Yesterday, we decided last-minute (VERY last minute) to see the Marx Brother's Duck Soup playing on the big screen. I had watched many Marx Brothers films as a child on vacation (we had several on VHS-- A Night At The Opera and Animal Crackers are two favorites), but had never seen this particular title.
It had been approximately 15 years since i'd seen a Marx Brothers film. As a kid, I relished the slapstick physical humor, especially Groucho's dances and everything Harpo. The finer points of some of the dialogue were lost upon me.
Duck Soup struck me as utterly refreshing. I couldn't believe how well the dialogue and material held up. It remains funny--SO funny, in fact. I also couldn't believe how daring it was. For 1933 there were a lot of overt sex jokes! Perhaps my favorite scenes were Harpo showing off his tattoos as a case of mistaken identity with Groucho, Harpo, and Chico all dressed as Groucho. Seeing it has prompted me to want to rewatch my old favorites (nothing can top the "Hello, I Must Be Going" song and dance from Animal Crackers) and discover new features I haven't seen. Also, I need to check out "You Bet Your Life" Groucho's TV show.
Perhaps what struck me the most about Duck Soup is that I really noticed the profound influence that Groucho had on one of my other favorites, Woody Allen. Although Allen makes this overt my name-checking their films several times (and by ning one of his films "Everyone Says I Love You", this is most evident to me in the dialogue and slapstick. While watching the film, I kept having déjà vu of "Love and Death". Some of the physical humor is also a clear influence on another great, Mel Brooks. Therefore, I think a double, if not triple, feature is in order!
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