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:

Hidden Fortune | Russia | Chair | Con Artist | Soviet Union

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 Ivanovna
Robert Bernal	...	Curator
Will Stampe	...	Night Watchman
Bridget Brice	...	Young Woman
Nicholas Smith	...	Actor in play
Rada Djuricin	...	Actress in play
Branka Veselinovic	...	Natasha
Miodrag 'Mladja' Veselinovic	...	Peasant (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:

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

Filming Locations:

Adriatic Sea

Company:

Crossbow Productions

Trivia:

Anne Bancroft encouraged Mel Brooks to write the music as well as the lyrics for "Hope for the best, expect the worst" and subsequently at least one song for all of his movies. She was 'like an angel on his shoulder' when it came to songwriting.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The chairs are supposed to be walnut which is a medium to dark-brown wood, but when they're broken a very pale wood is exposed.

Quotes:

Ippolit Vorobyaninov: You're not worth spitting on!
Father Fyodor: Oh yeah? Well, you are!
[spits]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Spaceballs: The Documentary (2005) (V)

Soundtrack:

Hope for the best, expect the worst

Expect the worst

"Hope for the best, expect the worst", as the title song goes, is exactly how I felt when I picked up my copy. Having read the original Russian novel and being a fan of Mel Brooks, I was curious how the two would come together. I was rather apprehensive, knowing how Russian literature usually suffers in translation, but hopeful that Brooks would somehow make something of it anyway. The film disappoints on both counts - there's precious little of the original in it, and Brooks isn't at his best here either. Moody is actually OK as Vorobyaninov, but the casting of Langella as Bender is just plain wrong, as he cannot possibly convey the depth and subtlety of the original character. Langella alone is enough to kill this film for anyone familiar with the book. None of the uproarious humor of the novel is anywhere to be found, while the few semi-funny visual gags are merely typical Brooks slapstick and have nothing to do with the source material. And even those aren't among Brooks' best. However, having expected the worst, I wasn't exactly disappointed. An OK little comedy, if you don't expect too much. If you want more, read the book.