Through all my years of movie watching I had never seen any of the Marx brothers movies. Surely I had heard of them and knew what Groucho Marx looked like, but I didn’t know about their movies and their comedy. It was time to finally see why one of their movies, Duck Soup, has been in the IMDB top 250 for ages and is mentioned is so many comedy lists.
The story of Duck Soup is about Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho Marx) who becomes the ruler of Fredonia. The ruler of the neighbouring country Sylvania sends in two spies (Chico and Harpo Marx) to find out what Firefly is planning to do. You don’t watch a movie like this for the story though, but for the comedy. Duck Soup delivers tons of it, both slapstick and witty conversations. I enjoyed the slapstick sequences the most, some perfect in their execution, like the one they do with a vendor or one involving a mirror. Harpo doesn’t speak but manages to get his points across by his expressions alone and I thought he was the funniest in this film.
The movie was directed by Leo McCarey who also worked with Laurel and Hardy and he made sure only the funny things stayed. The end result is a movie which doesn’t have a dull moment and which entertains from start to finish. It’s depiction of a dictator and it’s commentary on this form of government was something Mussolini didn’t like and he had the movie banned in Italy. If you never seen any of their movies this is a good one to start with.
Score: 8
The next ones to watch:
— “Horse Feathers,” which unfortunately had a lot of sexy stuff censored when it was reissued during more uptight times a few years later (they’ve never found the missing footage). It spoofs college football in a similarly timely (& timeless) way &
— “Monkey Business,” in which they play ocean liner stowaways who become mixed up with gangsters.is about stowing away on an ocean liner & dealing with gangsters.
The purest Marx Bros are the first two:
— “Cocoanuts” & “Animal Crackers,” which are simply filmed Broadway plays the Marxes had already done. The camera never moves because these are very early talkies.
The Marx Bros.’s biggest hits were the two they made after “Duck Soup”:
— “A Night At the Opera” & its less-good copy “A Day At the Races,” which appealed to a wider audience (in addition to the comedy, there are songs that aren’t meant to be funny & love stories).
Skip anything they made after that (“Day At the Races” was ’37).
Looking at your site you are an expert on the subject! Great list and as I thought this one was great I will check out some of the others as well!
It’s no wonder “Duck Soup” is in the IMBD Top 250. “Duck Soup” has endured the test of time. Hail, Hail Freedonia!
Umfortunately the new top 250 is out and Duck Soup has disappeared from the list.