The Twelve Chairs

"A wild and hilarious chase for a fortune in jewels."

1970 1h 34m EN

😐

6.2

MID

★6.2TMDB · 158

ComedyDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In 1920s Soviet Russia, a fallen aristocrat, a priest and a con artist search for a treasure of jewels hidden inside one of twelve dining chairs, lost during the revolution.

“A wild and hilarious chase for a fortune in jewels.”

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Cast

Ron Moody
Ippolit Vorobyaninov
Frank Langella
Ostap Bender
Dom DeLuise
Father Fyodor
Andréas Voutsinas
Nikolai Sestrin
Diana Coupland
Diana Coupland
Mel Brooks
Tikon
David Lander
Engineer Bruns
Vlada Petrić
Sevitsky

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Mel Brooks
Writers: Mel Brooks
Languages: Russian, English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

56 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Russian, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Mel Brooks, shot by Đorđe Nikolić. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by John Morris. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Alan Heim shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Ron Moody and Frank Langella and Dom DeLuise carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A wild and hilarious chase for a fortune in jewels.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Mel Brooks directs. Đorđe Nikolić behind the camera. John Morris scores. Alan Heim cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in Russian, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
256 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Russian, English.
4Directed by Mel Brooks, shot by Đorđe Nikolić. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by John Morris. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Alan Heim shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Ron Moody and Frank Langella and Dom DeLuise carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "A wild and hilarious chase for a fortune in jewels.".
9IMDB entry: tt0066495 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Đorđe Nikolić
Original score: John Morris
Editing: Alan Heim
Production design: Miodrag Nikolić
Makeup / hair: George Partleton
Sound: Dick Vorisek
Runtime: 94 min · 1h 34m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,500,000
Box office: $1,806,258
Return: 120% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): G
IMDB: The Twelve Chairs (1970)

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Mel Brooks

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What people are saying

tiailds2016-01-16
★ 4/10
For a Mel Brooks movie, far from the best. For a 60-70's comedy, I've definitely seen better. A poor man's Mad Mad Mad Mad World. "Was it interesting?" That was the best part. The story is complex, characters were developed with reasonable motivations. It's just the transition to a movie that didn't really do it justice. 1.5 out of 3 "Was it entertaining?" The comedy was slightly humorous in parts, but mostly predictable or too drawn out. 1 out of 3 "Was it memorable?" The locations were pretty well done, and the acting was better than the dialog. The problem is that pacing was so slow I almost fell asleep 2/3 through and was wanting to fast-forward in the last 5 minutes. 1 out of 3 1.5+1+1=3.5+1(default 1)=4.5 Round up or down for overall feeling and this feels like a 4. This is not a movie I would want to see and felt like my time was somewhat wasted.

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