DUCK SOUP (1933) B/W 70m dir: Leo McCarey

w/Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, Zeppo Marx, Raquel Torres, Louis Calhern, Margaret Dumont, Verna Hillie, Leonid Kinskey, Edmund Breese

This, the most immortal of the Marx Brothers' madnesses, is about the small nation of Freedonia (the Land of the Spree and the Home of the Knave). Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho) is given complete power in the country through a generous donation made by the wealthy dowager Mrs. Teasdale (Dumont). Two enemy spies (Chico and Harpo) and a sappy tenor (Zeppo) add to the zaniness.

From The Movie Guide: "A masterpiece. Fast-moving, almost irreverent, almost anarchic in style, DUCK SOUP is considered by many to be the Marx Brothers' greatest achievement, though it was not a hit upon its release. ...

"DUCK SOUP is perhaps the best, and funniest, depiction of the absurdities of war ever committed to celluloid. The Marxes' depiction of two-bit dictators destroying their own countries was a slap at the rising fascists, so much so that Mussolini considered it a direct insult and banned the film in Italy. The Marx Brothers were thrilled to hear that. Best gag among what seems like hundreds: the mirror sequence."