DUCK SOUP (1933)

Director: Leo McCarey

Writers: Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby, Arthur Sheekman, Nat Perrin

Producer: Herman J. Mankiewicz (uncredited)

Cast: Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, Zeppo Marx, Margaret Dumont, Louis Calhern, Edgar Kennedy, Raquel Torres, Edmund Breese, Edwin Maxwell, Charles B. Middleton, William Worthington, Davison Clark, Leonid Kinsky, Verna Hillie, George MacQuarrie, Fred Sullivan, Eric Mayne, Wade Boteler, Carrie Daumery 

Wealthy widow Gloria Teasdale (Margaret Dumont) will loan millions more of her dollars for the failing economy of the country of Freedonia on one condition: Statesman Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho Marx) must be appointed Freedonia’s new leader. The shifty Firefly comes to power and becomes a suitor to the rich widow. Ambassador Trentino (Louis Calhern) of the neighboring country of Sylvania is also trying to court the widow Teasdale as he schemes to try to have his nation annex Freedonia. The clashes between the two men threaten to start war between the two countries. 

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In 1933 Duck Soup was not as successful as some earlier Marx Brothers films. Perhaps many looking to the movies for escapism during the Great Depression did not want any dark themes like war in their comedies, but that is what gives this movie its edge. One wonders if this finest of the Marx Brothers comedies would have been better or worse received had it been made several years later once it became apparent that Hitler’s Germany would become a worldwide military threat. Duck Soup’s depiction of war as an utterly petty form of lunacy may not have gone down very well once America entered World War II, but there may have been a need to try and laugh off the concerns of war’s storm clouds gathering in the late 1930s. 

As far as comedy is concerned, Duck Soup isn’t watered down. This story is totally bereft of sentiment. There are no romantic subplots with a pleasant, bland couple distracting from the schemes and shenanigans of the Marx Brothers. The comedy is so concentrated that even the nearly invisible straight man and fourth Marx brother Zeppo (in his final film) is part of a couple of gags. 

Another reason that the film has become so well regarded is that it does not have the usual musical interludes of many other Marx Brothers films. There are no music solos by Chico or Harpo and there are no singing performances by other characters involved in a romance. Such scenes are probably a carryover of the variety provided in vaudeville shows where the Marx Brothers honed their craft. I usually don’t mind the music bits, but most Marx Brothers fans want their comedy non-stop. The few instances of the characters breaking out in song during Duck Soup are funny and playful and involve the Marx Brothers.

 

There are many scenes and gags that are surreal and plenty of saucy innuendo from Groucho. This film is full of bits that are funny regardless of the storyline. However, the theme of war is what this crazy story keeps returning to. War seems to be inevitable due to Ambassador Trentino’s ruthless ambition and Firefly’s volatile vanity. My favorite bit is when Groucho’s Firefly manages to squander a chance of avoiding war a third time by simply supposing what would happen to his reputation if his offer of reconciliation with Ambassador Trentino is rejected. Firefly is so offended by his own supposition that he strikes the Ambassador with a glove a third time for no reason resulting in a declaration of war. 

The concept of war providing sight gags and more opportunities for Marx Brothers puns seems pretty daring. In the midst of battle we see Groucho’s attire changing to a different era of battle dress from minute to minute. Only the Marx Brothers would treat war as an excuse for cosplay. 

Duck Soup was my introduction to the madcap mischief of the Marx Brothers. It presents them at their very best demonstrating complete irreverence for social niceties, institutions, and elitism. In doing so they are not part of any solution, but they make us all realize how flawed, phony, and ineffectual people of the upper crust and their conventions may be. The Marx Brothers are often conniving, yet absolutely obvious in their motives despite the distraction of their silly behavior. 

A Marx Brothers comedy is funny because it shows how quick-thinking, spontaneous clowns can usurp the social order. This was never more apparent than in Duck Soup. 

This is not the sort of comedy meant to be reassuring by pandering. It does not tell us that we are okay because we are more conventional and accepted than some schlub we are laughing at. 

Duck Soup also does not give us characters to root for because they are idealized representations of who we think we are or want to be. We may envy Groucho’s knack for mile-a-minute puns and put-downs, admire Chico’s word games and scams that can confuse and con almost anyone (especially Groucho), and appreciate Harpo’s complete lack of inhibitions, yet we do not aspire to be any of them. The Marx Brothers are beings beyond us mere mortals. They puncture the balloons of pomposity and deflate our anxieties by just not giving a damn.

WINTER KILL (1974)

Director: Jud Taylor

Writers: John Michael Hayes, David Karp

Producer: Burt Nodella

Cast: Andy Griffith, John Larch, Lawrence Pressman, Sheree North, Tim O’Connor, Eugene Roche, Joyce Van Patten, John Calvin, Charles Tyner, Louise Latham, Nick Nolte, Robert F, Simon, Ruth McDevitt, Walter Brooke, Devra Korwin, David Frankham, Elayne Heilveil, Vaughn Taylor (uncredited) 

In the mountain resort town of Eagle Lake, California, Police Chief Sam McNeill (Andy Griffith) is called to the scene of a shotgun murder. Most disturbing is the red spray-painted message left in the snow that reads: THE FIRST. 

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Once Andy Griffith finished his long-running role of Sheriff Andy Taylor in The Andy Griffith Show, he went on to make guest appearances in other television series throughout the 1970s. He also starred in plenty of made-for-television movies; several were designed as pilots for potential series. That was the hope for the mystery thriller Winter Kill. 

Griffith brings an amiable authority to his role. Of course, at this time he was instantly recognizable to the television audience. They would have an immediate rapport with the down-to-earth, nice guy Griffith persona, yet it must have been quite a novelty to see him in this grim drama about a serial killer. He is a small town head of law enforcement again, but this time in the picturesque wintertime locale of the California mountains. 

Griffith’s character of Police Chief Sam McNeill is dealing with some unaccustomed friction from the locals. They are panicked and want fast results from the police. It isn’t every day that a violent crime spree assails the peace of this small resort town and could disrupt the season’s tourist trade. Since we are almost genetically predisposed to side with good guy Griffith’s Sam McNeill, we quickly relate to his stressful situation. 

Fortunately, Sam McNeill can take the edge off with his girlfriend Betty (Sheree North), the proprietor of the local diner. If you’ve got her to snuggle up with on cold winter nights, tracking down a sneaky killer in a town full of ingrates would be a lot easier to take. Since I had fallen hard for Sheree North during her sexy role in The Gypsy Moths (1969), her presence in Winter Kill was a major motive for me to seek it out. North’s character of Betty winds up being a pretty crucial component in the killer’s deadly mission. 

There are many other faces that were familiar to television viewers of the ’70s to be found here in Winter Kill. The one that would go on to the most fame would be Nick Nolte. Here he plays the rather self-centered stud and ski bum Dave Michaels. 

Director Jud Taylor does a pretty good job of teasing us with the suspenseful setups as the killer goes about his deadly business. Working on a 1974 prime time TV-movie, Taylor had to suggest rather than explicitly depict the grisly damage that a shotgun would inflict on the victims. Therefore, I find it rather curious that one kill is depicted in full view in broad daylight on the snow making it quite apparent that not a single drop of blood is shed. 

Once we learn just what this killer’s grievance is about, it seems that there is a clash between repressive sexual mores of the past and those of the sexually liberated ’70s. Regardless of the era, human nature does not change. People would always mess around; how they dealt with the consequences of sex is often dictated by the current state of the culture they live in. It was probably social sexual intolerance of the past that led to the killer’s past lack of responsibility. This also led to guilt that was stirred into a vengeful rage against those that he wants to blame for a recent tragedy. 

1974’s Winter Kill did not directly lead to a series as was intended. If it had I suppose it would have been another unlikely contrivance of an inordinate amount of murder and mayhem occurring in a small town like the later mystery series Murder, She Wrote (1984-1996). There was a 1975 series attempted that was a reworking of Winter Kill’s hero and setting called Adams of Eagle Lake. Andy Griffith also starred in the show that lasted just two episodes. 

If you are looking for a remedy to your cabin fever, give Winter Kill a chance. If a murder mystery in a quaint winter resort town can’t cure your doldrums, maybe Sheree North can. Who needs a hot toddy with her around?

NOT OF THIS EARTH (1988)

Director: Jim Wynorski

Writers: R.J. Robertson, Jim Wynorski, based on the original 1957 film script by Charles B. Griffith and Mark Hanna

Producers: Murray Miller, Jim Wynorski

Cast: Traci Lords, Arthur Roberts, Roger Lodge, Lenny Juliano, Rebecca Perle, Becky LeBeau, Ace Mask, Michael Delano, Kelli Maroney. Monique Gabrielle, Roxanne Kernohan, Ava Cadell, Cynthia Thompson, Belinda Grant, Joel Hoffman (as Robby Bointon), Kim Sill (as Kimberly Dawn), Ed Morgan, Murray Miller, Zoran Hochstätter, Shawn Klugman, John Dresden, Paul Shaver, R.J. Robertson, Bob Sheridan 

A series of blood-draining murders are being committed in Los Angeles, California. The perpetrator calls himself Mr. Johnson (Arthur Roberts). He is actually an alien being from the planet Davanna. Johnson’s mission is to determine if the blood of earthlings can sustain his dying race. If the blood is compatible, Davanna will invade the Earth and enslave mankind as a food source. While on his mission, the mysterious Mr. Johnson hires Nadine Story (Traci Lords) as his live-in nurse to administer the blood transfusions he needs to stay alive. 

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With very few exceptions, film remakes are inferior to the originals and can ruin the viewers’ enjoyment of later seeing the earlier superior productions if too much is simply rehashed. Of course, most remakes just regurgitate a proven formula with the understanding that many modern-day morons will lap it up just because it is new and therefore must be even better the next time around. Using that same logic, such an audience will probably also eat their own vomit. 

Some remakes are worthy if they only use the main plot hook of the original production and then try to tell a different story. The end result may or may not be better than the original, yet it can still be an interesting and satisfying film judged on its own merits. 

In 1988 director Jim Wynorski made a bet with executive producer Roger Corman. Wynorski wagered that he could remake Corman’s 1957 sci-fi fright flick Not of This Earth for the same inflation-adjusted budget and the same number of shooting days. 

Much of the success this remake enjoyed as a video store rental and cable television favorite was due to the inspiration that director Wynorski had in choosing his leading lady. The beautiful Traci Lords had been a popular adult film star. She became a household name when it was discovered that she had been performing in pornographic films as a minor while pretending to be an adult. Wanting to establish herself as a mainstream actress, Lords accepted the role of nurse Nadine Story. In addition to her beauty always being flaunted in and out of a succession of sexy outfits, she brings a lot of the confidence to the role that Beverly Garland’s character had in the original 1957 version. I am sure much to director Wynorski’s relief, Traci Lords could really act and helps make an almost word-for-word remake worthwhile. This was Lords’ first non-porn feature film, and she would go on to have a long and varied career in film, television, and music. 

Arthur Roberts takes on the alien menace role of the deadpan Mr. Johnson. Just as in the original Paul Birch performance, his emotionally empty and socially ignorant manner is a funny contrast to various earthlings he confronts. 

Roger Lodge fills in for Morgan Jones as Nadine Story’s motorcycle cop boyfriend Harry Sherbourne. In 1988 this character and the audience have the advantage of a bit of soft-core sex occurring with the leading lady. 

Lenny Juliano is cast here in the Jonathan Haze role of Mr. Johnson's ex-con chauffeur Jeremy. Juliano pushes the humor even further than in the 1957 original. He seems to be having a real ball ogling Nadine and any other sexy gal in the course of this refabbed flick.

In addition to the re-enactment of the classic vacuum cleaner salesman scene with Michael Delano subbing for Dick Miller, we also have the unreceptive Mr. Johnson being accidentally entertained by gorgeous Becky LeBeau’s strip-o-gram girl. LeBeau is quite charming as she discovers that she read the address wrong when delivering her voluptuous happy birthday message. Her fate is really heartbreaking. 

In this 1988 remake, Mr. Roberts picks up a threesome of sexy prostitutes (Roxanne Kernohan, Ava Cadell, Cynthia Thompson) instead of a trio of drunken bums to bring home for more blood specimens. Swapping out hobos for hookers is yet another inspired Jim Wynorski innovation. Would you rather listen to inebriated singing again or ogle bared breasts? I think Wynorski made the right call. 

In 1988 when another Davanna denizen arrives, it is not a lady dressed like Mr. Roberts in sunglasses and conservative business attire. Instead, it is lovely Rebecca Perle in sunglasses and black straps somehow configured to approximate a swimsuit. 

As should become apparent by now, 1988’s Not of This Earth was striving to be a sexed-up version of the original film. Aside from the nudity, it is almost exactly the same story. 

The only other notable deviations here from the 1957 film are a few optical effects, no flying umbrella monster, and a new angle on the rabies-infected blood gimmick. That last deviation is actually such a seemingly obvious direction to take that I am surprised it was not exploited in the original version. It also sets up a big chunk of footage from Hollywood Boulevard (1976) to be inserted into this film to brazenly pad out the running time. There are also lengthy clips of Humanoids from the Deep (1980) somehow incorporated into this story. Al Adamson ain’t got nothing on Jim Wynorski. 

Ultimately, 1988's Not of This Earth is a copycat of the original 1957 film that fills out its longer running time with some shameless repurposing of unrelated footage from earlier Roger Corman productions. By my highfalutin standards I should hate this movie. However, it is still done with energy and a sense of fun that is infectious. Translation: There is a lot of T&A on display. I think Roger Corman himself would have done the same thing if he could have gotten away with it back in 1957.