The Marx Brothers' Duck Soup

The Marx Brothers' Duck Soup is a frantic, funny satire with rapid-fire gags and some of the most inspired physical comedy ever to hit the screen. Now considered a comic masterpiece, the movie underperformed with critics and the box office when it came out in 1933, skewering fascism, petty dictators and warmongering. Time has proven it the best of the Marx Brothers' movies.

The plot, such as it is, has Groucho's Rufus T. Firefly taking the reins of the fictional nation of Freedonia and wreaking havoc. He manages to immediately alienate the ambassador from the neighboring country of Sylvania, and brings both countries to the brink of war. There's a great deal of silliness revolving around inept spies Chico and Harpo, war plans held by rich, patriotic widow Margaret Dumont, and the machinations of an exotic temptress in league with Sylvania.

None of it really matters. The whole thing is really just an opportunity for the brothers to poke fun at tinpot rulers, nonsensical government bureaucracy, pompous diplomats and the absurdity of reckless war - all with dollops of vaudeville-style zaniness, one-liners and wordplay. Duck Soup also features two of the most iconic and imitated scenes in comedy: Harpo's confrontation with the lemonade vendor, and Groucho and Harpo's magical mirror scene in their nightcaps.

It all ends with Groucho commanding the Freedonian troops in a pitched battle that plays more like a pie fight, shooting his own men by accident and wearing every uniform known to man from World War I doughboy to Boy Scout.

The last film to feature Zeppo, the straight man among the Marx loonies, Duck Soup plays to the tried-and true Marx formula. Chico fractures his lines with his outrageous accent and deadpan delivery. Harpo makes his deft physical comedy and pinpoint timing look effortless. Margaret Dumont is, as always, the stalwart, proper dowager, the straight woman who serves as their innocent foil. Raquel Torres is the femme fatale in revealing, pre-code ball gowns, and Louis Calhern is the elegant villain, Ambassador Trentino.

And then there's Groucho. Groucho, Groucho. He lopes about the lavish sets, chomping his trademark cigar, insulting everyone he meets and delivering occasional wisecracks to the audience. He sings, he dances, makes mad, impetuous love to both Dumont and the Sylvanian temptress, and generally holds the whole ridiculous enterprise aloft with his raised, greasepaint eyebrows.

The casting may follow the Marx formula, but in Duck Soup the brothers forgo the obligatory love story and random musical numbers of their earlier films - even Harpo's usual harp solo is missing. Bland Zeppo has to do without a love interest, and the satirical songs are part of the plot, folding into the action. The result is a tighter pace, a welcome focus on the gags, and no need to interrupt the funny business with gooey love scenes.

The title Duck Soup is a bit of slang gone from common usage today - it used to mean something easy to accomplish, or, alternatively, a dupe or patsy. The only reference in the movie is the opening shot of four happily quacking ducks paddling around a stewpot.

The brothers' previous movie, Horse Feathers, had been the top grossing-film the year before, and Paramount was hoping for a repeat performance. While not a complete flop, the film was a disappointment. The Marx Brothers relationship with the studio was already fraying as filming started, and it turned out to be their last Paramount production.

Critics and historians have argued that the film was out of step for its time, in the midst of the Great Depression and with Hitler just coming to power in Europe, when patriotism and support for the government were in vogue. Duck Soup was rediscovered in the 1960s, when anti-war satire and disdain for petty authoritarians were more likely to be appreciated. In 1990 it was recognized as significant film, and included in the U.S. National Film Registry at the Library of Congress.

Joyous, irreverent, irrepressible, and at times almost surreal, Duck Soup is a masterpiece that was well ahead of its time. Even if such anarchic comedy is not your cup of tea, it's a must-see for the mirror scene alone.

If you liked 'Duck Soup'…

You may like other Marx brothers movies, such as A Night at the Opera and Animal Crackers, or political satires such as The Great Dictator, MASH, and Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Just the Facts:

Year: 1933, Black and White
Director: Leo McCarey
Running Time: 68 minutes
Studio: Paramount