To Be or Not to Be

SEE BELOW. Just a few more comments, having seen this one shortly after we saw the remake. The opening montage shows you why a man born Benjamin Kubelsky might want to make a film about the occupation of Poland. Every Pole seems to be a –ski. The whole Jewish angle is underplayed, but then, no one knew the full horror of the Holocaust in 1942. Polish Christians don’t have anything to be proud of there, but this was a time for morale-boosting films. And having just seen the musical version of The Producers, I now know where Mel Brooks stole the title for one of the songs: “Heil Myself.” That’s okay; it was worth stealing.