To celebrate Mel Brooks’ birthday I watched Twelve Chairs. My favorite film is The Producers, the original version with Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder. I could probably repeat all of the dialog by heart and every once in a while “Prisoners In Love” pops into my head. I decided to watch Twelve Chairs since I had not seen the film in a number of years. I do remember years and years ago on Siskel and Ebert that one of the men stated the film was bittersweet. That really sums it up. It is based on a book and the opening song written by Mel Brooks is Hope for the Best (Expect the Worst). The same song that Gene Wilder plays to call the monster in Young Frankenstein is heavily featured in this film (at least it sounds the same to me).
The story takes place in Russia (USSR) in 1927. A woman is dying. She wants a priest, Dom Deluise and her son-in-law, Ron Moody. She tells her son-in-law that she “in the dining room suite before the revolution she put jewelry, diamonds sewn into one of the chairs”. She dies. Ron then goes to his old house, a large estate to find the chairs. He goes into the basement where he sees his old servant Mel Brooks. Mel has a man with him, Frank Langella (a con man) who was looking for a bed for the night. Frank gets Ron to tell him what he is hiding and Frank gets involved.
Chair 1 (Estate) - A woman runs out of the estate with a chair. Ron chases her all around the countryside. He discovers the woman is actually the priest in a dress. They rip open the chair cover, no jewels. Dom is given false information and tracks down 11 chairs to Siberia. The couple refuse to give up the chairs.
Chair 2-6 (museum) - The other chairs are tracked town at a museum in Moscow. 7 chairs are taken out, 4 are enough to convey the period. After closing Frank and Ron rip apart the 4 chair covers. No jewels.
Chair 7-8 (Columbus Repertory Co) - The chairs are sold/given to a theater house. 6 go onto the truck and 1 is taken by a man and they loose him at the train station. They get hired on with the troop who are performing on a boat and check 2 chairs. Ron gets them kicked off the boat when he can’t perform. He enters and exits at the same time. Dom tracks down the couple to where they have relocated. He gets the chairs and has them taken to the beach. He destroys all 11 chairs and he can’t believe what has happened. The beach is lettered with the remains.
Chair 9-10 (Columbus Repertory Co) - A staff member of the theater troop steals and sells theater property. He sells 2 of the chairs. In order to get money Ron pretends to have a seizer to get money from people in the street. No jewels.
Chair 11 (circus) - an acrobat purchases the chair. The man uses it as part of his high wire act. Ron climbs up the ladder and walks the rope to get the chair away from him. As he is running outside with the chair, Dom is on the ground praying for help. He then chases after Ron. Frank stops Ron and they fight. Dom then grabs the chair and runs. Ron & Frank run after him. Dom runs up a stone hill. Dom pulls apart the cushion. No jewels.
Chair 12 (railway workers home of recreation) - they go back to Moscow to find the chair that was lost at the train station. There is an opening ceremony at a new Railway Workers Home of Recreation. They go in for a free buffet and see the chair. Others come into the room so they have to wait. That night they sneak into the building and tear into the seat. No jewels.
The jewels were found 4 months prior in the old recreation center and used to build up the new center. Ron screams and starts to destroy the room. He knocks over a policeman and the men leave, jumping onto a horse with Ron still carrying the back of the twelfth chair. They wonder the streets. Frank states they have to split up since they have no money. Frank walks away. Ron throws the chair away and pretends to have a seizer. A crown gathers and Frank talks the crowd into giving him money.
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