Duck Soup (1933) Meaning And Ending Explanation

The film Duck Soup is an American musical farce directed by Leo McCarey. The screenplay was written by Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond, based on a story by Wilder and John Drier and originally performed as a silent film in 1933 with Buster Keaton, who also directed the film.

The meaning of the movie Duck Soup is that of a parody in which it plays off the genre of Marx Brothers movies.

It shows how the world would be if every person were a member of the Communist Party and used their power to control everything, so much so that no one could do anything without their permission.

What Is Duck Soup About

A comic musical farce featured the Marx Brothers, members of a Communist Party. The movie makes fun of how much power people in such parties have over their lives and shows that it wouldn’t matter without them if there was no law at all.

It then shows a parable about what might happen if everyone was leznbrod to prevent inflation let the water run uphill but does this sound reasonable?

The screenplay for Duck Soup by Wilder and Diamond is based on Istvan Lamont’s “Red Sails,” which aired as part of the first season (1929 –1930) of the “Film Guild’s” short-lived dramatic television series, “The New Art Theater.”

In 1930 Lamont and Wilder first adopted it as a satire in the playlets “Operation Woo: A Musical Farce”; Berlin reviewed it favorably. In 1933 Diamond had played Zeyde to Leo Kruse’s Sam Jones in this version on Broadway.

He returned to collaborate with Wilder again on Duck Soup (although Lamont was still credited, he is called ‘Sam Jones’). The opening scene turns scenes from Deliverance into Laughter; several have precedents in Duck Soup.

The Marx Brothers: Groucho (Harpo), Chico, Harpo, and often Zeppo before his death in 1956 were the original team of comic actors known as “The Three Stooges.” Their first film for Paramount Pictures was A Day at the Zoo when it came out on 9 November 1934.

The Meaning of The Film’s Title

There is no definitive answer to this question. Some people believe that Duck Soup refers to a popular dish made from duck meat and vegetables, while others believe it is a reference to the soup which was served at the dinner party where the characters in the film meet for the first time.

There is also the theory about which U.S. President it was named after, but there seems to be no proof for this either way, so “Weal” (or “Woe”) can refer to any of them all.

There are some more theories that suggest Duck Soup is a reference from Mao Zedong and Li Liguo’s 1942 movie named ‘Duck — or – Go-Go’ suggesting duck soup as a possible alternate name with what could be translated as famine being rampant in China at the time of the shoot.

Weal/Woe has been the American English name for Magic since 1922, with the full title of The Silver Stone; and a reference change under some “modern” spellings such as Woe My Scrawl.

However, if one wears context goggles, there is no more problem — no puns or associations are needed to make sense of this film.

It was even originally released under that name by Paramount Pictures in chronological series from September 9 – 17, 1934.

Apparently, an unauthorized subtitle presentation had preceded them, saying Duck Soup v1′ Original 1921 French Novel Adapted to U.S. Motion Picture Screenplay in 1934 by Lewis Baker, Harry B. Smith & Charles E. Roberts.’

This is a variation containing further euphemistic substitutions, but it’s the one that appears on most’ DVDs of the 1920s’ and so forth (pics mostly from Umberto Webber).

The Ending of The Film Duck Soup

Mrs. Teasdale (Margaret Dumont) is an affluent widow who has lately lost her husband. She wants Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho Marx) to head Freedonia, a tiny kingdom that has gone bankrupt. If he accepts the position, she will fund his leadership and offer financial support to the country.

This is not completely what Freedonia’s neighbors want; Sylvania aims to seize Freedonia, and Trentino (Louis Calhern), the Sylvanian leader, is plotting a coup.

He wants Mrs. Teasdale to fund his revolution, so he starts courting and wooing her in the hopes of obtaining her money.

Knowing she is a Firefly fan, he decides to dig up some dirt on his adversary and sends in two spies, Chicolini (Chico Marx) and Pinky (Harpo Marx), to do the dirty job.

They are, however, terrible spies. They don’t locate anything even like dirt, but they demonstrate their networker’s abilities. They infiltrate the Republic of Freedonia after Firefly notices Chicolini selling peanuts outside his window and appoint him Secretary of War.

Bob Roland (Zeppo Marx), Firefly’s secretary, is getting more dubious of Trentino and his reasons. He suggests that Firefly get rid of him. He feels that insulting him is the best way to do this, and Firefly agrees.

The goal is also to push Trentino to use violence for him to be fired. When the reciprocal insult-throwing culminates in Firefly hitting Trentino rather than the other way around, the plot goes astray.

The two nations are on the verge of war, and it is not their boundaries that constitute the tipping point but their mutual courting of Mrs. Teasdale and her riches.

Trentino, ever ingenious, discovers that Mrs. Teasdale keeps Freedonia’s war plans in her personal safety; he sends Chicolini and Pinky to break into the safe and steal them, but Firefly catches Chicolini red-handed. He has been placed on trial.

War is declared between the countries during the trial, and there is an outpouring of war fervor and jingoism. There is music and dancing, and war looks to be more of a national celebration than a national problem.

Pinky and Chicolini join Firefly and Roland in anarchy, culminating in a nationwide state of chaos and mayhem.

Trentino is imprisoned in a homemade pillory and pelted with fruit. He surrenders, but they refuse to let him out of the gadget since they haven’t run out of fruit. Mrs. Teasdale performs the Freedonian national hymn and gets pelted with fruit as a result.

The Music In Duck Soup

The “Freedonia Theme Song” repeatedly appears throughout the film, both vocally and instrumentally; the whole song seems to consist of “Hail, Hail, Freedonia, country of the brave and free,” in contrast to the last line of The Star-Spangled Banner.

The “Sylvania theme,” which sounds roughly like “Rule, Britannia!” is employed several times. “When The Clock On The Wall Strikes 10,” the film’s opening musical piece, is in the same scene as “Wait ‘Tila Get Through With It, “Groucho’s song about his administration’s policies.

“This Country’s Going To War” is the film’s last musical ensemble. It is technically the only musical number in the Marx Brothers’ films that features all four brothers.

In Monkey Business, though, Chico momentarily knocks on the piano as the other three play saxophones as they elude their pursuers aboard an ocean liner.

The opening sequence, which depicts ducks swimming in a kettle and quacking happily, is scored with an instrumental melody of the songs mentioned above. It is also the only moment in the film that involves ducks and soup.

The Setting Of The Film Duck Soup

Duck Soup was one of the most expensive films made in Hollywood history, costing $39 million to make and earning a gross profit of $62.1 million during its initial release.

The cost may have been spared by some additional shooting that might seem obvious today – but wasn’t at the time: The film culminates with Al Capone’s coffin being carried across Chicago as an impromptu funeral procession, all reminiscent of what would be next filmed (see below). Similarly, Fred Allen does get buried sailing down Coney Island via his own personal coffin in Freckles.

The statue of Liberty, in a departing gesture at the end of the film (as well as in Capone’s final scene), is represented by a cute but rotund little clay lady with an arm extended from one side and carrying something likely to have been jars labeled “BREAD” on it.

In reality, there would be no bread for years after World War II. Conversely, Peanut changed her shoes during this scene – which could make more sense than retitling them because they were out of lacing material; however, some is-kennings exist – though they most likely happened before the time of filming because she would not have anticipated ignoring a matter that important in such a hurry.

Analysis of The Humor in Duck Soup

The film’s humor derives from its slapstick and absurd situations, as well as wacky dialogue. Many of the gags are based on traditional American qualities, like patriotism, opportunism, and stupidity. For example:

• When Groucho is disguised as a woman to get into a brothel (in one of his most famous scenes), he berates himself for not thinking of it earlier; this line has been cited as an early reference to self-referential humor.
• Groucho threatens business by putting dynamite under Julius Caesar’s bed; in his next line, he says, “… and the whole world’s coming to an end”.
• Way Groucho describes The Stars and Stripes as being “our new flag” (after it is stolen). As with all American humor, this plays on irony. Prior flags often have incorporated stylistic symbols of America’s history into their design, but now that U.S. society was so divided along racial lines, these cannot be used anymore without opening old wounds. Common traits in older flags include repeatedly replacing stars representing all colonies or having stripes down the center, which signify liberty/equality between states (see the flag of Cuba).
• The Stars and Stripes show a stylized American eagle – with stars above head, one on each wing and underneath it. Despite being similar to other flags (such as those for Belgium or Portugal), the Stars and Stripes are not considered “flag” – which would be used by sovereign nations only themselves; rather, this is simply a symbol of America itself that comes in many forms.

Comparison Between 1933 Version And Its Remake In 2011

A 2011 study published in The Journal of Experimental Social Psychology by Duke University researcher Anthony Greenwald and his colleagues found that, on average, when compared to people who had watched the original Duck Soup released 33 years earlier (in 1933), audiences laughed more at double foxed Donald Groucho Marx sketches.

In terms of driving laughter levels: Fox News, with its 24-hour coverage viewing past two million hours per week, has produced other results than what would be expected based only on Lieberman’s theories from a purely open information context… Political figures – especially those like Senator Bernie Sanders, Ben Carson, and Elizabeth Warren, who are always on the reference when talking about U.S. policies, politics, and Government – still win.

In other words, they stay in the news while others attract negative attention as we saw yesterday (see: Obama USA), but Donald Duck is not a political position itself, unlike that of Barack “The Lovable” OCCUPANT-IN-CHIEF… regardless if he wants to preserve his family’s values or attain power without governorship, knowledge matters more than force (“laziness.”)

Meaning to Be A Duck in Duck Soup

If Groucho Marx invented the goulash in Duck Soup, it would play on the word “goulash,” a food of Hungarian origin. Similarly, suppose Friedrich Engels penned A Tale of Two Cities, or Charles Darwin his Beagle voyage and Lewis Carroll’s Alice novels (not to mention Mark Twain).

In that case, one could imagine them all being types as ducks/penguins/monkeys while they infiltrate into other personas depending on their adaptation timespan in modern society… but only time will tell just how long that transference period might last.

Laughter at Donald Duck’s expense is a good sign of civility, but that does not necessarily mean it will be respected for the commonwealth within Donald Duck’s sphere. “Civility degrades into vulgarity rapidly as soon as you descend from above to below.”

Duck Soup (1933) Hidden Meaning

A possible hidden meaning of Duck Soup could be poking fun at the elites and their extravagant lifestyles. For example, when Groucho offers to buy a boatload of diamonds for Harpo, it’s clear that he has no intention of actually spending the money.

Similarly, when Foul-Mouthed Fred insults Daffy Duck by calling him a “duck,” it’s clear that he isn’t very well educated or cultured. This type of satire could be aimed at ridiculing those in positions of power who are often seen as pompous and self-important.

Conclusion

In 1933, the Marx Brothers starred in Duck Soup. The film follows a group of swindlers who attempt to pull off a robbery on the high seas.

But their scheme goes awry when they encounter an army of incompetent soldiers as well as an amnesiac war hero. This hilarious comedy starred Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, Zeppo Marx, and Margaret Dumont and was directed by Leo McCarey.

FAQs

1.What Is the Plot of Duck Soup?

Ans: There is no one definitive answer to this question as the plot of Duck Soup changes depending on which version of the story you are talking about.

However, a general summary of the plot would be that two incompetent brothers attempt to take over the world by pretending to be a presidential candidate and a war heroes. They are foiled at every turn by their rival, General Spam jam.

2.Why Was It Called Duck Soup?

Ans: This is a question that has puzzled film fans for years. There are several theories about the name Duck Soup, but all of them seem to be unsubstantiated.

One theory suggests that the Marx Brothers were not particularly fond of the sound of duck, so they called their movie Duck Soup in order to avoid having to say it aloud.

Another claim is that the title was inspired by a poem dedicated to the soup, which mentions ducks numerous times.

However, this latter story seems unlikely as there are no references to poetry or poems specifically in any early reviews or advertisements for Duck Soup.

Ultimately, we will probably never know why Groucho Marx chose Duck Soup for his movie, but we do know that it was changed to Animal Crackers in the U.S. after some significant print runs of the film were shipped with alternate titles on them.

3.Why Was Duck Soup Banned?

Ans: Duck Soup was banned for a number of reasons. One reason is that the Marx Brothers are often considered to be vulgar and obscene comedians, which might not be appropriate for all audiences.

Additionally, some government officials believed that the movie could potentially inspire violence or rebellion. Ultimately, though, it seems that most mainstream bans of Duck Soup were related to its political satire rather than its content itself.

4.Why Was Duck Soup Nominated for an Oscar?

Ans: Duck Soup was not the Brothers’ most critically successful movie, but it still stands as one of their best efforts. Since its initial release, Groucho’s performance has been praised by critics and enjoyed by audiences.

The Marxes’ running gags are lighthearted yet pointed social commentary, carried off with aplomb thanks to some very funny choreography from Milton Berle (who co-wrote the music with his brother).

Most importantly, this is an unusually well-balanced movie where even jokes have purpose and focus beyond simple absurdity.

5.What Does the Term Duck Soup Mean?

Ans: The term Duck Soup typically refers to the Marx Brothers’ 1933 film Duck Soup.