Theyre rude, insulting, pranksterish, and loyal to nobody. Comedy was always the driving force behind the marx brothers team onscreen. If duck soup is about anything, its about the abuse of power and the absurdity of war. Salvador dali, the marx brothers, and the strangest movie never made by josh frank, raised eyebro. Released theatrically by paramount pictures on november 17, 1933, it starred the four marx brothers groucho, harpo, chico, and zeppo and also featured margaret dumont, louis calhern, raquel torres and edgar. If you would like the book in kindle or audiobook format, its available on amazon. Duck soup was the only one of these films that fully integrated and balanced all of the marx brothers comic elements. Perhaps because of its uncompromisingly absurd nature the film was a resounding commercial failure and with its failure the marx brothers had their contract with paramount terminated. The marx brothers, a day at the races,1937 scene with groucho marx and chico marx chico. Les marx brothers au grand magasinthe big store 1941extrait duration. See more ideas about comedians, groucho marx and harpo marx.
Later, tamer features usually would cast them in some goodguy roles, their destructive mayhem having a secret agenda to help out a pretty girl in distress or the like, but not in this movie. Groucho marx, harpo marx, chico marx, zeppo marx, the marx brothers, margaret dumont, raquel torres, louis calhern, edmund. Duck soup is a crucial chapter in the marx brothers oeuvre because it marked the best and last opportunity for them to be at their most outrageous. The marx brothers were an american family comedy act that was successful in vaudeville, on broadway, and in motion pictures from 1905 to 1949. Duck soup is a 1933 precode marx brothers comedy film written by bert kalmar and harry ruby, with additional dialogue by arthur sheekman and nat perrin, and directed by leo mccarey. Duck soup was zeppo marxs last film role with his brothers. With help from mama and papa who get a little advice from grizzly gran, sister bear learns to stop her nervous nail biting before it turns into a bad habit. Poster for the marx brothers in duck soup the 4 marx brothers in duck. Etsy is the home to thousands of handmade, vintage, and oneofakind products and gifts related to your search. The marx brothers best movie 1933 and, not coincidentally, the one with the strongest directorleo mccarey, who had the flexibility to give. In casual terms, it has all the trappings we associate with a marx brothers picture.
Duck soup is a subversively madcapped onetwo punch and raised middle finger to the political economic structure that created the world war. Marx bros mirror scene recreated by us college students at totton college, hope you find it as funny as we did hahahahahahaha. My main criticism would be that this background information sometimes goes too far i dont want any speculations why there are more movies with. Hail, hail, euphoria presenting the marx brothers in duck soup. Artist hello i must be going hello i must be going the marx brothers. But more than them running amok in front of the camera and they had plenty of experience being let loose in front of an audience in vaudeville and broadway, the marx brothers made a comedy that. Overview of duck soup, 1933, directed by leo mccarey, with groucho marx, harpo marx, chico marx, at turner classic movies. The marx brothers in duck soup, june 24 at the revue cinema. Groucho marx julius groucho marx was the most famous of the marx brothers comedy team and eventually wound up with his own television show. Duck soup by jackie urbanovic scholastic books for kids. Duck soup is a fantasy book that is sure to capture the heart of early elementary children everywhere. In a scene in which groucho and chico are discussing a map, groucho mentions the presence of a viaduct between the mainland and a peninsula. In the 1930s and 40s the marx brothers kept the world laughing in good times and bad with such screen classics as animal crackers, duck soup and a night at the opera.
Wed love you to buy this book, and hope you find this page convenient in locating a place of purchase. Screech says maybe ill just join a club and hit myself over the head with it. Film critic roger ebert said, the marx brothers created a body of work in which individual films are like slices from the whole, but duck soup is probably the best. Jackie urbanovic has written six books about a lovable duck named max and his household of animals he lives with.
Five of the marx brothers thirteen feature films were selected by the american film institute afi as among the top 100 comedy films, with two of them, duck soup 1933 and a night at the opera 1935, in the top fifteen. Jackie urbanovic is the new york times bestselling author and illustrator of duck at the door, duck soup, and duck and cover, as well as the illustrator of if. Monkey business and duck soup classic film scripts illustrated edition by marx brothers isbn. Marx brothers duck soup rufus t fireflys introduction duration. As silly and funny as the marx brothers movie of the same title. Motion picture poster for duck soup showing the marx brothers looking up at a chorus line of dancers legs. Although this film is now a classic, considered by many to be the marx brothers best, it was a flop at the box office, and caused paramount to drop the marx brothers. See the newest novels, discuss with other book lovers, buy romance books online. Most later marx brothers films did not contain even a minute of dogs emerging from tattoos to bark.
When pressed, most select duck soup as the best of the marx brothers films, and its easy to see why. The 4 marx brothers in duck soup date createdpublished. In duck soup, max decides to cook a soup and in the middle of cooking he goes to the store to get a missing ingredient. The head long anarchy of the marx brothers peaked with this awesome comedy. Samuel screech powers dustin diamond impersonated comic legend groucho marx 18901977. Firefly marx, quipped, i got a good mind to join a club and beat you over the head with it. The marx brothers created a body of work in which individual films are like slices from the whole, but duck soup 1933 is probably the best.
The marx brothers, groucho marx, harpo marx, chico marx plot. Books and authors top teaching blog teachers tool kit student activities the teacher store book clubs book fairs scholastic education. Im a marx brothers fan who all too often finds bios on the boys depressing or dull. Not to be missed, duck soup is one of the marx brothers most popular films. The lives and legends of the marx brothers by simon louvish. Kirkus urbanovic creates a slapstick delight with her wildly expressive characters and expertly conveyed physical comedy. Duck soup was considered a flop when it first came out. The 4 marx brothers at paramount 19291933 bluray arrow films uk 2017 bader has presented multimedia lectures at the library of congress, the paley center for media, the turner classic movies festival, the association of moving image archivists, the seattle international film festival, the american cinematheque, and numerous libraries.
Chico, who is playing the role of an immigrant with poor english skills, replies why a duck. Presenting the marx brothers in duck soup, the greatest war movie ever made this book provides a lot of background information about the movie, the people involved and the time when it was made. Quite frankly, the sound quality on this cd is worse, especially in the cocoanuts numbers. Like the first max story, duck at the door january 2007, the cartoon cover is irresistible and the comical illustrations spice up the clever story. Firefly is named presidentdictator of bankrupt freedonia and declares war on neighboring sylvania over the love of wealthy mrs. Which special ingredients make the marx brothers breakneck satire duck soup one of the very best comedies hollywood has produced. Books by the marx brothers and other marx family members marx, arthur. The 1933 film is an outlier in the marx oeuvre, mostly in ways that relate to its epic scale. Synopsis duck soup captures some of the marx brothers zaniest routines and funniest quips, creating a laughoutloud spectacle of politics gone haywire. When i was a kid in the 60s, i recorded the entire soundtrack from horse feathers on a handheld cassette deck. As wonderful as monkey business, horse feathers, and duck. Duck soup critics consensus fueled by inspired silliness and blessed with some of the marx brothers most brilliant work, duck soup is one of its or any eras finest comedies. He also wrote for several other magazines, as well as books, scripts, and screenplays. Jackie urbanovic is the new york times bestselling author and illustrator of duck at the door, duck soup, and duck and cover, as well as the illustrator of if youre hoppy, by april pulley sayre.
Duck soup was the last film the marx brothers made for paramount. Rent duck soup 1933 starring groucho marx and chico marx on dvd and bluray. Thats 1914 to 1945 it was really one war with a 20 year intermission. No matter what youre looking for or where you are in the world, our global marketplace of sellers can help you find unique and affordable options. According to wikipedia the marx brothers are widely considered by critics, scholars, and fans to be among the greatest and most influential comedians of the 20th century and this film duck soup is among their most famous, but i wonder how much of that is down to people feeling that they ought to like this because other critics say. This is an excellent example of a romantic musical comedy built around the theme of war. Duck soup is a 1933 precode marx brothers comedy film written by bert kalmar and harry.
Teasdale regular marx straightwoman margaret dumont, groucho becomes the leader of freedonia, quickly. When it was completed, zeppo retired from show business, and groucho, chico, and harpo moved to mgm where, under the guidance of irving thalberg, they began a night at the opera an entirely different kind of film, and one perceived at the time as a comeback for the team. Maxwell duck is trying to invent a soup that everyone will remember him for, but when he goes out to look for the. Parents need to know that the marx brothers are the epitome of anarchy in duck soup.
893 1589 700 1616 1395 167 1130 856 1274 147 929 541 497 49 1618 284 1030 730 588 1435 1468 1422 567 655 289 793 815 464 1468 562 122 665 51 255 548 1044 120 678 1119 236 851 760