THAT IS THE MOVIE!
Ernst Lubitsch’s 1942 film with the same title featured a Polish theater ensemble facing its biggest challenge when the Nazis take Warsaw. Some viewers may be surprised to find Mel Brooks involved in this remake, but it’s far from far-fetched. Just remember his previous efforts to neutralize evil by making fun of it, the way he did in The Producers (1968). It’s an enjoyable film and Charles Durning is hilarious as “Concentration Camp Erhardt”, but the slapstick scenes don’t sit well with more earnest sequences showing how Jews and homosexuals were persecuted by the Nazis.Â
1983-U.S. 108 min. Color. Produced by Mel Brooks. Directed by Alan Johnson. Cast: Mel Brooks (Frederick Bronski), Anne Bancroft (Anna Bronski), Charles Durning (Erhardt), Tim Matheson, José Ferrer, James Haake… Christopher Lloyd.
