Duck Soup (from the movie list)

Another from the summer movie list: the Marx Bros. Duck Soup.

Having been a fan of the Animaniacs when I was younger, I recognized many of the gags in this film. Of course, the Animaniacs were relatively late to the party, as many of the Warner Bros. and Disney comedy shorts already echoed these gags. Anyhow, here's a scene that really put me in mind of the Animaniacs.



As much as I enjoyed the ridiculous, smart-alec, tangential talking humor of Groucho, I think the hat scene above may be my favorite from the movie. Groucho has some fantastic one liners and his character as the cheap, tyrannical leader of Fredonia is enjoyable. The silent slapstick of Harpo, however, is equally enjoyable. If you watched the clip above, you noticed he carries a rather large pair of scissors in his belt. At random, without provocation, those scissors come out and cut things from the people nearest them. The movie enjoys a balance of these chaotic verbal and physical styles of humor, accompanied by Chico's faux-Italian accent and terrible puns, until close to the end of the film. In maybe the last 15-20 minutes, the few remaining shreds of rationality are hacked away, beginning with an enormous musical number about going to war. What follows should be the dictionary definition of screwball comedy, with Harpo riding off on a horse with trumpet for some solo gags before we return to scenes of war ravaging the sets.

Groucho Marx with a tommy gun is a funny, but somewhat frightening image to behold.