To Be or Not to Be (1983 film)
| To Be or Not to Be | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Alan Johnson |
| Produced by | Mel Brooks |
| Written by | Ronny Graham Melchior Lengyel (story) Ernst Lubitsch (story) Edwin Justus Mayer (1942 screenplay) Thomas Meehan |
| Narrated by | Scott Beach |
| Starring | Mel Brooks Anne Bancroft Charles Durning |
| Music by | John Morris |
| Cinematography | Gerald Hirschfeld |
| Editing by | Alan Balsam |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release date(s) | December 16, 1983 |
| Running time | 107 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $9 million[1] |
| Box office | $13,030,214 |
To Be or Not to Be is a 1983 American comedy-drama film directed by Alan Johnson, produced by Mel Brooks with Howard Jeffrey as executive producer and Irene Walzer as associate producer. The screenplay was written by Ronny Graham and Thomas Meehan, based on the original story by Melchior Lengyel, Ernst Lubitsch and Edwin Justus Mayer. It is a remake of the 1942 film of the same title.[2]
The film starred Mel Brooks alongside his wife Anne Bancroft; Tim Matheson, Charles Durning, Christopher Lloyd, and José Ferrer also had starring roles.
This remake was extremely 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. Siletski, played by Stanley Ridges in the 1942 film, was here played by José Ferrer.
For his humorous performance as Colonel Erhardt, Charles Durning was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award.
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Cast [edit]
- Mel Brooks as Frederick Bronski
- Anne Bancroft as Anna Bronski
- 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
- Christopher Lloyd as S.S. Captain Schultz
- Jose Ferrer as Professor Siletski
- Charles Durning as S.S. Colonel Erhardt
- Tim Matheson as Lieutenant Andrei Sobinski
- 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
- Phil Adams as Airport sentry
- Curt Lowens as Airport officer
- Terence Marsh as Startled British officer
- Eda Reiss Merin as Frightened Jewish Woman
- Paul Ratliff as Naval officer
- Scott Beach - Narrator
Reception [edit]
The film was favorably reviewed by Vincent Canby in the New York Times, who called it "smashingly funny." [3]
However, the film was not a great commercial success, grossing only $13,000,000.[4]
References [edit]
- ^ Aubrey Solomon, Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History, Scarecrow Press, 1989 p260
- ^ To Be or Not to Be at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ Canby, Vincent. The New York Times film review, December 16, 1983. Last accessed: January 30, 2011.
- ^ Box Office Mojo web site. Last accessed: January 30, 2011.
External links [edit]
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