{"id":18877,"date":"2011-07-26T13:53:47","date_gmt":"2011-07-26T20:53:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=18877"},"modified":"2022-02-01T00:15:31","modified_gmt":"2022-02-01T07:15:31","slug":"duck-soup-1933","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=18877","title":{"rendered":"Duck Soup (1933)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;But there must be a war. I&#8217;ve paid a month&#8217;s rent on the battlefield!&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Duck-Soup-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Duck-Soup-Poster-191x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"191\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-18878\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Duck-Soup-Poster-191x300.jpg 191w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Duck-Soup-Poster-81x128.jpg 81w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Duck-Soup-Poster.jpg 483w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 191px) 100vw, 191px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA wealthy socialite (Margaret Dumont) with a crush on zany Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho Marx) insists that he be elected president of the troubled country of Freedonia; meanwhile, the ambassador (Louis Calhern) of Freedonia&#8217;s rival, Sylvania, enlists the help of two inept spies (Chico Marx and Harpo Marx) to gather critical information on Firefly, and soon war has erupted between the two countries.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Leo McCarey Films<\/li>\n<li>Louis Calhern Films<\/li>\n<li>Marx Brothers<\/li>\n<li>Ruthless Leaders<\/li>\n<li>Satires and Spoofs<\/li>\n<li>Spies<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nIt&#8217;s interesting but not surprising to learn that while made in the Marx Brothers&#8217; &#8220;heyday&#8221;, <em>Duck Soup<\/em> was their &#8220;one critical and commercial flop of the period&#8221; &#8212; perhaps because &#8220;Depression Era audiences, who needed to believe in their leaders, were a bit unnerved seeing Groucho as the ruler of a country&#8221;. However, as Peary notes, &#8220;college audiences in the 1960s were looking for films that treated politicians with the disrespect they deserved&#8221;, thus leading this film to take its &#8220;rightful place in the comedy-film pantheon&#8221; (and turning it into a cult favorite). Peary, along with most other critics, refers to this as &#8220;the team&#8217;s masterpiece&#8221;, noting that it contains &#8220;70 delightful minutes of non-stop (no musical interludes or romance) sight gags, verbal wit, zany improvisations, and Groucho and Harpo offending everyone around them&#8221;, and further observing that &#8220;it is the only film that provided the team with the proper political milieu for their anarchic brand of humor&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>In his <em>Cult Movies<\/em> review, Peary argues that director Leo McCarey (who apparently balked at being given this assignment) &#8220;presents the Marx Brothers&#8230; at their most consistently rude and irreverent&#8221;, noting that their humor is &#8220;derived to a great extent from the cumulative effects that their unremitting insults (Groucho), puns (Groucho and Chico), invasions of privacy, destruction of property (Harpo), and general annoyances (Groucho, Chico, and Harpo) have on the pompous boors and wealthy hypocrites who populate their world&#8221;. Nicely said!  Indeed, that description just about sums up their comedic arsenal perfectly. For more information about specific scenes in this zaniest of cinematic masterpieces &#8212; a still-potent example of unadulterated comedic anarchy &#8212; I humbly refer you to either Peary&#8217;s <em>Cult Movies<\/em> review, or any of the many fine analyses available online or in print.  <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Groucho Marx as Firefly (nominated by Peary as one of the best actors of the year in Alternate Oscars)<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Duck-Soup-Groucho.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Duck-Soup-Groucho-1024x599.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"374\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-18883\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Duck-Soup-Groucho-1024x599.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Duck-Soup-Groucho-128x74.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Duck-Soup-Groucho-300x175.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Duck-Soup-Groucho.png 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Margaret Dumont at Mrs. Teasdale<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Duck-Soup-Dumont.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Duck-Soup-Dumont-1024x599.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"374\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-18882\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Duck-Soup-Dumont-1024x599.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Duck-Soup-Dumont-128x74.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Duck-Soup-Dumont-300x175.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Duck-Soup-Dumont.png 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Groucho and Chico&#8217;s non-stop verbal wit<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Duck-Soup-Chico.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Duck-Soup-Chico-1024x599.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"374\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-18884\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Duck-Soup-Chico-1024x599.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Duck-Soup-Chico-128x74.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Duck-Soup-Chico-300x175.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Duck-Soup-Chico.png 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>A ruthlessly breakneck satire of countless cinematic tropes<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Duck-Soup-Satire.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Duck-Soup-Satire-1024x599.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"374\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-18885\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Duck-Soup-Satire-1024x599.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Duck-Soup-Satire-128x74.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Duck-Soup-Satire-300x175.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Duck-Soup-Satire.png 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>The infamous, oft-imitated-but-never-equaled mirror scene<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Duck-Soup-Mirror.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Duck-Soup-Mirror-1024x599.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"374\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-18886\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Duck-Soup-Mirror-1024x599.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Duck-Soup-Mirror-128x74.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Duck-Soup-Mirror-300x175.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Duck-Soup-Mirror.png 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>A truly surreal screenplay<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Duck-Soup-Surreal.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Duck-Soup-Surreal-1024x599.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"374\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-18890\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Duck-Soup-Surreal-1024x599.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Duck-Soup-Surreal-128x74.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Duck-Soup-Surreal-300x175.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Duck-Soup-Surreal.png 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as an undisputed comedy classic. Nominated by Peary as one of the best films of the year in his Alternate Oscars, and discussed at length in his first <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?page_id=5986\"><em>Cult Movies<\/em> book<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cult Movie<\/li>\n<li>Genuine Classic<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> (<span style=\"color:red;font-weight:bold;\">Listed in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-static\/1001Movies.htm\"><em>1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die<\/em><\/a><\/span>) <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0023969\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s1436marx.html\">DVD Savant Review (scroll down)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1933\/11\/23\/archives\/the-four-marx-brothers.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rogerebert.com\/reviews\/great-movie-duck-soup-1933#:~:text=In%20%22Duck%20Soup%22%20there%20are,stars%20Groucho%20as%20Rufus%20T.\">Roger Ebert&#8217;s Great Movies Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/movies.tvguide.com\/duck-soup\/review\/113615\">TV Guide Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/73717\/duck-soup#articles-reviews\">TCM Articles<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.filmsite.org\/duck.html\">Greatest Films Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/duck-soup\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;But there must be a war. I&#8217;ve paid a month&#8217;s rent on the battlefield!&#8221; Synopsis: A wealthy socialite (Margaret Dumont) with a crush on zany Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho Marx) insists that he be elected president of the troubled country of Freedonia; meanwhile, the ambassador (Louis Calhern) of Freedonia&#8217;s rival, Sylvania, enlists the help of two inept spies (Chico Marx and Harpo Marx) to gather critical information on Firefly, and soon war has erupted between the two countries. Genres, Themes,&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=18877\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18877","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18877"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18877\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80838,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18877\/revisions\/80838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}