Everything is ducky.

• Author: Gehring, Wes D.
• Position: Reel World

A few years ago, the American Film Institute had the audacity to name "Duck Soup" (1933) merely one of the top five comedies ever made. I have no idea what they could have been thinking; it clearly is number one. Of course, I suppose I should have been satisfied that AFI ranked my favorite movie ahead of 95 other bona fide comedy classics.

Regardless, the picture has four key selling points: Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo. This was the only Marxist party America ever took to heart. Together, they represent a cross section of American humor. Groucho was the fast-talking huckster whose machine-gun patter was the rage of the early sound film age. Silent Halpo was the darling of period critics--paying homage to the lost pantomime of the silent screen. Chico harkened back to an earlier age, when dialect comedy was the norm in American vaudeville. In fact, while Chico maintained his Italian shtick for the duration of their act, in the team's early days Groucho used a German dialect, while Harpo briefly assumed an Irish persona. But words in any dialect proved too stressful for him, so his act evolved into what was then labeled a "dumb" or silent act. Groucho's dropping of German had a more dramatic catalyst--World War I. When anything German suddenly became an affront to America, Groucho saw the "liberty cabbage" writing on the wall.

The odd man out in the "Duck Soup" equation was Zeppo. As the youngest brother and the last to join the team, there was little space left for another flashy comic persona. Yet, if one continues the analogy between the Marxes and American humor, Zeppo would be the new age romantic male--the leading man who also could play comedy. Movies in the 1930s often had a sappy romantic subplot, a narrative device frequently true of Marx pictures. However, it always seemed more palatable if Zeppo was part of the assignment.

Ironically, in real life, Zeppo was considered the funniest Marx brother. Moreover, so inspired were his mimicry skills that he essentially played understudy to his brothers. That is, Zeppo seamlessly could substitute for them in an emergency, with no one being the wiser. Sadly, since his regular team role was invariably small, nobody seemed to miss Zeppo when he doubled for someone. He pulled the plug on this largely thankless comedy career with "Duck Soup," his last screen appearance.

I also am a major "Duck Soup" fan because of the film's multiple comedy genre diversity. At the movie's most basic...