Duck Soup
Autumn 2004 Edge series
Sunday, December 26, 2004 at 4:00pm
Sunday, December 26, 2004 at 7:00pm
Acadia Cinema's Al Whittle Theatre
450 Main Street, Wolfville, NS
Directed by
Starring
Rated G ·
1h 8m
United States
English
“I wanted to get rid of habeas corpus, but I should have gotten rid of you instead.” — Rufus T. Firefly
Duck Soup captures some of the legendary Marx Brothers’ zaniest routines and funniest quips, creating a laugh-out-loud spectacle of politics gone haywire. Backed by wealthy widow Mrs. Teasdale (regular Marx straightwoman Margaret Dumont), Groucho becomes the leader of Freedonia, quickly frustrating his cabinet and offending the aggressive neighboring country to the point of war. Chico and Harpo, sent by the rival country, spy on Groucho and try to steal his battle plans, but when war does come, loyalties become muddled all around.
Director Leo McCarey gets the most out of the brothers, letting them be their wackiest best in what many critics consider to be the funniest Marx Brothers movie. Groucho plays Rufus T. Firefly, one of his best characters. The one-liners fly through the air like the bombs exploding in the hysterical battle scene. Duck Soup is a must-see comedy spectacular; don’t blink or you’ll miss yet another stinger.