Duck Soup

Duck Soup (1933) is widely considered the Marx Brothers' masterpiece, a relentlessly anarchic satire directed by Leo McCarey that skewers politics, diplomacy, and warfare with machine-gun wit. Groucho plays Rufus T. Firefly, the absurd newly appointed leader of Freedonia, who blunders his country into a senseless war. The film's surreal humor, iconic mirror scene, and sharp anti-war sentiment have cemented it as one of the greatest comedies in cinema history.

• Duck Soup was a box office disappointment upon its 1933 release.
• It was the Marx Brothers' last film for Paramount Pictures.
• The mirror scene has no actual mirror used as a prop.
• Groucho's character Rufus T. Firefly was named after a real person.
• Mussolini reportedly banned the film, feeling personally insulted by it.

• "I could dance with you till the cows come home. On second thought, I'd rather dance with the cows till you come home."
• "Go, and never darken my towels again!"
• "I got a good mind to join a club and beat you over the head with it."
• "All for one and one for all... and every man for himself."
• "You're a brave man. Go and break through the lines. And remember, while you're out there risking your life, we'll be in here thinking of you."