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!"

1933 1h 8m EN

👍

7.3

SOLID

★7.3TMDB · 889

ComedyWar

Synopsis

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

“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!”

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Cast

Groucho Marx
Rufus T. Firefly
Harpo Marx
Pinky
Chico Marx
Chicolini
Zeppo Marx
Bob Roland
Margaret Dumont
Gloria Teasdale
Raquel Torres
Vera Marcal
Louis Calhern
Ambassador Trentino
Edmund Breese
Zander

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Leo McCarey
Writers: Harry Ruby, Nat Perrin, Bert Kalmar
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 68-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

93 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Leo McCarey, shot by Henry Sharp. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Original score by John Leipold. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor LeRoy Stone shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Groucho Marx and Harpo Marx and Chico Marx carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "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!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0023969 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Leo McCarey directs. Henry Sharp behind the camera. John Leipold scores. LeRoy Stone cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 68-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
293 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Leo McCarey, shot by Henry Sharp. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by John Leipold. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor LeRoy Stone shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Groucho Marx and Harpo Marx and Chico Marx carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "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!".
8IMDB entry: tt0023969 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 16 themes, including "ambassador", "dictator", "widow", "spy".
10Released under 21 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Henry Sharp
Original score: John Leipold
Editing: LeRoy Stone
Runtime: 68 min · 1h 8m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Duck Soup (1933)

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Leo McCarey

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Community reviews

What people are saying

kineticandroid2014-07-10
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.
tmdb476334912018-05-04
★ 7/10
The Marx Bros are to Blockbuster as Monty Python are to Netflix and I mean that in the best way possible
Filipe Manuel Neto2023-10-16
★ 10/10
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.