The Producers / The 12 Chairs

THE PRODUCERS, 1968, Rialto, 88 min. Mel Brooks’ directorial debut follows two Broadway producers -- con man Zero Mostel and sheepish Gene Wilder -- deciding to get rich by selling shares in what will be a guaranteed flop, and is one of the funniest comedies of the 1960s. The pair’s production “Springtime For Hitler” becomes a so-bad-it’s-good hit, and their designs on big time wealth comically crumble. Watch for Dick Shawn as the jive-taking Fuehrer.

THE TWELVE CHAIRS, 1970, MGM Repertory, 94 min. Brooks' second film as director is a laugh-filled period piece with Ron Moody as an impoverished Russian aristocrat in search of a dining chair with jewels hidden in the seat, and Dom DeLuise is his rival in hot pursuit. With Frank Langella.