Jack Benny

A great comedian, yes; but actor? Not many people would say he was a good actor. For one thing he was always none other than Jack Benny, whatever name he was given in a film. And he did make a few films I believe, though not any of them(but one) were much good.
The one, of course, was "To Be or Not To Be". It is not so much that he acted well in this film as that he was allowed to be himself in spite of supposedly playing a Polish actor. A Polish actor with a strong American accent.
It didn't matter. No one cared that some - perhaps even most - of the rest of the cast put on semi-Polish accents because with Jack Benny as the actor who wanted to play Hamlet all everyone wanted to see was Jack Benny as himself.
A film director whose name escapes me was asked to name his favourite film and named this one - "To Be or Not To Be". He said: "I defy anyone, ten minutes after seeing the film, to tell someone the plot of the movie." It is the most complicated plot with disguises here and actors playing Nazis there, Polish pilots falling in love with actresses whose husbands are Polish actors.... Never mind, it's a wonderful, immensely funny film.
I wonder, however, if it would work without Jack Benny. I don't think so. It does not depend on the plot for its effect but on what the main character does to bring matters to a head when Hitler himself appears (or seems to).
Questions have been asked about the morality of the film's depiction of Nazis as humorous people, just like they have been asked about the British sit com "Hello Hello." It is tasteless, yes, but as the writer of the sit com said on a discussion: "It's just a bit of fun, that's all."
Pity if someone succeeds in banning it since we'd miss one of the great comic performances on film - Jack Benny as "that great, great actor" (as he describes himself) who wishes to play Hamlet in London and eventually does.