To Be or Not to Be (1983)

A bad Polish actor is just trying to make a living when what should intrude but World War II in the form of an invasion. His wife has the habit of entertaining young Polish officers while ... See full summary »

Director:

Alan Johnson

Writers:

Thomas Meehan (screenplay), Ronny Graham (screenplay)

Stars:

Mel Brooks, Anne Bancroft, Ronny Graham

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ronny Graham	...	Sondheim
Estelle Reiner	...	Gruba
Zale Kessler	...	Bieler
Jack Riley	...	Dobish
Lewis J. Stadlen	...	Lupinsky
George Gaynes	...	Ravitch
George Wyner	...	Ratkowski
James 'Gypsy' Haake	...	Sasha (as James Haake)
Scamp	...	Mutki
Christopher Lloyd	...	Capt. Schultz
José Ferrer	...	Prof. Siletski (as Jose Ferrer)
Charles Durning	...	Col. Erhardt
Tim Matheson	...	Lt. Andre Sobinski
Mel Brooks	...	Dr. Frederick Bronski
Anne Bancroft	...	Anna Bronski

Storyline

A bad Polish actor is just trying to make a living when what should intrude but World War II in the form of an invasion. His wife has the habit of entertaining young Polish officers while he's on stage which is also a source of depression to him. When one of her officers comes back on a Secret Mission, the actor takes charge and comes up with a plan for them to escape.

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Plot Keywords:

curtain call | six word title | gay interest | gay | repetition in title | 

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Taglines:

That is the movie!

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Polish

Release Date:

16 December 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Soy o no soy

Filming Locations:

Mayfield Senior School - 500 Bellefontaine Street, Pasadena, California, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$13,000,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Brooksfilms, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mel Brooks plays no less than five characters in this movie. These include his main role as actor-theatre manager, Dr. Frederick Bronski; he plays Adolf Hitler on stage in the routine Nasty Nazis and in the ruse to evacuate the Polish resistance; Hamlet on the stage where he he says the film's title; and he pretends to be Colonel Erhardt and impersonates Professor Siletski.

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Goofs

Anne Bancroft's character's name is Anna Bronski. However, it should be Anna Bronska because it is an adjectival surname and all adjectives in Polish have masculine and feminine forms. The endings -i and -y are masculine, the feminine equivalents of adjectival surnames end in -a.

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Quotes

Anna Bronski: He's world-famous in Poland!

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Crazy Credits

At the end of the movie, each cast member comes and takes a bow, as they would for a stage play, while their names are on the screen.

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Connections

Featured in AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Mel Brooks (2013)

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Soundtracks

Ladies
Music & Lyrics by Mel Brooks and Ronny Graham
Performed by Mel Brooks (uncredited)

User Reviews

Definitely meant "to Be"...

I haven't seen the Ernst Lubitsch original of this gem but if I had, I might have been prejudiced in my decision of this being one of the finer films that Mel Brooks has been in.

Though not written by or directed by Mel, he and wife Anne Bancroft take center stage as Frederick and Anna Bronski, Poland's most famous acting family. When the Nazi war machine overtakes Warsaw, they and their acting troupe use every actor's trick in the book to escape and make their way to England.

All this, of course, while Anna becomes smitten with an American pilot (Matheson) who helps them both to freedom. In the meantime, there are threats from a devious doctor (Ferrer), a lecherous Nazi colonel (Durning) and a command for the troupe to perform for the Nazi Army with Hitler in the audience.

There are so many classic moments here that to list them would be a dis-service to the movie. Let me just say that I enjoyed this whole film from opening to closing and even the closing had some doozies.

The Nazis are seen as complete buffoons and the exchanges between Durning and his head officer (Lloyd) are classic. In fact, I can see why Durning was nominated for an Oscar for his role here; not just anyone could have pulled it off as well as he.

Everyone here has a good scene or two, including Mel's regulars (Graham, Wyner, Riley) and the dialogue even manages to get the proper sentiment and tension out of the proper scenes. A great effort by all involved.

Purists of the Jack Benny original may disagree, but this "To Be or Not to Be" is the "to Be" for me!

Ten stars. Mazeltov!