Movies Like To Be or Not to Be (1942)

To Be or Not to Be is a 1942 comedy, romance, war film from Ernst Lubitsch with a MovieMagicScore of 7.8/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with The Pianist and Warsaw 44.

Comedy Romance War

The Pianist

2002

The true story of pianist Władysław Szpilman's experiences in Warsaw during the Nazi occupation. When the Jews of the city find themselves forced into a ghetto, Szpilman finds work playing in a café; and when his family is deported in 1942, he stays behind, works for a while as a laborer, and eventually goes into hiding in the ruins of the war-torn city.

8.4

MagicScore

Warsaw 44

2014

City of Warsaw, Poland, August 1st, 1944. Citizens have experienced inhuman acts of terror and violence during five long years of Nazi occupation. As the Soviet Army relentlessly approaches, the youngest and bravest among them rise up as one and face tyranny fighting street by street, but the price to pay will be high and hard the way to freedom…

6.8

MagicScore

The Great Dictator

1940

Dictator Adenoid Hynkel tries to expand his empire while a poor Jewish barber tries to avoid persecution from Hynkel's regime.

8.3

MagicScore

Jakob the Liar

1999

In 1944 Poland, a Jewish shop keeper named Jakob is summoned to ghetto headquarters after being caught out after curfew. While waiting for the German Kommondant, Jakob overhears a German radio broadcast about Russian troop movements. Returned to the ghetto, the shopkeeper shares his information with a friend and then rumors fly that there is a secret radio within the ghetto.

6.7

MagicScore

Scrap Happy Daffy

1943

During World War Two, Daffy Duck owns a junkyard which collects scrap metal to use in building weapons to continue the Allied fight against the Axis powers. Hitler reads about Daffy's scrap pile and about Daffy's stated intent to win the war with junk and, after throwing a fit and chewing a carpet like a mad dog, orders Daffy's scrap pile destroyed.

6.5

MagicScore

Invisible Agent

1942

The Invisible Man's grandson uses his secret formula to spy on Nazi Germany.

5.8

MagicScore

Casablanca

1943

In Casablanca, Morocco in December 1941, a cynical American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications.

8.1

MagicScore

The Island on Bird Street

1997

Alex is an 11-year old boy who, during WWII, hides in the Jewish ghetto from Nazis after all his relatives have been sent to the concentration camp. The movie portrays the ghetto through his eyes.

7.1

MagicScore

Valkyrie

2008

Wounded in Africa during World War II, Nazi Col. Claus von Stauffenberg returns to his native Germany and joins the Resistance in a daring plan to create a shadow government and assassinate Adolf Hitler. When events unfold so that he becomes a central player, he finds himself tasked with both leading the coup and personally killing the Führer.

6.9

MagicScore

#10

The Producers

1968

Broadway producer Max Bialystock and his accountant, Leo Bloom, plan to make money by charming wealthy old biddies to invest in a production many times over the actual cost, and then put on a sure-fire flop, so nobody will ask for their money back – and what can be a more certain flop than a tasteless musical celebrating Hitler.

7.1

MagicScore

#11

My Führer

2007

Hitler no longer believes in himself, and can barely see himself as an equal to even his sheep dog. But to seize the helm of the war he would have to create one of his famous fiery speeches to mobilize the masses. Goebbels therefore brings a Jewish acting teacher Grünbaum and his family from the camps in order to train the leader in rhetoric. Grünbaum is torn, but starts Hitler in his therapy ...

5.6

MagicScore

#12

Westfront 1918

1930

A group of German infantrymen of the First World War live out their lives in the trenches of France. They find brief entertainment and relief in a village behind the lines, but primarily terror fills their lives as the attacks on and from the French army ebb and flow. One of the men, Karl, goes home on leave only to discover the degradation forced on his family by wartime poverty. He returns to the lines in time to face an enormous attack by French tanks.

6.6

MagicScore

#13

A Generation

1955

Stach is a wayward teen living in squalor on the outskirts of Nazi-occupied Warsaw. Guided by an avuncular Communist organizer, he is introduced to the underground resistance—and to the beautiful Dorota. Soon he is engaged in dangerous efforts to fight oppression and indignity, maturing as he assumes responsibility for others’ lives. A coming-of-age story of survival and shattering loss, A Generation delivers a brutal portrait of the human cost of war.

6.9

MagicScore

#14

Downfall

2004

In April of 1945, Germany stands at the brink of defeat with the Russian Army closing in from the east and the Allied Expeditionary Force attacking from the west. In Berlin, capital of the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler proclaims that Germany will still achieve victory and orders his generals and advisers to fight to the last man. When the end finally does come, and Hitler lies dead by his own hand, what is left of his military must find a way to end the killing that is the Battle of Berlin, and lay down their arms in surrender.

7.9

MagicScore

#15

Fortress of War

2010

The film covers the heroic defence of the Brest Fortress, which was attacked during the first strike of German invaders on June 22 1941. The story describes the events of the first days of the defence, including the three main resistance zones, headed by the regiment commander, Pyotr Mikhailovich Gavrilov, the commissar Efim Moiseevich Fomin and the head of the 9th frontier outpost, Andrey Mitrofanovich Kizhevatov. Many years later veteran Alexander Akimov again recalls the memories of the time, when he, then a 15 year old Sasha Akimov was deeply in love with the beautiful Anya and suddenly found himself in the middle of the bloody events of war.

7.2

MagicScore

#16

The Bunker

1981

Dramatization depicting the events surrounding Adolf Hitler's last weeks in and around his underground bunker in Berlin before and during the battle for the city.

6.2

MagicScore

#17

Breakthrough

1979

Starting in late May 1944, during the German retreat on the Eastern Front, Captain Stransky (Helmut Griem) orders Sergeant Steiner (Richard Burton) to blow up a railway tunnel to prevent Russian forces from using it. Steiner's platoon fails in its mission by coming up against a Russian tank. Steiner then takes a furlough to Paris just as the Allies launch their invasion of Normandy.

5.6

MagicScore

#18

In the Bleak Midwinter

1995

Out of work actor Joe volunteers to help try and save his sister's local church for the community by putting on a Christmas production of Hamlet, somewhat against the advice of his agent Margaretta. As the cast he assembles are still available even at Christmas and are prepared to do it on a 'profit sharing' basis (that is, they may not get paid anything) he cannot expect - and does not get - the cream of the cream. But although they all bring their own problems and foibles along, something bigger starts to emerge in the perhaps aptly named village of Hope.

7.1

MagicScore

#19

In Harm's Way

1965

A Naval officer, reprimanded after Pearl Harbor, is later promoted to Rear Admiral and gets a second chance to prove himself against the Japanese.

6.6

MagicScore

#20

Hitler: A Career

1977

A keen chronicle of the unlikely rise to power of Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) and a dissection of the Third Reich (1933-1945), but also an analysis of mass psychology and how the desperate crowd can be deceived and shepherded to the slaughterhouse.

7.4

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like To Be or Not to Be?

The top films similar to To Be or Not to Be by MovieMagicScore are The Pianist (8.4), Warsaw 44 (6.8), The Great Dictator (8.3). Each shares comedy/romance/war themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is To Be or Not to Be worth watching?

To Be or Not to Be holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.8/10 from 783 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is To Be or Not to Be?

To Be or Not to Be (1942) is a comedy, romance, war film directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring Carole Lombard, Jack Benny, Robert Stack.

Where can I find more recommendations like To Be or Not to Be?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more comedy recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like The Pianist Movies like Warsaw 44 Movies like The Great Dictator Movies like Jakob the Liar Movies like Scrap Happy Daffy Movies like Invisible Agent

About movies like To Be or Not to Be

This ranked list pairs To Be or Not to Be (1942), a comedy and romance and war film from Ernst Lubitsch, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Carole Lombard take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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