To Be or Not to Be (1942)
95%RT Audience Score: 93%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Oscar
2 wins & 2 nominations total
A complex and timely satire with as much darkness as slapstick, Ernst Lubitsch’s To Be or Not To Be delicately balances humor and ethics.
To Be or Not to Be is a comedic masterpiece that satirizes the Nazi regime during World War II. With a star-studded cast including Jack Benny and Carole Lombard, the film is a sophisticated screwball comedy that keeps you on the edge of your seat with suspense. Lubitsch’s direction is deft and logical, and the slapstick switcheroos and distractions add to the underlying tension of Nazi oppression. It’s no wonder that To Be or Not to Be is considered one of the finest comedies ever made. So, to be or not to be entertained? Definitely be.
Production Company(ies)
Romaine Film Corporation,
Distributor
United Artists, Warner Home Vídeo
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
Passed
Year of Release
1942
-
Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Dolby
-
Aspect ratio:1.37 : 1
-
Runtime:1h 39m
-
Language(s):English, German
-
Country of origin:United States
-
Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Mar 6, 1942 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 27, 2013
Genre(s)
Comedy
Keyword(s)
Comedy, Ernst Lubitsch, Melchior Lengyel, Edwin Justis Mayer, Jack Benny, Carole Lombard, Robert Stack, Stanley Ridges, United Artists, Warner Home Vídeo, 1942, box office, budget, reviewed by Richard Brody, Kate Cameron, Keith Phipps, David Parkinson, Variety Staff, Rod McShane, Hannah Brown, Brian Eggert, Mike Massie, Danielle Solzman, Tim Dirks, Elena de la Torre, MPAA rating, satire, Nazis, Poland, theatrical troupe, Lieutenant Sobinski, Professor Siletsky, Polish resistance, impersonation, slapstick, suspense, romance, anti-war comedy, espionage, politics, Inglorious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino, Gestapo, Jewish sacrifice, American public, Casablanca, World War II
Worldwide gross: $4,578,000
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $99,358,165
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,024
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 10,835,132
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Jack Benny – Joseph Tura, Prof. Alexander Siletsky
Robert Stack – Lt. Stanislav Sobinski
Felix Bressart – Greenberg
Lionel Atwill – Rawitch
Stanley Ridges – Prof. Alexander Siletsky
Director(s)
Ernst Lubitsch
Writer(s)
Melchior Lengyel, Ernst Lubitsch, Edwin Justis Mayer
Producer(s)
Ernst Lubitsch
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
2 wins & 2 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (50) | Top Critics (13) | Fresh (48) | Rotten (2)
The film’s high purpose propels Lubitsch to unsurpassed extremes of inventive audacity.
July 5, 2022
Richard Brody
New Yorker
TOP CRITIC
It isn’t, I am sorry to say, Lubitsch’s most intriguing comedy, nor is it the best of Jack Benny vehicles, but it will do until another buggy comes along.
January 18, 2018
Kate Cameron
New York Daily News
TOP CRITIC
Lubitsch understood at the time, even if many critics and filmgoers didn’t, that all those elements and all that rule-breaking make To Be Or Not To Be brilliant.
August 27, 2013 | Rating: 5/5
Keith Phipps
The Dissolve
TOP CRITIC
A masterpiece satire around the Second World War is more likely to be appreciated now after some distance.
August 20, 2008 | Rating: 5/5
David Parkinson
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Lubitsch’s guidance provides a tense dramatic pace with events developed deftly and logically throughout.
August 20, 2008
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
It’s certainly one of the finest comedies ever to come out of Paramount.
June 24, 2006
Rod McShane
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
It stars Jack Benny, one of the great Jewish-American comedians of the 20th century, and Carole Lombard, a wonderful screwball comedian, as well as Robert Stack and Sig Ruman.
May 2, 2022
Hannah Brown
Jerusalem Post
Throughout To Be or Not to Be, Lubitsch orchestrates a comic work of art whose central theme of acting offers perhaps the most accurate assessment of and staggering blow against the Nazi movement ever put to film.
February 23, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
Slapstick switcheroos and distractions abound, but the underlying suspense of Nazi oppression never lets up.
March 24, 2021 | Rating: 5/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
Ernst Lubitsch’s To Be Or Not to Be, starring Jack Benny and Carole Lombard, is a top-notch World War 2 satire taking place during the Holocaust.
October 17, 2019 | Rating: 5/5
Danielle Solzman
Solzy at the Movies
To Be or Not to Be (1942) is Berlin Germany-born director Ernst Lubitsch’s sophisticated screwball masterpiece, with satirical comedy, romance, and suspense. The controversial anti-war comedy about espionage and politics from producer Alexander Korda
September 29, 2019 | Rating: A+
Tim Dirks
Filmsite
Despite some of the serious situations, the comedic, brilliant, and delightful tone dominate in the movie, making it into a masterpiece. [Full Review in Spanish]
September 11, 2019
Elena de la Torre
Cine-Mundial…
Plot
Joseph and Maria Tura operate and star in their own theater company in Warsaw. Maria has many admirers including a young lieutenant in the Polish air force, Stanislav Sobinski. When the Nazis invade Poland to start World War II, Sobinski and his colleagues flee to England while the Turas find themselves now having to operate under severe restrictions, including shelving a comical play they had written about Adolf Hitler. In England meanwhile, Sobinski and his friends give Professor Siletski – who is about to return to Poland – the names and addresses of their closest relatives so the professor can carry messages for them. When it’s learned that Siletski is really a German spy, Sobinski parachutes into Poland and enlists the aid of the Turas and their fellow actors to get that list back.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Jack Benny, who plays Joseph Tura and Prof. Alexander Siletsky in To Be or Not To Be, was a popular comedian and radio personality in the 1930s and 1940s.
Ernst-Lubitsch.jpg
95%
The Great Dictator (1940)
95%RT Audience Score: 95%
Awards & Nominations: NA
Charlie Chaplin demonstrates that his comedic voice is undiminished by dialogue in this rousing satire of tyranny, which may be more distinguished by its uplifting humanism than its gags.
The Great Dictator is a classic film that still holds up today. Charlie Chaplin’s first talkie is a hilarious and poignant satire that delivers a powerful message about the dangers of fascism. The film’s cheesier jokes hit hard thanks to its purity of purpose, and Chaplin’s performance as both the Tramp and the Dictator is nothing short of genius. It’s a must-see for anyone who loves great comedy and wants to be reminded of the importance of standing up against tyranny. Plus, that mustache is iconic!
Production Company(ies)
Charles Chaplin Productions,
Distributor
United Artists
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Santa Monica Mountains, Los Angeles, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
G
Year of Release
1941
-
Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Dolby
-
Aspect ratio:1.37 : 1
-
Runtime:2h 8m
-
Language(s):English, Esperanto, Latin
-
Country of origin:United States
-
Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Oct 15, 1940 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): May 24, 2011
Genre(s)
Comedy
Keyword(s)
starring Charlie Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Jack Oakie, Reginald Gardiner, Henry Daniell, Billy Gilbert, directed by Charlie Chaplin, written by Charlie Chaplin, comedy, G rating, United Artists, box office performance, budget, reviewed by William Goss, Dave Kehr, Michael Atkinson, Variety Staff, David Parkinson, Roger Ebert, André Bazin, Brian Eggert, Fico Cangiano, Marion Aitchison, Mike Massie, Tim Dirks, critic reviews, producer Charlie Chaplin, MPAA rating, satire, anti-Semitic policies, fascist dictator, rebellion, Jewish barber, Adenoid Hynkel, Hannah, Napaloni, Garbitsch, Field Marshall Herring, Mono sound mix, Flat aspect ratio
Worldwide gross: $970,135
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $23,648,481
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,653
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 2,578,896
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Paulette Goddard – Hannah
Jack Oakie – Napaloni
Reginald Gardiner – Schultz
Henry Daniell – Garbitsch
Billy Gilbert – Field Marshall Herring
Director(s)
Charlie Chaplin
Writer(s)
Charlie Chaplin
Producer(s)
Charlie Chaplin
Film Festivals
Cannes
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (47) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (44) | Rotten (3)
The first full-blown talkie from the biggest star of the silent era, complete with a message that Chaplin couldn’t have sent more loudly or clearly.
June 1, 2011
William Goss
Film.com
TOP CRITIC
Chaplin is at his most profound in suggesting that there is much of the Tramp in the Dictator, and much of the Dictator in the Tramp.
September 3, 2010
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Like all major Chaplin works, Dictator was a cheaply, but methodically, made film, a cardboard act of humanist defiance, and, thanks to its purity of purpose, the cheesier the jokes get, the harder they land.
December 23, 2009
Michael Atkinson
Village Voice
TOP CRITIC
It’s when he is playing the dictator that the comedian’s voice raises the value of the comedy content of the picture to great heights.
October 9, 2008
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
Though the slapstick may seem tired now, there are moments of greatness.
December 30, 2006 | Rating: 4/5
David Parkinson
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
It is a funny film, which we expect from Chaplin, and a brave one.
October 23, 2004 | Rating: 3.5/4
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
TOP CRITIC
It is not… the genius of Chaplin that permitted him to create The Great Dictator. It was nothing but that moustache. The Tramp waited for the right moment, did what he had to do, then escaped for all eternity with his facial hair intact.
May 26, 2022
André Bazin
Esprit
Chaplin beckons the viewer to recognize and fight against tyrants, and every few years, as another despot comes along, The Great Dictator becomes achingly relevant again.
February 14, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
Charlie Chaplin’s first talkie became an example of an effective satire. One that was way ahead of its time. [Full review Spanish]
March 11, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Fico Cangiano
CineXpress Podcast
Though The Great Dictator provides a good many laughs [it] merits serious consideration for the superior presentation of the message it is trying to put across to that part of the world where democracy is still a precious possession.
January 13, 2021
Marion Aitchison
Tampa Bay Times
More than the expected assemblage of skits, the film attempts to tell a grander, straightforward story, but utilizes too many subplots in the process.
August 5, 2020 | Rating: 8/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
The Great Dictator (1940) is director/actor Charlie Chaplin’s first full all-talking (“talkie” with dialogue) picture (in a film similar to the Marx Brothers’ anti-war comedy Duck Soup (1933)) in which he delivered spoken lines…
December 26, 2019 | Rating: A+
Tim Dirks
Filmsite…
Plot
20 years after the end of WWI, in which the nation of Tomainia was on the losing side, Adenoid Hynkel has risen to power as the ruthless dictator of the country. He believes in a pure Aryan state and the decimation of the Jews. This situation is unknown to a simple Jewish Tomainian barber who has been hospitalized since a WWI battle. Upon his release the barber, who had been suffering from memory loss about the war, is shown the new persecuted life of the Jews by many living in the Jewish ghetto, including a washerwoman named Hannah with whom he begins a relationship. The barber is ultimately spared such persecution by Commander Schultz, whom he saved in that WWI battle. The lives of all Jews in Tomainia are eventually spared with a policy shift by Hynkel himself, who is doing so for ulterior motives. But those motives include a desire for world domination, starting with the invasion of neighboring Osterlich, which may be threatened by Benzino Napaloni, the dictator of neighboring Bacteria. Ultimately Schultz, who has turned traitor against Hynkel’s regime, and the barber may be able to join forces to take control of the situation, using Schultz’s inside knowledge of the regime’s workings and the barber’s uncanny resemblance to one of those in power.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The Great Dictator stars Charlie Chaplin in dual roles as a Jewish barber and fascist dictator Adenoid Hynkel.
Charlie-Chaplin.jpg
95%
La Grande illusion (Grand Illusion) (1938)
95%RT Audience Score: 92%
Awards & Nominations: NA
Jean Renoir’s Grand Illusion is a masterful anti-war statement, bringing humane insight and an undercurrent of ironic humor to an unusual relationship between captor and captive.
Grand Illusion is the kind of movie that makes you feel like you’re watching something truly special. It’s a war movie that’s not really about war, but about the people caught up in it. The characters are so well-drawn and the performances are so good that you forget you’re watching a movie and start to feel like you’re eavesdropping on real conversations. And even though it’s a serious movie with a serious message, there are moments of humor and humanity that make it feel like a breath of fresh air. It’s no wonder that so many filmmakers have cited it as an influence over the years. If you haven’t seen it yet, do yourself a favor and check it out. You won’t be disappointed.
Production Company(ies)
Réalisation d’art cinématographique
Distributor
Barr Entertainment, Home Vision Entertainment
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Château du Haut Koenigsbourg, Orschwiller, Bas-Rhin, France
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
1938
-
Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Dolby
-
Aspect ratio:1.37 : 1
-
Runtime:1h 57m
-
Language(s):French, German, English, Russian
-
Country of origin:United States
-
Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Sep 12, 1937 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 23, 1999
Genre(s)
Drama/War
Keyword(s)
Grand Illusion, Drama, War, French (Canada), Jean Renoir, Albert Pinkovitch, Frank Rollmer, Pierre Fresnay, Erich von Stroheim, Jean Gabin, Marcel Dalio, Dita Parlo, Julien Carette, reviewed by Kevin Maher, Mick LaSalle, Pauline Kael, Chris Vognar, Kenneth Turan, Stephen Garrett, Brian Eggert, Ernesto Diezmartinez, A.S Hamrah, Josh Larsen, Richard Griffith, directed
Worldwide gross: $20,356
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $520,006
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,729
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 56,707
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Erich von Stroheim – Capt. von Rauffenstein
Jean Gabin – Lt. Maréchal
Marcel Dalio – Lt. Rosenthal
Dita Parlo – Elsa (farm woman)
Julien Carette – Cartier
Director(s)
Jean Renoir
Writer(s)
NA
Producer(s)
Albert Pinkovitch, Frank Rollmer
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (69) | Top Critics (24) | Fresh (67) | Rotten (2)
It’s a smart choice and a peerless film that makes sweeping rhetorical statements about the futility of war while maintaining a laser-sharp focus on an ensemble of meticulously drawn characters.
January 30, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
Kevin Maher
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
The greatest World War I movie ever made (and there were lots of good ones)…
November 3, 2018
Mick LaSalle
San Francisco Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
This elegy for the death of the old European aristocracy is one of the true masterpieces of the screen.
January 3, 2018
Pauline Kael
New Yorker
TOP CRITIC
It’s among the most understated anti-war films ever made, effortlessly humanistic but far too subtle to indulge in preaching.
June 7, 2012 | Rating: A
Chris Vognar
Dallas Morning News
TOP CRITIC
A model of simplicity and grace, with emotional effects that move you when you least expect it, the kind of great film that only a master can pull off.
May 17, 2012 | Rating: 5/5
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
Funny, heart-wrenching, nail-biting, caustic and profound, touting the futility of armed combat while turning imprisonment and escape into a microcosm for society’s aspirations and contradictions.
May 8, 2012 | Rating: 5/5
Stephen Garrett
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
Pregnant with social, humanist, and auteurist truths, Jean Renoir’s Grand Illusion contains equal measures of humanism and realism.
March 21, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
La grande illusion is a complex parquet of discourses that collide and complement each other. A masterpiece.
September 4, 2021 | Rating: 4/4
Ernesto Diezmartinez
Cine Vértigo
Unstructured, amateurish nonsense coalesces into meaning and beauty. The variety show’s foolishness doesn’t just stand in for the civilization the war leaves behind-it becomes its living proof.
November 27, 2018
A.S. Hamrah
n+1
…highlights the absurdity of war, or possibly the absurdity of civilized behavior when war is going on just outside.
September 6, 2014 | Rating: 4/4
Josh Larsen
LarsenOnFilm
Renoir, who invokes so skillfully these terrifying images of disintegration, offers in contrast only the old ideal of man’s brotherhood, and his film does not tell us whether it is illusion or reality.
January 18, 2013
Richard Griffith
The Nation
Back in 1952, both Orson Welles and David Lean cited the movie as one of their 10 all-time favorite films. Still, not everyone was a fan: Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s rat-faced Minister of Propaganda, declared it “Cinematic Public Enemy No. 1.”
September 13, 2012 | Rating: 4/4
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing…
Plot
At the height of World War I, the German ace aviator, Captain von Rauffenstein, shoots down the plane of the aristocratic French pilot, Captain de Boeldieu, and his co-pilot, the working-class civilian mechanic, Lieutenant Maréchal, during an air-reconnaissance mission. As the captured officers find themselves in the Hallbach POW camp for officers, they befriend the wealthy former Jewish banker, Lieutenant Rosenthal, and along with a handful of determined compatriots, they organise an escape. However, fate has other plans in store for them, and shortly before the implementation of the plan, they are transferred by train to the impregnable Wintersborn fortress-prison in Alsace, France, overseen by Rauffenstein himself. More and more, respect and appreciation bond von Rauffenstein and de Boeldieu. But, will this delicate relationship, and the grand illusion, stand in the way of breaking out?
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels doesn’t provide any goofy or funny comments about the film or its cast.
Jean-Renoir.jpg
95%
A Night at the Opera (1935)
95%RT Audience Score: 91%
Awards & Nominations: NA
Watermelons may go out of season, but in A Night at the Opera, the Marx Brothers’ daffy laughs are never anything less than uproariously fresh.
A Night at the Opera is a hilarious masterpiece that will have you laughing until your sides hurt. Groucho, Harpo, and Chico are at their absolute best in this film, delivering one zinger after another. The stateroom scene and the party of the first part are both comedic gold, but the entire film is filled with memorable moments. It’s no wonder that this film is considered one of the Marx Brothers’ best. If you’re in need of a good laugh, A Night at the Opera is the perfect choice.
Production Company(ies)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer,
Distributor
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios – 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Passed
Year of Release
1935
-
Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Dolby
-
Aspect ratio:1.37 : 1
-
Runtime:1h 33m
-
Language(s):English, Italian
-
Country of origin:United States
-
Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Nov 15, 1935 Original
Release Date (Streaming): May 4, 2004
Genre(s)
Comedy
Keyword(s)
Comedy, Opera, Marx Brothers, Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, Kitty Carlisle Hart, Allan Jones, Margaret Dumont, Sam Wood, George Kaufman, Morris Rysklnd, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, box office, budget, reviewed by Edwin Schallert, SMH Staff, Colvin McPherson, Age Staff, TIME Staff, Globe Staff, Matt Brunson, Josephine O’Neill, Robert B Phillips Jr., P.S Harrison, NZ Herald Staff, directed by Sam Wood, written by George Kaufman, Morris Rysklnd, produced by Irving Thalberg, MPAA rating, comedy classic, musical numbers, romantic subplot, stunts, heart-pounding, tender scene, wacky, hilarious, endless charm, classic comedy
Worldwide gross: $3,956,700
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $103,996,626
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 993
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 11,340,963
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Harpo Marx – Tomasso
Kitty Carlisle Hart – Rosa Castaldi
Chico Marx – Fiorello
Margaret Dumont – Mrs. Claypool
Allan Jones – Ricardo Baroni
Director – Sam Wood
Distributor – Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Director(s)
Sam Wood
Writer(s)
NA
Producer(s)
NA
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (70) | Top Critics (21) | Fresh (68) | Rotten (2)
Uproarious high spots — the best, perhaps, of their kind — render A Night at the Opera, starring Groucho, Harpo and Chico, a champion comedy in the year’s output. In some ways, it is the best comedy in which the three brothers have ever appeared.
November 20, 2020
Edwin Schallert
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
Considering that the dialogue of A Night at the Opera was written by two such theatrical craftsmen as George Kaufman and Morris Rysklnd, it reaches a surprising nadir of inanity.
November 20, 2020
SMH Staff
Sydney Morning Herald
TOP CRITIC
A Night at the Opera is the most beautifully timed madness of 1935.
November 20, 2020
Colvin McPherson
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
TOP CRITIC
This is pantomime at its best, and the greatest clown of the three is Harpo.
November 20, 2020
Age Staff
The Age (Australia)
TOP CRITIC
Groucho follows his own formula of throwing out gags, good and bad. as fast as he can talk, letting the good ones float the bad ones, trusting that the average will favor him.
November 20, 2020
TIME Staff
TIME Magazine
TOP CRITIC
A Night At the Opera is quite the funniest, the most ambitious and the most entertaining of any of the Marx cinema offerings.
November 20, 2020
Globe Staff
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
It’s impossible to determine which is the greater scene: the stateroom or the party of the first part.
October 2, 2021 | Rating: 4/4
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy
Their eccentric adventures from Milan to New York contain such notable scenes as that in Groucho’s cabin; the impersonation of the foreign aviators; the disruption of the opera orchestra; and the final, breathless sequences.
November 20, 2020
Josephine O’Neill
Daily Telegraph (Australia)
Groucho, Chico and Harpo continue to be collectively and individually three of the really first-rate comedians of today. Their only peers are Mr. Charles Chaplin and Mr. W. C. Fields.
November 20, 2020
Robert B. Phillips, Jr.
Washington Star
The scenes at the opera house during a performance offer not only good music but extremely laugh-provoking comedy, caused by the antics of the Marx Brothers.
November 20, 2020
P.S. Harrison
Harrison’s Reports
Clowning such as these players indulge in must be clever if it is not to become boring, and the fact that their idiosyncrasies, no matter how extravagant, never pall, is the best indication of the success they achieve.
November 20, 2020
NZ Herald Staff
New Zealand Herald
To attempt to criticize the Marxes is heresy and schism and we’ll have none of it.
November 20, 2020
Landon Laird
Kansas City Star…
Plot
The Marx Brothers take on high society. Two lovers who are both in opera are prevented from being together by the man’s lack of acceptance as an operatic tenor. Pulling several typical Marx Brothers’ stunts, they arrange for the normal tenor to be absent so that the young lover can get his chance.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The Marx Brothers are collectively and individually three of the really first-rate comedians of their time, according to one critic review.
Sam-Wood.jpg
95%
Top Hat (1935)
95%RT Audience Score: 90%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 4 Oscars
2 wins & 6 nominations total
A glamorous and enthralling Depression-era diversion, Top Hat is nearly flawless, with acrobatics by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers that make the hardest physical stunts seem light as air.
If you’re looking for a movie that will make you forget about the world’s problems and transport you to a magical place where Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dance their way into your heart, then Top Hat is the movie for you. Critics have called it perfection, and I have to agree. The chemistry between Astaire and Rogers is electric, and the Irving Berlin songs will have you tapping your feet and humming along. Plus, the comedy between the musical numbers is just enough to keep the story moving along. It’s no wonder that Top Hat is considered one of the best musical comedies of the ’30s. So sit back, relax, and let Astaire and Rogers sweep you off your feet.
Production Company(ies)
RKO Radio Pictures,
Distributor
RKO Radio Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Paramount Studios – 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
1935
-
Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Dolby
-
Aspect ratio:1.37 : 1
-
Runtime:1h 39m
-
Language(s):English, Italian
-
Country of origin:United States
-
Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Sep 6, 1935 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 16, 2005
Genre(s)
Musical/Romance
Keyword(s)
starring Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edward Everett Horton, Helen Broderick, Eric Blore, Erik Rhodes, directed by Mark Sandrich, written by Aladar Laszlo, Károly Nóti, Allan Scott, Dwight Taylor, produced by Pandro S Berman, musical, romance, box office success, budget, reviewed by Kevin Maher, Variety Staff, Don Druker, Tom Milne, Roger Ebert, Douglas Pratt, Mike Massie, Meyer Levin (Patterson Murphy), Ann Ross, Helen Brown Norden, Gabe Leibowitz, Emanuel Levy, RKO Radio Pictures, Mono, Flat (1.37:1), Fred Astaire as Jerry Travers, Ginger Rogers as Dale Tremont, Edward Everett Horton as Horace Hardwick, Helen Broderick as Madge Hardwick, Eric Blore as Bates, Erik Rhodes as Alberto Beddini
Worldwide gross: $5,541
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $145,638
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,983
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 15,882
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Ginger Rogers – Dale Tremont
Edward Everett Horton – Horace Hardwick
Helen Broderick – Madge Hardwick
Eric Blore – Bates
Erik Rhodes – Alberto Beddini
Mark Sandrich – Director
Pandro S. Berman – Producer
Aladar Laszlo, Károly Nóti, Allan Scott, Dwight Taylor – Writers
Director(s)
Mark Sandrich
Writer(s)
Aladar Laszlo, Károly Nóti, Allan Scott, Dwight Taylor
Producer(s)
Pandro S. Berman
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 4 Oscars
2 wins & 6 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (42) | Top Critics (14) | Fresh (42)
In short, perfection.
December 20, 2019 | Rating: 5/5
Kevin Maher
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
This one can’t miss and the reasons are three — Fred Astaire, Irving Berlin’s 11 songs and sufficient comedy between numbers to hold the film together.
January 11, 2008
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
This 1935 musical finds Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers at the top of their form.
January 11, 2008
Don Druker
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
The third Astaire-Rogers movie and one of the best.
February 9, 2006
Tom Milne
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
Because we are bound by gravity and the limitations of our bodies, because we live in a world where the news is often bad and the prospects disturbing, there is a need for another world somewhere, a world where Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers live.
January 20, 2006 | Rating: 4/4
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
TOP CRITIC
The plot is involving, especially as it builds to its seemingly impossible-to-solve finale.
September 7, 2005
Douglas Pratt
Hollywood Reporter
TOP CRITIC
One of the cleverest of the musical comedies of the ’30s, as well as, arguably, Astaire and Rogers’ greatest collaboration.
July 30, 2020 | Rating: 9/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
Tops everything that Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers have done, and clicks as the gladdest, smoothest, truestto-medium movie musical ever made.
May 4, 2020
Meyer Levin (Patterson Murphy)
Esquire Magazine
The dancing of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers is one of the most agreeable sights of civilization. This has been said before – possibly in this column – but that isn’t any good reason for not saying it again.
October 8, 2019
Ann Ross
Maclean’s Magazine
While personally I didn’t think it was quite so swell as The Gay Divorcee or Roberta, it is still about ten times better than am musical that hasn’t got Fred Astaire in it. The man is a maniac when he starts to dance.
June 12, 2019
Helen Brown Norden
Vanity Fair
Most of what I liked about Top Hat centers around its two stars: full of energy and grace, they breathe life into the film whenever it threatens to lose its luster.
April 6, 2010 | Rating: 56/100
Gabe Leibowitz
Film and Felt
The fourth pairing of Astaire-Rogers is one of their best and RKO top grosser of the year.
March 21, 2008 | Rating: A
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com…
Plot
Showman Jerry Travers is working for producer Horace Hardwick in London. Jerry demonstrates his new dance steps late one night in Horace’s hotel, much to the annoyance of sleeping Dale Tremont below. She goes upstairs to complain and the two are immediately attracted to each other. Complications arise when Dale mistakes Jerry for Horace.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers are considered one of the greatest on-screen dance duos of all time.
Mark-Sandrich.jpg
95%
Snoopy in Space: The Search for Life
95%RT Audience Score:
Starring: Nicole Byer, Terry McGurrin, Ethan Pugiotto, Rob Tinkler, Christian Dal Dosso
Izo
Year of Release
2016
Technical Specs
Color: Color
Sound mix: NA
Aspect ratio: NA
Language(s): English
Country of origin: United States
Original premiere:
Newest season premiere:
Genre(s)
Detective, Drama, Holiday, Mystery, News, Romance, War
Keyword(s)
Detective Mystery Drama TV Longform, Holiday TV Longform, Romance TV Longform, Television Movie, TV Shows from United States, English Language, Emmy Awards Nominees, WGA Awards Nominees, Black Lead Cast
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Nicole Byer
Byer
C.A.R.A.
Voice
Terry McGurrin
Snoopy
Ethan Pugiotto
Charlie Brown
Rob Tinkler
Woodstock
Christian Dal Dosso
Franklin
Isabella Leo
Lucy
Voice
Director(s)
Writer(s)
Executive(s)
NA
Awards & Nominations
NA
Synopsis (Warning: Spoilers!)
CBS
Stream Now
(Click to Watch)
Coming soon…
95%
Fleabag Season: 2
95%RT Audience Score: 93%
Starring: Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Ben Aldridge, Sian Clifford, Bill Paterson, Jenny Rainsford
Amazon Studios, Ensemble, Hulu, Sister
Year of Release
2016
Technical Specs
Color: Color
Sound mix: Stereo
Aspect ratio: 2.35 : 1
Language(s): English
Country of origin: United Kingdom
Original premiere: 07/21/2016
Newest season premiere: 03/04/2019
2
U.S. Digital
Series Premiere:
09/15/2016
Season Premiere:
05/17/2019
0
UK Terrestrial
Series Premiere:
08/21/2016
Season Premiere:
03/04/2019
Season Finale:
04/08/2019
1
INTERNATIONAL
DISTRIBUTOR:
All3Media International
Genre(s)
Comedy, Dark Comedy, Dramedy, Ensemble, Family, Music, Musical, Mystery, Relationship Comedy, Sex Comedy, TV Adaptation, War
Keyword(s)
Dark Comedy Digital Comedy, Dramedy Digital Comedy, Relationship Comedy Digital Comedy, Sex Comedy Digital Comedy, Single Camera Comedy Digital Comedy, TV Adaptation, All3Media International, Amazon Studios, Two Brothers Pictures, Amplify Pictures, DryWrite, TV Shows from 2019, Movies from United Kingdom, English Language, Emmy Awards Winners, Emmy Awards Nominees, PGA Awards Nominees, PGA Awards Winners, BAFTA Awards Nominees, BAFTA Awards Winners, Critics’ Choice Awards Nominees, Critics’ Choice Awards Winners, Golden Globes Nominees, Golden Globes Winners, SAG Awards Winners, SAG Awards Nominees, Critics’ Choice Awards Nominees, Critics’ Choice Awards Winners, Dark Comedy TV Comedy, Dramedy TV Comedy, Relationship Comedy TV Comedy, Sex Comedy TV Comedy, Single Camera Comedy TV Comedy, TV Shows Created by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, TV Shows Starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge, All3Media International Shows, Amazon Studios Shows, Two Brothers Pictures Shows, Amplify Pictures Shows, DryWrite Shows, TV Shows from United Kingdom, Female Producer, Female Show Creator, Female Writer
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Fleabag
Ben Aldridge
Guy
Sian Clifford
Claire
Bill Paterson
Dad
Jenny Rainsford
Boo
Olivia Colman
Godmother
Director(s)
Writer(s)
Executive(s)
NA
Awards & Nominations
NA
Synopsis (Warning: Spoilers!)
Amazon, Hulu
Stream Now
(Click to Watch)
Coming soon…
95%
Mädchen in Uniform (Girls in Uniform) (Maidens in Uniform) (1931)
95%RT Audience Score: 89%
Awards & Nominations: NA
Maedchen in Uniform is a cinematic masterpiece that captures the essence of schoolgirl spirit amidst repressive conditions. The film’s naturalness of manner and youthful performances are adroitly portrayed, making it a photoplay gem among gems. Director Leontine Sagan avoids the abyss of false sentimentality and unpleasantness, delivering a thought-provoking film with a strange charm and sensitive touch. The casting is skillfully done, and the scenes are authentic, making it one of the most successful and important motion pictures to come out of the German studios. Maedchen in Uniform is a requiem for what was and a warning for what was to come, as timely and urgent as ever.
Who knew a movie about schoolgirls could be so captivating? Maedchen in Uniform is a gem among gems, with natural acting, keen direction, and superb camera work that make it a must-see. The film is a beautifully conceived drama that handles a sensitive subject with a strange charm and thought-provoking touch. And let’s not forget the adorbs schoolgirl spirit that bubbles even under repressive conditions. It’s a film that will leave you satisfied and wanting more.
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
Passed
Year of Release
1931
-
Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Dolby
-
Aspect ratio:1.20 : 1
-
Runtime:NA
-
Language(s):
-
Country of origin:United States
-
Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Sep 20, 1932 Original
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Hertha Thiele, Dorothea Wieck, Emilia Unda, directed by Leontine Sagan, written by Friedrich Dammann, Christoe Winsloe, drama, German language, box office performance not available, budget not available, reviewed by Becky, Len G Shaw, Robert Herring, Irene Thirer, Mae Tinee, Times (UK) Staff, Mattie Lucas, Andor Kraszna-Krausz, E.W Harrold, Martin Dickstein, Charles Aaronson, Film Daily Staff, produced by Carl Froelich, MPAA rating not available, boarding school, teenage girl, teacher, romantic attachment, school-wide scandal, sensitive handling, beautifully filmed, performed, natural acting, keen direction, superb camera work, adorbs, talkie field, continuity, performances, forceful simplicity, photoplay gem, authentic scenes, sympathetic performances, thought-provoking film, strange charm, sensitive touch
Worldwide gross: NA
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Dorothea Wieck – Fräulein von Bernburg
Emilia Unda – The Principal
Leontine Sagan – Director
Friedrich Dammann – Writer
Christoe Winsloe – Writer
Director(s)
Leontine Sagan
Writer(s)
Friedrich Dammann, Christoe Winsloe
Producer(s)
Carl Froelich
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (44) | Top Critics (18) | Fresh (44)
You didn’t think old school cinema was this adorbs, but it is.
June 11, 2021
Becky
Autostraddle
TOP CRITIC
No outline of the story could attempt to convey a sense of the adroitness with which the producers have caught the schoolgirl spirit that bubbles even under such repressive conditions, the naturalness of manner revealed by the youthful players.
December 10, 2020
Len G. Shaw
Detroit Free Press
TOP CRITIC
It is acted and directed with forceful simplicity, and is a strong example of Germany’s return to assurance in the talkie field.
November 18, 2020
Robert Herring
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
The conclusion is highly satisfying. And indeed the whole picture is extremely interestingly done as to continuity, performances and direction.
November 18, 2020 | Rating: 3/4
Irene Thirer
New York Daily News
TOP CRITIC
I found no suggestion of anything scandalous about this cinema’s subject matter, and that its “sensationalism” lies solely in the marvelously natural acting, keen direction, and superb camera work that make it a photoplay gem among gems.
November 18, 2020
Mae Tinee
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
The abyss of false sentimentality on the one side and downright unpleasantness on the other wait hungrily for one mistake, but Leontine Sagan, the director, avoids them both magnificently.
November 18, 2020
Times (UK) Staff
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
A film set on a precipice of disaster that is at once a requiem for what was, and a warning for what was to come. And it’s as timely and as urgent as ever.
June 28, 2022
Mattie Lucas
From the Front Row
[The story] might be of less importance in itself than the way in which it has been moulded. A way which expresses naturally and with charm the delicate side of the subject and which characterizes distinctly but not abruptly.
January 14, 2021
Andor Kraszna-Krausz
Close Up
I cannot begin to tell you of the amazing skill of the casting, of the authenticity of the scenes, nor of the wonderfully sympathetic performances of Miss Hertha Thiele as Manuela and Miss Dorothea Wieck a Fraulein von Bernburg.
November 18, 2020
E.W. Harrold
Ottawa Citizen
Of all the motion pictures which have come out of the German studios this year the one called Maedchen in Uniform is probably the most important and, incidentally, the most successful.
November 18, 2020
Martin Dickstein
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Something unusual, something fine in motion pictures.
November 18, 2020
Charles Aaronson
Motion Picture Herald (Exhibitors Herald)
It is a beautifully conceived drama, masterfully directed and acted by the principals. It’s a thought-provoking film, handled with a strange charm and sensitive touch.
November 18, 2020
Film Daily Staff
The Film Daily…
Plot
German film in which a sensitive girl is sent to an all-girls boarding school and develops a romantic attachment to one of her teachers. One of the earliest narrative films to explicitly portray homosexuality.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The film features Hertha Thiele as Manuela von Meinhardis and Dorothea Wieck as Fräulein von Bernburg.
Leontine-Sagan.jpg
95%
Better Call Saul Season: 6.5
95%RT Audience Score: 96%
Starring: Bob Odenkirk, Jonathan Banks, Michael Mando, Patrick Fabian, Rhea Seehorn
Gran Via Productions, High Bridge Productions
Year of Release
2015
Technical Specs
Color: Color
Sound mix: NA
Aspect ratio: NA
Language(s): English
Country of origin: United States
Original premiere: 02/08/2015
Newest season premiere: 07/11/2022
Season Finale:
08/15/2022
2021-2022 Summer Primetime
Genre(s)
Drama, Dramedy, Legal, Legal Drama, Music, Remake, War
Keyword(s)
Dramedy TV Drama, Legal Drama TV Drama, Sequel/Prequel/Remake TV Drama, Serialized Drama TV Drama, Spinoff, TV Shows Created by Vince Gilligan, TV Shows Created by Peter Gould, TV Shows Starring Jonathan Banks, TV Shows Starring Tony Dalton, TV Shows Starring Giancarlo Esposito, TV Shows Starring Patrick Fabian, TV Shows Starring Michael Mando, TV Shows Starring Bob Odenkirk, TV Shows Starring Rhea Seehorn, Sony Pictures Television Shows, Gran Via Productions Shows, High Bridge Productions Shows, Crystal Diner Shows, TV Shows from 2022, TV Shows from United States, English Language, Emmy Awards Winners, Emmy Awards Nominees, NAACP Image Awards Nominees, Humanitas Prize Winners, Critics’ Choice Awards Nominees, WGA Awards Nominees, PGA Awards Winners, PGA Awards Nominees, Critics’ Choice Awards Winners, NAACP Image Awards Winners, Golden Globes Winners, Golden Globes Nominees, SAG Awards Winners, SAG Awards Nominees, DGA Awards Winners, DGA Awards Nominees, WGA Awards Winners, GLAAD Media Awards Nominees, Impacted by COVID-19, Female Producer, Female Writer, Latin/Hispanic Lead Cast, 2+ Ethnicity Lead Cast, Latin/Hispanic Lead Cast, Female Director
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Bob Odenkirk
Saul Goodman
Jonathan Banks
Mike Ehrmantraut
Michael Mando
Nacho Varga
Patrick Fabian
Howard Hamlin
Rhea Seehorn
Kim Wexler
Giancarlo Esposito
Gus Fring
Director(s)
Writer(s)
Executive(s)
NA
Awards & Nominations
NA
Synopsis (Warning: Spoilers!)
AMC
Stream Now
(Click to Watch)
Coming soon…
95%
Street Food Around The World
95%RT Audience Score:
Prime Video
Year of Release
2014
Technical Specs
Color: NA
Sound mix: NA
Aspect ratio: NA
Language(s): English
Country of origin: United States
Original premiere:
Newest season premiere:
Genre(s)
Comedy, Cult, Dark Comedy, Drama, Dramedy, Holiday, News
Keyword(s)
Holiday TV Special, Variety, Associated Television International Shows, TV Shows from United States, English Language, Golden Globes Nominees,
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
NA
Director(s)
Writer(s)
Executive(s)
NA
Awards & Nominations
NA
Synopsis (Warning: Spoilers!)
Stream Now
(Click to Watch)
Coming soon…