The Twelve Chairs (1970)

The least-seen gem in the filmography, and the biggest surprise. It is not a parody at all but a period comedy adapted from Ilf and Petrov's 1928 Soviet novel: in 1927 Russia, a fallen aristocrat, a con man and a priest race each other to find jewels hidden inside one of twelve dining chairs scattered by the revolution. Ron Moody, Frank Langella and Dom DeLuise lead, Brooks pops up as the servant Tikon, and the film was shot mainly around Belgrade. It is closer to a melancholy fable than a gag machine, which makes it a poor first watch and a rewarding later one, once you want to see what Brooks could do when he slowed down.