Teasdale, and, like Trentino, hoping to get his hands on her late husband's wealth. Adding to the international friction is the fact that Firefly is also wooing Mrs. As a result, the two countries come to the brink of war.
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Firefly agrees to the plan, but after a series of personal insults exchanged between Firefly and Trentino, the plan backfires when Firefly slaps Trentino instead of being slapped by him. A short time later, Firefly's secretary, Bob Roland, tells Firefly he suspects Trentino's motives and he advises him to get rid of the thin-skinned Trentino by insulting him. Teasdale as he tries to dig up dirt on Firefly by sending in spies Chicolini and Pinky.Īfter failing to collect any useful information against Firefly, Chicolini and Pinky are able to infiltrate the government when Chicolini is appointed Secretary of War after Firefly notices him selling peanuts outside his window. Sylvanian ambassador Trentino tries to foment a revolution and court Mrs. Meanwhile, the neighboring country of Sylvania is scheming to annex Freedonia. Firefly be appointed leader of the small, financially struggling nation of Freedonia before she will continue to provide much-needed financial aid. In 1990, the United States Library of Congress deemed Duck Soup "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry. Duck Soup is now widely considered among many critics and fans to be a masterpiece of comedy as well as the Marx Brothers' finest film. 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. After the film fulfilled their five-picture obligation to the studio, the Marxes and Paramount agreed to part ways. Bitter contract disputes, including a threatened boycott by the Marxes soured their negotiations with Paramount just as Duck Soup went into production.
The film opened to mixed reviews, although this by itself did not end the group's association with Paramount.
Relations between Groucho and the Sylvanian ambassador deteriorate during the film, and they go to war at the conclusion.Ĭompared to the Marx Brothers' previous films, Duck Soup was a box office disappointment, though not entirely a "flop" as is sometimes reported. Groucho plays the newly installed president of the mythical country of Freedonia, and Zeppo is his secretary, while Harpo and Chico are spies for the rival country of Sylvania. It was the last Marx Brothers film to feature Zeppo and the last of five Marx Brothers movies released by Paramount Pictures. Released theatrically by Paramount Pictures on November 17, 1933, it starred the Marx Brothers ( Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo) and also featured Margaret Dumont, Louis Calhern, Raquel Torres and Edgar Kennedy. Duck Soup is a 1933 pre-Code comedy film written by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby, with additional dialogue by Arthur Sheekman and Nat Perrin, directed by Leo McCarey.