DUCK SOUP (Universal, 1933) D: Leo McCarey, w/ Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Zeppo Marx. Rating: NNNN DVD package: none Rating: NNNN
The production is a bit stagey and the print slightly scratched, but Groucho, Harpo and Chico still deliver the big laughs after all these years. Apart from Monty Python, there isn’t a comedy troupe to match them.
The nominal plot has Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho) leading some comic-opera principality into war with its neighbour. Chico and Harpo play spies for the other side. Some critics have called this an anti-war satire, but Groucho denied it, and he has a point. The brothers do what they do in every movie: Groucho makes wisecracks, Chico displays indomitable stupidity, and Harpo makes mischief.
The mirror gag and Harpo’s war with the lemonade seller are classic bits, but even in lesser moments the brothers improve the material with the kind of timing only cartoon characters can achieve, an art they picked up from a decade of 10 shows a day in vaudeville.
Their other four movies for Paramount – Animal Crackers, Horse Feathers, Monkey Business and The Cocoanuts – also hit the street June 6. They’re worth a look. If you already know these movies inside and out, hunt up Brain Donors, an odd, funny attempt to channel the Marx Brothers’ spirit without resorting to imitation.
The disc comes without extras, but look around – there’s a ton of material out there.
EXTRAS Full-frame, b&w. English, Spanish audio. English, French, Spanish subtitles.
