Quartile rating: 8/10 · 1 rating
During the Nazi occupation of Poland, an acting troupe becomes embroiled in a Polish soldier's efforts to track down a German spy.
Lubitsch's wartime dark comedy is a masterclass in tonal audacity — skewering Nazi pomposity with razor-sharp wit while genuinely evoking the horror of occupied Warsaw. The plot is intricately constructed, with the theatrical-espionage conceit generating escalating comic tension that never loses its satirical bite. Jack Benny and Carole Lombard deliver career-best performances, perfectly calibrated to Lubitsch's ironic register. Cinematography is competent but not especially distinguished — functional studio work of the era. The novelty is remarkable: no other film of 1942 (or arguably any era) blends farce, romance, and genuine moral weight around the Nazi occupation with such assurance and originality. The ending, while satisfying, is relatively conventional as resolutions go, wrapping things up without the same daring as the film's middle passages.