The Twelve Chairs (1970) Reviews

One of several film versions of the 1928 Russian novel The Twelve Chairs (one of the better-known adaptations was the 1945 Fred Allen vehicle It's in the Bag), Mel Brooks' movie is set in the years following the Bolshevik revolution. Onetime aristocrat Vorobyaninov (Ron Moody), now reduced to a humdrum clerical job, discovers that his family's fortune still exists. To keep their riches from falling into the hands of the revolutionaries, Vorobyaninov's family hid the loot in one of twelve chairs. Taking a crafty beggar (Frank Langella) into his confidence, Vorobyaninov returns to the ruins of his ancestral mansion to reclaim his fortune. Also chasing after the twelve chairs is an Orthodox priest (Dom DeLuise), who tells himself that he only wants the money to replenish his church. Alas, the chairs have been scattered to the four winds, sparking a film-length race to retrieve the furniture and claim the gold. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi