In 1933, the Marx Brothers released the fourth of their “animal” comedies; Animal Crackers, Monkey Business and Horse Feathers were followed by Duck Soup. Things changed after that; Zeppo Marx never appeared in a film with his brothers again and they started making movies with MGM. At the time of the release, Duck Soup was not really considered a great film, but it is now widely regarded as one of the Marx Brothers’ best.

Freedonia is a country in financial crisis. Mrs. Teasdale (Margaret Dumont) wields a lot of influence and makes sure Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho Marx) is appointed Prime Minister. Of course, Firefly is hardly anyone’s idea of a statesman, but Mrs. Teasdale is more known for her money than her insight. Freedonia is under threat from a neighboring country, Sylvania, and its scheming ambassador, Trentino (Louis Calhern), sends two spies into the country. Chicolini (Chico Marx) and Pinky (Harpo Marx) are enthusiastic, but hardly very effective. They do however manage to get close to Firefly and Trentino succeeds in finding excuses for Sylvania to invade Freedonia. He gets what he wishes for. As Trentino sends his spies to find Freedonia’s war plans (which are hidden in Mrs. Teasdale’s house), Firefly is busy trying to woo the wealthy lady in order to get his hands on her fortune.

It’s a crazy plot indeed and many critics have subsequently labeled the film a political satire. I can understand why, especially since it was made during the Great Depression when the American people had every reason to distrust politicians and businessmen. But I’m more inclined to listen to Groucho Marx who claims there was no intention to make a political film, just “four Jews trying to get a laugh”. Many love this film because the musical interludes are much more entertaining and much less distracting than in the brothers’ later films; there is also no romance. All there is is a long, fantastic series of gags, perfectly executed. Everybody knows about the famous mirror sequence, where Groucho runs into a copy of himself who tries to convince him that he’s actually standing in front of a mirror, but I have two other favorites, both with Chico and Harpo. Their first appearance in the film is together with Trentino; as he tries to have a serious conference with them, the spies are too busy subjecting him to one practical joke after another. The second one is the hat-changing routine where Chico and Harpo harass a lemonade seller; he’s played by silent-film icon Edgar Kennedy who does his slow-fuse bit to perfection. I love it how these sequences are meticulously choreographed yet seem spontaneous; they’re hilarious. Groucho’s job is to insult Dumont (making her third appearance in a Marx Brothers film) and deliver wisecrack after wisecrack; he does so admirably. Director Leo McCarey found the perfect vehicle to practice on before making his screwball comedies; this one also has sharp, fast dialogue. The story itself is ridiculous, but intentionally so; those who interpret it as satire might find more to it. The film gets increasingly crazy; the musical declaration of war is the nuttiest you’ll see and some of the jokes during the concluding war between Freedonia and Sylvania could fit in a film by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker.

MGM boss Irving Thalberg thought the Marx Brothers were too unsympathetic in this film, something that was also changed when they came to MGM. But those fans who cherish the truly anarchic style of early Marx films will love this prime example. Nobody puts Groucho in a corner.

The YouTube clip shows the trailer.

Duck Soup 1933-U.S. 70 min. B/W. Produced by Herman J. Mankiewicz. Directed by Leo McCarey. Screenplay, Songs: Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby. Cast: Groucho Marx (Rufus T. Firefly), Harpo Marx (Pinky), Chico Marx (Chicolini), Zeppo Marx (Bob Roland), Margaret Dumont, Louis Calhern… Edgar Kennedy.

Trivia: Benito Mussolini thought the film was an attack on him and banned it in Italy. The city of Fredonia, New York complained about the use of the name “Freedonia” in the film; Groucho Marx answered by telling the people of Fredonia to change the name of their town because “it’s hurting our picture”.

Quote: “I hate messages from the front, why don’t I ever get messages from the side?” (Groucho Marx)

film marx brothers movies IMDb

Published by Stefan Hedmark 2007-12-04 05:10

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