Duck Soup

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Marx Brothers on a lobby card for Duck Soup

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Duck Soup

film by McCarey [1933]

Written by Lee Pfeiffer

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Article History

Duck Soup, American screwball comedy, released in 1933, that is considered to be among the Marx Brothers’ best films. It is especially noted for its anarchic style and effective satirization of war. Groucho Marx played Rufus T. Firefly, the cynical, sarcastic, and money-hungry leader of a fictional country called Freedonia. Margaret Dumont, a standard in the Marx Brothers’ films, was once again the butt of Groucho’s barbs, playing a rich dowager easily wooed by his questionable charms. When the ambassador of neighbouring country Sylvania attempts to overthrow Firefly—and win Dumont’s affections—Firefly declares war on Sylvania. Chico Marx portrayed a peanut ...(100 of 212 words)

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