The Twelve Chairs (1970)

Synopsis: A stylish, frantic fable and one of director Mel Brooks's earliest films, THE TWELVE CHAIRS is a madcap mystery set in revolutionary Russia. An aging ex-nobleman of the czarist regime, Count I.M.... A stylish, frantic fable and one of director Mel Brooks's earliest films, THE TWELVE CHAIRS is a madcap mystery set in revolutionary Russia. An aging ex-nobleman of the czarist regime, Count I.M. Vorobyaninov (Ron Moody), has finally adjusted to life under the commissars in Russia. But when both he and the local priest, Father Fyodor (Dom DeLuise), find out that a fortune in the count's family jewels is hidden in a chair's upholstery--the chair being one of a set of 12--they each separately return to Moscow to find the hidden fortune. Along the way, the count enlists the aid of a thief (Frank Langella) in the hilarious treasure hunt. Closer in style to THE PRODUCERS than many of Brooks' other spoofs, THE TWELVE CHAIRS is an overlooked comedy gem. DeLuise gives an uproarious performance in which he employs slapstick and physical humor liberally. There is a human side to this film, too, just as there was with Zero Mostel's character, Max Bialystock, in THE PRODUCERS, in the form of Moody's Vorobyaninov. Based on a Russian novel, THE TWELVE CHAIRS marries neurotic humor and cultural dilemmas in the same vein as classic Woody Allen films in later years. [More]

Starring: Mel Brooks, Frank Langella, Ron Moody, Bridget Brice

Starring: Mel Brooks, Frank Langella, Ron Moody, Bridget Brice, Dom DeLuise, Robert Bernal, David Lander, Andreas Voutsinas, Vlada Petric, Diana Coupland

Director: Mel Brooks

Director: Mel Brooks
Producer: Michael Hertzberg
Composer: John Morris, Jonathan Tunick

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