To Be or Not to Be
Tags: satire

Plot synopsis:
In Warsaw, Poland, in the lat 1930s, a famous Polish actor, Frederick Bronski, runs a theatre and its troupe of actors and staff. Most of of the Bronski Theatre's routines are comic in nature: a very popular sketch is titled "Naughty Nazis" and features Bronski himself playing Adolf Hitler acting buffoonish, singing about how he plans to take over Europe a piece at a time.Bronski's wife, Anna, always plays second fiddle to her husband: he doesn't see her as an equal and even resorts to putting his wife's name on the playbill in parentheses.One night, officials from the Gestapo arrive at the theatre and demand that all Jewish cast and staff report to their headquarters and register. At first, Bronski refuses but when the Gestapo threaten to shut down the theatre, he gives in. One of the staff, Anna's dresser Sasha, is a gay man. Arriving in Anna's room at night, she notices a pink triangle on his coat which he tells her is the shameful symbol that all gay men must wear under Nazi law, just like Jews having to wear a gold star of David.Germany invades Poland and the war soon comes to Warsaw. One of the theatre staff asks Bronski if a few Jewish friends can hide out in the basement of the theatre. He reluctantly agrees. When the Gestapo forces Bronski to cancel the Naughty Nazis sketch because it insults Hitler, Bronski announces that he'll perform his "world famous Highlights From Hamlet" routine. On stage, he begins to recite the play's famous "To be or not to be..." scene and a young Polish army office suddenly stands up and begins to walk out. Bronski is crushed (and actually gives a great performance instead of his usual below-average acting). The man, Lt Andre Sobinski, meets with Anna in her dressing room -- the line "To be or not to be" was a signal for him to sneak backstage. Sobinski himself is an adoring and devoted fan of Anna's and is deeply smitten with her.Warsaw is quickly overrun by the German Wehrmacht. The Bronskis home is seized by the Nazis and they go to live with Sasha. Sobinski, who is on assignment in England, is at a pub with a large group of other Poles who are mourning the fall of their country. One of the men, Professor Siletski, is able to travel easily between Allied territory and Occupied Poland. When asked to take word to the families of the soldiers at the pub, he agrees, having all the men write down names and addresses. Sobinski asks Siletski to deliver a message to Anna.Sobinski meets with British officers and his own superiors who inform him that Siletski is actually a traitor and spy working for the Third Reich. All the people whose names he took down will be hunted down and executed as Polish underground members. Sobinski asks to be sent back to Warsaw to hunt down Siletski.At the theatre, Sasha suddenly runs in having been chased through the streets. The Gestapo is rounding up homosexuals in addition to Jews. Since the theatre will be meticulously searched, Sasha hides by dressing like Anna in a large musical number where Anna will join Bronski onstage. The number comes to a halt when Sasha's wig and hat fall off and he is immediately recognized by the Gestapo and arrested. The theatre is also shut down and locked up indefinitely.Sobinski is able to steal into Warsaw and locates Bronski at Sasha's home. Anna is not there, having been summoned to Prof. Siletski's office at Gestapo headquarters. Siletski has to leave suddenly to meet with Earhardt. Without permission to leave left at the front desk by Siletski himself, she is trapped there until he returns.Sobinski tells Bronski about Siletski's plan: Siletski plans to turn the names he collected over to the head of the Warsaw Gestapo, Colonel Erhardt. Because Siletski and Erhardt have never met, Sobinski and Bronski devise a plan to have Bronski impersonate Erhardt and get the list from Siletski. The uniforms that the company uses for the Naughty Nazis sketch will be used to gather Siletski and bring him to the Bronski Theatre where a fake Gestapo office will be set up for the ruse. Siletski is brought to the fake office and meets with Bronski. He hands over the list and reveals that he'd printed up a duplicate list to be forwarded to Nazi HQ in Berlin. Bronski needs to stall for more time, but while he does he accidentally reveals that the chair he's sitting in is a prop from the theatre. Siletski sees through the ruse and pulls out a pistol. Threatening to shoot Bronski in the back, he escapes into the theatre. He's eventually found behind the curtain onstage and shot dead by Sobinski.With the death of Siletski complicating the situation, Bronski agrees to impersonate the dead professor and go back to Gestapo HQ, free Anna and find the duplicate list. He dresses like Siletski and wears a false goatee and meets Anna in Siletski's room. Waiting there for him is Earhardt's adjutant, Captain Schultz, who is to take him to meet with his commandant. Bronski asks for a private moment with Anna, finds the duplicate list and burns it; at the same time he confronts her angrily about her "affair" with Sobinski. She reminds him that he has to meet with Earhardt to continue the ruse and he reluctantly agrees. He also remembers to leave word at the desk that Anna can leave any time.Bronski is brought to Earhardt's office. Earhardt, a loud and brash and buffoonish type, asks him for the list. Bronski says that he's still compiling it but does have the names of 2 members of the Polish underground -- both names are prisoners that were executed earlier. Earhardt becomes confused and takes out his anger on Schultz. In order to appease Bronski, Earhardt allows the release of Sasha.Meanwhile, two of the theatre staff are transporting the body of Siletski in a steamer trunk. They hit a bump and the trunk falls out of the back of the truck. Two Nazi soldiers find the body inside. It is returned to Gestapo headquarters. Anna herself is summoned to meet with Earhardt, who is smitten with her. He tells her that Hitler himself is coming to Warsaw to see the Bronski theatre troupe perform an exclusive show. The theatre will be temporarily reopened. She asks him to release Sasha, but is refused. Bronski later arrives at Earhardt's office and Anna is released. However, Earhardt has other plans for Bronski: he has Bronski wait in his office with the dead body of Siletski. Bronski, having brought a 2nd fake goatee with him, uses a shaving kit in Earhardt's bathroom to shave Siletski's chin and attach the fake goatee. When Earhardt comes back in with goons to interrogate Bronski, Bronski challenges Earhardt to tug on the dead Siletski's beard. It comes off in Earhardt's hand. Believing that Bronski is Siletski, he also agrees to Bronski's demand to let Sasha go. Just as Bronski is about to leave, some of Bronski's staff arrive dressed as Nazis and tell the already flustered Earhardt that they've discovered a plot to assassinate the Fuhrer. They pull off Bronski's fake beard as proof and take Bronski with them.Back at the theatre, Anna tells everyone about the Fuhrer's impending visit. They all agree that they must flee Poland before their ruse is really discovered. They plan to sneak out of the theatre during a clown car number, then disguising themselves as SS officers and leaving in the trucks and cars the real SS arrived in. Bronski himself will be disguised as Hitler, while one of his actors, Lupinsky, will recite Shylock's speech about Jewish heritage from The Merchant of Venice. Included in the escape will be all the Jews that have been hiding in the theatre.The performance goes off with few problems. Anna is met at the theatre by Earhardt who continues to flirt with her. After the clowns have all exited and Bronski is outside, he goes back inside to find what's delaying Anna. Earhardt is astonished to meet Hitler face-to-face and is left a babbling idiot when Bronski tells him he knows about a joke he'd cracked at Fuhrer's expense.The troupe drives to the airport. Most of them are able to board the Fuhrer's private plane but they are discovered by the nearby guards. Everyone makes it aboard, including Anna's little Shih-Tzu and they take off. Their compass is broken and they fly until they run out of fuel. They land in a large field. Bronski suggests that he go outside first in case they've landed in German-occupied territory. He finds a small pub and goes inside, still dressed like Hitler. The pub is British and the customers and staff are all shocked.Later, Bronski and Anna meet with British officials and are granted asylum in England until the war ends. Bronski requests that his troupe be allowed to perform, specifically Bronski's Highlights From Hamlet sketch. While in front of a respectful audience, he recites "To be or not to be..." and a young man suddenly rises and begins to excuse himself. Bronski is flustered.

Review: Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft make their own the roles of the Bronskis, a Warsaw theatrical duo ("world famous in Poland")who star in revues at the Bronski theatre.
Those with fond memories of Jack Benny and Carole Lombard in the lead roles may have boycotted this on first release, but they have denied themselves a rare treat - a sure-footed and genuinely entertaining film..
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.
Actually, when interviewed about this movie, Mel Brooks said it was an homage to Jack Benny.
This is the great Mel Brooks at his best!.He revisits this classic film and makes it even crazier than the original, adding a lot of new stuff...
(there are 3 numbers where Mel dances and sings, there are clowns, jews and a homosexual hairdresser pursued by the evil and stupid nazis.)All the actors in this movie, and I mean ALL, are just terrific.I´d like to state that this is not a remake of the Ernst Lubistch classic, (at least that´s my opinion), to me this is a tribute to the great director and his masterpiece.I´ve watched the Lubistch "To be or not to be" a lot of times for it´s one of my favorite films, and the Mel Brooks version is completely different from the original.
It was made the Brooks way, which I really adore.So watch this film, you´ll have a lot of fun and won´t stop laughing.Oh, just one more thing...This is an asking to 20th Century Fox: When you decide to release this movie in DVD, include the absolutely amazing video-clip: "To be or not to be - Hitler Rap" performed by Mel Brooks please!!.
I could almost sense Sid Caesar's presence in the group but he was not a part of it here, which I regret.Although the subject matter is serious enough, as it deals with the Nazi military and their activities, there is so much humor to be found in the foibles of citizens and soldiers alike that we are swept up in the steady action.Mel Brook and Anne Bancroft carry the plot along splendidly.
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.
TO BE OR NOT TO BE Aspect ratio: 1.85:1Sound format: Dolby Stereo1939: As the Nazi's invade their homeland, a humble Warsaw theatre troupe stages a daring escape after stumbling on a Gestapo plot to kill members of the Polish resistance.Whilst the fondly-remembered Ernst Lubitsch original was actually filmed during wartime (1942), at a point when the outcome of the conflict was still uncertain, this updated vehicle for Mel Brooks has no such edge, but Alan Johnson's fast-paced remake at least preserves the elements of comedy and drama which made the earlier film so potent.
There aren't many belly laughs to be had from the low-key screenplay (co-written by Thomas Meehan and Ronnie Graham), and the Nazi caricatures are fun without being especially funny (Charles Durning was Oscar-nominated for his role as bumbling Gestapo officer 'Concentration Camp' Erhardt), but the film offers an upbeat mixture of thrills and frivolity, and a superb cast of experienced players take turns stealing the limelight from leading player Brooks (Anne Bancroft has a ball as Brooks' duplicitous wife, easing her marriage blues by encouraging a half-innocent liaison with handsome airman Tim Matheson, who's been assigned by British Intelligence to foil a dastardly plot initiated by double agent Jose Ferrer).
As in the original, the movie portrays the Nazi threat in a comic manner whilst constantly reminding viewers of the deadly reality which underpins the narrative, and while the scenario is fast-paced, funny and exciting in equal measure, it's also surprisingly respectful of history.
Rather than a satire of a film classic like Frankenstein or a genre of films like the western was done in Blazing Saddles, Mel Brooks chose for the one and only time to do a remake of an already very funny film with the classic To Be Or Not To Be. 40 years later the Brooks remake has lost none of the laughs from the original, in fact Brooks could now talk about things unmentionable when Hollywood was under the Code.The 1942 original film that starred Jack Benny, Carole Lombard, and Robert Stack in the roles that Mel Brooks, Anne Bancroft, and Tim Matheson play here, was a sophisticated comedy that was not well received when first out, many thought the Nazis were no subject to joke about during wartime.
Anne Bancroft is more than a good substitute for Carole Lombard, in fact she's as funny in this as Lombard ever was on the screen.Many years ago one of my supervisors knew Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft and he told us at work that her image as a great dramatic actress, whose two career roles are in The Graduate and The Miracle Worker was a total fabrication.
My supervisor said he lived in the same building as they did in Greenwich Village and got to know both of them.Mel Brooks got to show the effect of the Holocaust to come on gays in one of the first films to acknowledge that publicly.
Charles Durning also does well as Gestapo head in Warsaw who gets constantly bamboozled almost like World War II era film Nazis by Brooks's ingenuity and his theater troupe who give the best performances of their lives.
And we can't forget Jose Ferrer adding yet another ethnic group to his repertoire as the Polish traitor Siletsky.If you're not a fan of Mel Brooks you will become one after you see any of his films.
Like many movies, it goes to show that humor really is the best way to deal with political issues...and also that Mel didn't have to be completely silly to come up with great ideas.
This remake could not have had a finer cast led the magnificent Mel Brooks and his wife Anne Bancroft.
While the stars of the film and the fictional theater troupe, Anne and Frederick Bronski played by Bancroft and Brooks are forced out of their own home to live with their homosexual cast member played memorably by David Haacke in this small one room apartment.
My grandfather (also a big Mel Brooks fan) had seen the film on its release back in 1984 and thought it was a kind of pale copy of the Jack Benny version, which he loves too.
This quickly became one of my favorite Mel Brooks movies (even though he didn't direct or write it!) The supporting cast is great, in a different way than the original.
Mel Brooks plays a bad Polish actor Dr. Frederick Bronski and Anne Bancroft plays his wife Anna.She does that also in real life.When the Nazis take over Warsaw they try to find a way to escape to England.To Be or Not to Be (1983) is a real comedy gem that hasn't got a lack of funny moments.If I mentioned them all I would be charged of overdoing.Of course you find some drama also because of the topic.I mean, there's the II Worldwar, the Nazis and the Jews.You can't make that all comedy.But I have to tell you this; if you got a Jewish master of comedy making fun of the Nazis you can't fail.It is noticed that the Jews are the best of comedians.If there was an average gentile comedian there in the lead instead of Mel this movie just wouldn't work so good.When he disguises himself as Hitler, that's just hilarious.The Führer himself was very hilarious.If only he had been only joking.That would have been a bad joke, but still.He and his fellow Nazi clowns are an easy target to make comedy of.The actors playing Nazi parts are superb here.Christopher Lloyd does an excellent job as Capt.Schultz and Charles Durning as Col Erhardt.The casting in this movie is something you have to give credit for.Mr Brooks and Mrs Bancroft make a marvelous couple in the lead.Tim Matheson is brilliant as Lt.Andre Sobinski and José Ferrer is great as Prof.
Siletski.To Be or Not to Be is an eternal question that Hamlet kept asking and also the title of this film.But don't expect another version of Shakespeare's play because that's just something you're not gonna get.What you are gonna get is something much funnier.Watch this movie if you wanna die laughing..
Mel Brooks made some funny and very good movies in his day.
I don't fault Brooks and Anne Bancroft for wanting to do a remake of such a fine film.
Under the direction of Alan Johnson, the film is worth a look because of all the people that were gathered to make a contribution.Who knows what Mel Brooks might have been able to do with this movie, but since he's only acting in it, his hands appear to be tied.
Also, Mr. Brooks makes an incredible take off on Hamlet and as Hitler.While the film is not all what one expects, it's gives us an excuse for watching it and still have a good time while at it..
I saw this film today on AMC and still laugh my head off at the antics of Mel Brooks and his wife in a remake of this 1942 film which starred Jack Benny and Carole Lombard.
Brooks takes his funny equilibrium much further in this and his wife Ann Bancroft assists him in the antics of a ham theater production escaping from the cruel hands of the Nazis.
The problem is, Jack Benny did such a good job in the original, why remake the film in the first place?
TO BE OR NOT TO BE is a remake of a film of the same name from 1942; it tells the story of the world famous (in Poland, at least) theater duo Frederick and Anna Bronski, played by Mel Brooks and his wife Anne Bancroft.
The jokes are pretty consistent and the movie is loaded with a fantastic supporting cast including Christopher Lloyd in a small role as a beleaguered Nazi captain, Charles During as the Nazi S.S. colonel in charge, and the Bronski theater troupe including the talents of George Gaynes, George Wyner, and Jack Riley.
All of this is topped off with the natural chemistry between stars Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft, real life husband and wife, in the starring roles.
It turned out very faithful to the original: wisely, Brooks opted not to spoof what was already a black comedy  this may have had something to do with his decision not to write and direct the film himself.The fast-moving plot still works beautifully, though the jokes tend to fall flat  since they don't have the same immediacy of the wartime years, while the level of acting is far below that of the 1942 version.
There are, nonetheless, a couple of good songs here  while the original's gem of a final gag involving Hitler has been replaced by an equally priceless one.As I said, the leads are no match for Jack Benny and Carole Lombard from the 1942 version (and are overage to boot)  though it was certainly nice to watch real-life couple Brooks (who, unsurprisingly, gets to double as both Professor Siletsky and Hitler) and Anne Bancroft playing alongside each other for once.
This parody of the Nazi occupation of Poland has a few moments >of classic Mel Brooks good humor but is by far below the level >of his other works.
This is a truly entertaining movie, but it does not have the over the top antics of a typical Mel Brooks film.
First, of course, is that for Lubitsch and his audience, the Second World War was a living issue: Jack Benny threw himself into the Bronski role with such energy because he was of Polish-Jewish family, and had some idea what Nazsm meant for any relatives he might have had in Poland at the time.
Nor dare he overplay that hand; for Lubitsch, the full horror of the Holocaust had yet to be discovered; Brooks and his director have to play against our knowledge of it in a way that avoids raising any thoughts of atrocities involved.Also, due to Hollywood censorship issues of the time, that the marriage between the Bronskis is failing because Anna is a nymphomaniac had to be carefully encoded in the dialog of the Lubitsch film, so that only sophisticated adults could understand the full implications of what was being said; even so, the script actually pushes the envelope quite a bit.
And there's an undeniable chemistry between Brooks and Bancroft, as well as an ensemble feel to the film as a whole.Taken in its own right, its no classic - but it's a pretty funny movie..
Brooks fans expecting his usual slapstick schtick might be disappointed (I was) -- since he didn't direct this one it's basically just Brooks playing a character in a semi-comedy, but it's not very funny at all.There are some OK performances from a top-notch cast and some clever ideas but ultimately they really don't amount to much at all.
To Be Or Not to Be. Schtick and a wonderful performance from Durning help move this remake of the Jack Benny/Carole Lombard classic along with Brooks and Bancroft playing married Polish acting troupers who outwit the Nazi's.
This remake of the classic Jack Benny-Carol Lombard film is even better than the original.Made with the comic gift of Mel Brooks, the film really shines.
An enthralling and ebullient double bill of two versions of TO BE OR NOT TO BE, Lubitsch's Black & White masterpiece, also famous for being Carole Lombard's swan song before a plane crash brought her away from this world at the prime age of 33, and Mel Brooks' (almost) faithful color remade (although the director title falls on the head of his longtime collaborator Alan Johnson) starring him and his wife Ms. Bancroft.
It is the same story being transcribed under two different palettes, the remake owes its tongue-in-cheek drollness greatly to the screenwriter Edwin Justus Mayer of the 1942 version since many one-liners are copied verbatim, both versions are abounding with witty caricatures of Hitler and his Nazi regime, embellishes a tall order in the wartime Warsaw with conspicuous burlesque, a Polish acting troupe's collective endeavour to hunt down a German spy and a subsequent flee from war zone to England, during which a crucial tool is that our hero, the ham actor Joseph Tura (Benny) / Frederick Bronski (Brooks), has to playact different characters, from the spy professor, a Nazi colonel and even Hitler himself (in the remake), to bluff his way out; meanwhile he is also vexed by the budding romance between his actor wife Maria (Lombard) / Anna (Bancroft) and a young aviator Lt. Sobieski (Stack) / Lt. Sobinski (Matheson).
But in the remake, Mel Brooks doesn't adopt this route, instead, he opens with a vaudeville number SWEET GEORGIA BROWN with Bancroft, a fairly impressive stunt but fails to match Lubitsch's ingenious gambit, later audience will discover, one main reason behind this alteration is that there is no role of the character actor who resembles Hitler in this version, as Brooks himself will disguise as Hitler in the final escape scam, so probably it is a sacrifice to fulfil Brooks' own ego to enlarge his part as the star.For most part, the silver-screen magnetism of the original is beguilingly outstrips the remake's more mundane touch, and being a well-intended fairytale, the mundane touch is unfortunately an impediment particularly in the elongated escape plan, the entire operation feels preposterous with the all the chase (don't let me start on the doggie Mutki's eleventh- hour jump) and what happens to the real Hitler in the theatre, he doesn't feel absurd when clearly no actors are on the stage to perform?
Overall, if you enjoy Mel Brooks, theater, or World War II movies, definitely give this a watch..
Real life husband and wife Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft play husband and wife Frederick and Anna Bronski.
Bronski impersonates Erhardt and then Siletski in order to stop the resistance from falling into Nazi hands.It's not the usual Mel Brooks parody.
("I don't watch black-and-white movies.") And if the same sector doesn't have much of a grasp of affairs in Poland in 1940, so much the more informative.Mel Brooks leads a theatrical troupe in Warsaw in 1940 after it was occupied by the Nazis.
What I like about it most is its terrific cast - Brooks and Bancroft seem almost made for these roles and both are sensational, as are the whole Bronski troupe.
Mel Brooks and Ann Bancroft reprise the roles made famous by Jack Benny and Carole Lombard.
Mel Brooks plays a "Ham" of a Jewish Polish actor just barely making a living in a little theater in Poland.
Based almost entirely on the comic devise of mistaken identity, Mel gets to play the three performances of his "Polish career", as a turncoat Nazi spy, Col. Erhardt, and even Adolf Hitler!
Several script changes from the 1942 original include: Col. Erhardt does not shoot himself, and "Hitler" (Mel Brooks) does not parachute into Scotland.