Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hail, Hail the Marx Brothers! The Marxist view on war, 2 Nov 2003
My favorite Marx Brothers movie is "A Night at the Opera," but this political satire, which was banned in Italy by Mussolini, is a very close second. It is definitely the best (and last) Marx Brothers movie with Zeppo, for what that is worth. As Groucho later pointed out, Zeppo's roles as the group's straight man were thankless. It was not that Zeppo lacked talent, but rather that he had three older brothers."In Duck Soup," the mythical nation of Freedonia is in trouble and Mrs. Teasdale (Margaret Dumont) insists that the reigns of power be turned over to Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho). Ambassador Trentino (Louis Calhern) of the neighboring country of Sylvania employs a couple of spies, Chicolini (Chico) and Pinky (Harpo), to shadow Firefly. Oh, and Firefly has a secretary, Bob Rolland (Zeppo). Many of the most famous sequences by the Brothers Marx are found in this film: (1) The mirror sequence between Groucho and Harpo (if it had been Groucho and Chico instead Groucho would have asked "Are you my reflection" and Chico would have answered "Sure"); (2) Harpo's encounter with street vendor Edgar Kennedy, master of the slow-burn (" "); (3) The "We're Going to War" take off on 1930s musicals ("They've got guns, we've got guns, all God's chil'en got guns"); (4) Groucho offering Chico the position of Secretary of War ("Sold!"); (5) Harpo offering Grouch a ride in the sidecar of his motorcyle ("This is the third trip I've taken today and I still haven't gone anywhere"); (6) Zeppo introducing the new leader of Freedonia, Rufus T. Fireflay ("Whatever it is, I'm against it."); and much, much more, including the lovely Rachel Torres as the lovely Vera Marcal! "Duck Soup" was helped by several factors. With director Leo McCarey the Marx Brothers finally had a first rate director who understood how to stage and shoot the action. The Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby screenplay does one of the better jobs of integrating the various comic routines into the overall story. After an absence of two films Margaret Dumont was back where she belonged, trying to stay above the insanity with no success whatsoever. Louis Calhern is arguably the ideal villain for the Marx Brothers because in scene after scene he plays it absolutely straight, without losing his dignity or becoming laughable (similar to the marvelous job by Kitty Carlisle in "A Night at the Opera"). Final tidbit: When the town of Fredonia, New York complained about its name being used in the film (the extra "e" did not matter for some reason," Groucho shot back: "Change the name of your town, it's hurting our picture." And, as always, please remember that the correct pronunciation of Leonard's stage name is "Chick-o" not "Cheek-o." The man liked the ladies and was not a young Hispanic male.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Finest of all The Marx Brothers Comedies., 6 Jun 2001
By A Customer
Arguably, Duck Soup is the finest and most well known of all the Marx Brothers movies. The reason for the film's success, I feel has been its use of virtuoso Groucho one-liners, the strong dou-partnership between Chico and Harpo and the strong supporting cast, including the magnificent Margaret Dumont and Louis calhern as Trentino and Mrs Teesdale. This movie more than any other is memorable because it gives us so many of the finest movie quotes of all time. ' I could dance with you till the cows come home, on second thoughts, I'd rather dance with the cows till you came home' is but one example of the sheer brilliance which has been copied and imitated by admirers and fans but never bettered. The essence of all their films is mayhem and the political satire of Freedonia's problems is one which can be related to in many countries who look for Leadership. As Groucho sings as Rufus T Firefly, 'The Last Guy nearly ruined this place , he didn't know what to do with it, if you think the country's bad off now just wait till I get through with it'. My only criticism is the lack of Harp and Piano playing which enlivens so many of the other films. However, this film is must for those who like their comedy zany, manic and above all intelligently worked out and written. There is no crudeness to the Marx brothers, only wit, so enjoy.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A hilarious movie!, 26 Sep 2003
To gain financial support from Mrs. Teasdale (Margaret Dumont), the tiny bankrupt country of Freedonia agrees to take Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho Marx) as their new president (the poor saps). Mayhem springs from Firefly's cynical and sarcastic leadership, culminating in war with the neighboring country of Sylvania. Throughout, Pinky (Harpo Marx) and Chicolini (Chico Marx) are scheming among the great and powerful, taking money from Trentino (Louis Calhern) of Sylvania, and directing Firefly's war effort. [Black & white, created in 1933, with a running time of 70 minutes.]This movie contains some of Groucho's funniest witticisms, his badinage with Margaret Dumont producing some of the funniest lines in theatrical history. The story takes something of a backseat to the Marx brother's comedy, but this movie is first and foremost a satire of politics in general, and war and patriotism in particular. Back to the comedy, this movie is fantastically funny, containing the famous mirror scene, where Chico is dressed as Groucho, who must figure out if he is seeing his reflection or something else! This is a great movie. The comedy is funny and clean, and can be watched by viewers of any age. I highly recommend this movie.
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