571. THE GENIUS OF COMEDY ON FILM: MEL BROOKS' THE TWELVE CHAIRS

For his second feature film, Brooks adapted Ilya Lif and Yevgeny Petrov’s popular 1928 novel into a classic that vies with The Producers for high comedic energy and daring. Brooks, who regarded this neglected film as one of his finest, cast Frank Langella and Ron Moody as a pair of conmen vying with a priest, Father Fyodor, to recover a treasure in jewels hidden in one of twelve chairs. Shot in and around Belgrade and Dubrovnik, the film won a Best Supporting Actor award for Frank Langella from the National Board of Review, and for Mel Brooks a Writers Guild nomination for Best Adapted Comedy. A lively discussion will follow the screening.

Details:
The Genius of Comedy on Film: Mel Brooks' The Twelve Chairs
Professor Peter Josyph
1 session: Thursday, June 25
12:30 – 3:00 pm* 
Fee: $50

*Please be aware that this is a time change due to the Museum’s requirement for access to certain galleries for docent-led tours. We do apologize for any inconvenience.