Trivia and Quotes
Trivia
 The film did so poorly at the box office that Paramount terminated its contract with The Marx Brothers, who then promptly signed with MGM where they produced two of their classic films, A Night at the Opera (1935) and A Day at the Races (1937). Firefly (Groucho Marx) says, "The headstrongs married the armstrongs, and that`s why darkies were born," a reference to a 1931 popular song "That`s Why Darkies Were Born", written by Ray Henderson and Lew Brown and originally sung by Kate Smith (and later, by Paul Robeson).
Harpo Marx`s character was originally named "Skippy" rather than "Pinky".
When asked what the political significance of this film was, Groucho Marx reportedly said, "What significance? We were just four Jews trying to get a laugh."
Harpo Marx recreated the "mirror gag" with Lucille Ball on a special episode of "I Love Lucy" (1951).
Despite the fact that this is considered the finest film The Marx Brothers ever made, it was not a hit when first released, although it was not the failure some sources claim it was.
Italian dictator Benito Mussolini banned the film from Italy because he thought it was a direct attack on him. When news of this reached The Marx Brothers, they were reportedly ecstatic.
During the battle scene, Groucho Marx wore five different uniforms: A Union soldier`s uniform, a Confederate general`s uniform, a Boy Scout troop leader`s uniform, a Revolutionary War-era British general`s uniform, and a Davy Crockett outfit.
The mirror trick was previously used by `Charles Chaplin` (q) in The Floorwalker (1916) and `Max Linder` in Seven Years Bad Luck (1921).
Shortly before this film premiered, the city of Fredonia, New York, complained about the use of its name with an additional "e". The Marx Brothers` response was, "Change the name of your town, it`s hurting our picture."
One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.
In 2007, the American Film Institute ranked this as the #60 Greatest Movie of All Time.
The movie`s line "You know, you haven`t stopped talking since I came here? You must have been vaccinated with a phonograph needle." was voted as the #43 of "The 100 Greatest Movie Lines" by Premiere in 2007.
Premiere voted this movie as one of "The 50 Greatest Comedies Of All Time" in 2006.
According to Marx Bros. biographer Joe Adamson, the elaborate "All God`s Chillun Got Guns" musical number was mostly improvised on the set, as there is no reference to it in the movie`s final script.
The famous phrase "Well, who you gonna believe, me or your own eyes?" is often referred to as a Groucho Marx quote, but it`s really delivered by Chicolini (Chico Marx) while impersonating Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho).
An early draft of the script introduces Freedonia`s new dictator Rufus T. Firefly as an agent for an ammunition company, which led to lots of ammunition-salesman jokes and intertwined with the movie`s war theme.
Vera was Trentino`s niece in early drafts.
The fictitious country of Sylvania was called "Amnesia" in early drafts.
Early drafts of the script included scenes in an opera house and aboard a zeppelin.
Groucho Marx offered the following explanation for the movie`s title: "Take two turkeys, one goose, four cabbages, but no duck, and mix them together. After one taste, you`ll duck soup the rest of your life."
In the original script, Chicolini and Pinky were cousins and Bob was Firefly`s son.
This film marks the last appearance of Zeppo Marx in a Marx Brothers film.
Edgar Kennedy delivers his famous "slow burn" in a minor role as a street vendor. In 1942 he played the lead in a short of his own also called Duck Soup (1942).
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