1933 Directed by Leo McCarey
Rufus T. Firefly is named president/dictator of bankrupt Freedonia and declares war on neighboring Sylvania over the love of wealthy Mrs. Teasdale.
Groucho Marx Harpo Marx Chico Marx Zeppo Marx Margaret Dumont Raquel Torres Louis Calhern Edmund Breese Leonid Kinskey Charles Middleton Edgar Kennedy Edward Arnold Wade Boteler Sidney Bracey E.H. Calvert Davison Clark Louise Closser Hale Carrie Daumery Maude Turner Gordon Florence Wix Joseph Crehan Mario Dominici Edmund Mortimer Charles West Verna Hillie Edward LeSaint George MacQuarrie Frederick Sullivan Eric Mayne Show All…
"Duck Soup" is a comedy machine gun. Its jokes and gags come quickly and constantly in a barrage of rat-a-tat-tat amusement. It is a fully funny, wholly high-energy romp whose only misfire may be that not every bit of wit flows organically from its narrative; but this is a tiny quibble as "Duck Soup" is clearly constructed to be a showcase of Marx Brothers mirth.
A political satire that skewers foreign relations, war, national treasures, and national treasuries, Leo McCarey's "Duck Soup" begins with Groucho Marx's Rufus T. Firefly being named head of the nation of Freedonia. From there, jokes, musical numbers, and mostly solid plotting fly in torrents. The narrative is a sturdy foundation for sturdy comedy.
The timely-even-today…
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
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.
I finished watching this and went immediately to my Favourite film by year list for the 30s. Somehow I put The testament of Dr Mabuse ahead of this. At least I did say in the notes that 1933 was a hell of a year and I could have chosen one of ten films.
It is, of course, pretty much perfect. Harpo and Chico and Louis Calhern, Harpo and Chico and the Lemonade seller. The songs, the mirror. Margaret Dumont. Most things Groucho says.
It does that weird cumulative thing that the best comedies do that have you laughing at the memory of having laughed or the suggestion of laughing so that you couldn't for a minute nail down just what…
“Remember, while you're out there risking your life and limb through shot and shell, we'll be in be in here thinking what a sucker you are.”
This film has been a fundamental part of my life (as well as the central influence on my sense of humor) for as long as I can remember, so revisiting it and finding that it’s just as subversive and delightful as it was when I first saw it puts me in a good mood. It’s a little surprising to see how uneasy the humor can be at points - McCarey and the Marxes don’t dance around the fact that Rufus T. Firefly is an atrocious, sociopathic leader, and instead use that fact to build…
Week 21 of the 2018 Cult Movie Challenge. This week is Pre-Code Week.
The Marx Brothers definitely seem like an acquired taste. I'm not super into some of this older comedy stylings but any time they go into a who's on first type gag I do tend to like it. Harpo is probably my favorite of the Marx brothers but he too can get a little too much. The ending musical is also pretty good.
Jokes on jokes on jokes.
This is so good. First time watching this and it's like a jigsaw piece falling into place, seeing how hugely influential this became. Can feel the comedic rhythms in Mel Brooks, Monty Python, Zucker brothers, and basically every brilliant satirist since. I doubt Dr. Strangelove exists without Duck Soup - definitely need to watch more Marx Brothers.
One of the pillars in cinimatic comedy the Marx Brothers use quick wit and slapstick to tie together a movie with more to say then meets the eye.
Oh man. why don't I feel the same love for Duck Soup that I do for Horse Feathers.
It has all the elements and should build on the previous movies triumph but at every turn I feel this outing is a pale copy of the film before. The gags seem slightly laboured, the songs not as catchy and the quips occasionally oddly duds from the usually devastatingly accurate Groucho. In my mind if Horse Feathers didn't exist this would be the definitive Marx Brothers movie but instead i see it as a pale shadow of the prior masterpiece.
I'm somewhat in the minority here and whatever my rating of it I have no hesitation in recommending it to others as one of the best, even if the movies either side of it I find vastly superior in content and execution.
This is one of the funniest movies ever made! I can't believe how well the humor holds up (some of it is still pretty edgy). Clear vaudeville influence infused with anarchy and a distinct lack of rules. My first exposure to the Marx Brothers and it is the best.
It’s hard to ignore the Marx Brothers’ influence on comedy. Pick a comedian or style of comedy and I guarantee you can draw some sort of through line back to the Marx Brothers. It’s also hard to ignore that, like most things that blazed trails in their own time, Duck Soup doesn’t play nearly as well as its reputation would suggest. It’s an important film and one I think all cinephiles should watch but I’m not going to sit here and lie and say it elicited anything more than a few mild chuckles from me.
Duck Soup is without a doubt my favorite Marx Brothers movie and one of the greatest comedies of all time. The plot, jokes and pacing flow perfectly together.
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twitter.com/edgarwright/status/758339515421433856 mubi.com/lists/edgar-wrights-favorite-movies
