Twelve Chairs (1971)

Two gentlemen of fortune from the times of Imperial Russia are looking for the uncountable treasure at the dawn of Soviet Union age.

Director:

Leonid Gaidai

Writers:

Ilya Ilf (novel), Yevgeni Petrov (novel)

Stars:

Archil Gomiashvili, Sergey Filippov, Mikhail Pugovkin

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Archil Gomiashvili	...	Ostap Bender
Sergey Filippov	...	Kisa Vorobyaninov
Mikhail Pugovkin	...	Father Fyodor
Natalya Krachkovskaya	...	M-me Gritsatsuyeva
Natalya Vorobyova	...	Ellochka Schukina
Glikeriya Bogdanova-Chesnokova	...	Yelena Stanislavovna Bowr
Nina Grebeshkova	...	Musik / Tsaritza Tamara
Yuriy Nikulin	...	Dvornik Tikhon
Natalya Varley	...	Liza
Klara Rumyanova	...	Katerina Alexandrovna, Father Fyodor's wife
Leonid Gaidai	...	Varfolomey Korobeynikov
Igor Yasulovich	...	Engineer Schukin
Georgiy Vitsin	...	Stage worker Mechnikov
Saveliy Kramarov	...	Chess club chairman
Viktor Pavlov	...	Kolya

Storyline

A former aristocrat Ippolit Vorobyaninov leads a miserable life in Soviet Russia. His mother-in-law reveals a secret to him - she hid family diamonds in one of the twelve chairs they once had. Vorobyaninov in cooperation with a young con artist Ostap Bender start a long search for the diamonds.

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Plot Keywords:

crook | russia | aristocrat | mother in law | con artist | 

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Taglines:

...it's finally been filmed by the country that couldn't stand the unauthentic version!

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Crime

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

Russian Lithuanian German Georgian French

Release Date:

2 November 1972 (USA)

Also Known As:

Twelve Chairs

Filming Locations:

Mosfilm Studios, Moscow, Russia

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mosfilm, Eksperimentalnoe Tvorcheskoe Obedinenie

Technical Specs

Runtime:

159 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Georgiy Daneliya was originally set to direct, but he yielded the job to Leonid Gaidai who wanted to direct the movie.

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Goofs

When Ostap and Ippolit Matveevich are trying to sneak onboard the steamer disguised as loaders, a jet contrail is visible in the upward shot.

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Crazy Credits

17 minutes before the ending there is an intertitle stating: There are 00 hours, 17 minutes and 19 seconds before the end of the film.

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Connections

Version of Treze Cadeiras (1957)

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Soundtracks

Serdze krasaviz
(uncredited)
written by Giuseppe Verdi

User Reviews

A nice treasure hunt

Gaidai's adaption of Ilf and Petrov's book is better than the 1977 version. Mironov is a good actor, but Archil Gomashvilli is better, though it is not his voice in the movie. Gaidai disliked his voice and asked another actor to do Gomashvilli's lines. That was met with great protest from Gomashvilli and they fought with Gaidai, thus starting a many year mute dispute. Pugovkin (father Fyodor) is also interesting in this role as the "compition" as Ostap calls him. This film is a must-see as here Gaidai once again shows off his talent for light comedy. And by the way, did you know that Karapeinikov (the person from whom Ostap bought the orders for the chairs) is actually Gaidai himself! Almost all Soviet viewers did not know and many still are not aware of this, that it is Gaidai himself there. A great movie!