outrageous” as Hamlet’s soliloquy is repeatedly interrupted.

MARIA
It’s becoming ridiculous the way you
grab attention. Whenever I start to
tell a story, you finish it. If I go
on a diet, you lose the weight. If I
have a cold, you cough. And if we
should ever have a baby, I’m not so
sure I’d be the mother.

JOSEPH
I’m satisfied to be the father.

 

Super Storytelling: Make your Characters Human

When you create your characters, think about what makes them human: their weaknesses, as well as their strengths. We are drawn to stories where characters struggle against what they know is wrong, and who prevail despite their all-too human tendencies toward vanity, selfishness, and pride. We love to watch characters who, when it truly matters, stand up and question what is wrong, and find what it is that we have in common as human beings. This can be serious, as when Charlie Chaplin in The Great Dictator urges us to remember our humanity, or Atticus Finch reminds us that all men are created equal in To Kill a Mockingbird.

The characters in To Be or Not To Be stand up for what is right too, but Lubitsch adds light, humorous touches that remind us these people are not extraordinary heroes, but rather, profoundly human, just like all of us. The first time Greenberg gives Shylock’s “If you prick us, do we not bleed?” soliloquy from Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, we are moved by its parallels to the Nazi torture and eradication of Jews during the time the film was made. This powerful social commentary is gently lightened as every “p” uttered by Greenberg during the soliloquy ruffles Bronsky’s hair. It is a light touch, and a funny one. Lubitsch believed laughter was the greatest form of resistance. This combination of irony and humor came to be known as “the Lubitsch touch.”

When asked to define the “Lubitsch touch” to a reporter, Lubitsch said:

It’s the king in his bedroom with his suspenders hanging; it’s the gondolier hauling garbage on a moonlit night in Venice, singing romantically; it’s based on the theory that at least twice a day, the most dignified human being is ridiculous.”

-Ernst Lubitsch, quoted by Dick Adler, “The Lubitsch Touch,” Chicago Tribune, Feb. 23, 1969

You can create characters in your stories and films that show us how we can reach deep within for the courage and humanity we need to rise to our greatest strengths. If you want to practice the Lubitsch touch, layer your story with a sense of humor that doesn’t allow the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune to keep us down.

To Be or Not to Be is a 1942 American comedy-drama made by Romaine Films and United Artists, directed by Ernst Lubitsch. Filmed in black and white, it runs 99 minutes and is rated PG.

Other lovely Lubitsch comedies worth watching:

Trouble in Paradise (1932) another great example of the Lubitsch Touch, a black and white romantic comedy with Miriam Hopkins and Herbert Marshall as two thieves in Paris trying to steal money from a perfume heiress and getting into romantic complications in the process.

Ninotchka (1939) Greta Garbo’s first comedy, advertised as “Garbo laughs!” It’s a black and white romantic comedy pitting gray Soviet Russia against a frothy, ritzy, pre-war Paris.

The Shop Around the Corner (1940) is a sweet and funny romance, this time set in Budapest, with James Stewart. Filmed in black and white.

Heaven Can Wait (1943) filmed in Technicolor, with a great opening inferno sequence, starring Gene Tierney and Don Ameche (later remade in 1978 by Warren Beatty and Buck Henry.)