Ernst Lubitsch's film about a troupe of actors in Warsaw in 1939, which not only teased the Nazis by changing roles and staging on and off the stage, but also managed to escape to Scotland, was controversially discussed in 1942 after its release. At the time, the humor seemed inappropriate and trivializing to some critics. Today it is one of Ernst Lubitsch's best-known comedies and shows that – at least on screen – Hitler can be laughed at and the balance of power is reversed in such a way that the defeated triumph.