Mr. and Mrs. Smith: An Alfred Hitchcock Screwball Comedy

Mr. and Mrs. Smith is the rare screwball comedy to be directed by Alfred Hitchcock, supposedly as a favor to actress Carole Lombard. The film was the final film to be released while Carole Lombard was still alive. Lombard was only 33 years old when she died in a tragic plane crash nearly a year after the film’s release. One can only wonder what kind of career she would have had if not for the…

"Mr. and Mrs. Smith: An Alfred Hitchcock Screwball Comedy"

To Be Or Not to Be: A Great Holocaust Satire

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. The film starts out in prior to the 1939 Nazi Invasion of Warsaw, Poland.  We meet a play of theatrical actors led by husband and wife, Josef Tura (Jack Benny) and Maria Tura (Carole Lombard).  They’re leading the rehearsals for a satirical play, Gestapo.  Bronski (Tom Dugan) passes for…

"To Be Or Not to Be: A Great Holocaust Satire"