To Be or Not to Be (1983 film)

To Be or Not to Be
220px Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Alan Johnson
Produced by	Mel Brooks
Screenplay by	Ronny Graham Thomas Meehan
Story by	Melchior Lengyel Ernst Lubitsch
Based on	To Be or Not to Be by Edwin Justus Mayer
Starring	Mel Brooks Anne Bancroft Tim Matheson Charles Durning José Ferrer George Gaynes Christopher Lloyd George Wyner Lewis J. Stadlen Jack Riley
Narrated by	Scott Beach
Music by	John Morris
Cinematography	Gerald Hirschfeld
Edited by	Alan Balsam
Production company	Brooksfilms
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release dates	December 16, 1983 (1983-12-16)
Running time	107 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$9 million
Box office	$13 million

To Be or Not to Be is a 1983 American war comedy film directed by Alan Johnson and produced by Mel Brooks. The screenplay was written by Ronny Graham and Thomas Meehan, based on the original story by Melchior Lengyel, Ernst Lubitsch and Edwin Justus Mayer. A remake of the 1942 film of the same name, the film starred Mel Brooks alongside his wife Anne Bancroft; Tim Matheson, Charles Durning, Christopher Lloyd, and José Ferrer also had starring roles.

Cast

• Mel Brooks as Frederick Bronski
• Anne Bancroft as Anna Bronski
• Charles Durning as S.S. Colonel Erhardt
• Christopher Lloyd as S.S. Captain Schultz
• Tim Matheson as Lieutenant Andrei Sobinski
• José Ferrer as Professor Siletski
• Ronny Graham as Sondheim, Stage Manager
• Estelle Reiner as Gruba
• Jack Riley as Dobish
• Lewis J. Stadlen as Lupinsky
• George Gaynes as Ravitch
• George Wyner as Ratkowski
• Earl Boen as Dr. Boyarski
• Ivor Barry as General Hobbs
• William Glover as Major Cunningham
• James Haake as Sasha
• Marley Sims as Rifka
• Max Brooks as Rifka's son
• Larry Rosenberg as Rifka's husband
• Milt Jamin as Gestapo soldier
• Wolf Muser as Desk sergeant
• Henry Brandon as Nazi officer
• Tucker Smith as Klotski's Klown
• Curt Lowens as Airport officer
• Terence Marsh as Startled British officer
• Paul Ratliff as Naval officer
• Scott Beach as Narrator

Connections with the original

This remake was faithful to the 1942 film on which it was based, and in many cases dialogue was taken verbatim from the earlier film. The characters of Bronski and Joseph Tura are combined into a single character, however (played by Brooks). The character of the treacherous Professor Siletsky (here spelled Siletski) was made into more of a comic figure, and even into somewhat of a buffoon, whereas in the original he was the one completely serious character in the film.

Reception

The film was favorably reviewed by Vincent Canby in the New York Times, who called it "smashingly funny."

Roger Ebert's film review stated that in the film, Mel Brooks "combines a backstage musical with a wartime romance and comes up with an eclectic comedy that races off into several directions, usually successfully."

It has a 63% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, indicating "Fresh."

However, the film was not a great commercial success, grossing only $13,030,214.

Awards

For his performance as Colonel Erhardt, Charles Durning was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award. At the 41st Golden Globe Awards, Durning was nominated for Best Supporting Actor and Anne Bancroft was nominated for Best Actress – Comedy or Musical.

External links

• To Be or Not to Be at IMDb
• To Be or Not to Be at the TCM Movie Database
• To Be or Not to Be at Box Office Mojo
• To Be or Not to Be at Rotten Tomatoes