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“Duck Soup”: National Film Registry #2

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The Marx Brothers made their way onto the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry in 1990 with their hilarious 1933 film “Duck Soup,” a film many consider to be most emblematic of the famous comedy team.

Film critic William Wolf once said of this particular mash-up of on-screen  mayhem:

“When Paramount released ‘Duck Soup’ in 1933, the reviews were mixed and the film’s lack of commercial success ended the Paramount-Marx Brothers relationship. Yet appreciation for this anarchic, hilarious movie has grown through the years, and many justifiably regard ‘Duck Soup’ as the ultimate Marx Brothers work, the film that best reveals the essence of their talent and originality.”

To read the rest of Wolf’s essay, click here:

“Duck Soup” (PDF)

 

Title:  “Duck Soup”

Year of Release:  1933

Year Added to the National Film Registry:  1990  (See all films added to the Registry in 1990.)

Trivia:  “Duck Soup” marked the final time that Zeppo Marx appeared with his brothers on screen.

This blog post is the second of 30 in our “30 Years of the National Film Registry” series which was launched to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Registry.  The National Film Registry selects 25 films each year showcasing the range and diversity of American film heritage to increase awareness for its preservation.  The 30th National Film Registry selections will be announced on December 12, 2018.

 

 

“Casablanca”: National Film Registry #1

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This year marks the 30th anniversary of the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.  Begun in 1989, the Registry annually recognizes American-made films, encompassing all genres, which are of such aesthetic, historic or cultural importance to the United States that they are worthy of preservation by copyright holders or archives such as the […]

Now Playing at the Packard Campus (Nov. 15 -17, 2018)

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The following is a guest post by Jenny Paxson of the Packard Campus. Thursday, November 15 (7:30 p.m.) Dogfight (Warner Bros., 1991 – Rated R*) Set in San Francisco in 1963, this original and thought-provoking drama chronicles the brief relationship between a young Marine (River Phoenix) who is about to be shipped out to Vietnam […]

At the Packard Campus Theater — December 2018

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On December 7, the Library of Congress will observe the 77th anniversary of the surprise military strike against the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor that led to the United States’ entry into World War II with a screening of Pearl Harbor, the epic film from 2001. The on-going series of films directed by contemporary […]

Music Division Presents Howard (2018) at the Mary Pickford Theater: Thursday, November 15

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Thursday, November 15th, 2018, at 6:30 p.m. The Music Division of the Library of Congress presents a screening of the biopic Howard (2018) in the Mary Pickford Theater. This presentation is part of the 2018-2019 season of Concerts from the Library of Congress. A representative from the film will introduce this special screening. HOWARD (Stone Circle Pictures, […]

Now Playing at the Packard Campus Theater — Nov. 8, 2018

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The following is a guest post by Jenny Paxson of the Packard Campus. Thursday, November 8 (7:30 p.m.) I Walked with a Zombie (RKO, 1943) Producer Val Lewton and director Jacques Tourneur created this atmospheric chiller on a low budget, utilizing limited sets and only a handful of extras. Frances Dee plays a nurse who […]

Veterans and The Road Back at the Mary Pickford Theater: Saturday, November 10

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Screened in conjunction with The Road Back: Veterans and Literary Writing Symposium on veterans’ “road back,” focusing on the use of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction as a means of healing from the trauma of war, and presented by the Library’s Poetry and Literature Center, Veterans History Project, and Exhibits Office, the Mary Pickford Theater […]

Film Loans from the Library of Congress — November 2018

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Here are some of the titles preserved by our film laboratory that we’re loaning for exhibition this month. As always, we can’t guarantee that schedules won’t change or links get broken, but this is our best information at the time of publication. November 1 and 12, 2018 Filmpodium Zürich, Switzerland https://www.filmpodium.ch/ “Give Us This Day” […]

Thirty Years of the National Film Registry

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A repost from yesterday’s blog of the Library of Congress by Librarian of Congress Carla D. Hayden The National Film Preservation Board meets at the Library this morning. Photo by Shawn Miller. Something exciting is happening today. Of course, there are always exciting things happening at the Library of Congress, but today I want to take […]