Week Fifteen: Duck Soup (1933)

Director: Leo McCarey

Producer: Herman J. Mankiewicz

Writers: Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby, Arthur Sheekman, and Nat Perrin

Cinematography: Henry Sharp

Music: Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby

Studio: Paramount

Starring: Groucho Marx (Rufus T. Firefly), Harpo Marx (Pinky), Chico Marx (Chicolini), Zeppo Marx (Bob Roland), Margaret Dumas (Gloria Teasdale), Louis Calhern (Ambassador Trentino), Raqual Torres (Vera Marcel), Edgar Kennedy (the Lemonade Vendor)

Before You Watch the Movie
(First make sure you have read the introduction to this series)

The transition from silent to sound changed a great deal in the process of making movies, from the filmmakers to the actors, every one had to learn a new way of doing things. Though obviously the addition of dialogue was a massive shift for comedians, comedy as a whole was the least affected genre overall, as physical comedy and slapstick would still play a huge role in making audiences laugh. The giants of silent comedy, the Keatons, Chaplins, and Lloyds, would all have to adjust their acts to incorporate verbal humor. Keaton never really made a successful transition, Lloyd never reached his silent era heights with sound, and though he eventually mastered the medium, it took Chaplin 13 years after sound was introduced to talk in a movie.

There was one comedy act that was ideally suited for the new blend of physical comedy however, and they came along at just the right time to take advantage of the explosion of talkies. The Marx Brothers got their start in vaudeville, touring as a comedy act beginning in 1912 and eventually working their way up to starring in hit Broadway productions, peaking on the stage right when talking pictures were starting to take hold. They were a cinch to be a success on the screen and so when Hollywood came calling, the Brothers answered, taking center stage as the most talented, and crazy, comedians in Hollywood.

The brothers themselves each had a distinct character that they carried from film to film, each typifying a different type of comedy. Groucho was the master of the verbal wit, launching an endless barrage of jokes and one liners at anyone and everyone, including the audience. Chico, with his faux-Italian pastiche, puns his way out of the tough situations his conning often gets him into. Though each of the three main brothers had an aspect of physical comedy to their characters, Harpo’s act is completely physical, aside from the odd horn or whistle. Harpo’s characters are essentially silent comedians who never bothered to make the transition to talkies. Even though everyone else around him talks, Harpo never does, instead performing in pantomime. Fittingly with sound technology, each brother also has his own musical component that often appeared in their act, though sadly not all perform in Duck Soup. Groucho sang and danced, Chico played piano in his own unique style, and Harpo of course played the harp. Zeppo, the final of the four brothers that appeared on screen (a fourth brother, Gummo, retired before Hollywood), was often reputed to be the funniest brother in real life, but in the act he plays the straight man and occasional romantic lead. While the need for a straight man is lessened in film comedy, Zeppo did play a key role, setting up his brothers to shine and advancing the plot when need be. Appearing in almost all of their films and plays, Margaret Dumont also played a straight man to the brothers, usually Groucho, but manages to be funny on her own by embodying Don Lockwood’s immortal slogan “Dignity, always dignity.” 

Groucho

Chico

Harpo

Zeppo

...and the woman often called the fifth Marx Brother, Margaret Dumont.

Indeed, one of the funniest parts of the Marx Brothers’ comedy is that every other character plays every situation seriously and straight, despite the maniacal antics that their co-stars are up to. There aren’t any other “funny” characters in the Marx Brothers films, and the situations they are placed in are often serious, though the brothers do what ever they can to create chaos. The Marx Brothers are comedic anarchists and their most famous manifesto.

No matter how crazy the Marx Brothers act, everyone is completely serious.

You can rent Duck Soup from Amazon here
After You Watch the Movie (Spoilers Below)

It goes without saying that Duck Soup is a hilarious film, the brothers finest overall work, so littered with creative jokes and gags that it takes multiple viewings to catch them all. Groucho, who takes particular aim at Dumont in this picture, is relentlessly funny, the first example of a comedian with complete control of the talking comedy film. The Harpo/Chico/Lemonade Vender sequence is one of the best bits in any comedy film, sound or silent, and mixes both mediums perfectly. Instead of being a silent routine with dialogue added later, it is a seamless blending of the two, as the Brothers entire act was. 

Later, in the film’s most famous sequence, we get the oft-imitated Two Groucho routine that is played out completely silently. Groucho and Chico may have been mostly verbal comedians, and Harpo silent, but as a whole they made the perfect combination of the two. If there was any worry that comedy could evolve into the sound era, while still retaining what made silent comedy great, the Marx Brothers put an end to it. Though they weren’t what is now considered to be “screwball comedy,” the brothers did set the stage for those films by their combination of fast and funny dialogue and slapstick, as well as being screwballs themselves.

Groucho and Harpo, eventually joined by Chico.

Although such things didn’t really exist at the time, Duck Soup can easily be seen as a the first dark comedy film. Consider that throughout the course of the film, despite the best intentions of everyone else involved, everything that the Marx Brothers do, intentionally or not, pushes the fictional nation of Fredonia into war. Double agents Pinky and Chicolini end up pushing both sides towards war while Firefly is given several opportunities to end the potential hostilities but chooses pomposity and pride over prudence every time. 

Despite the obvious potential repercussions, Firefly can't stop himself from insulting - and slapping - Trentino

It may be a stretch to credit the writers or Marx Brothers with inserting any deeply seated meanings into Duck Soup, it is undeniable that the film successfully demonstrates the utter insanity of war, spurred on by oversized ego. Fascist dictators, Mussolini in particular, were coming into the spotlight when Duck Soup was made and the film makes no bones about lampooning these leaders and their nationalist obsession with weapons, war, and glory. 

Far from a disaster, war is cause for a musical number and national celebration, a direct attack at fascist dictators.

Much to the brothers delight, Mussolini was greatly offended by the film and caused it to be banned in Italy. In 1940, Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator would openly mock Hitler and Mussolini directly. 

Duck Soup is an unabashedly anti-war film, intended or not, and is quite cynical when it comes to patriotism and nationalism: Grouch tells Harpo, as he is about to run out into the battle fray: “When you’re out there risking life and limb through shot and shell, we’ll be in here thinking what a sucker you are!” The film also references the way Generals glorify themselves while knowingly sending soldiers to their deaths: Firefly, unknowingly shooting his own men, remarks that he must remember to give himself the “Firefly Medal,” for his actions. 

Twenty-plus years later Stanley Kubrick’s anti-war masterpiece Paths of Glory (1957) would revisit that same theme in a serious manner while Kubrick’s Dr Strangelove (1964) would point out the absurdity of war through black comedy, much like Duck Soup had.

Duck Soup didn’t just prove that silent and sound comedy could co-exist and thrive, it also showed that a comedy film could also comment on politics and world affairs. More importantly, the satire and statements in no way detract from the humor of the picture, it all develops organically. There is no tacked on moralizing or preaching and the film can have you laughing from start to finish completely oblivious to its message. Dark comedies were still decades away from being acceptable to movie-going audiences, however the days of comedy that could be funny while also commenting on society was just dawning.

See Also

A Night at the Opera (1935) dir. Sam Wood

Rivals Duck Soup as funniest Marx Brothers film. Contains some of their best material, including the famous stateroom scene.

Monkey Business (1931) dir. Norman Z. McLeod

The Brothers first film based on an original screenplay, Monkey Business has a number of hilarious moments as well as a send-up of gangster pictures.

Horse Feathers (1932) dir. Norman Z. McLeod

The Marx Brothers’ version of The Freshman, complete with football game finale.

Twentieth Century (1934) dir. Howard Hawks

One of the first great screwball comedies, Twentieth Century combines fast dialogue, slapstick, crazy characters, and parody to perfection.

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