To Be or Not to Be - A 1983 Film Directed by and Starring Mel Brooks with Ann Bancroft - inspired by the 1938 Film by Ernst Lubitsch

 To Be or Not to Be - A 1983 Film Directed by and Starring Mel Brooks with Ann Bancroft - by the 1938 Film by Ernst Lubitsch 

"When "To Be or Not To Be" was originally made, by Ernst Lubitsch in 1942, the Nazis were in Poland, which gave a certain poignancy to every funny line. Lubitsch's stars were Jack Benny and Carole Lombard, both specialists in underplaying. Brooks and Bancroft go in the opposite direction, cheerfully allowing farce, slapstick, pratfalls and puns into the story, until the whole movie seems strung together like one of the revues in Bronski's theater." Roger Ebert

It has been at least 30 years since I last watched the 1983 remake of To Be or Not to Be by Mel Brooks, I had never yet heard of Ernst Lubitsch.

I really liked the 1967 version of the Producers and Blazing Saddles i saw earlier in the month so I was confident I would like today's movie. And I did,

The movie starts in Warsaw about 1939, just before the Germans invade Poland. Everything centers on a theatrical group. The main figures in the company are Joseph Bronski(Mel Brooks) and his Wife Anna (Carole! Lombard).

I do not wish to reveal the plot to first time viewers so I will just make a few observations.

The on screen chemistry between Ann Bancroft and Mel Brooks, her husband is marvelous.  The depiction of life in a theater company brought to life the characters, egos, and cultural conflicts involved.  Brooks is a master at making even Nazis funny.  Gestapo headquarters is scary.  The trick the theatrical company plays on the Nazis was so much fun to watch. The ending is gratifying