The Twelve Chairs (1970)

Director:

Mel Brooks

Writers:

Ilya Ilf (novel) and
Yevgeni Petrov (novel) ...

Release Date:

28 October 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

A wild and hilarious chase for a fortune in jewels.

Plot:

A treasure hunt. An aging ex-nobleman of the Czarist regime has finally adjusted to life under the commisars in Russia...

Plot Keywords:

Remake | Chase | 1920s | Con Artist | Furniture

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Ron Moody	...	Ippolit Vorobyaninov
Frank Langella	...	Ostap Bender
Dom DeLuise	...	Father Fyodor
Andréas Voutsinas	...	Nikolai Sestrin
Diana Coupland	...	Madame Bruns
David Lander	...	Engineer Bruns
Vlada Petric	...	Sevitsky
Elaine Garreau	...	Claudia Ivanova
Robert Bernal	...	Curator
Will Stampe	...	Night Watchman
Bridget Brice	...	Young Woman
Nicholas Smith	...	Actor in play
Rada Djuricin
Branka Veselinovic	...	Natasha
Miodrag 'Mladja' Veselinovic		(as Mladja Veselinovic)

Also Known As:

The 12 Chairs (USA) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Finland:K-3 (cinema release) (1983) | Singapore:PG | Finland:S | Sweden:11 | USA:GP (original rating) | USA:G

Filming Locations:

Adriatic Sea

Company:

Crossbow Productions

Trivia:

'Mel Brooks (I)' had problems with Yugoslavian extras who did not speak English. Some extras playing museum guards were to walk through the museum ringing a bell and shouting, "Closing time! Closing time!" The extras misunderstood and walked through the scene shouting "Cloakie Bye! Cloakie Bye!" Brooks decided "Cloakie Bye" was funnier, so he left it in the movie.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Ipolit and Bendor are running for the exit after breaking the last chair, the piece Ipolit is holding has a large crack in it. Yet when they run back in, the chair piece is intact.

Quotes:

Father Fyodor: A memento of your lovely home!
[to the family in Syberia, as he attempts to steal a chair, and they attempt to throw him out]

Movie Connections:

Remake of Eredità in Corsa, L' (1939)

Soundtrack:

Hope for the best, expect the worst

Who would guess that it comes from Mel Brooks?

Knowing that Mel Brooks usually makes the silliest movies possible, it's a surprise that he directed the lightweight comedy "The Twelve Chairs". It portrays a former Czarist (Ron Moody, happy birthday!) and a young soldier (Frank Langella) looking for some jewels hidden in chairs in the Soviet Union in the 1920s. I will say that not much really happens throughout much of the movie, but it is a famous part of Russian literature. I haven't read the novel, but the movie is worth seeing, if only as a look at Brooks's early career. Also starring Dom DeLuise and Brooks in a small role.

Epilepsy...