To Be or Not to Be

This remake of Ernst Lubitsch's wartime comedy has often been dismissed as a ham-fisted and unnecessary vanity exercise. This is grossly unfair, as the Brooks' version is in fact a deft and funny comedy that stands up well in comparison to its forebear. 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. When war breaks out the Bronskis become brood-hens to an ever-growing community of Jewish refugees while staying one step ahead of the Nazis. Brooks and Bancroft are fine in the roles of the battling Bronskis, particularly Mel Brooks who finds a touching level of vulnerability beneath the bombast and bluster of Frederick Bronski. Despite the farcical and improbable plot twists, the narrative is sound and genuine pathos registers throughout the film. 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.

This is one of those movies I grew up with, it having been a key cornerstone of my father's small VHS collection. This is probably the Mel Brooks movie I've seen the most, and like many films from my childhood, I haven't seen it in years. The movie was instantly recognizable and new all at once, and while it is a remake of an Ernst Lubitsch film of the same name from 1942 (a film I've seen once many moons ago and remember little of), I've always seen it as its own creation. It's also the one movie that Brooks has a role in that he didn't direct that I associate with him most fully, having handed off the directing duties to Alan Johnson, the choreographer Brooks had worked with on musical numbers all the way back to The Producers while retaining the producer credit under his Brooksfilms production company.

In Poland in the earliest days of World War II, the Bronski theatrical company tries to keep things moving along, ignoring the world-shattering events happening outside their doors in favor of simply entertaining their audience. Led by the husband and wife acting team, Frederick (Brooks) and Anna (Anne Bancroft, Brooks' wife), they can only keep the world out so long before the Polish Foreign Office sends an official to end their production of a bit called "Naughty Nazis" that pokes fun at Hitler, in order to not offend the German chancellor and give him grounds to invade Poland. Not that Hitler really needed offense because he rolls right over the border shortly thereafter, and the theatrical troupe is suddenly trying to operate under Nazi occupation.

During one of the final performances, a young Polish airman, Lieutenant Andrei Sobinski (Tim Matheson), after having sent dozens of roses to Anna, gets invited backstage and the two begin a very chaste love affair without Frederick's knowledge, brought to a sudden close when Sobinski must flee to England to join the Polish arm of the Royal Air Corps. In England, he discovers that the Voice for a Free Poland, Professor Siletski (Jose Ferrer), is actually a German spy who has collected names from the Polish underground with every intention of giving up those names to the Gestapo once he arrives in Warsaw the next evening. Airdropped into Poland, he finds shelter with Anna, and we have our mixture of dramatic and comic setups. On the one hand there's a ticking clock on finding a way to get the list of names from Siletski, and on the other hand there's Sobinski hiding away from the SS in Frederick's own bed.

The plot develops into a plan to trick Siletski into giving up the list to the actors and then giving useless names to the local SS Colonel Erhardt (Charles Durning). This involves a series of disguises for Frederick that take his acting ability to its furthest, all without an audience, providing Frederick with both opportunity for amusement and pathos as he reflects on the danger he keeps getting himself into and out of. In between all of this is Anna, catching the eye of every German officer and spy and using her appeal to help advance the overall plan. As it makes it to its finale, with the troupe of actors making their way to England using the skills of their pilot friend, there's tension and even a nice Highlight from The Merchant of Venice for Lupinsky.

The movie really is a combination of drama and comedy, but the drama is what holds most firmly. There are definitely funny bits throughout ranging from character-based humor to stuff that edges more into the outrageous, like the announcer at the beginning of the film saying that the rest of the film will be in English instead of Polish with Brooks and Bancroft reacting to the sound or Lupinsky (Lewis J. Stadlen) doing a Star of David over his chest like a Catholic doing a cross. Most of it is a smaller type of comedy, though, and I can see how that would disappoint fans of Brooks' more typical output. The one person who consistently edges into that type of comedy is Durning as Erhardt and Christopher Lloyd as Schultz, the colonel constantly on edge at being found out by higherups that he tells jokes about the Fuhrer, a role for which he was nominated for an Oscar, and Schultz always loyally following orders that Erhardt blames him for going badly.

Where I think the movie succeeds where Brooks more recent output had failed is that its actually a story. Essentially just replicating the original film by Lubitsch while finding room for Brooks and Bancroft to have some fun, it's an enjoyable film with obvious affection for its characters and the ability to find levels of pathos for major and even some minor characters while delivering laughs from time to time as well. On top of the functional story is funny stuff. Wipe away the funny stuff, and you still have something. However, the funny stuff is there and it's nice to have for sure. This may not be Brooks' finest hour on film, but it's a rather delightful take on familiar material.

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.

Actually, when interviewed about this movie, Mel Brooks said it was an homage to Jack Benny. And if you look, the Bronskis live on Kubelsky Street, Benny Kubelsky is Jack Benny's real name. There are many other touches that also show Brooks' love for the original. Anne Bancroft is a true treat. Her comedic talents shine, she was truly a rare actress, and will be missed.

It was well done, with Mel Brooksian flair, and respectful of the original. I won't add comments about the acting, there are so many pros and cons at this point, one more won't make a difference. But if you have some free time, see BOTH of the movies. It's not sacrilege to like them both.

I loved the Benny/Lombard version but Brookes and Bancroft are so personable you cannot help but love this. Durning was so funny and Christopher Lloyd was great....

I liked it.