I never realized that Joe Dante and I were kindred spirits! Almost every film he has reviewed here is one of my all time favorites and/or guilty pleasures (not to mention all of the films that HE has directed!). I also grew up with Famous Monsters of Filmland, and remember quite well Mr. Dante's articles and letters. Had I not taken a different path in life, I would probably have directed some of the same types films that he did.
Tura: "Surely, you've heard of the great Polish actor, Josef Tura!" Ehrhart: "Ah yes. What he did to Shakespeare, we are now doing to Poland!" Still, my favorite line from the movie -- but so many critics back then saw it as offensive. Jack Benny is absolutely perfect as the vainglorious Tura, and this is definitely his greatest movie. He doesn't really fall back on the "Jack Benny" character, and his chemistry with Carole Lombard is delicious. Shame we lost her so soon after filming ended. Jack said years later that he knew that this was something special, and he remembered being horrified when he learned that Carole had been killed before what they felt was her finest role. He was good friends with Carole and with Clark Gable, and his thoughts were very much on them when the film was released. I heard that Gable never really recovered from Carole's death, and his last wife Kay Spreckels had a distinct resemblance to Carole. Many thought at the time the film was badly timed and inappropriate now that America had entered the war, but now the film is seen as the classic it is. Mel Brooks' remake is terrible on its own, IMO, but especially in context with the original. THIS is the version to see -- Jack Benny MAKES this film, and Mel Brooks is no Jack Benny.
I always felt that Lubitch was telling America, “we can beat these creeps.” I think Sig Rhuman’s best joke in the film was when he walks in on Lombard and the actor in the troupe who plays Hitler. Rhuman’s character walks into the adjacent room to shoot himself. We hear the gun fire and then, “Schultz !!”
I never realized that Joe Dante and I were kindred spirits! Almost every film he has reviewed here is one of my all time favorites and/or guilty pleasures (not to mention all of the films that HE has directed!). I also grew up with Famous Monsters of Filmland, and remember quite well Mr. Dante's articles and letters. Had I not taken a different path in life, I would probably have directed some of the same types films that he did.
This is a brilliant dark comedy. And it's evidence of what a good actor Jack Benny was.
"You haven't seen a comedy until you've seen it with an audience." God is that true.
I watched it for the first time last night.....a great movie!
Such a great film! Glad everybody at the screening enjoyed it.
Tura: "Surely, you've heard of the great Polish actor, Josef Tura!"
Ehrhart: "Ah yes. What he did to Shakespeare, we are now doing to Poland!"
Still, my favorite line from the movie -- but so many critics back then saw it as offensive. Jack Benny is absolutely perfect as the vainglorious Tura, and this is definitely his greatest movie. He doesn't really fall back on the "Jack Benny" character, and his chemistry with Carole Lombard is delicious. Shame we lost her so soon after filming ended. Jack said years later that he knew that this was something special, and he remembered being horrified when he learned that Carole had been killed before what they felt was her finest role. He was good friends with Carole and with Clark Gable, and his thoughts were very much on them when the film was released. I heard that Gable never really recovered from Carole's death, and his last wife Kay Spreckels had a distinct resemblance to Carole.
Many thought at the time the film was badly timed and inappropriate now that America had entered the war, but now the film is seen as the classic it is. Mel Brooks' remake is terrible on its own, IMO, but especially in context with the original. THIS is the version to see -- Jack Benny MAKES this film, and Mel Brooks is no Jack Benny.
I always felt that Lubitch was telling America, “we can beat these creeps.” I think Sig Rhuman’s best joke in the film was when he walks in on Lombard and the actor in the troupe who plays Hitler. Rhuman’s character walks into the adjacent room to shoot himself. We hear the gun fire and then, “Schultz !!”
This movie is a f%#king master class in comedy!
We lost something very special when Carole Lombard became a Casualty of World War Two.
They don't make 'em like this anymore!
I would have liked it better if Mel Blanc or Frank Nelson had shown up in it. "Now cut that out!".