The Thirteen Chairs
| The Thirteen Chairs | |
|---|---|
 1986 Force Video VHS cover |
|
| Directed by | Nicolas Gessner Luciano Lucignani |
| Produced by | Claude Giroux Edward J. Pope |
| Written by | Antonio Altoviti Marc Behm Nicolas Gessner |
| Starring | Vittorio Gassman Sharon Tate Orson Welles |
| Music by | Stelvio Cipriani Carlo Rustichelli |
| Cinematography | Giuseppe Ruzzolini |
| Studio |
C.E.F. (Rome) and |
| Distributed by | Avco Embassy |
| Release date(s) | Italy (as 12 + 1): October 7, 1969 United States (as The Thirteen Chairs): May 1, 1970 |
| Running time | 94 min. |
| Language | English |
The Thirteen Chairs (Original title: 12 + 1) is a comedy film released in 1969. It was based on The Twelve Chairs, a 1928 satirical novel by the Soviet authors Ilf and Petrov. It was directed by Nicolas Gessner and Luciano Lucignani, and starred Sharon Tate (her last film before her murder), Vittorio Gassman, Orson Welles, Vittorio De Sica and Tim Brooke-Taylor. Most of it was filmed in Italy.
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
Mario Beretti (Vittorio Gassman) is an Italian-American and a young philanderer, who has migrated to New York City. He is also a Barber. He runs a Barber Shop by a construction site that boasts few customers. His life reaches a turning point when he is notified of the death of his aunt living in England, who named him her sole heir.
Mario rushes to England, and learns that his inheritance consists of thirteen antique chairs. He sells them in order to cover his transportation costs, but soon learns from his aunt's last message, that inside one of the chairs is a fortune in jewels.
He tries to buy back the chairs but is unsuccessful in doing so. With the help of a lovely antiques dealer living in London named Pat (Sharon Tate), the two then set out on a bizarre quest to track down the chairs that takes them from London to Rome. Along the way, they meet a bunch of equally bizarre characters such as a driver of a furniture moving van named Albert (Terry-Thomas), a prostitute named Judy (Mylène Demongeot), the leader of a traveling theater company that stages a poor version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Orson Welles), the Italian entrepreneur Carlo Di Seta (Vittorio De Sica), and his vivacious daughter Stefanella (Ottavia Piccolo).
The bizarre chase ends in Rome, where the chair containing the money finds its way into a truck, and is collected by nuns who auction it off to charity. With nothing much left to do as a result of the failure in his quest, Mario travels back to New York City by ship, as Pat sees him off and waves goodbye to him.
The film ends with Mario returning to New York City, and to his Barber Shop. His friends over at the other (and more lavish) shop join him, as do two construction workers, and his last customer Randomhouse (Lionel Jeffries). It is there that Mario makes a strange discovery: Shortly before his departure for Europe, he invented a way to make hair regrow miraculously. He then laughs evilly over his discovery.
[edit] Production and release
- Filmed from February–April 1969. [1]
- Because the script for Sharon Tate's scenes called for several semi-nude scenes, the director arranged to film those scenes first. As filming (and her pregnancy) progressed, the director obscured Tate's stomach with large purses and scarves. This is most apparent in the scene following her ride in the furniture mover's van.
- In response to her recent murder, Sharon Tate received top billing for this film (this film was released posthumously). In addition, several of her other films (including Valley of the Dolls) were reissued to give her top billing on the theater marquees.
- This film is extremely hard to find on VHS. It was released through rental only by Force Video in 1986 under the Thirteen Chairs name, and again a year later by Continental Video, under the original 12 + 1 name. On March 12, 2008, the film was released on DVD in Italy by 01 Distribution. This version is in Italian, lacks English subtitles, and doesn't include an English audio track.
[edit] Cast
- Sharon Tate as Pat
- Vittorio Gassman as Mario Beretti
- Orson Welles as Maurice Markau
- Vittorio De Sica as Carlo Di Seta - The Commendatore
- Terry-Thomas as Albert
- Mylène Demongeot as Judy
- Grégoire Aslan as Psychiatrist
- Tim Brooke-Taylor as Jackie
- John Steiner as Stanley Duncan
- William Rushton as Lionel Bennett
- Michele Borelli as Rosy
- Lionel Jeffries as Randomhouse
- Ottavia Piccolo as Stefanella Di Seta
- Catana Cayetano as Véronique
- Claude Berthy as François
- Marzio Margine as Pasqualino
- Alfred Thomas as Mbama
- Antonio Altoviti as Mr. Greenwood
[edit] Uncredited
- Marc Fiorini as Maurizio Fiorini
- Edda Albertini
- Luigi Bonos
- Alfredo Colzi
- Sandro Dori
- Tom Felleghy
- Piero Gerlini
- Fiona Lewis as 'Angel Antiques' Salesperson
- Joe Martinelli
- Corrado Olmi
- Mirella Pamphili
- Mimmo Poli
