ComedyWar

Duck Soup

- War is swell...when the Marx Brothers are in it. They'll be out of the trenches by Christmas...if the food doesn't improve!

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

Release Date : 1933-11-12

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Paramount Pictures

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles : Marx Brothers - Duck SoupMarx Brothers [1933] Duck Soup

Cast

Character Name : Rufus T. Firefly

Original Name : Groucho Marx

Gender : Male

Character Name : Pinky

Original Name : Harpo Marx

Gender : Male

Character Name : Chicolini

Original Name : Chico Marx

Gender : Male

Character Name : Bob Roland

Original Name : Zeppo Marx

Gender : Male

Character Name : Gloria Teasdale

Original Name : Margaret Dumont

Gender : Female

Character Name : Vera Marcal

Original Name : Raquel Torres

Gender : Female

Character Name : Ambassador Trentino

Original Name : Louis Calhern

Gender : Male

Character Name : Zander

Original Name : Edmund Breese

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sylvanian Agitator

Original Name : Leonid Kinskey

Gender : Male

Character Name : Prosecutor

Original Name : Charles Middleton

Gender : Male

Character Name : Street Vendor

Original Name : Edgar Kennedy

Gender : Male

Character Name : Politician (uncredited)

Original Name : Edward Arnold

Gender : Male

Character Name : Officer at Battle Headquarters (uncredited)

Original Name : Wade Boteler

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mrs. Teasdale's Butler (uncredited)

Original Name : Sidney Bracey

Gender : Male

Character Name : Officer in Battle Sequence (uncredited)

Original Name : E.H. Calvert

Gender : Male

Character Name : Minister of Finance #2 (uncredited)

Original Name : Davison Clark

Gender : Male

Character Name : Reception Guest (uncredited)

Original Name : Louise Closser Hale

Gender : Female

Character Name : Reception Guest (uncredited)

Original Name : Carrie Daumery

Gender : Female

Character Name : Reception Guest (uncredited)

Original Name : Maude Turner Gordon

Gender : Female

Character Name : Reception Guest (uncredited)

Original Name : Florence Wix

Gender : Female

Character Name : Dignitary at Reception (uncredited)

Original Name : Joseph Crehan

Gender : Male

Character Name : Minister (uncredited)

Original Name : Mario Dominici

Gender : Male

Character Name : Minister (uncredited)

Original Name : Edmund Mortimer

Gender : Male

Character Name : Minister (uncredited)

Original Name : Charles West

Gender : Male

Character Name : Trentino's Blonde Secretary (uncredited)

Original Name : Verna Hillie

Gender : Female

Character Name : Secretary of Labor (uncredited)

Original Name : Edward LeSaint

Gender : Male

Character Name : First Judge (uncredited)

Original Name : George MacQuarrie

Gender : Male

Character Name : Second Judge (uncredited)

Original Name : Frederick Sullivan

Gender : Male

Character Name : Third Judge (uncredited)

Original Name : Eric Mayne

Gender : Male

Character Name : Freedonia's Secretary of War #1 (uncredited)

Original Name : Edwin Maxwell

Gender : Male

Character Name : Bridegroom at Firefly's Reception (uncredited)

Original Name : Dennis O'Keefe

Gender : Male

Character Name : Agitator (uncredited)

Original Name : Leo Sulky

Gender : Male

Character Name : A Palace Guard (uncredited)

Original Name : Dale Van Sickel

Gender : Male

Character Name : First Minister of Finance (uncredited)

Original Name : William Worthington

Gender : Male

Reviews

kineticandroid

@kineticandroid

2021-06-23

I never get tired of the idea that someone would think of Groucho Marx is the perfect man to lead a nation into war. Or that Harpo and Chico would be good spies. Or that Zeppo would be interested in another film after this one.

tmdb47633491

@tmdb47633491

2021-06-23

The Marx Bros are to Blockbuster as Monty Python are to Netflix and I mean that in the best way possible

Filipe Manuel Neto

@FilipeManuelNeto

2023-10-16

**I would love to send a copy of the film to Vladimir Putin. Would he understand the gesture?** Who would have thought that this film is almost a hundred years old? I just saw it, and it is fresher and lusher than many vegetables in the supermarket! Many people no longer know who the Marx Brothers are, but a hundred years ago, at a time when there were no internet memes (or the internet), they were the kings of comedy, and it's always worth seeing what they did. They passed away a long time ago, but they left us a polite, intelligent, sharp, accessible humor that the whole family can see. The film was released in 1933, at a time dominated by the imminent threats of war. It reminds us of our own time, doesn't it? One hundred years later, we continue to make the same mistakes and show God that we have learned nothing from them. The film makes fun of this by giving us a portrait of a bankrupt country led by an incompetent man, very vain, arrogant and surrounded by sycophants who treat him as a savior of the nation. It could be Mussolini, or Hitler... and the explicit criticism of European dictators could not be sharper today, if we think about some tyrants of our time. The film is dominated by the four Marxes: Zeppo, in his last appearance as a member of the group, has a much more solid character than usual and as a result we never feel that he is too much in the film. Chico also does very well. Harpo does what he's used us to, managing to be funny without saying a word and putting all his tricks as a mime and vaudeville clown to good use. Groucho, as usual, intelligently leads the group. The king of ready answers couldn't have a quicker wit or a sharper tongue. In addition, we have Margaret Dumont in a skillful and healthy collaboration with them. Good sets and very well-imagined costumes help us compose Freedonia, a republic on the verge of collapse, bankruptcy and a foreign invasion. There is an unbelievable dose of anthological scenes in this film, from the motorcycle joke with the sidecar to the joke with the mirror. The black-and-white cinematography is sharp, well-shot, and the film doesn't look as old as it actually is. The soundtrack adds the finishing touch.