Duck Soup

Duck Soup is a 1933 Marx Brothers musical-comedy film written by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby, with additional dialogue by Arthur Sheekman and Nat Perrin, and directed by Leo McCarey. The plot deals with the attempts of Rufus T. Firefly, the head-of-state of the nation of Freedonia, to repel an invasion by neighboring Sylvania. First released theatrically by Paramount Pictures on November 17, 1933, it starred Groucho Marx as Firefly, Chico Marx and Harpo Marx as two impostors, and Zeppo Marx (in his final acting appearance) as Firefly's secretary Bob. It also featured Margaret Dumont, Louis Calhern, Raquel Torres and Edgar Kennedy.

While contemporaneous critics felt that Duck Soup did not quite meet the standards of its predecessors, critical opinion has evolved and the film has since achieved the status of a classic. Duck Soup is now widely considered among critics to be a masterpiece of comedy, and the Marx Brothers' finest film.