The Twelve Chairs **** (1970, Ron Moody, Frank Langella, Dom DeLuise, Diana Coupland, David Lander, Mel Brooks) – Classic Movie Review 4,133

Mel Brooks’s witty and amusing 1970 movie version of the classic Soviet satirical novel The Twelve Chairs stars Ron Moody as a poor Russian government clerk chasing a dozen similar dining seats, one of which has a fortune stashed in it.

Writer-director Mel Brooks’s engaging 1970 movie version of the much filmed 1920s classic Soviet satirical novel The Twelve Chairs by the Odessan Soviet authors Ilya Ilf and Yevgeni Petrov is sleek, witty and amusing.

Ron Moody stars as Ippolit Vorobyaninov, a poor dispossessed nobleman now working as a Russian government clerk, and the story follows his pursuit of The Twelve Chairs, a dozen similar dining seats, one of which has a fortune in family jewel gems stashed away in it. The witty and clever old story retains its great appeal here, and there are funny and energetic performances all round.

However, writer-director Brooks provides particularly good opportunities for Ron Moody to show his eccentric comic prowess and Dom DeLuise to be deliciously silly as Father Fyodor, a Russian orthodox priest, Vorobyaninov’s main opponent in the treasure hunt chase.

It is lovingly made by Brooks, who ensures that it is a particularly well-crafted movie. Djordje Nikolic’s cinematography and the Yugoslavian locations make it look especially handsome. It also features Frank Langella as Ostap Bender, Bridget Brice, Diana Coupland, David Lander, Robert Bernal, Andréas Voutsinas, Nicholas Smith and Mel Brooks himself as Tikon.

It is 1927, and Vorobyaninov is summoned to the deathbed of his mother-in-law, who reveals she had sewn the family’s jewels into the seat cushion of one of their 12 dining room chairs to stop the Bolsheviks getting them.

Homeless con-artist Ostap Bender (Frank Langella) meets Vorobyaninov and manipulates himself into a partnership in the search for the jewels. Vorobyaninov’s former servant Tikon (Mel Brooks) tells them 11 of the chairs were seized by the state after the Russian Revolution. Vorobyaninov returns to his former mansion home and discovers Father Fyodor (Dom DeLuise) trying to steal the remaining chair, which is torn open during a struggle, revealing nothing. 

It was previously filmed as Keep Your Seats, Please! in 1936 with George Formby and It’s in the Bag (1945) with Fred Allen.

The melody of Brooks’s theme song ‘Hope for the Best, Expect the Worst’ is based on the Hungarian Dance No. 4 in F# minor by Johannes Brahms. Anne Bancroft encouraged him to write the music as well as the lyrics and later at least one song for all his movies.

Brooks had problems with the non-English speaking Yugoslavian extras who were playing guards supposed to walk through a museum ringing a bell and shouting: ‘Closing time! Closing time!’ The extras shouted : ‘Cloakie Bye! Cloakie Bye!’ and Brooks left it in the movie for a laugh.

It was originally to star Alastair Sim (as Ippolit Vorobyaninov), Peter Sellers (as Father Fyodor) and Albert Finney as Ostap Bender. When Sellers dropped out before filming began, Brooks offered the role of Ippolit to Gene Wilder, who wanted to play Ostap instead. But Brooks refused to cast Wilder because Ostap is described in the novel as ‘devilishly handsome’.

Anne Bancroft introduced Brooks to the ‘devilishly handsome’ Frank Langella, who had worked with her on stage. Langella took Brooks to a showing of Oliver!, which starred Ron Moody as Fagin, and Langella told Brooks: ‘There’s your Vorobyaninov’. Bancroft saw Dom DeLuise on TV and recommended him to Brooks for Fyodor.

It is shot in Yugoslavia, mainly in the Belgrade region, including Dubrovnik, from 25 August to mid November 1969. Production began at Kosutnjak Studios in Belgrade, where Brooks was given a crew by the Yugoslav government who could not understand what Brooks was saying on set because he knew only English. Brooks relished his time in Yugoslavia and felt like he had come home, being of Russian Jewish descent, and called the filming of the movie a ‘great, great adventure’.

It was released on October 28, 1970.

Brooks considers The Twelve Chairs to be exceptional, ranking it with The Producers and Life Stinks as the movies he is most proud of having made, and one that more people should watch.

It is Brooks’s second film, following The Producers and preceding Blazing Saddles. There have been too few of Brooks’s films, just 11, and nothing since Dracula: Dead and Loving It in 1995.

The cast

The cast are Ron Moody as Ippolit Matveyevich Vorobyaninov, Frank Langella as Ostap Bender, Dom DeLuise as Father Fyodor, Andreas Voutsinas as Nikolai Sestrin, Diana Coupland as Madame Bruns, David Lander as Engineer Bruns, Vlada Petric as Sevitsky, Elaine Garreau as Claudia Ivanovna, Robert Bernal as Curator, Will Stampe as Night Watchman, Mel Brooks as Tikon.

Ron Moody (1924–2015).

Dom DeLuise (1933–2009).

Diana Coupland (1928–2006).

Nicholas Smith (1934–2015).

© Derek Winnert 2016 Classic Movie Review 4,133

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