Duck Soup (1933)

Rufus T. Firefly is named president/dictator of bankrupt Freedonia and declares war on neighboring Sylvania over the love of wealthy Mrs. Teasdale.

Director:

Leo McCarey

Writers:

Bert Kalmar (story), Harry Ruby (story),

Stars:

Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
The Marx Brothers	...	(as The Four Marx Brothers)
Groucho Marx	...	Rufus T. Firefly
Harpo Marx	...	Pinky
Chico Marx	...	Chicolini
Zeppo Marx	...	Bob Roland
Margaret Dumont	...	Mrs. Teasdale
Raquel Torres	...	Vera Marcal
Louis Calhern	...	Trentino
Edmund Breese	...	Zander
Leonid Kinskey	...	Agitator (as Leonid Kinsky)
Charles Middleton	...	Prosecutor (as Charles B. Middleton)
Edgar Kennedy	...	Street Vendor

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!

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Plot Keywords:

widow | spy | ambassador | dictator | dowager | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 November 1933 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cracked Ice

Filming Locations:

Sierra de Loja, Granada, Andalucía, Spain

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

68 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Firefly (Groucho Marx) says, "The Headstrongs married the Armstrongs, and that's why darkies were born," a reference to a 1931 popular song "That's Why Darkies Were Born", written by Ray Henderson and Lew Brown and originally sung by Kate Smith (and later by Paul Robeson).

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Goofs

When Firefly was pulling up his trousers, his arms were behind his back, next shot, his hands were on his hips, next shot, they were at the back of him again.

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Quotes

[answering the phone in Firefly's office]
Chicolini: Hello? No, not yet. All right, I tell him. Good-a-bye.
[He hangs up]
Chicolini: That was for you again.
Rufus T. Firefly: I wonder whatever became of me? I should have been back here a long time ago.

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theatre 3000: Hobgoblins (1998)

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Soundtracks

"The Old Grey Mare"
(uncredited)
Traditional

User Reviews

Yes, it lives up to its reputation

Probably the Marx Brothers' most famous comedy, "Duck Soup" is a hilarious and wacky slapstick comedy that even manages to take a stab at politics. Groucho plays Rufus Firefly, who is appointed the new president of Freedonia. He has a dubious stance on work ethic and attempts to cut work hours by reducing the length of employee lunch breaks.

Mrs. Teasdale, who has donated twenty million dollars to the failing country, becomes the object of affection for Rufus, who has to battle for her hand against Ambassador Trentino of the neighboring country Sylvania. Soon their tumult escalates and war is declared between the two countries.

Most people who comment on this film seem to indicate that they saw it at a very young age and have grown up with it. I can honestly say I wasn't given the opportunity to ever see it until recently, when I finally managed to watch it on Turner Classic Movies, completely uninterrupted.

Although it is not consistently laugh-out-loud, tears-in-your-eyes hilarious, "Duck Soup" is very funny - and not quite as outrageous as I had expected. There's a lot going on here, aside from silly physical humor.

The Marx Brothers are great as usual and as usual Groucho steals the show.

Ultimately if you've never seen this, you need to go rent it out right now. If you have seen it, you already know how great it is and why it deserves its reputation as one of the most beloved comedies ever made.