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Mel Brooks, Anne Bancroft, Charles Durning, Tim Matheson, José Ferrer ... see more see more... , Christopher Lloyd , George Gaynes , George Wyner , Jack Riley , Lewis J. Stadlen , RONNY GRAHAM , Ivor Barry , Scott Beach , Earl Boen , Henry Brandon , Max Brooks , George Caldwell , Paddi Edwards , John Francis , James Haake and Scamp , Henry Kaiser , Zale Kessler , Ron Kuhlman , Curt Lowens , Eda Reiss Merin , Wolf Muser , John Otrin , Estelle Reiner , Tucker Smith , Ron Diamond , Spencer Henderson , Terence Marsh , Leeyan Granger , Phil Adams , Ian Bruce , William Glover , Blane Savage , Robin Haynes , John McKinney , Raymond Skipp , James 'Gypsy' Haake

Mel Brooks and his real-life wife Anne Bancroft play Frederick and Anna Bronski, musical comedy stars in 1939 Poland. The highlight of the Bronskis' act is Frederick's imitation of Adolf Hitler, but h... read more read more...e is forced to eliminate this turn for fear of offending the Nazis. Meanwhile, Anna enters into a harmless flirtation with Polish bomber pilot Andre Sobinski (Tim Matheson). The pilot's nightly signal to visit Anna in her dressing room is "To Be or Not to Be," spoken by Bronski during the Shakespearean portion of his act. When the Germans march into Warsaw, the Bronskis and the rest of their troupe are forced into hiding (notably the homosexual Lupinski, played by Lewis J. Stadlen, who is forced to endure the humiliation of wearing a pink star). Flying for the Polish resistance in England, Sobinski asks kindly Professor Seletzky (Jose Ferrer) to deliver his "To Be or Not to Be" message to Anna. When Seletzky doesn't seem to recognize the name of Anne Bronski, Warsaw's biggest star, Sobinski suspects that something is amiss. Sure enough, Seletzky is a Nazi spy, heading to Warsaw to help Col. "Concentration Camp" Ehrhardt (Oscar-nominated Charles Durning) destroy the underground movement. Parachuting into Poland, Sobinski enlists the aid of the Bronski troupe to foil the Nazis. What follows is an uproarious series of disguises and deceptions, capped by Bronski's impersonation of Der Fuhrer. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Flixster Users

71% liked it

2,776 ratings

Critics

63% liked it

16 critics

PG, 1 hr. 48 min.

Directed by: Alan Johnson

Release Date: December 16, 1983

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DVD Release Date: January 25, 2005

Stats: 215 reviews

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Charles Durning in To Be or Not to Be Mel Brooks & Charles Durning in To Be or Not to Be To Be or Not to Be To Be or Not to Be
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Flixster Reviews (215)

  • phubbs1
    October 11, 2011
    phubbs1
    Excellent and long forgotten spoof from funny man Brooks, his version of a classic satire. Some excellent casting with his regular bunch of misfits and character actors...Chris Lloyd, Charles Durning, George Wyner, George Gaynes etc..Its quite a touching little plot too, but ulti... read moremately very funny and quite witty, especially loving Lloyd and Durning as nazi soldiers :)
  • moonrivers
    September 2, 2011
    moonrivers
    The Nazis march into Poland and that spells big trouble for the greatest musical comedy star there (and his wife) --- the premise itself is a joke in this mostly-for-the-fun-of-it remake. Its not the original, true, but its fun watching the cast have fun funning the idea of a ma... read morester race, all who are portrayed as anything but that. Sometimes the kraut accents sound as bad as your friends doing it and the sets look only a little better than that.
  • jjnxn
    November 14, 2009
    jjnxn
    Lighthearted remake of the classic Benny/Lombard film. Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft seem to be having lots of fun while handling the serious moments well. The supporting cast couldn't be better. A winner.
  • webalina
    July 13, 2009
    webalina
    Not even CLOSE to as good as the Jack Benny/ Carol Lombard original.
  • fb100001266995067
    March 11, 2012
    fb100001266995067
    Besides 12 chairs this is my least favorite Mel Brooks movie. It just didn't have that Mel Brooks spunk in it. Yes it had some funny quotes, e.g. "are they Jews or are they rabbits". But there were many recycled jokes from old films. It was still an OK movie
  • ileo
    October 15, 2008
    ileo
    A favorite! Great cast. Absolutely hilarious!
  • captainmorgan4
    October 15, 2008
    captainmorgan4
    Anne Bancroft atypically in a comic role and she was fantastic! The rest of the stellar cast was great, too!

View All To Be or Not to Be Reviews

Critic Reviews

Variety Staff
March 26, 2009
Variety Staff, Variety

Bancroft's sustained delights are not matched by Brooks, who seems to be trying too hard. Full Review

Roger Ebert
October 23, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Brooks combines a backstage musical with a wartime romance and comes up with an eclectic comedy that races off into several directions, usually successfully. Full Review

Vincent Canby
August 30, 2004
Vincent Canby, New York Times

Ssmashingly funny. Full Review

Dave Kehr
February 1, 2004
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

I can't remember another film that took so little care with the details of ambience: the cruddy sets and flat, underworked sound track drain any sense of life from the project. Full Review

May 23, 2011
TV Guide's Movie Guide

The plot is much the same as in the Ernst Lubitsch original, with everything played for laughs and Brooks at his funniest in impersonations of Nazis. What's missing is the relevance of the 1942 film, ... Full Review

June 24, 2006
Time Out

Johnson may not quite have Lubitsch's lightness of touch, but he puts an excellent cast through their paces with great verve, and the charm is as potent as ever. Full Review

Chuck O'Leary
October 9, 2005
Chuck O'Leary, FulvueDrive-in.com

A very well-executed farce, and Brooks' most underrated movie. Full Review

Ken Hanke
May 26, 2004
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Superfluous remake of the Lubitsch classic is OK on its own merits, but no more.

Christopher Null
May 20, 2004
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com

Kind of a dud. Full Review

Bob Bloom
May 1, 2004
Bob Bloom, Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

This movie has its moments; but it is not as funny as the Jack Benny original; Brooks for all his wit, is no Ernst Lubitsch.

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To Be or Not to Be Trivia

  • What movie did this quote come from? " To be, or not to be."  Answer »
  • Why shouldn?t people put old movies as questions? Many do not like Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings, but we answer them and they are relevant to film, so answer ours to make the quiz balanced.   Answer »
  • Which one of Ernest Lubitsch's classic comedies was remade in 80's with Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft as the leads?  Answer »
  • In Ethan Hawke's version of Hamlet (2000), where did he deliver the famous "To be or not to be" monologue?  Answer »
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