Duck Soup (1933) Pages: ( 1 ) ( 2 ) ( 3 ) Background The Marx Brothers' greatest and funniest masterpiece - the classic comedy Duck Soup (1933) is a short, but brilliant satire and lampooning of blundering dictatorial leaders, Fascism and authoritarian government. The film, produced by Herman Mankiewicz, was prepared during the crisis period of the Depression. Some of its clever gags and routines were taken from Groucho's and Chico's early 1930s radio show Flywheel, Shyster & Flywheel. Working titles for the film included Oo La La, Firecrackers, Grasshoppers, and Cracked Ice. It was the Marx Brothers' fifth film in a five-picture contract with Paramount Studios, before they went on to MGM. It was their last and best film with the studio.

The film was directed by first-class veteran director Leo McCarey (who would go on to direct The Awful Truth (1937) , Love Affair (1939), Going My Way (1944), and An Affair to Remember (1957) - a remake of his 1939 film), and its screenplay was written by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby (with additional dialogue by Arthur Sheekman and Nat Perrin). Originally, it was to have been directed by Ernst Lubitsch. The film was devoid of any Academy Award nominations. The outrageous film was both a critical and commercial failure at the time of its release - audiences were taken aback by such preposterous political disrespect, buffoonery and cynicism at a time of political and economic crisis, with Roosevelt's struggle against Depression in the US amidst the rising power of Hitler in Germany. (This film quote, spoken by Groucho, was especially detested: "And remember while you're out there risking life and limb through shot and shell, we'll be in here thinking what a sucker you are.") Insulted by the film, fascist Italian dictator Mussolini banned the film in his country.

Fortunately, the film was rediscovered by a generation of 1960s college students, and by revival film festivals and museum showings. As a result, the film has attained immortal status. This was the last of the Marx Brothers films to feature all four of the brothers. Their next film (without Zeppo), for MGM and its producer Irving Thalberg, Hollywood's most prestigious studio, was their landmark film A Night at the Opera (1935) , with a more developed and polished plot-line. The irrepressible comedians in this quintessential anarchic, satirical film simply but irreverently attack the pomposity of small-time governmental leaders (Firefly as President), the absurdity of government itself (the Cabinet meeting scene), governmental diplomacy (the Trentino-Firefly scenes), an arbitrary legal system (Chicolini's trial), and war fought over petty matters (the mobilization and war scenes).

The non-stop, frenetic film is filled with a number of delightfully hilarious moments, gags, fast-moving acts, double entendres, comedy routines, puns, pure silliness, zany improvisations, quips and insult-spewed lines of dialogue - much of the comedy makes the obvious statement that war is indeed nonsensical and meaninglessly destructive, especially since the word 'upstart' was the insult word (Ambassador Trentino called Firefly an 'upstart') that led to war between the two countries. It also contains a few of their most famous sequences: the lemonade seller confrontation the mirror pantomime sequence The mirror routine, contributed by McCarey, had been used by Charlie Chaplin in The Floorwalker (1916) and by Max Linder in Seven Year's Bad Luck (1921). It was later replicated in a Bugs Bunny cartoon, re-enacted by Harpo with Lucille Ball on a 1950's "I Love Lucy" show episode, and also appeared as part of the opening credits for the 60s TV series "The Patty Duke Show".

Actor/director Woody Allen paid homage to the film in his Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) - with an excerpt from the musical number "The Country's Going to War." While attending an afternoon screening of Duck Soup at his local repertory movie theater, one of the film's characters - a depressed and neurotic NY Jew named Mickey Sachs (played by Allen himself), who is afraid of disease and dying - experiences a climactic epiphany that life was meant to be enjoyed, by narrating: "And I started to feel how can you even think of killing yourself? I mean, isn't it so stupid?..." Unlike many of their other features, there are no romantic subplots (with Zeppo) and no musical interludes that stop the film's momentum - no harp solos for Harpo and no piano solos for Chico.

There are, however, a couple of musical numbers that are perfectly integrated into the plot: When the Clock on the Wall Strikes Ten Groucho's song with the chorus - the Freedonia Hymn Just Wait 'Til I Get Through With It the staged production number, The Country's Goin' to War (it was the only musical number in any of their films to feature all four of the brothers together) Why the title Duck Soup? [Earlier in 1927, director Leo McCarey had made a two-reel Laurel and Hardy film with the same title - and he borrowed the title from there.] The film's title uses a familiar American phrase that means anything simple or easy, or alternately, a gullible sucker or pushover. Under the opening credits, four quacking ducks (the four Marx Brothers) are seen swimming and cooking in a kettle over a fire. Groucho reportedly provided the following recipe to explain the title: "Take two turkeys, one goose, four cabbages, but no duck, and mix them together.

After one taste, you'll duck soup for the rest of your life." The Story The film opens with the flag of Freedonia (emblazoned with an "F") flying over the small village. The government of a "mythical kingdom" - the Balkan state of Freedonia, is suffering an emergency. It has gone bankrupt through mismanagement and is on the verge of revolution. The country's richest dowager millionairess, the wide and widowed benefactress Mrs. Gloria Teasdale (Margaret Dumont in a welcome return as the perfect foil for Groucho) has offered $20 million to sponsor and support the cash-poor government, but only if it is placed under new leadership: The government has been mismanaged. I will lend the money, but only on condition that His Excellency withdraw and place the government in new hands. The opening scene is the classic inaugural ceremony and lawn party for the conferring of the Presidency of the tin-pot republic to a newly-appointed leader, Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho Marx), characterized by a supportive Mrs.

Teasdale as "a progressive, fearless fighter." She vows: "I will lend the money to Freedonia only if Firefly is appointed leader." Headlines in the Freedonia Gazette read: "FIREFLY APPOINTED NEW LEADER OF FREEDONIA." A sub-article reads: "Mammoth Reception Arranged to Welcome Nation's Leader Tonight - Selection of Rufus T. Firefly Greeted with Cheers of Freedonians." In the coronation setting (a spoof of all such gala events), royal court guards at the entry announce the guests. Meanwhile, the representative of the neighboring Sylvania [the name of the country where Jeanette MacDonald ruled in Ernst Lubitsch's The Love Parade (1929)], Ambassador and rival suitor Trentino (Louis Calhern), schemes to win Mrs. Teasdale's hand in marriage by wooing the rich heiress (with the ultimate goal of annexing Freedonia to Sylvania).

He has hired the seductive, sultry, and sinuous Latin temptress/dancer Vera Marcal (Raquel Torres), who wears a low-cut, revealing gown, to function as a secret agent and keep Firefly distracted [in a satire of all Mata Hari films]: Trentino: I've given up the idea of a revolution. I have a better plan...I can gain control of Freedonia much easier by marrying Mrs. Teasdale. Vera: Ha, ha, ha. Maybe that's not going to be so easy...From what I hear, you see, Mrs. Teasdale is rather sweet on this Rufus T. Firefly. Trentino: Oh, well that's where you come in. I'm going to place him in your hands. And I don't have to tell you what to do or how to... Firefly's secretary Bob Rolland (Zeppo Marx, in his LAST Marx Bros. film) arrives and assures Mrs.

Teasdale, in song, that the absent statesman will appear "When the Clock on the Wall Strikes Ten." When the clock on the wall does strike ten, pretty dancing girls scatter rose petals and kneel in homage between an impressive lineup of helmeted, sword-bearing guards along the entrance way with swords uplifted. The assembled audience sings the national anthem "Hail, Hail Freedonia," but Firefly isn't anywhere in sight. After a long pause and a trumpeters' fanfare, the anthem is sung a second time and all the guests look toward the entrance, but Firefly still fails to enter. Suddenly, in an upstairs bedroom, the ringing of an alarm clock is heard, and Firefly appears in bed with a nightshirt, nightcap, and cigar. He quickly removes his nightshirt to reveal a suit, and slides down an unlikely fireman's pole into the spacious ballroom hall. He takes his place in the line-up with his own honor guard at the end of the ceremonial line, joining them to wait for his own arrival and holding out his cigar with their swords. He asks one of the guards: "You expecting somebody?" Mrs.

Teasdale notices him and welcomes him (with understatement), and attempts to impose some degree of dignity upon the proceedings, but he assaults her with insults by skipping from non-sequitur association to another: Mrs. Teasdale: Oh, your Excellency. We've been expecting you. As chairwoman of the reception committee, I extend the wishes of every man, woman, and child of Freedonia. [Notice the continuity error: Firefly's coat has changed from a formal black tuxedo coat with tails, to a gray coat with black edging.] Firefly: Never mind that stuff. Take a card. Mrs. Teasdale: Card? What will I do with the card? Firefly: You can keep it. I've got fifty-one left. Now what were you saying? Mrs. Teasdale: As chairwoman of the reception committee, I welcome you with open arms. Firefly (snapping back): Is that so? How late do you stay open? Mrs. Teasdale (with high regard): I've sponsored your appointment because I feel you are the most able statesman in all Freedonia. Firefly (insulting her): Well, that covers a lot of ground. Say!

You cover a lot of ground yourself. You'd better beat it. I hear they're gonna tear you down and put up an office building where you're standing. You can leave in a taxi. If you can't get a taxi, you can leave in a huff. If that's too soon, you can leave in a minute and a huff. You know, you haven't stopped talking since I came here. You must have been vaccinated with a phonograph needle. She begs him to lead Freedonia to the same heights it occupied when her late husband Chester V. Teasdale was President: "The future of Freedonia rests on you. Promise me you will follow in the footsteps of my husband." Firefly looks straight into the camera, and in his first major line rudely insults his most ardent supporter: How do you like that? I haven't been on the job five minutes and already she's making advances to me. Then he engages the widowed Mrs. Teasdale in an insult-ridden conversation, but quickly covers up his insults and shamelessly flirts with her when he realizes she is a widow with money: Firefly: Not that I care, but where is your husband? Mrs.

Teasdale: Why, he's dead. Firefly: I'll bet he's just using that as an excuse. Mrs. Teasdale: I was with him to the very end. Firefly: Hmmph. No wonder he passed away. Mrs. Teasdale: I held him in my arms and kissed him. Firefly: Oh, I see. Then, it was murder. Will you marry me? Did he leave you any money? Answer the second question first. Mrs. Teasdale: He left me his entire fortune. Firefly: Is that so? Can't you see what I'm trying to tell you? I love you. Mrs. Teasdale: Oh, your Excellency! Firefly: You're not so bad yourself. [Firefly's coat reverts back to the black tuxedo here.] When Firefly is introduced to the sleek, impeccably tailored Trentino, Ambassador from rival Sylvania, he immediately insults him a few times, calling him an "old skinflint": Mrs. Teasdale: Oh, I want to present to you Ambassador Trentino of Sylvania. Having him with us today is indeed a great pleasure.

Trentino: Thank you, but I can't stay very long. Firefly: That's even a greater pleasure. Now, how about lending this country $20,000,000 dollars, you old skinflint. Trentino: $20,000,000 dollars is a lot of money. I'd have to take that up with my Minister of Finance. Firefly: Well, in the meantime, could you let me have $12 dollars until payday? Trentino: $12 dollars? Firefly: Don't be scared. You'll get it back. I'll give you my personal note for 90 days. If it isn't paid by then, you can keep the note. Trentino: Your Excellency? Haven't we seen each other somewhere before? Firefly: I don't think so. I'm not sure I'm seeing you now. It must be something I ate. Trentino (insulted): Look here Sir, are you trying to...? Firefly: Don't look now, but there's one man too many in this room, and I think it's you.

Then, the new Freedonian President meets a "very charming lady," the seductive "famous dancer" Vera, still wearing a slinky evening gown displaying her bosom. Overwhelmed by her appearance, he shows off a number of his own ridiculous dance steps: "I danced before Napoleon. No, Napoleon danced before me. In fact, he danced two hundred years before me." When she seductively suggests dancing with him some time later, he tells her: I could dance with you till the cows come home. On second thought, I'd rather dance with the cows when you came home. Firefly dictates a letter to his dentist in the middle of the inauguration. Mrs. Teasdale congratulates him on his coronation and sovereignty: "The eyes of the world are upon you. Notables from every country are gathered here in your honor. This is a gala day for you." He replies: "Well, a gal a day is enough for me. I don't think I could handle any more." In the song and dance number, "Just Wait 'Til I Get Through With It," Firefly specifies the rules and program planned for his preposterous administration.

He threatens, as a repressive, dictatorial ruler, to abuse his power, to be rude, obnoxious, irresponsible, insulting, cynical, and power-mad, ruining the country. [The last verse featured a dirty joke and managed to evade the censors.] Between verses, he plays a "Yankee Doodle" fife and dances around among the guests: These are the laws of my administration No one's allowed to smoke Or tell a dirty joke And whistling is forbidden... Duck Soup (1933) | The Film Spectrum Producer: Herman J. Mankiewicz (Paramount) Writers: Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby (screenplay) Photography: Henry Sharp Music: John Leipold Cast: Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, Zeppo Marx, Margaret Dumont, Raquel Torres, Louis Calhern, Edmund Breese, Leonid Kinskey, Charles Middleton, Edgar Kennedy Introduction Their careers began over a century ago, as a family vaudeville act in New York. Yet the very mention of the phrase “Marx Brothers” has become cultural shorthand for comic genius and a reminder that good comedy never stales.

Yes, they were all actual brothers, and yes, there were as many as five: Groucho, Harpo, Chico, Zeppo and Gummo, though the lattermost left the act before the group started making films in 1926. “By the time the Marx Brothers were on film, they were doing routines that they had perfected on stage for years and years on the vaudeville circuit, so they really knew what they were doing,” writer/director Andrew Bergman says. “They just took everything apart.” In all, the siblings made 16 pictures together through 1957, and as the wisecracking standout, Groucho enjoyed a solo career that stretched into the ’60s. But of all the films they made, none was more influential or more hilarious than their 1933 flop Duck Soup, their last at Paramount, and last with Zeppo, a film grossly under-appreciated in its day, but quite simply one of the finest comedies ever made. Plot Summary The film takes place in the fictional country of Freedonia, a miniscule place barely seen on a map.

The nation faces grave bankruptcy and can only be saved by the contribution of wealthy widow Gloria Teasdale (Margaret Dumont), who insists the current prime minister step down in favor of Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho Marx). Of course, it isn’t exactly the best time for Firefly to take over. Freedonia is on the brink of war with neighboring Sylvania. But take over he does, while his assistant, Bob Roland (Zeppo Marx), warns about the suspicious motives of Sylvanian ambassador Trentino (Louis Calhern), who’s secretly trying to take over Freedonia by marrying Mrs. Teasdale. Trentino sends two spies, Pinky (Harpo Marx) and Chicolini (Chico Marx), to gather intelligence on Firefly. Later, he sends them to Mrs. Teasdale’s home to steal Freedonia’s war plans, only for Firefly to catch them red-handed. Controlled Chaos The appeal of watching the Marx Bros. is the sense that anything can happen at any time, whether it’s Harpo rising out of a bathtub, or a doghouse tattoo turning into a real barking dog .

The final war sequence is absolute frenzy with Groucho wearing five different uniforms as he dodges explosions and heat-seeking missiles through the window, Harpo’s hat spinning around from machine-gun fire, and a priceless “help is on the way” montage, where the cavalry arrives in the form of fire engines, motorcycle cops, marathon runners, rowers, swimmers, baboons, elephants and dolphins. While some of the visuals appear dated, they are nonetheless ambitious. And who better to organize this controlled chaos than director Leo McCarey? Between 1926-1929, McCarey served as Laurel and Hardy’s “supervisor.” He says that meant “writing the story, cutting it, stringing the gags together, coordinating everything, screening the rushes, working on the editing, sending out the prints, working on the second editing when the preview reactions weren’t good enough and even, from time to time, shooting sequences over again.” (E) With Laurel and Hardy already under his belt, and the screwball comedy The Awful Truth (1937) on the horizon, McCarey was at the prime of his career to attempt the Marx Brothers. Yet even he admits he felt overwhelmed by them.

(E) It may be fun to imagine what would have happened if the film’s original director, Ernst Lubitsch, stayed on, but McCarey does a more than admirable job. As critic David Thomson says, of all the Marx Brothers films, “Duck Soup alone suggests a director: its humor is better organized, and its satire on war more serious.” (E) Watch the way the director helps bring forth the comedy, as with a slow pan past pairs of shoes at the foot of a bed. We see a man’s shoes, a woman’s shoes, then a set of horse shoes, as we cut to see the woman in a separate bed while Harpo shares a bed with the horse (hello Godfather). Duck Soup also features McCarey’s signature mark, the patented “slow burn,” where a clown figure takes a while to realize the disaster befalling him. (E) Here, it comes as Harpo and Chico agitate the shit out of Edgar Kennedy at a peanut stand, lifting their legs up into his hands, stealing his hat, and culminating with the literal presentation of the “slow burn” — Kennedy’s hat in flames behind him.

Kennedy benefited so much from the film that he went on to star in a 1942 short of his own, also called Duck Soup. Script Du Jour So why the title? “Duck soup” was once a common phrase for “gullible sucker,” which would more than accurately describe Kennedy at the hands of the Marxes. Groucho offered an alternate explanation: “Take two turkeys, one goose, four cabbages, but no duck, and mix them together. After one taste, you’ll duck soup the rest of your life.” (B) You could also say the title refers to the sound made by Harpo’s horns, recalling Rodney Dangerfield’s Caddyshack line: “Did somebody step on a duck?” In reality, McCarey pulled the title from his own 1927 Laurel and Hardy two-reeler. (B) The title is just the beginning of a crazy script by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby, who had previously worked with the Marxes on the play Animal Crackers and the screenplay for Horse Feathers (1932).

Ironically, both eventually gave up screenwriting, in 1949 and 1952, respectively, and turned to songwriting instead, sharing an Oscar nomination with Oscar Hammerstein II for “A Kiss to Build a Dream On” in The Strip (1951). But when they were still writing dialogue for the Marx Bros., Kalmar and Ruby were unreal. It was their Animal Crackers that provided Groucho with the most famous line of his career — “One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas, I don’t know” — voted #53 on the AFI’s 100 Movie Quotes . While Duck Soup doesn’t land any quotes on that list, it has the deepest supply of one-liners in Marx Bros. history, so much so that McCarey later lamented that he may have relied on them too heavily. (E) There are honestly more witty lines in five minutes of Duck Soup than there are in most two-hour comedies. To totally register just how funny Groucho is, you almost have to hit pause in between every time he speaks. That’s how fast the jokes come.

And no matter what’s on the page, Groucho’s delivery, with signature cigar, painted-on mustache and fuzzy eyebrows, brings the comedy to another level. He’s the undisputed king of side-splitting quips, like “I got a good mind to join a club and beat you over the head with it,” or “I danced before Napoleon. No, Napoleon danced before me. In fact, he danced 200 years before me,” or when he looks at a hot young gal and says, “I could dance with you till the cows come home. On second thought, I’d rather dance with the cows till you come home.” His best moments no doubt come when he’s on screen with Dumont, mocking both her reputation (“I’m fighting for this woman’s honor! Which is more than she ever did”) and her weight (“Ahh, marriage. I can see you right now in the kitchen, standing over a hot stove. But I can’t see the stove”). Still, the funniest exchange between Groucho and Dumont comes as she welcomes him as Freedonia’s new leader: MRS. TEASDALE: As chairwoman of the reception committee, I welcome you with open arms.

RUFUS T. FIREFLY: Is that so? How late do you stay open? MRS. TEASDALE: I’ve sponsored your appointment because I feel you are the most able statesman in all of Freedonia. RUFUS T. FIREFLY: Well, that covers a lot of ground. Say, you cover a lot of ground yourself. You better beat it. I hear they’re going to tear you down and put up an office building where you’re standing. You can leave in a taxi. If you can’t get a taxi, you can leave in a huff. You know you haven’t stopped talking since I came here? You must have been vaccinated with a phonograph needle. That final line was voted No. 43 on Premiere‘s 100 Greatest Movie Lines, but the full exchange between Firefly and Teasdale makes for a perfect psycho-analysis of Firefly. He is at once trying to woo Mrs. Teasdale, and simultaneously trying to tear her down. He uses innuendo to flirt (“How late do you stay open?”) but then immediately mocks her weight (“You cover a lot of ground yourself”).

This suggests not an inadequacy on her part, but a loneliness on his, yearning for sexual fulfillment. Is he inexperienced? Virginal? Impotent? The final lines (“You know you haven’t stopped talking since I came in here?”) is thus a self accusation, painting Groucho as the constant chatterbox, always needing the last word. Only his phonograph vaccine was no cure. It was a curse. Except for we audience members, who get to sit and laugh at his insecurities. Political Satire Beyond the dialogue, the script also works as a poignant political satire. “Freedonia” is a fitting choice of name, and a commentary on how easily nations wage war under the banner of “freedom.” The name actually drew fire from Fredonia, New York, where town officials wrote to the Marx Bros, complaining about the similarity in name. The Marx Bros. didn’t budge an inch, writing the town back, saying, “Change the name of your town. It’s hurting our picture.” (C) Ultimately, Duck Soup added another “e” to “Freedonia,” just to be safe.

“A little bit of political humor and a lot of anarchy is right up my alley,” said actor Peter Fonda, who did his own politicking in Easy Rider (1969). “Duck Soup was a work of brilliance.” (G) Arriving in 1933, the same year Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany, the film mocks the authoritarian governments that were coming to power in Europe at the time. Benito Mussolini actually banned the film in Italy, believing it to be a direct mockery of him, and the reaction more than pleased the Marx Brothers. (B) Watching the film, you can imagine a real-life dictator’s reaction to such tongue-in-cheek lines as, ““Who you gonna believe, me or your own eyes?” and the oppressive exchange, “Your excellency! You’re shooting at your own men!” “Here’s $5.

Keep it under your hat.” Duck Soup goes on to deride many negative political practices: the influence of money on elections; military officials paying people to cover up collateral damage; leaders getting so caught up in their own ideology that they skip diplomacy and go straight to war; and governments sending people off to war while they sit back and say, “Remember while you’re out there risking life and limb through shot and shell, we’ll be in here thinking what a sucker you are.” Predating Chaplin’s The Great Dictator (1940) by seven years and Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove (1964) by a good three decades, you could say Duck Soup was way ahead of it’s time. As far as satires go, it may just be the funniest. While the whole thing stings of satirical wit, the main goal of the film is not a serious pondering of war, but rather to simply show how silly the idea can be. When asked the political significance of Duck Soup, Groucho reportedly said, “What significance?

We were just four Jews trying to get a laugh.” (D) Physical Comedy In spite of the sharp dialogue, a huge portion of the laughs come from the masterful physical comedy, namely in the interactions between Chico and Harpo. The former is always ready with a clever play on words: “I’ll teach you to kick me!” “You don’t have to teach me, I know how!” WHAM. The latter nails his portrayal of a mute, horn-honking, scissor-happy goofball, with a big smile and curly hair stuffed under a pixie hat. They are the original Jay and Silent Bob, with Harpo doing a something stupefying and Chico telling him, “That’s no good.” Their interplay peaks when they enter Teasdale’s home. Chico tells Harpo do be very quiet, which of course causes him to set off every noisy object in the room. Their ensuing romp, disguised in nightgowns identical to the one worn by Firefly, is one for the history books. Even if you’ve never seen the movie, you can imagine the comedic possibilities of three identical people interacting with each other and other unsuspecting characters.

The madness culminates with the legendary “mirror” scene, where Pinkie is spotted by Firefly and, while running away, accidentally runs through a mirror, shattering it to pieces. As Firefly follows, Pinkie must stand where the mirror formerly stood, which now creates an opening between two rooms, and pretend that the door frame is in fact a mirror, imitating Firefly’s movements in pantomime. A similar gag had already been done in Chaplin’s The Floorwalker (1916) and Max Linder’s Seven Years Bad Luck (1921), but no one did it more entertainingly than Groucho and Harpo, spinning around in those nightgowns and injecting their interplay straight into our pop culture. (B). Pop Culture Harpo recreated the mirror gag with Lucille Ball in an episode of I Love Lucy (1951). It was spoofed by both Bugs Bunny (Hare Tonic) and Mickey Mouse (Lonesome Ghosts).

It was also spoofed by David Duchovny and Michael McKean in The X-Files; Benny Hill and Pat Ashton in a 1980 episode of The Benny Hill Show; and Stewie and Hitler in a 2008 episode of Family Guy. In TV’s M*A*S*H, Hawkeye says Henry reminds him of Groucho in Duck Soup. The Return of the Pink Panther (1975) revives the Duck Soup gag of burglars and radios; Monty Python & The Holy Grail (1975) recreates the gag of playing glockenspiel on soldiers/knights helmets. Fival’s An American Tale (1986) has Warren T. Rat quoting Chico, “Who are you gonna believe, me or your own eyes?” Rob Zombie names characters after Rufus T. Firefly in The Devil’s Rejects (2005). And characters watch the film itself in Patch Adams (1998), Bless the Child (2000) and TV’s Gilmore Girls and Just Shoot Me.

Still, the most memorable reference comes in Woody Allen’s Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), where a neurotic Allen staggers down the street after a failed suicide attempt and happens into a movie theater, trying to “gather my thoughts and be logical and put the world back into rational perspective.” Cut to a shot of the Marx Bros. playing war helmets like xylophones in Duck Soup, allowing Allen to have an epiphany: “I’m watching these people up on the screen and I started getting hooked on the film! And I started to feel how can you even think of killing yourself? I mean, isn’t it so stupid? I mean, look at all the people up there on the screen. They’re real funny. And what if the worst is true? What if there’s no God and you only go around once and that’s it? Don’t you want to be part of the experience? What the hell, it’s not all a drag. And I’m thinking to myself, maybe I should stop ruining my life searching for answers I’m never gonna get and just enjoy it while it lasts. And after, who knows, maybe there is something, nobody really knows.

I know maybe is a really slim reed to hang your whole life on, but that’s the best we have. And then I started to sit back and I actually began to enjoy myself.” Reaction and Legacy No matter how beloved the film is today, it was not well received at all in its day. Critics deemed the satire offensive and so many of the lightning-quick jokes went right over audiences’ heads. It was such a flop that Paramount terminated its contract with the Marx Brothers after a five-picture run. This allowed Irving Thalberg to step in and offer the brothers new life at MGM, but the new life was also a different life, as the Marx Bros. were suddenly surrounded by romantic subplots and musical numbers in A Night at the Opera (1935), their other masterpiece. That’s not to say Duck Soup doesn’t have music of its own, but even these are geared for comedy, unlike the serious opera renditions of their MGM pictures. “The Freedonia Hymn” is so mockingly majestic that the Marxes pelt fruit at an opera-singing Dumont.

“These Are the Laws of My Administration” is a brilliant satire on totalitarianism, with Groucho listing a litany of forbidden items then proclaiming, “This is the land of the free!” And “The Country’s Goin’ to War” is gloriously ridiculous, with the Marx Bros. hamming it up as they approach the camera in the only musical number featuring all four brothers. (B) Thankfully, Duck Soup had somewhat of a resurgence among college film students in the ’60s, and today it’s considered one of the greatest films of all time. (B) On the AFI’s original Top 100 Films list, Duck Soup was voted the No. 85 best film of all time, and on the 10th Anniversary list, it jumped to No. 60. What’s more, when it came time to name history’s greatest comedies, the AFI voted Duck Soup into the Top 5. Meanwhile, the elite Sight & Sound polls saw Duck Soup actually received votes, an amazing feat for a list that’s absolutely brutal on comedies.

In 2002, Duck Soup received two votes apiece in both the Sight & Sound Critics Poll and Directors Poll, where Stuart Gordon, writer of Re-Animator (1985) and Honey I Shrunk the Kids (1989), voted Duck Soup in his Top 3 Films of All Time, as did director Terry Jones, of Monty Python & The Holy Grail (1975) and Life of Brian (1979). If any of those are your favorite comedies, what does that then say about Duck Soup? Back in college, I had the occasion to watch the movie on one of those old library 16 mm playback systems. How odd, I know, for a college dude to sneak down into the school library after flag football and rev up the Marx Bros. But I tell you, as I sat there in those headphones, I tried my best not to laugh out loud and disrupt others, but it was a lost cause. Duck Soup has something for everybody: slapstick to entertain the most lowbrow viewers, and satire to impress the hardest academics.

If choosing the greatest comedy of all time means choosing the best single film from history’s funniest group of comedians, Duck Soup wins. Or, if you’re downhearted like Woody Allen in Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), worried about the unpredictability of life and humanity’s lack of control over the world, Duck Soup may just help you settle in and appreciate all the small things, like a laugh at a great joke, that make this life so worth living. Citations: Duck Soup (1933) - IMDb IMDb 13 January 2017 5:53 PM, UTC NEWS There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error Rufus T. Firefly is named president/dictator of bankrupt Freedonia and declares war on neighboring Sylvania over the love of wealthy Mrs. Teasdale.

Director: From $2.99 (SD) on Amazon Video ON DISC a list of 25 titles created 03 Mar 2013 a list of 28 titles created 27 Apr 2014 a list of 31 titles created 15 Mar 2015 a list of 33 titles created 16 Jun 2015 a list of 22 titles created 1 month ago Search for " Duck Soup " on Amazon.com Connect with IMDb Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. 2 wins & 1 nomination. See more awards » Photos A sly business manager and two wacky friends of two opera singers help them achieve success while humiliating their stuffy and snobbish enemies. Directors: Sam Wood, Edmund Goulding Stars: Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx Mayhem and zaniness ensue when a valuable painting goes missing during a party in honor of famed African explorer Captain Spaulding.

Director: Victor Heerman Quincy Adams Wagstaff, the new president of Huxley University, hires bumblers Baravelli and Pinky to help his school win the big football game against rival Darwin University. Director: Norman Z. McLeod On a transatlantic crossing, the Marx brothers get up to their usual antics and manage to annoy just about everyone on board the ship. Director: Norman Z. McLeod A veterinarian posing as a doctor, a race-horse owner and his friends struggle to help keep a sanitarium open with the help of a misfit race-horse. Director: Sam Wood During the Florida land boom, the Marx brothers run a hotel, auction off some land, thwart a jewel robbery, and generally act like themselves. Directors: Robert Florey, Joseph Santley Stars: Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx The Marx Brothers come to the rescue in the Wild West when a young man, trying to settle an old family feud so he can marry the girl he loves, runs afoul of crooks. Director: Edward Buzzell The Marx Brothers try to help the owner of a circus recover some stolen funds before he finds himself out of a job.

Director: Edward Buzzell The Marx Brothers are employed at a hotel in postwar Casablanca, where a ring of Nazis is trying to recover a cache of stolen treasure. Director: Archie Mayo A detective is hired to protect the life of a singer, who has recently inherited a department store, from the store's crooked manager. Director: Charles Reisner A penniless theatrical producer must outwit the hotel efficiency expert trying to evict him from his room, while securing a backer for his new play. Director: William A. Seiter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8/10 X A film crew goes to a tropical island for an exotic location shoot and discovers a colossal giant gorilla who takes a shine to their female blonde star. He is then captured and brought back to New York City for public exhibition. Directors: Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack Stars: Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, Bruce Cabot Edit Storyline The small state of Freedonia is in a financial mess, borrowing a huge sum of cash from wealthy widow Mrs. Teasdale. She insists on replacing the current president with crazy Rufus T.

Firefly and mayhem erupts. To make matters worse, the neighboring state sends inept spies Chicolini and Pinky to obtain top secret information, creating even more chaos! Written by Col Needham <col@imdb.com> See All (155) » Taglines: War Is Swell ...when the Marx Brothers are in it. They'll be out of the trenches by Christmas...if the food doesn't improve Genres: 17 November 1933 (USA) See more » Also Known As: Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording) Color: Groucho Marx attributed the film's strong satire on war to director Leo McCarey . See more » Goofs When they meet, Mrs. Teasdale holds Firefly's right hand while he holds the cigar with his left hand. The subsequent shot shows him holding the cigar with the right hand and the deck with the left one. See more » Quotes Rufus T. Firefly : I'll see you at the opera tonight. I'll hold your seat till you get there. After you get there you're on your own.

(Boston, MA) – See all my reviews Duck Soup(1933) is the funniest and most entertaining comedy that I've seen in my life. It was the last film the Marx Brothers would do for Paramount before going over to MGM. Duck Soup is an anarchic comedy where the main characters never live by the rules and rebel as a result. The Marx Brothers put out some of the greatest comedies that rarely has been matched. It is a satire about the nature of war, politics, and affairs of the state. Duck Soup(1933) is a great example of a film that can easily induce a person into bursts of laughter. 25 of 46 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes Duck Soup - Movies & TV on Google Play Duck Soup Item added to wishlist. Item removed from wishlist. You will receive an email when your movie becomes available. You will not be charged until it is released. ( 76) Synopsis Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Zeppo Marx are at their very best in the political satire Duck Soup which is often regarded as the comedy legends' funniest and most popular film.

After being appointed dictator of Freedonia, Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho Marx) proceeds to bring the mythical nation to a halt by showing up late and insulting everyone at his inauguration. Hoping to oust the unfit new leader, two spies Pinky and Chicolini (Harpo and Chico Marx) are sent from the neighboring Sylvania. Soon enough, war is declared between the two nations with outrageous results. Recognized on the AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs list and selected for the National Film Registry, this comedy classic features some of the most hilarious sequences ever filmed, including the famous mirror sequence and final battle scene, and remains as entertaining and relevant today as it did when it was first released in 1933. My review Genius just about covers it. Joe Bigelow Duck Soup should make practically everybody laugh. Dave Kehr The Marx Brothers' best movie... Geoff Andrew It also includes what is perhaps the Brothers' funniest scene ever: an immaculately timed and performed sequence with a broken mirror in which Groucho, Chico and Harpo look absolutely identical. A masterpiece.

Mordaunt Hall This production is, for the most part, extremely noisy without being nearly as mirthful as [the Marx brothers'] other films. Roger Ebert The Marx Brothers created a body of work in which individual films are like slices from the whole, but Duck Soup (1933) is probably the best. Critic reviews Full Review Geoff Andrew It also includes what is perhaps the Brothers' funniest scene ever: an immaculately timed and performed sequence with a broken mirror in which Groucho, Chico and Harpo look absolutely identical. A masterpiece. Full Review Mordaunt Hall This production is, for the most part, extremely noisy without being nearly as mirthful as [the Marx brothers'] other films. Full Review Roger Ebert The Marx Brothers created a body of work in which individual films are like slices from the whole, but Duck Soup (1933) is probably the best. User reviews Jacob Hundt November 12, 2016 Evelyn (4): "I don't know." Cyrus (7): " I liked the part when he called for help and all of the animals started coming. I thought it was really funny.

I liked Harpo, Harpo was my favorite character." Josie (10): "My favorite character was Harpo. He was very funny. My favoite part was where Harpo drove away in the side-cart." Daddy (36): " A subtle commentary on trans-Atlantic military policy and the Euro-zone crises of the mid 2010s. Rufus T. Firefly is a clearly a stinging satire on the manners of Hermann von Rompuy and the rest of the Belgian elite." Full Review Melanie Anne Blow Bauer February 17, 2014 Funniest thing on "Two Feet!" I don't know how many times I have seen this funny movie, but some of it I know by heart! A must see! Kids, too! Full Review Michael Cohan January 11, 2013 Hilarious! 80 years later, this movie is as funny as ever. You'll be rolling on the floor. The jokes fly thick and fast and the political satire lends a more serious undertone. Definitely a classic of comedy. Full Review Sivon Levinson May 24, 2014 The best!

This is by far one of my favourite movies of all time. The brothers are at their best in this satirical mishmosh of high wit one-liners and beautiful slapstick. Even the songs are great (and still funny). This movie is still hilarious after eighty years. Full Review Marcella Lowry June 24, 2013 One of the BEST OF ALL TIME Seriously, if you don't enjoy this, WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!?! Major classic. Nuff said. Josh Thomas December 26, 2015 Funniest film. Tymon Marshall January 10, 2015 I love it. Funny movie. Jason Miracle April 18, 2016 One of their best comedy Marx Brothers' Duck Soup satire still delights audiences - The Tech Marx Brothers' Duck Soup satire still delights audiences Duck Soup Written by Bert Kalmer, Harry Ruby, Arthur Sheekman, Nat Perrin. Starring Groucho, Chico, and Harpo Marx, and Margaret Dumont. Tonight at LSC, 7:30 p.m. in 10-250.

By Stephen Brophy Staff Reporter Ten years ago, in Hannah and Her Sisters, one of his two best films, Woody Allen created and played a character afraid of disease and dying who tries various religious panaceas to reduce, control, or at least evade his fear. This quintessential doubting Jew even contemplates converting to Catholicism in a hilarious sequence involving the changes in diet he imagines he will have to endure. In the end he is not saved by religion but by the Marx Brothers, when he chances into an afternoon screening of Duck Soup at his local repertory movie theater. Tonight, thanks to LSC Classics, you too can be saved. The Marx Brothers were a New York phenomenon, rising to prominence in vaudeville and then on Broadway in comedies like Coconuts and Animal Crackers. Just as they were peaking on Broadway, sound technology was sweeping the film world, and New York stage talent suddenly became highly desirable commodities in that world. The Marx Brothers, like many other theatrical stars, succumbed to the enticements dangled before them and made a few films at the Paramount Studios in New York City before relocating to Hollywood.

The Brothers' films were initially successful, but with the deepening of the Depression, their anarchic style became less popular. Duck Soup has long held a high place in the pantheon of American comedy, but in 1933, when it was released, it was a commercial disappointment to Paramount. Soon after its release, Paramount canceled the Brothers' contract, and they moved on to MGM, where they made A Night at the Opera and A Day at the Races under the tutelage of Irving Thalberg before sliding into B-movie limbo. Whatever the circumstances, we can only be grateful that their comic genius was recorded on film. Duck Soup in particular packs an amazing quantity of gags, japes, and satires into its 70-minute span. There is the wonderful mirror sequence, lovingly recreated years later on I Love Lucy, but never topped. There are the brief musical bits that poke fun at the Busby Berkely musicals of the period. There is the joke about Paul Revere. And of course there are Groucho, Chico, and Harpo running, jumping, and leapfrogging from one lunatic situation to another.

All this hilarity is strung up on a plot at once too complicated and too silly to have any independent meaning. Duck Soup can be read as an indictment of the insanity of war and a critique of the relationship between wealth and political power, but to do so is to miss much of the fun. The movie was banned in fascist Italy because it seemed to be a statement against dictatorship. But it makes fun of the entire range of political arrangements and patriotic icons. Mussolini just didn't get it. One other artist should be mentioned when credit for the uniqueness of Duck Soup is being handed out, and that is the director, Leo McCarey. McCarey learned the ropes in silent movie days, writing, and supervising the short movies of Laurel and Hardy, and eventually directing four of them. After working with the Marx Brothers he moved on to Six of a Kind with W.C. Fields and Belle of the Nineties with Mae West before winning the first of two Academy Awards for directing one of the screwiest of screwballs comedies, The Awful Truth. McCarey was more compatible with the Marx Brothers' style than any of their other directors, and the perfection of Duck Soup is the proof. Only Vol.

116 ‎Duck Soup (1933) directed by Leo McCarey • Reviews, film + cast • Letterboxd 4 Has anyone ever sat down and calculated the jokes per minute in this frickin' thing? The joke density has to be high, somewhere around the level of seasons 4-6 Simpsons. I re-watched DUCK SOUP within the last year, and I was still laughing so much today that I felt light headed when the lights came up. The escalating scale of the jokes to that last reel of absolute convention shattering anarchy ... *faints 2 Half stand-up routine, half variety show, very humorous. The original songs are quite funny and the rapid fire puns and deadpan jokes are still sharp which is remarkable SEEING HOW THEY ARE OVER 80 YEARS OLD. Remember, you're fighting for this woman's honour, which is probably more than she ever did. -Rufus T. Firefly Comedic chaos in perhaps it's purest form in the hands of Groucho , Harpo , Chico and Zeppo . Tame by today's standards? I think it depends on how you look at it.

I honestly think this film is still hilarious without taking into account the time it was made. There's just too much comedic insanity packed into it's 68 minutes not to be considered funny. Everything from sight gags to it's fast paced dialogue that is nothing but one joke after another. I don't think there is a single wasted moment in the entire film. Admittedly Groucho probably gets the best lines as no one is safe: " I can see you right now in the kitchen, bending over a hot stove. But I can't see the stove." Ambassador Trentino: "I am willing to do anything to prevent this war." Rufus T. Firefly: "It's too late. I've already paid a month's rent on the battlefield." Its reputation precedes it. It is as indescribable and wholly unique as it is hysterical and revolutionary. It is one of the funniest movies ever made, period. Review by Shawn Dryden ★★½ I find the Marx Brothers an acquired taste that I don’t quite have. It’s easy to see how groundbreaking and subversive they were to classic structure and film itself. However, their style of comedy I find too abrasive and disjointed.

None of the brothers are enjoyable characters. They’re clever, zany, with plenty of gags but none of it is endearing. They are comedic guerrillas causing chaos to the normal people inhabiting the world of the movie. It’s hard to put yourself in the 30’s and really appreciate what the Marx Brothers were doing. So while it may not be entertaining to me and I can see the great influence they’ve had. List of Comedy Classics - Greatest Comedy Films of All Time Classic Movies Expert By Shawn Dwyer Whether sophisticated in manner or of the slapstick variety, there's always a classic comedy for any taste. The counterpoint to drama, comedies have always been with us no matter what the medium and they always will be. Sometimes they're absurd, other times bitingly satirical, but all are designed to make us laugh. Here are just a few of the very best classic comedies ever made. Paramount Pictures 1. ‘Duck Soup’ – 1933 An absurd farce starring the Marx Brothers, Duck Soup has long been considered one of the greatest comedies ever made despite opening to mixed reviews and being a box office disappointment.

The film featured Groucho as the newly appointed leader of the fictional country of Freedonia who is beset by burgeoning war with neighboring Sylvania and two spies (Chico and Harpo) trying to dig up dirt on the new regime. Hilarious from start to finish, Duck Soup features many memorable gags including the famed mirror scene, where Groucho and Harpo mimic each other’s exact movements, and Groucho changing uniforms in the final battle scene. Duck Soup was notable for being the last film with Zeppo – who went on to become a successful mechanical engineer and theater agent – and the last Marx Brothers production with Paramount Pictures. continue reading below our video Top 5 Grossing Movies of All Time Sony Pictures Home Entertainment 2. ‘It Happened One Night’ – 1934 One of the great screwball comedies of all time and the first movie to win all five major Academy Awards, It Happened One Night has remained as fun to watch today as it did almost 80 years ago. Its starred Claudette Colbert as a runaway heiress who escapes potential marriage to a playboy and heads for New York by bus.

She meets a down-and-out reporter (Clark Gable) who recognizes her and thinks he has the story of the year. They bicker and argue through one mishap after another until both fall in love. Cracking with sharp dialogue and unrelenting energy, It Happened One Night swept the Academy Awards with wins for Best Actor , Best Actress , Best Director , and Best Picture . Turner Home Entertainment 3. ‘Bringing Up Baby’ – 1938 Another great screwball comedy, Bringing Up Baby featured two exceptional performances from stars Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant . Hepburn starred as a free-spirited heiress who lures a stuffed-shirt paleontologist (Grant) to her home, only to trigger one hilarious mishap after another when a dog steals a valuable dinosaur bone. But the true fun begins when a leopard escapes a local zoo, which has the unintended consequence of bringing the diametrically opposed couple together. Wildly fun and full of crackling wit, Bringing Up Baby has to be placed near the top of the list of all time best comedies thanks to razor sharp performances from Hepburn and Grant, as well as deft direction from Howard Hawks .

The film also marked the first of five classic collaborations between Hawks and Grant. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment 4. ‘To Be or Not to Be’ – 1942 A rare political satire from the master of the sophisticated comedy, Ernst Lubitsch , To Be or Not to Be has been hailed as the director’s greatest film and certainly ranks high on the list of most underappreciated films. The movie starred Carole Lombard opposite Jack Benny, both of whom played a husband and wife team who perform anti-Nazi plays, only to find themselves impersonating them after the Nazis invade Poland. A creative mix of satire, comedy, and thriller, To Be or Not to Be was not a hit with audiences in 1942 due to moviegoers looking for escape from, not political commentary on the war. The film has since risen in stature, thanks in part to Lombard’s untimely death in a plane crash before its release. 5. ‘Some Like It Hot’ – 1959 Of all the films made by the great Billy Wilder, Some Like It Hot has often been named as one of his best. It starred Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis as two Chicago jazz musicians who witness the famed St.

Valentine’s Day Massacre, and go on the run from the mob in high heels and dresses. On their way to Florida, the make the acquaintance of a curvy blonde named Sugar (Marilyn Monroe) who’s trying to rid her life of booze and saxophone players. Naturally, both become smitten and clamor for her amorous attention. Despite its stature as one of the best comedies ever made – it’s No. 1 on the American Film Institute’s list of 100 Laughs – Some Like It Hot was overlooked for a Best Picture nomination in 1959, making it one of the most glaring snubs of all time. Sony Pictures 6. ‘Dr. Strangelove’ – 1964 Made during the height of the Cold War, Dr. Strangelove was a brilliant satire that featured star Peter Sellers delivering one of the great multi-character performances . Directed by Stanley Kubrick , the film skewered the rather insane foreign policy of mutually assured destruction while playing on our fears of nuclear annihilation for laughs.

After a psychotic American general (Sterling Hayden) obsessed with bodily fluids launches a fleet of nuclear bombers to attack the Soviet Union, a bookish president (Sellers), a xenophobic general (George C. Scott), a conniving Russian ambassador (Peter Bull), and the wheelchair-bound Dr. Strangelove himself (Sellers), hide out in an underground war room while trying to stop the bombs from being dropped. Meanwhile, a British attaché (Sellers again) tries in vain to prevent the psychotic general from making the situation worse. Featuring one hilarious sequence after another, Dr. Strangelove perfectly captured the fear and paranoia of the Cold War, and has lived on as one of the greatest satires ever made. Warner Bros. 7. ‘Blazing Saddles’ – 1974 Yes, it’s vulgar and riddled with racial humor, but there’s no denying that Mel Brooks ’ spoof Western has remained one of the best comedies to emerge from the counterculture 1970s. Blazing Saddles starred Brooks favorite Gene Wilder as The Waco Kid, a drunken gunslinger who helps a black sheriff (Cleavon Little) protect a racist populace from a railroad trying to take over their town.

The motley pair go up against the conniving Headley Lamarr (Harvey Korman), who tries to stir the populace into lynching the new sheriff. In satirizing both racism and the myths of the Old West, Brooks made a daring film that rankled some for its crude humor, but has been elevated by fans and historians as a comedy classic. MGM Home Entertainment 8. ‘Annie Hall’ – 1977 Undoubtedly director Woody Allen’s best film, Annie Hall was a masterful blend of romantic comedy, slapstick, and sophisticated comedy of manners that defined a generation and won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director . The film starred Allen at his neurotic best playing Alvy Singer, a Jewish comedy writer who woos the equally crazed Annie Hall (Diane Keaton). The two make quite a pair, as they navigate their growing romance amidst musings on philosophy, film, therapy, and Los Angeles. Brilliant beyond words, Annie Hall only gets better with repeat viewings, which is why it has remained near the top of just about anyone’s list for all-time best comedies. Sony Pictures

Question: Who starred in the 1933 comedy satire film 'Duck Soup'?
Answer: The Marx Brothers