To Be or Not to Be (1983)

At the onset of WW2, a Polish actor's family and the Polish Resistance help the troupe of a theatre escape Poland and the invading Nazis.

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:

neo screwball comedy | lgbt | gay man | gun violence | nazi | 

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Taglines:

That is the movie!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | War

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Colonel Earhardt's joke is about Hitler becoming a "pickle". In German, "pickel" means "pimple" or "zit".

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Goofs

In the introduction it is stated that all of Czechoslovakia was absorbed by Nazi Germany. In fact Slovakia was constituted as an independent regime that fought in WWII as one of the Axis allies.

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Quotes

Anna Bronski: [to her pet dog] Mootkie, we are living in a rat hole.

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Crazy Credits

The opening and closing credits show a picture of Bancroft and Brooks drawn side by side in overlapping profile, this is clearly an homage to the similar drawing of Benny and Lombard in the opening and closing credits of the 1942 version.

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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

The most under rated Brooks film

When I saw this I had no idea it was a remake. I didn't know the original had been rated the 49th best comedy of all time by the AFI or that Brooks neither wrote nor directed it.

What I knew was that from the moment it started to the moment the curtains came down I was laughing nonstop in awe of an incredible plot. The film managed to escalate with each passing scene. Just when you thought nothing more could be done to it, they managed to push it further and further. Brook's performance was dead on, as was the entire casts. It's the sort of movie that gives Christopher Loyd only seven or eight lines, and you love him for it and need to ask for anything more.

It continually makes fun itself, building on jokes you thought were over half a movie ago. I'd place this movie above Spaceballs and below Men in Tights, but would say that it is without a doubt the best plot of any movie I've seen in some time, comedy or otherwise.

This is a movie that you should waste no time seeking out and renting, buying, seeing in whatever way you can.

Still not sold? I'll retell one of the jokes. Don't read further if you want the first five minutes to be as fresh as they were for me - if you're debating whether to see it or not, I hope this is able to sway you.

They're in a theater, putting on a show. We hear the Polish songs - not quite sure what they're singing about. The curtain comes down on the two actors smiling and bowing together as the audience claps. The moment the audience can no longer see them the actors start bickering in Polish. We're not sure what they're discussing, but it's clearly a heated debate. The curtain then comes up, they immediately are smiling, bowing, curtain comes down once again and it's back to the Polish bickering. They continue bickering, stopping for an announcement over the loudspeakers in this vaudeville theater. "Attention, for the Sanity and Clarity of the Audience the rest of this movie will be English"

Then the movie switches into English, and the plot begins.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Polish

Release Date:

16 December 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

To Be or Not to Be

Filming Locations:

American Zoetrope Studios - 1040 N. Las Palmas Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,020,958, 18 December 1983

Gross USA:

$13,030,214

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$13,030,214

Company Credits

Production Co:

Brooksfilms, Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1