Review of Duck Soup (1933) by Robert H — 25 Feb 2014
Duck Soup (1933).
Where Animal Crackers (1930) makes jokes at the expense of the rich, Duck Soup makes fun of these corrupt European nations who fight each other at the drop of a hat. This is probably my favorite Marx Brothers movie. It seems a lot tighter constructed and their antics are closer together than some of their other movies.
The widow, Mrs. Teasdale (Margaret Dumont) is tired of bailing out the country of Freedonia with her husband's fortune and finally tells the monarchy to step down and appoint Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho) the leader.
Ambassador Trentino (Louis Calhem) of the neighboring country of Sylvania has got his spies out to discredit Firefly with the help of seductive Vera Marcal (Raquel Torres), Chicolini (Chico) and Pinkie (Harpo). He's also got his eyes on Mrs. Teasdale (and her money), but Mrs. Teasdale only has eyes for Firefly, despite her being the straight-man to his jokes.
The Marx Brothers are in top form with their slapstick, one-liners, and double-entendres. With the latest developments in Eastern Europe, this movie couldn't be more timely.
This review of Duck Soup (1933) was written by Robert H on 25 Feb 2014.
Duck Soup has generally received very positive reviews.
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