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1933 Marx Brothers film by Leo McCarey

Duck Soup is a 1933 American pre Code musical black comedy film written by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby (with additional dialogue by Arthur Sheekman and Nat Perrin) and directed by Leo McCarey. Released by Paramount Pictures on November 17, 1933, it stars the four Marx Brothers (Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo in his final film appearance) and also features Margaret Dumont, Louis Calhern, Raquel Torres and Edgar Kennedy. Duck Soup was the last of the five Marx Brothers films released by Paramount Pictures. In the film, Groucho portrays the newly installed president of the fictional country of Freedonia. Zeppo is his secretary, while Chico and Harpo are spies for the neighboring country of Sylvania. Relations between Groucho and the Sylvanian ambassador deteriorate during the film, eventually leading the two countries to war. Compared to the Marx Brothers' previous films, Duck Soup was a financial disappointment, although this by itself did not end the group's association with Paramount. Bitter contract disputes, including a threat by the Marxes to leave and found their own production company, soured their negotiations with the studio just as Duck Soup went into production. After the film fulfilled their five picture obligation to Paramount, the Marxes and the studio agreed to part ways. While contemporaneous critics of Duck Soup felt it did not quite rise to the level of its predecessors, critical opinion has evolved and the film has since achieved the status of a classic.

The wealthy widow Mrs. Gloria Teasdale insists that Rufus T. Firefly be appointed leader of the small, financially struggling nation of Freedonia before she will continue to provide the country with much needed financial aid. Meanwhile, Ambassador Trentino of the neighboring country of Sylvania is scheming to provoke a revolution in Freedonia in order to annex it. He sends his spies Chicolini and Pinky to Freedonia to dig up dirt on Firefly. While he and Pinky initially fail to collect any useful information, Chicolini is eventually appointed Secretary of War after Firefly notices him selling peanuts below his office window. A short time later, Firefly's secretary Bob Roland tells him that he suspects Trentino's motives and advises him to get rid of the thin skinned ambassador by insulting him, hoping that he will slap Firefly in response. Firefly agrees to the plan, but after a series of personal insults exchanged with Trentino, the plan goes awry when Firefly slaps Trentino instead of being slapped by him. This incident leads the two countries to the brink of war. Adding to the friction is the fact that both Firefly and Trentino are wooing Mrs. Teasdale in the hopes of acquiring her late husband's wealth. Trentino learns from Sylvanian spy Vera Marcal that Freedonia's plans of war are in Mrs. Teasdale's possession; he tells her to assist Chicolini and Pinky in stealing them. Chicolini is eventually caught by Firefly and put on trial, during which war is officially declared. Overcome with excitement for the war, everyone at the trial breaks into song and dance. Chicolini and Pinky join Firefly and Bob Roland in anarchic battle. After a fierce battle, the end of the film finds Trentino caught in a makeshift pillory, with the Marx Brothers pelting him with fruit. Trentino surrenders, but Firefly tells him he will have to wait until they run out of fruit. Mrs. Teasdale sings the Freedonian national anthem, and they begin hurling the fruit at her instead.

Comparing the original scripts with the finished film, most of the characters' initial scripted names were later changed. Only the names of Chicolini and Mrs. Teasdale were kept. Groucho's character—originally named "Rufus T. Firestone"—eventually became Rufus T. Firefly, while the name of Harpo's character—named Pinky in the final product—was given in the Paramount pressbook as "Brownie". "Ambassador Frankenstein of Amnesia" was quickly changed to Ambassador Trentino of Sylvania. Zeppo's character remained Firefly's son until very late in production, finally becoming Bob Roland, his secretary; also, Mrs. Teasdale's niece "June Parker" transformed into Vera Marcal, first introduced as Trentino's "niece" before ultimately becoming his companion. Grover Jones was also reported to have contributed to the first draft by Ruby and Kalmar. "Duck soup" was American English slang at that time, referring to something easy to do. Conversely, "to duck something" meant to avoid it. When Groucho was asked for an explanation of the title, he quipped, "Take two turkeys, one goose, four cabbages, but no duck, and mix them together. After one taste, you'll duck soup for the rest of your life." McCarey also thought up "the very Laurel & Hardy like sequence in which Harpo and Chico stage a break in at Mrs Teasdale's house." Charlie Chaplin used a similar joke in The Floorwalker (1916),

The "Freedonia National Anthem" is used frequently throughout the film, both as vocal and instrumental; the entire song seems to consist of "Hail, Hail, Freedonia, land of the brave and free", contrasting with the final line of The Star Spangled Banner. The "Sylvania theme", which sounds vaguely like "Rule, Britannia! ", is also used several times. "When The Clock On The Wall Strikes 10", the first musical number in the film, is part of the same scene as "Just Wait 'Til I Get Through With It", is the final musical ensemble in the film. Technically it is the only musical number in the Marx Brothers' films to feature all four of the brothers. However, in Monkey Business, Chico briefly bangs on the piano while the other three play saxophones while eluding their pursuers on an ocean liner. The introductory scene, showing ducks swimming in a kettle and quacking merrily, is scored with an instrumental medley of the aforementioned songs, and it is also the only scene in the film that has to do with ducks and soup.

Universal Home Video released Duck Soup on DVD, unrestored but uncut, as part of a six disc box set The Marx Brothers: Silver Screen Collection, which includes also the Brothers' other Paramount films, The Cocoanuts, Animal Crackers, Monkey Business, and Horse Feathers. Reviewing the set, film critic Mark Bourne writes:
Shortly before this DVD set hit the streets, a pre release report by nationally syndicated entertainment columnist Marilyn Beck stated that "racially offensive material" would be edited from this edition of Duck Soup. Specifically, material "that has been deplored and debated in the 'We're Going to War' production number." Beck didn't say what the exact cut was, or who's doing all that deploring and debating, though presumably she meant the "All God's Chillun Got Guns" section. The possibility of new contextually obtuse editing is bad enough. What made her column even more galling was the satisfied tone in her statement that such a "well made edit makes the film a pure zany joy without an ugly blot in it to spoil the fun." It's a pleasure to report that Marilyn Beck is full of it. No such edits exist in this edition. Another potentially sensitive moment in the film — Groucho's punchline, "and that's why darkies were born", a dated reference to a popular song from the '30s — is also still intact.