Films Of The Great Depression (May)
DUCK SOUP
1933, 70 mins. Directed by Leo McCarey. With The Marx Brothers, Margaret Dumont. When Rufus T. Firefly takes over the country of Freedonia, anarchy, war, and madcap comedy become the order of the day. The Marx Brothers’s funniest film is breathlessly paced, with one classic routine after another.
AND
MILLION DOLLAR LEGS
1932, 61 mins. Directed by Edward Cline. With W.C. Fields, Jack Oakie, Ben Turpin. One of the zaniest of all Hollywood comedies, Million Dollar Legs is set in the far-away, fictional, and nearly bankrupt country Klopstokia. The opening titles tell us: “Chief Exports: Goat and Nuts. Chief Imports: Goats and Nuts. Chief Inhabitants: Goats and Nuts.” W.C. Fields plays the president, who must win daily arm-wrestling contests to hold onto power.