Classic Flicks: Duck Soup

By Joseph Allencherril     9/21/11 7:00pm

In a list of the greatest artistic works of the 20th century, Harold Bloom, arguably one of the America's most prominent and influential literary and cultural critics, named Nathanael West's Miss Lonelyhearts, a selection of poetic works of Hart Crane and Wallace Stevens, William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow and the Marx Brothers comedy Duck Soup. This last cinematic inclusion in Bloom's 20th-century American sublime may come as a surprise: All the other choices were serious works of high art, but Duck Soup was a frivolous 1930s comedy! How could that possibly be included, while Citizen Kane was out?

Only now do I know that this inclusion was neither an error nor a joke, which is what I thought when I first saw this list; I had not actually seen Duck Soup or any Marx Brothers' comedy at that point. My evaluation was erroneous and unfounded in cinematic fact. After finally seeing this film, Bloom's inclusion of Duck Soup makes perfect sense, for it is indeed a truly great film.

The story centers on the character of Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho Marx), whom the wealthy Mrs. Teasdale (Margaret Dumont) insists to be appointed leader of Freedonia before she will continue to provide financial aid to the tiny bankrupt nation.  At the same time, Trentino (Louis Calhern), ambassador of the neighboring Sylvania, attempts to conquer Freedonia by sending in spies Chicolini (Chico Marx) and Pinky (Harpo Marx).  Bob Roland (Zeppo Marx), Firefly's assistant, suspects Trentino's questionable motives, and the two nations reach the brink of war.

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Duck Soup reminds me of both Charlie Chaplin's films and Charles Schulz's beloved comic strip Peanuts, because on the surface these works might seem too simple and plain, or even meant for children. If you delve deeper, though, you will discover more about the human condition than you expected to learn from a mere comedy.

Those looking for laugh-til-your-stomach-hurts comedy don't need to look any further. Though I will admit that I am more open to classic black-and-white films than some, I still feel that many people would find the comedy quite fresh. Much of the verbal agility in the film comes from Groucho's inimitable style; his delivery of witty repartees is delightful and hilarious. Nonetheless, it would be an error not to credit the work of the screenwriters. The screenplay is a melange of metaphor, historical allusions and extremely clever puns. If you laugh too long or too loud, you may just miss another golden punch line. Had Groucho and his brothers never graced the silver screen, it is doubtful that any of their fruitful followers — Woody Allen, Larry David and Ricky Gervais to name a famous few — would have come to ?prominence.

If, after seeing Duck Soup, you care to see more of the Marx Brothers at the height of their comedic powers, be sure to check out the S.J. Perelman-penned Monkey Business (1931), A Night at the Opera (1935) and A Day at the Races (1937).

Carol Burnett said that comedy is tragedy plus time. But how many films do we rewatch, only to realize that they really aren't as funny as we thought they were years ago? Unlike a dated comedy, a great comedy plus time still equals comedy, and that's what Duck Soup is.

Joseph Allencherril is a Will Rice ?College senior. Classic Flicks is a column reexamining and rediscovering the best that cinema has to offer.

 

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