Today, Fred Allen is practically forgotten. But, back in the heyday of radio, he was quite the star. Unfortunately, he never made much of a name for himself in movies or TV--mostly because he truly had a face for radio. In other words, he had a very sour and definitely unattractive visage--though he was very clever and funny.
The film begins exceptionally well. That's because Allen comes out and begins talking during the credits. He makes a lot of wisecracks about them and says quite correctly that no one really cares about all these people!! And then, he says that the only reason that a lot of the folks were in the film was because they were family and friends of the producer! It's all very cynical--the sort of stuff that you might expect from Fred Allen.
The plot is a variation on the Russian story by the same name by Ilf and Petrov. This story has been made in LOTS of different countries lots of different times. I've seen the Cuban version as well as Mel Brooks' famous version of the story. This Fred Allen one, however, is much further removed from the story than most--retaining only a bit of the original story. Most of it is new material--and the 5 (not 12) chairs seem more like a plot device--around which all the gags are written. And the film is jam-packed full of gags--ones that sometimes seem incredibly random! Several famous folks guest stars appear as themselves--including Jack Benny, William Bendix and Don Ameche. Character actors such as John Carradine, Sidney Toler and Jerry Colonna also appear in the film.
The film begins with a rich old guy dying--and someone helped him! Soon Fred learns that he's the sole heir and suddenly everybody loves him. However, when the will is read, he learns that the estate is bankrupt and all he'll get are five chair. He soon sells them--and almost immediately learns that there is $300,000 stuffed inside--as well as evidence to convict the folks who swindled the old man out of his $12,000,000. So, Allen and his family rush out to find the chairs...right? Well, no...there are LOTS of little vignettes that appear along the way that make it seem like a very leisurely search, that's for sure! Not all of them are all that funny, but they come so quickly that it seems to work anyway--and they are quite goofy. Trips to psychiatrists, the movie theater and fist fights. It's all very silly and a bit stupid--but on balance I think it's worth seeing.
The film begins exceptionally well. That's because Allen comes out and begins talking during the credits. He makes a lot of wisecracks about them and says quite correctly that no one really cares about all these people!! And then, he says that the only reason that a lot of the folks were in the film was because they were family and friends of the producer! It's all very cynical--the sort of stuff that you might expect from Fred Allen.
The plot is a variation on the Russian story by the same name by Ilf and Petrov. This story has been made in LOTS of different countries lots of different times. I've seen the Cuban version as well as Mel Brooks' famous version of the story. This Fred Allen one, however, is much further removed from the story than most--retaining only a bit of the original story. Most of it is new material--and the 5 (not 12) chairs seem more like a plot device--around which all the gags are written. And the film is jam-packed full of gags--ones that sometimes seem incredibly random! Several famous folks guest stars appear as themselves--including Jack Benny, William Bendix and Don Ameche. Character actors such as John Carradine, Sidney Toler and Jerry Colonna also appear in the film.
The film begins with a rich old guy dying--and someone helped him! Soon Fred learns that he's the sole heir and suddenly everybody loves him. However, when the will is read, he learns that the estate is bankrupt and all he'll get are five chair. He soon sells them--and almost immediately learns that there is $300,000 stuffed inside--as well as evidence to convict the folks who swindled the old man out of his $12,000,000. So, Allen and his family rush out to find the chairs...right? Well, no...there are LOTS of little vignettes that appear along the way that make it seem like a very leisurely search, that's for sure! Not all of them are all that funny, but they come so quickly that it seems to work anyway--and they are quite goofy. Trips to psychiatrists, the movie theater and fist fights. It's all very silly and a bit stupid--but on balance I think it's worth seeing.