''The Twelve Chairs'' ( rus, Двенадцать стульев, Dvenadtsat stulyev) is a classic satirical novel by the
Odesan Soviet authors
Ilf and Petrov
Ilya Ilf (Ilya Arnoldovich Feinsilberg or russian: Илья Арнольдович Файнзильберг, 1897–1937) and Yevgeny Petrov (Yevgeniy Petrovich Katayev or russian: Евгений Петрович Катаев, 1902–1942 ...
, published in 1928. Its plot follows characters attempting to obtain jewelry hidden in a chair.
A sequel was published in 1931. The novel has been adapted to other media, primarily film.
Plot
![The Twelve Chairs monument in Odessa (Ukraine) 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/The_Twelve_Chairs_monument_in_Odessa_%28Ukraine%29_2.jpg)
In the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
in 1927, a former
Marshal of Nobility, Ippolit Matveyevich "Kisa" Vorobyaninov, works as the registrar of marriages and deaths in a sleepy provincial town. His mother-in-law reveals on her deathbed that her family jewellery was hidden from the
Bolsheviks
The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
in one of the twelve
chairs
A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...
from the family’s dining room set. Those chairs, along with all other personal property, were taken away by the
Communists
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a so ...
after the
Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...
. Vorobyaninov wants to find the treasure. The “smooth operator” and
con-man
A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibility, and greed. Researchers have de ...
Ostap Bender
Ostap Bender (russian: Остап Бендер; in ''The Twelve Chairs'' he called himself Ostap-Suleyman-Berta-Maria-Bender-Bey, in ''The Little Golden Calf'' he called himself Bender-Zadunaysky, in later novels he was also called Ostap Ibragimo ...
forces Kisa to become his partner, as they set out to find the chairs. Bender's street smarts and charm are invaluable to the reticent Kisa, and Bender comes to dominate the enterprise.
The "conсessioners" find the chairs, which are to be sold at
auction
An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ex ...
in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
. They fail to buy them and learn that the chairs have been split up for resale individually. Roaming all over the Soviet Union in their quest to recover the chairs, they have a series of comic adventures, including living in a students'
dormitory
A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...
with plywood walls, posing as bill painters on a
riverboat
A riverboat is a watercraft designed for inland navigation on lakes, rivers, and artificial waterways. They are generally equipped and outfitted as work boats in one of the carrying trades, for freight or people transport, including luxury un ...
to earn passage, bamboozling a village
chess
Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...
club with promises of an international tournament, and traveling on foot through the mountains of
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
. Father Fyodor (who had known of the treasure from the
confession
A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of persons – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information th ...
of Vorobyaninov's mother-in-law), their obsessed rival in the hunt for the treasure, follows a bad lead, runs out of money, ends up trapped on a mountain-top, and loses his sanity. Ostap remains unflappable, and his mastery of human nature eliminates all obstacles, but Vorobyaninov steadily deteriorates.
They slowly acquire each of the chairs, but no treasure is found. Kisa and Ostap finally discover the location of the last chair. Vorobyaninov murders Ostap to keep all the loot for himself, but discovers that the jewels have already been found and used to build the new public recreation center in which the chair was found, a symbol of the new society. Angered, Vorobyaninov loses his sanity.
Legacy
Sequel
Ostap Bender
Ostap Bender (russian: Остап Бендер; in ''The Twelve Chairs'' he called himself Ostap-Suleyman-Berta-Maria-Bender-Bey, in ''The Little Golden Calf'' he called himself Bender-Zadunaysky, in later novels he was also called Ostap Ibragimo ...
reappears in the book's sequel ''
The Little Golden Calf
''The Little Golden Calf'' (russian: Золотой телёнок, ''Zolotoy telyonok'') is a satirical novel by Soviet authors Ilf and Petrov, published in 1931. Its main character, Ostap Bender, also appears in a previous novel by the authors c ...
'', despite his
apparent death
Apparent death, colloquially known as playing dead, feigning death, or playing possum, is a behavior in which animals take on the appearance of being dead. It is an immobile state most often triggered by a predatory attack and can be found in a ...
in ''The Twelve Chairs''.
Adaptations
The novel has inspired at least twenty adaptations in the Soviet Union and abroad:
* The first cinematic adaptation of the novel is the joint Polish-Czech film ''
Dvanáct křesel
''The Twelve Chairs'' ( cs, Dvanáct křesel; pl, Dwanaście krzeseł) is a 1933 Czechoslovak-Polish comedy film directed by Martin Frič and Michał Waszyński freely based on the eponymous 1928 novel by Soviet authors Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Pet ...
'' (1933). The original plot was considerably altered, yet many following adaptations were primarily based on this film rather than on the novel itself (e.g., the former
marshal of nobility from the novel was replaced in the Polish-Czech film by a
barber
A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boys' hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a "barbershop" or a "barber's". Barbershops are also places of social interaction and publi ...
who then appeared in several later adaptations).
* In England, the book inspired the film ''
Keep Your Seats, Please
''Keep Your Seats, Please'' is a 1936 British comedy film directed by Monty Banks and starring George Formby, Florence Desmond and Alastair Sim. It marked the film debut of the child star Binkie Stuart. The film was made by Associated Talking ...
'' (1936), directed by
Monty Banks
Montague (Monty) Banks (18 July 1897 – 7 January 1950), born Mario Bianchi, was a 20th century Italian-born American comedian, film actor, director and producer who achieved success in the UK and the United States.
Career
Banks was born Mario ...
at
Ealing Studios
Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever s ...
and starring
George Formby
George Formby, (born George Hoy Booth; 26 May 1904 – 6 March 1961) was an English actor, singer-songwriter and comedian who became known to a worldwide audience through his films of the 1930s and 1940s. On stage, screen and record he s ...
. The action takes place in Britain and involves seven chairs, not twelve.
* In Nazi Germany, the film ''
Thirteen Chairs'' (1938) is based on the novel. However, the film does not credit the novel's authors.
*
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throug ...
's unfinished operetta ''
The Twelve Chairs
''The Twelve Chairs'' ( rus, Двенадцать стульев, Dvenadtsat stulyev) is a classic satirical novel by the Odesan Soviet authors Ilf and Petrov, published in 1928. Its plot follows characters attempting to obtain jewelry hidden ...
'' (1939) is based on the novel.
* In Hollywood, the comedy ''
It's in the Bag!
''It's in the Bag!'' is a 1945 comedy film featuring Fred Allen in his only starring film role. The film was released by United Artists at a time when Allen was at the peak of his fame as one of the most popular radio comedians. The film has been ...
'' (1945) starring
Fred Allen
John Florence Sullivan (May 31, 1894 – March 17, 1956), known professionally as Fred Allen, was an American comedian. His absurdist, topically pointed radio program ''The Fred Allen Show'' (1932–1949) made him one of the most popular and for ...
is very loosely based on the novel, using just five chairs.
* A Brazilian version called ''Thirteen Chairs'' (1957) stars comedians
Oscarito
Oscarito, stage name of Oscar Lorenzo Jacinto de la Inmaculada Concepción Teresa Diaz (August 16, 1906 – August 4, 1970) was a Spanish-Brazilian actor, considered to be one of the most popular comedians of Brazil.
Life
Born in a family of c ...
,
Renata Fronzi
Renata Mirra Ana Maria Fronzi (August 1, 1925 – April 15, 2008) was an Argentine-born Brazilian television and film actress. She was well known for her role as the character, Helena, in the Brazilian television show, '' Família Trapo''. '' ...
, and Zé Trindade. In this version, the main character, played by Oscarito, inherits his aunt's mansion, which is soon confiscated, leaving him with only 13 chairs. After selling them, he finds out that his aunt had hidden her fortune in the chairs. He then goes on a quest to get the chairs back.
*
Tomás Gutiérrez Alea
Tomás Gutiérrez Alea (; December 11, 1928 – April 16, 1996) was a Cuban film director and screenwriter. He wrote and directed more than twenty features, documentaries, and short films, which are known for his sharp insight into post-Revolu ...
made a Cuban version titled ''
Las Doce Sillas'' (1962) with
Reynaldo Miravalles
Reynaldo Agustín Miravalles de la Luz (22 January 1923 – 31 October 2016), known as Reinaldo Miravalles,http://www.estherenalgunaparte.com/reinaldo-miravalles-trabajando-de-nuevo-en-la-habana/ was a Cuban actor residing in Miami.
His birthplac ...
as Ostap. Set in a tropical context, in this version the hero "sees the light", becomes corrected and joins Cuban revolutionary youth in ''
zafra
Zafra () is a town situated in the Province of Badajoz (Extremadura, Spain), and the capital of the comarca of Zafra - Río Bodión. It has a population of 16,677, according to the 2011 census.
Zafra is the hometown of Fray Ruy Lopez, author ...
'' campaign (
sugar cane
Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks t ...
harvesting).
"Остап Бендер"
''Radio Liberty
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
'', transcript of a talk from cycle "Heroes of the Time", host:Петр Вайль, guests: culturologist Мариэтта Чудакова and actors Archil Gomiashvili
Archil Mikhaylovich Gomiashvili (russian: Арчи́л Миха́йлович Гомиашви́ли, ka, არჩილ მიხეილის ძე გომიაშვილი, March 23, 1926 – May 31, 2005) was a Soviet Georgian th ...
(Bender – 1971) and Sergey Yursky
Sergei Yurievich Yursky (russian: Серге́й Ю́рьевич Ю́рский, 16 March 1935 – 8 February 2019) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor, theatre director and screenwriter. His best known film role is Ostap Bender in '' T ...
(Bender – 1993)
* The story also served as the basis for the 1969 film ''The Thirteen Chairs
''The Thirteen Chairs'' (french: 12 + 1; it, Una su 13) is a 1969 comedy film directed by Nicolas Gessner and Luciano Lucignani and starring Sharon Tate, Vittorio Gassman and Orson Welles, and featuring Vittorio De Sica, Terry-Thomas, Mylène ...
'' starring Sharon Tate
Sharon Marie Tate Polanski (January 24, 1943 – August 9, 1969) was an American actress and model. During the 1960s, she played small television roles before appearing in films and was regularly featured in fashion magazines as a model and cover ...
.
* A Syrian TV series entitled ''Hamam al-Hana'' (1968) is based on the premise of this novel. It involves three guys looking for the hidden treasure (a stash of money) all over Damascus
)), is an adjective which means "spacious".
, motto =
, image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg
, image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg
, seal_type = Seal
, map_caption =
, ...
, with a chair for every episode. In the last episode, they find the right chair, but the treasure turns out to be old paper money which by then had become useless.
* Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks (born Melvin James Kaminsky; June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodies. He began h ...
made a version titled ''The Twelve Chairs
''The Twelve Chairs'' ( rus, Двенадцать стульев, Dvenadtsat stulyev) is a classic satirical novel by the Odesan Soviet authors Ilf and Petrov, published in 1928. Its plot follows characters attempting to obtain jewelry hidden ...
'' (1970), following the novel more closely, but with a happier ending. Frank Langella
Frank A. Langella Jr. (; born January 1, 1938) is an American stage and film actor. He has won four Tony Awards: two for Best Leading Actor in a Play for his performance as Richard Nixon in Peter Morgan's '' Frost/Nixon'' and as André in Flori ...
plays the part of Ostap Bender, Ron Moody
Ron Moody (born Ronald Moodnick; 8 January 1924 – 11 June 2015) was an English actor, composer, singer and writer. He was best known for his portrayal of Fagin in ''Oliver!'' (1968) and its 1983 Broadway revival. Moody earned a Golden Globe ...
plays Vorobyaninov, and Dom DeLuise
Dominick DeLuise (August 1, 1933 – May 4, 2009) was an American actor, comedian, director, producer, chef, and author. Known primarily for his comedic performances, he rose to fame in the 1970s as a frequent guest on television variety shows ...
plays Father Fyodor.
* In the 1970s, two adaptations were made in the USSR: a film in 1971 by Leonid Gaidai
Leonid Iovich Gaidai (russian: Леонид Иович Гайдай; 30 January 1923 – 19 November 1993) was a Soviet and Russian comedy film director, screenwriter and actor who enjoyed immense popularity and broad public recognition in the fo ...
with Archil Gomiashvili
Archil Mikhaylovich Gomiashvili (russian: Арчи́л Миха́йлович Гомиашви́ли, ka, არჩილ მიხეილის ძე გომიაშვილი, March 23, 1926 – May 31, 2005) was a Soviet Georgian th ...
as Bender and a miniseries
A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...
in 1976 by Mark Zakharov
Mark Anatolyevich Zakharov (russian: Марк Анатольевич Захаров; 13 October 1933 – 28 September 2019) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film director, screenwriter and pedagogue best known for his fantasy parable movies. He ...
with Andrei Mironov as Bender.
See also
* ''The Adventure of the Six Napoleons
"The Adventure of the Six Napoleons", one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is one of 13 stories in the cycle collected as ''The Return of Sherlock Holmes''. It was first published in ''Collier's'' in th ...
''
Notes
References
External links
* .
* at the Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Twelve Chairs
1928 Russian novels
Collaborative novels
Soviet novels
Russian novels adapted into films
Ukrainian novels adapted into films
Russian humour
Ukrainian humour
Ukrainian novels
Fiction set in 1927
Ilf and Petrov
Picaresque novels
Russian novels adapted into television shows
Russian satirical novels