Based on the popular Russian novel The Twelve Chairs, an old tycoon decides to leave his fortune to his only living heir, Fred Floogle (Fred Allen), a flea circus impresario, but the tycoon’s crooked attorney (John Carradine) and his old business partners kill the man and frame Fred for the murder. Fred discovers that part of the money and evidence clearing him is stuffed in one of the chairs he ended up selling in an auction to different buyers. The rest of the film goes off on any number of hilarious tangents, each tied-in ever so tenuously to the plot. The incredible cast includes comedy and screen legends Robert Benchley as Fred’s pompous in-law-to-be, Jerry Colonna as Fred’s live-in psychiatrist and Charlie Chan himself, Sidney Toler as a popcorn-munching detective on Fred’s tail - with guest-star appearances by Jack Benny, Don Ameche, William Bendix, Victor Moore and Rudy Vallee. Directed by Richard Wallace (The Fallen Sparrow).

1945
B&W
87 Minutes
Not Rated
1.37:1 Aspect Ratio