''Duck Soup'' is a silent comedy short film starring

Stan Laurel Stan Laurel (born Arthur Stanley Jefferson; 16 June 1890 – 23 February 1965) was an English comic actor, writer, and film director who was one half of the comedy double act, duo Laurel and Hardy. He appeared with his comedy partner Oliver Ha ...

and

Oliver Hardy Oliver Norvell Hardy (born Norvell Hardy; January 18, 1892 – August 7, 1957) was an American comic actor and one half of Laurel and Hardy, the double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted from 1926 to 1957. He appeared with his c ...

prior to their official billing as the duo

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American Double act, comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–19 ...

. The team appeared in a total of 107 films between 1921 and 1951.

Plot

Fleeing a group of forest rangers, who are rounding up tramps to serve as firefighters, Laurel and Hardy take refuge in a mansion. The owner has gone on vacation and the servants are away, so Hardy pretends to be the owner and offers to rent the house to an English couple. Hardy gets Laurel to pose as the maid. Unfortunately, the owner returns and tells the would-be renters that he owns the house. Laurel and Hardy then flee again and are caught by the rangers and forced to fight wildfires.

Production background

''Duck Soup'' was considered a lost film for nearly fifty years, until a print was discovered in 1974. It was previously thought by film scholars that the comedians shared few scenes, if any, but in fact they appear as a team throughout the entire picture, albeit rather primitively, dressed in tramp costumes, with Hardy sporting an unshaven chin, monocle, and top hat. In the next few films,

were together as separate performers and not working as a

double act A double act (also known as a comedy duo) is a form of comedy originating in the British music hall tradition, and American vaudeville, in which two comedians perform together as a single act. Pairings are typically long-term, in some cases f ...

, before their potential as a team was used again, notably in ''

Do Detectives Think? ''Do Detectives Think?'' or ''The Bodyguard'' is a 1927 silent comedy short film starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy prior to their official billing as the duo Laurel and Hardy. Production ''Do Detectives Think?'' is most notable for feat ...

'' (1927), another Hal Roach two-reeler. The film was directed by Fred Guiol. However, the more important contribution was by the films' supervising director, Leo McCarey, who probably more than anyone else at Roach saw the greatest possibilities for Laurel and Hardy as a comedy team. McCarey later used the same title for the classic Marx Brothers film, ''

Duck Soup Duck soup may refer to: * ''Duck Soup'' (1933 film), starring the Marx Brothers * ''Duck Soup'' (1927 film), featuring Laurel and Hardy * Oritang, Korean duck soup * "Duck Soup", an episode of '' Even Stevens'' * "Duck Soup", a song by Baba Broo ...

'', which he directed for

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

in 1933. The sketch on which the film was based was written by Stan Laurel's father, Arthur J. Jefferson. ''Duck Soup'' was remade as '' Another Fine Mess'' (1930). The print found in 1974 was a cropped 9.5mm re-release with French intertitles replacing the originals. However, since then a pristine quality full aperture 35mm nitrate print was located at the BFI National Archive, which appears to be from a British re-release. A restored version of the film with a theater organ soundtrack accompaniment was televised on the Movies! channel in the U.S. on December 26, 2020.

Cast

References

External links

* * * * {{Fred Guiol 1927 films 1920s English-language films 1927 comedy films American silent short films American black-and-white films Films directed by Fred Guiol Laurel and Hardy (film series) Films with screenplays by H. M. Walker 1920s rediscovered films Silent American comedy films Rediscovered American films 1920s American films

Plot

Production background

Cast

References

Further reading

External links