Starring The Marx Brothers, Margaret DuMont and Raquel Torres
Produced by Paramount Pictures
So what happens when the Marx Brothers stick to a coherent storyline with characters that are relatively consistent firing off jokes that don't overstay their welcome?
You get a pretty good comedy.
Duck Soup sets up Groucho Marx as Rufus T. Firefly, recently installed as the leader of Freedonia. The country wanted to borrow money from Mrs. Teesdale to avoid a tax increase and she will only agree so long as Firefly is in charge.
One of Firefly's first acts is to insult the ambassador from Sylvania. The rest of the film sees the two countries threatening war, only to reach a diplomatic solution that Firefly inadvertently sabotages.
Zeppo has only the tiniest of roles as Firefly's secretary. Chico and Harpo are Sylvanian spies attempting to get Freedonia's war plans. You would think this task would be easy as Firefly impulsively makes Chico his Secretary of War. But this is a Marx Brothers movie so nothing comes easy.
There is some fun political commentary throughout this set up from Chico's peanut vendor being elevated to Firefly's cabinet to the country's leader firing on his own people. When the countries finally go to war, it is basically to sate a couple of people's egos.
Beyond that, there are the trademark gags. The best sees Harpo dressed as Groucho acting as his mirror image in a doorway. There are moments you think you know what's going to happen, but then it goes a different direction.
That said, Harpo continues to be the weak link for me. He's a being of pure chaos, but he is given to some of the most predictable and agonizingly long bits. There's a repetition to what he does, particularly in a scene with a rival street vendor. I find myself annoyed every time he enters a scene.
It's been a long slog of Marx Brothers films, but Duck Soup marks the first I actually enjoy. I think the film's strengths underline what I have disliked in the past. It's tighter and more focused. I am definitely not ready to hop on the Marx bandwagon, but I am enjoying it drive by.
Final Score:
B
