--- title: "Duck Soup: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/duck-soup/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/duck-soup" critics_score: 79 critics_reviews: 14 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Duck Soup (1933): what the critics said Critics' score 79 from 14 reviews: 12 positive, 1 mixed, 1 negative. Most critics respond warmly to Duck Soup’s anarchic comedy and its satire of war, nationalism and political pomposity. Praise clusters around the relentless verbal exchanges, Groucho’s scenes with Margaret Dumont, and Chico and Harpo’s physical routines, with the mirror sequence repeatedly singled out. Several reviews also credit Leo McCarey’s direction with keeping the pace brisk and giving the brothers’ attacks on authority a light touch. The spread is wide, though reservations are concentrated in a small minority: the thin story bothers some critics less than others, and the vaudeville style can require adjustment. The New York Times supplies the sharpest dissent, finding the humour noisy and bludgeoning rather than witty, despite some welcome ideas and the cast’s zeal. The Skinny is more ambivalent in its review of a Marx Brothers set, recognising the films’ imagination and influence while finding more consistent laughs in modern comedy. ## Time Out — Tom Huddleston Rating 5/5. 12 January 2015. The review hails the film as a barbed, subtle attack on war, politics and American triumphalism timed perfectly for a 1933 BFI re-release. It singles out the mirror scene as possibly the greatest physical comedy routine in slapstick history along with the relentless one-liners. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/duck-soup) ## Empire — Ian Nathan Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 18 April 2006. The critic calls it one of the Marx Brothers' best films and a zenith of their work, praising the frenetic pace of the routines and Leo McCarey's direction in sharpening their satire. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/duck-soup-review/) ## Financial Times — Danny Leigh Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 2 January 2015. Duck Soup stands as the Marx Brothers' closest approach to a masterpiece, a wildly funny 1933 satire of dictatorship and war whose themes remain relevant. It features their signature mirror routine and exemplifies their anarchic comic brilliance. [Read the review](https://www.ft.com/content/79d9cd22-89f7-11e4-8daa-00144feabdc0) ## Radio Times — Tom Hutchinson Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). The critic calls it a comedy masterpiece that reaches peaks of anarchic brilliance, with Groucho as a Ruritanian leader sparking war over battlefield rent. He praises the witty exchanges with Margaret Dumont and the surreal mirror sequence as key highlights. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-gry7sg/duck-soup/) ## Sight and Sound — Geoff Andrew Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 16 January 2015. The critic calls Duck Soup the Marx Brothers’ best and one of the funniest sound-era black-and-white comedies, crediting McCarey’s light touch for its irreverent satire of militarism, politicians and patriotism. He also highlights the film’s perfect comic timing and rapid pacing. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/recipe-marx-brothers-greatest-comedy-duck-soup) ## Evening Standard — Derek Malcolm Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 16 January 2015. The critic recalls first seeing the film in the 1960s and notes its enduring status as a classic of anarchic comedy, highlighting the rapid-fire jokes and the ensemble cast including Margaret Dumont. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/derek-malcolm-recommends-duck-soup-9983303.html) ## IndieWire — Max O'Connell Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 18 December 2014. The piece presents Duck Soup as a classic Marx Brothers comedy directed by Leo McCarey, highlighting its anarchic humor and satirical take on war and nationalism as enduring highlights of their Paramount era. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/criticwire-classic-of-the-week-leo-mccareys-duck-soup-125216/) ## Vulture — Alden Ford Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 12 January 2011. The review praises Duck Soup for its relentless jokes and chaotic energy over any thin plot, singling out Chico and Harpo's anarchic bits and the film's metatheatrical subversion of straight men and authority figures as what makes it timelessly funny. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2011/01/redefining-the-finally-screenings-with-duck-soup.html) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 15 January 2015. The Marx Brothers' 1933 film is a brazen, surreal satire of tinpot nationalism and political pomposity. Its inspired silliness and vaudeville energy still resonate, even if modern audiences need some acclimatisation to the style. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jan/15/duck-soup-review-marx-brothers) ## The New Yorker Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 25 November 1933. The Marx Brothers remain reliably entertaining in their familiar style, with the picture being slight but not needing elaborate staging. Moments without them are the main annoyance in an otherwise enjoyable comedy. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1933/12/02/new-england-avarice-and-a-marxian-war) ## Variety — Bige. Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 27 November 1933. The film delivers typical Marx Brothers humor that should please audiences seeking laughs. It features strong situational comedy and the classic mirror routine, making it a crowd-pleaser despite a thin story. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1933/film/reviews/duck-soup-1200410787/) ## The New York Times Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 23 November 1933. The production relies more on broad bludgeon humor than wit, resulting in a noisy film that is less mirthful than prior Marx Brothers efforts. Some welcome ideas and the cast's zeal provide occasional highlights. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1933/11/23/archives/the-four-marx-brothers.html) ## Den of Geek — Tony Sokol Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 2 October 2019. The critic hails Groucho Marx's monologue in Duck Soup as the greatest ever performed, superior to Hamlet's soliloquy for its wit, emotional range, and political insight. He praises the film's prescient satire on fascism and its anarchic perfection under Leo McCarey's direction. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-case-for-duck-soup-and-the-greatest-monologue-in-movie-history/) ## The Skinny — RJ Thomson Rating ★★★. 22 May 2008. The review of the Marx Brothers DVD set including Duck Soup finds the films' slapstick, satire and imagination still influential but gives them an ambivalent rating because modern comedies deliver more consistent laughs. It highlights their debt to Freudian ideas and early 20th-century thought. [Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/dvd-reviews/universal-cinema-classics-marx-brothers) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/duck-soup.md