Article: Groucho and Leo in the soup.(REEL WORLD)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)(Critical Essay)

THE MARX BROTHERS' "Duck Soup" (1933) is one of the watershed films of American cinema. No less a comedy artist than Woody Allen calls it "probably the best talking comedy ever made," and uses an extended clip from it to anchor one of his own later classics--"Hannah and Her Sisters" (1986). Director Leo McCarey's greatest contribution to "Duck Soup" was the mirror sequence, where Harpo (with a painted on moustache, a la Groucho) doubles as his brother's nightgown-attired reflection.

To uncover this famous scene's origins, it is worthwhile to look into McCarey's professional relationship with Charley Chase, who was one of the great--but neglected--clowns of ...

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