|
Duck Soup (1933)
The Marx Brothers' greatest and funniest masterpiece - the
classic comedy Duck Soup (1933) is a short, but brilliant satire
and lampooning of blundering dictatorial leaders, Fascism and
authoritarian government. The film, produced by Herman
Mankiewicz, was prepared during the crisis period of the
Depression. Some of its clever gags and routines were taken from
Groucho's and Chico's early 1930s radio show Flywheel, Shyster &
Flywheel. Working titles for the film included Oo La La,
Firecrackers, Grasshoppers, and Cracked Ice.
It was the Marx Brothers' fifth film in a five-picture contract
with Paramount Studios, before they went on to MGM. It was their
last and best film with the studio. The film was directed by
first-class veteran director Leo McCarey (who would go on to
direct The Awful Truth (1937), Love Affair (1939), Going My Way
(1944), and An Affair to Remember (1957) - a remake of his 1939
film), and its screenplay was written by Bert Kalmar and Harry
Ruby (with additional dialogue by Arthur Sheekman and Nat
Perrin). Originally, it was to have been directed by Ernst
Lubitsch. The film was devoid of any Academy Award nominations.
Actor/director Woody Allen paid homage to the film in his Hannah
and Her Sisters (1986) - with an excerpt from the musical number
"The Country's Going to War." While attending an afternoon
screening of Duck Soup at his local repertory movie theater, one
of the film's characters - a depressed and neurotic NY Jew named
Isaac (played by Allen himself), who is afraid of disease and
dying - experiences a climactic epiphany that life was meant to
be enjoyed. Further, the mirror sequence was re-enacted by Harpo
with Lucille Ball on her 1950's I Love Lucy TV show many years
later.
The outrageous film was both a critical and commercial failure
at the time of its release - audiences were taken aback by such
preposterous political disrespect, buffoonery and cynicism at a
time of political and economic crisis, with Roosevelt's struggle
against Depression in the US amidst the rising power of Hitler
in Germany. (This film quote, spoken by Groucho, was especially
detested: "And remember while you're out there risking life and
limb through shot and shell, we'll be in here thinking what a
sucker you are.") Insulted by the film, fascist Italian dictator
Mussolini banned the film in his country. Fortunately, the film
was rediscovered by a generation of 1960s college students, and
by revival film festivals and museum showings. As a result, the
film has attained immortal status. The Marx Brothers' next film
(without Zeppo), for MGM and its producer Irving Thalberg,
Hollywood's most prestigious studio, was their landmark film A
Night at the Opera (1935), with a more developed and polished
plot-line.
The irrepressible comedians in this quintessential anarchic,
satirical film simply but irreverently attack the pomposity of
small-time governmental leaders (Firefly as President), the
absurdity of government itself (the Cabinet meeting scene),
governmental diplomacy (the Trentino-Firefly scenes), an
arbitrary legal system (Chicolini's trial), and war fought over
petty matters (the mobilization and war scenes). The non-stop,
frenetic film is filled with a number of delightfully hilarious
moments, gags, fast-moving acts, double entendres, comedy
routines, puns, pure silliness, zany improvisations, quips and
insult-spewed lines of dialogue - much of the comedy makes the
obvious statement that war is indeed nonsensical and
meaninglessly destructive. It also contains a few of their most
famous sequences:
the lemonade seller confrontation
the mirror pantomime sequence
The mirror routine, contributed by McCarey, had been used by
Charlie Chaplin in The Floorwalker (1916) and by Max Linder in
Seven Year's Bad Luck (1921). Unlike many of their other
features, there are no romantic subplots (with Zeppo) and no
musical interludes that stop the film's momentum - no harp solos
for Harpo and no piano solos for Chico. There are, however, a
couple of musical numbers that are perfectly integrated into the
plot:
When the Clock on the Wall Strikes Ten
Groucho's song with the chorus - the Freedonia Hymn Just Wait 'Til
I Get Through With It
the staged production number, The Country's Goin' to War (it was
the only musical number in any of their films to feature all
four of the brothers together)
Why the title Duck Soup? [Earlier in 1927, director Leo McCarey
had made a two-reel Laurel and Hardy film with the same title -
and he borrowed the title from there.] The film's title uses a
familiar American phrase that means anything simple or easy, or
alternately, a gullible sucker or pushover. Under the opening
credits, four quacking ducks (the four Marx Brothers) are seen
swimming and cooking in a kettle over a fire. Groucho reportedly
provided the following recipe to explain the title: "Take two
turkeys, one goose, four cabbages, but no duck, and mix them
together. After one taste, you'll duck soup for the rest of your
life."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The film opens with the flag of Freedonia (emblazoned with an
"F") flying over the small village. The government of a
"mythical kingdom" - the Balkan state of Freedonia, is suffering
an emergency. It has gone bankrupt through mismanagement and is
on the verge of revolution. The country's richest dowager
millionairess, the wide and widowed benefactress Mrs. Gloria
Teasdale (Margaret Dumont in a welcome return as the perfect
foil for Groucho) has offered $20 million to sponsor and support
the cash-poor government, but only if it is placed under new
leadership:
The government has been mismanaged. I will lend the money, but
only on condition that His Excellency withdraw and place the
government in new hands.
The opening scene is the classic inaugural ceremony and lawn
party for the conferring of the Presidency of the tin-pot
republic to a newly-appointed leader, Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho
Marx), characterized by a supportive Mrs. Teasdale as "a
progressive, fearless fighter." She vows: "I will lend the money
to Freedonia only if Firefly is appointed leader." Headlines in
the Freedonia Gazette read: "FIREFLY APPOINTED NEW LEADER OF
FREEDONIA." A sub-article reads: "Mammoth Reception Arranged to
Welcome Nation's Leader Tonight - Selection of Rufus T. Firefly
Greeted with Cheers of Freedonians."
In the coronation setting (a spoof of all such gala events),
royal court guards at the entry announce the guests. Meanwhile,
the representative of the neighboring Sylvania [the name of the
country where Jeanette MacDonald ruled in Ernst Lubitsch's The
Love Parade (1929)], Ambassador and rival suitor Trentino (Louis
Calhern), schemes to win Mrs. Teasdale's hand in marriage by
wooing the rich heiress (with the ultimate goal of annexing
Freedonia to Sylvania). He has hired the seductive, sultry, and
sinuous Latin temptress/dancer Vera Marcal (Raquel Torres), who
wears a low-cut, revealing gown, to function as a secret agent
and keep Firefly distracted [in a satire of all Mata Hari
films]:
Trentino: I've given up the idea of a revolution. I have a
better plan...I can gain control of Freedonia much easier by
marrying Mrs. Teasdale.
Vera: Ha, ha, ha. Maybe that's not going to be so easy...From
what I hear, you see, Mrs. Teasdale is rather sweet on this
Rufus T. Firefly.
Trentino: Oh, well that's where you come in. I'm going to place
him in your hands. And I don't have to tell you what to do or
how to...
Firefly's secretary Bob Rolland (Zeppo Marx, in his LAST Marx
Bros. film) arrives and assures Mrs. Teasdale, in song, that the
absent statesman will appear "When the Clock on the Wall Strikes
Ten." When the clock on the wall does strike ten, pretty dancing
girls scatter rose petals and kneel in homage between an
impressive lineup of helmeted, sword-bearing guards along the
entrance way with swords uplifted. The assembled audience sings
the national anthem "Hail, Hail Freedonia," but Firefly isn't
anywhere in sight. After a long pause and a trumpeters' fanfare,
the anthem is sung a second time and all the guests look toward
the entrance, but Firefly still fails to enter.
Suddenly, in an upstairs bedroom, the ringing of an alarm clock
is heard, and Firefly appears in bed with a nightshirt,
nightcap, and cigar. He quickly removes his nightshirt to reveal
a suit, and slides down an unlikely fireman's pole into the
spacious ballroom hall. He takes his place in the line-up with
his own honor guard at the end of the ceremonial line, joining
them to wait for his own arrival and holding out his cigar with
their swords. He asks one of the guards: "You expecting
somebody?"
Mrs. Teasdale notices him and welcomes him (with
understatement), and attempts to impose some degree of dignity
upon the proceedings, but he assaults her with insults by
skipping from non-sequitur association to another:
Mrs. Teasdale: Oh, your Excellency. We've been expecting you. As
chairwoman of the reception committee, I extend the wishes of
every man, woman, and child of Freedonia. [Notice the continuity
error: Firefly's coat has changed from a formal black tuxedo
coat with tails, to a gray coat with black edging.]
Firefly: Never mind that stuff. Take a card.
Mrs. Teasdale: Card? What will I do with the card?
Firefly: You can keep it. I've got fifty-one left. Now what were
you saying?
Mrs. Teasdale: As chairwoman of the reception committee, I
welcome you with open arms.
Firefly (snapping back): Is that so? How late do you stay open?
Mrs. Teasdale (with high regard): I've sponsored your
appointment because I feel you are the most able statesman in
all Freedonia.
Firefly (insulting her): Well, that covers a lot of ground. Say!
You cover a lot of ground yourself. You'd better beat it. I hear
they're gonna tear you down and put up an office building where
you're standing. You can leave in a taxi. If you can't get a
taxi, you can leave in a huff. If that's too soon, you can leave
in a minute and a huff. You know, you haven't stopped talking
since I came here. You must have been vaccinated with a
phonograph needle.
She begs him to lead Freedonia to the same heights it occupied
when her late husband Chester V. Teasdale was President: "The
future of Freedonia rests on you. Promise me you will follow in
the footsteps of my husband." Firefly looks straight into the
camera, and in his first major line rudely insults his most
ardent supporter:
How do you like that? I haven't been on the job five minutes and
already she's making advances to me.
Then he engages the widowed Mrs. Teasdale in an insult-ridden
conversation, but quickly covers up his insults and shamelessly
flirts with her when he realizes she is a widow with money:
Firefly: Not that I care, but where is your husband?
Mrs. Teasdale: Why, he's dead.
Firefly: I'll bet he's just using that as an excuse.
Mrs. Teasdale: I was with him to the very end.
Firefly: Hmmph. No wonder he passed away.
Mrs. Teasdale: I held him in my arms and kissed him.
Firefly: Oh, I see. Then, it was murder. Will you marry me? Did
he leave you any money? Answer the second question first.
Mrs. Teasdale: He left me his entire fortune.
Firefly: Is that so? Can't you see what I'm trying to tell you?
I love you.
Mrs. Teasdale: Oh, your Excellency!
Firefly: You're not so bad yourself.
[Firefly's coat reverts back to the black tuxedo here.] When
Firefly is introduced to the sleek, impeccably tailored Trentino,
Ambassador from rival Sylvania, he immediately insults him a few
times, calling him an "old skinflint":
Mrs. Teasdale: Oh, I want to present to you Ambassador Trentino
of Sylvania. Having him with us today is indeed a great
pleasure.
Trentino: Thank you, but I can't stay very long.
Firefly: That's even a greater pleasure. Now, how about lending
this country $20,000,000 dollars, you old skinflint.
Trentino: $20,000,000 dollars is a lot of money. I'd have to
take that up with my Minister of Finance.
Firefly: Well, in the meantime, could you let me have $12
dollars until payday?
Trentino: $12 dollars?
Firefly: Don't be scared. You'll get it back. I'll give you my
personal note for 90 days. If it isn't paid by then, you can
keep the note.
Trentino: Your Excellency? Haven't we seen each other somewhere
before?
Firefly: I don't think so. I'm not sure I'm seeing you now. It
must be something I ate.
Trentino (insulted): Look here Sir, are you trying to...?
Firefly: Don't look now, but there's one man too many in this
room, and I think it's you.
Then, the new Freedonian President meets a "very charming lady,"
the seductive "famous dancer" Vera, still wearing a slinky
evening gown displaying her bosom. Overwhelmed by her
appearance, he shows off a number of his own ridiculous dance
steps: "I danced before Napoleon. No, Napoleon danced before me.
In fact, he danced two hundred years before me." When she
seductively suggests dancing with him some time later, he tells
her:
I could dance with you till the cows come home. On second
thought, I'd rather dance with the cows when you came home.
Firefly dictates a letter to his dentist in the middle of the
inauguration. Mrs. Teasdale congratulates him on his coronation
and sovereignty: "The eyes of the world are upon you. Notables
from every country are gathered here in your honor. This is a
gala day for you." He replies: "Well, a gal a day is enough for
me. I don't think I could handle any more."
In the song and dance number, "Just Wait 'Til I Get Through With
It," Firefly specifies the rules and program planned for his
preposterous administration. He threatens, as a repressive,
dictatorial ruler, to abuse his power, to be rude, obnoxious,
irresponsible, insulting, cynical, and power-mad, ruining the
country. Between verses, he plays a "Yankee Doodle" fife and
dances around among the guests:
These are the laws of my administration
No one's allowed to smoke
Or tell a dirty joke
And whistling is forbidden...
If chewing gum is chewed
The chewer is pursued.
And in the hoosegow hidden...
If any form of pleasure is exhibited
Report to me and it will be prohibited.
I'll put my foot down, so shall it be.
This is the land of the free.
The last man nearly ruined this place
He didn't know what to do with it
If you think this country's bad off now
Just wait 'til I get through with it
The country's taxes must be fixed
And I know what to do with it
If you think you're paying too much now
Just wait 'til I get through with it...
I will not stand for anything that's crooked or unfair
I'm strictly on the up and up
So everyone beware
If anyone's caught taking graft
And I don't get my share
We stand 'em up against the wall
And pop goes the weasel.
If any man should come between her husband and his bride
We find out which one she prefers
By letting her decide
If she prefers the other man
The husband steps outside
We stand 'em up against the wall
And pop goes the weasel.
[Firefly's coat again changes back to the gray one at the
conclusion of the song.]
dedicated server host
rate web host
web host ratings
web host reseller
Insurance |
ecommerce in Australia
miva ecommerce
car insurance
cheap tickets |
|
