Aside from two previous films(LUCKY DOG and 45 MINUTES FROM HOLLYWOOD),this film is the very first that Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy appeared together properly.For nearly 50 years a lost film,it was thought that the comedians hardly shared any scenes in DUCK SOUP,if at all.When a copy did turn up in the 1970's,all shallow theories and guesses were proved totally wrong.Laurel & Hardy are very much a team throughout the entire picture,although their appearances are decidedly unorthodox;"Stan and Ollie" are "Hives and Maltravers",and are dressed in tramp costuming;Stan however does wear a bowler hat.Ollie wears a hat too,but of the top variety,and sports an unshaven chin instead of a toothbrush moustache.The film itself isn't particularly funny,having much frantic chases and running about,instead of the more controlled,carefully-paced nuances that L & H perfected barely a year later in further films.But at least they are a team,which was not to be the case in their following couple of pictures,where they sometimes played bitter enemies.DUCK SOUP is a film of massive and important interest,though.6 out of 10.
17 Reviews
"Would you mind showing me the bedroom?"
classicsoncall20 October 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Laurel and Hardy fans ought to be pleased by this very early teaming of the comedy duo. Curiously, the names given their characters in the IMDb database for this picture are incorrect - Stan Laurel was 'Hives' and Oliver Hardy was 'Maltreavers' in this film short, but for all intents and purposes, they're the comedians we've come to know and love through the decades. Virtually every other reviewer on this board describes the story so no need to go into that here. It's probably safe to say that Ollie appears like you've never seen him before with a lower face full of whisker stubble making him almost look like a villain. It sounds weird to say so but Stan looks almost attractive when he impersonates a maid, doing so in believable enough fashion that it wouldn't be the last time. This is easily the earliest team-up I've seen of Laurel and Hardy, although it certainly wasn't the first time they worked together. The year prior, Stan directed another film short in which his future partner appeared called "Wandering Papas".
Laurel and Hardy on fire-fighting duty
TheLittleSongbird31 July 2018
Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were comedic geniuses, individually and together, and their partnership was deservedly iconic and one of the best there was. They left behind a large body of work, a vast majority of it being entertaining to classic comedy, at their best they were hilarious and their best efforts were great examples of how to do comedy without being juvenile or distasteful.
'Duck Soup' is the third short film of theirs after 'The Lucky Dog' and '45 Minutes from Hollywood', but to me it's the first one that uses their talents properly and where they fully work together as a partnership. It may not be among their best work, their later work was funnier, more focused and have more of a sly edge instead of being slapstick-heavy, and am another person who'd put 'Another Fine Mess' above it, but it's definitely well worth the look and the first outing of theirs that was above decent level.
Will agree that there could have been less of a slapstick approach and more of a wit and sly edge and the early stages to me felt on the rushed side.
Story is slight and at times a bit too busy, but 'Duck Soup' does far more right than it does wrong. A lot is right and there is actually not much wrong.
On the other hand, Laurel and Hardy are both solid and make a great double act. The iconic partnership was still fully forming but they do work well together and their comic timing is expertly, Laurel in particular is great. They are well served by the material, which is not hilarious as such but beautifully timed and often very funny.
Not once is 'Duck Soup' dull, it all goes at a snappy pace and is always engaging and charming. While not amazing visually, it still looks quite good and hardly the work of an amateur.
Concluding, good. 7/10 Bethany Cox
'Duck Soup' is the third short film of theirs after 'The Lucky Dog' and '45 Minutes from Hollywood', but to me it's the first one that uses their talents properly and where they fully work together as a partnership. It may not be among their best work, their later work was funnier, more focused and have more of a sly edge instead of being slapstick-heavy, and am another person who'd put 'Another Fine Mess' above it, but it's definitely well worth the look and the first outing of theirs that was above decent level.
Will agree that there could have been less of a slapstick approach and more of a wit and sly edge and the early stages to me felt on the rushed side.
Story is slight and at times a bit too busy, but 'Duck Soup' does far more right than it does wrong. A lot is right and there is actually not much wrong.
On the other hand, Laurel and Hardy are both solid and make a great double act. The iconic partnership was still fully forming but they do work well together and their comic timing is expertly, Laurel in particular is great. They are well served by the material, which is not hilarious as such but beautifully timed and often very funny.
Not once is 'Duck Soup' dull, it all goes at a snappy pace and is always engaging and charming. While not amazing visually, it still looks quite good and hardly the work of an amateur.
Concluding, good. 7/10 Bethany Cox
The origins of Laurel and Hardy
kcox53427 June 2001
They had appeared together in the same films before. They both had a long career in silent comedies when they met. They were not initially considered as the perfect comic teaming that we see them as today. So when they were paired together for a story suggested by Stan's father, it seemed like just another film for Stan and Babe. Most of this film has the feel of early slapstick of the Mack Sennett tradition - big gestures, running and leaping and jumping. But there are also the beginnings of a more quiet, understated comedy. When The Boys have to entertain the couple who are inquiring about the house, we can see Laurel and Hardy become, by necessity, sneaky. Devious. The pace slows down, and we are allowed to laugh about the situation, not because of obvious over-the-top gagging. The film was long considered lost until 1974, when a print surfaced in Europe. Many books that credited the Laurel and Hardy genesis to later films are not in error - very little was known of this film until its rediscovery. Duck Soup is not the perfect Laurel and Hardy film - there is too much slapstick and not enough sly wit in it for my tastes. The casual viewer would be much better served by the remake, the three-reel talkie Another Fine Mess, which has much more sly wit and fantastic dialogue. However, Duck Soup is definitely an important entry in the Laurel and Hardy film pantheon, and is well worth a view if you're a fan.
The earliest Laurel and Hardy film that actually looks like a Laurel and Hardy film
planktonrules23 August 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Stan and Ollie had already appeared in a couple films together before this one but their interactions bore no resemblance to them being a team. DUCK SOUP is the first where they pretty much play the usual Stan and Ollie characters, though with some small differences (such as Ollie wearing a top hat and the characters not using their real names). This style was actually a bit of an accident, as following this film they made quite a few films in 1927 in which the team really wasn't a team and played very different style parts (such as in SLIPPING WIVES and WHY GIRLS LOVE SAILORS).
The film begins with news that because local forest fires are so bad, hobos are being drafted by the forest rangers to battle the fire. Stan and Ollie are happy and lazy and want nothing to do with work--particularly of the dangerous variety. So they escape from the press gang and eventually hide out in a mansion that is vacant. However, soon some people arrive who intend to rent the place and the boys pretend to be the owner (Ollie plays "the Colonel") and his maid (Stan). Seeing Stan in drag was pretty cute and was something he did in several early films. Naturally, the REAL Colonel arrives and finds that Ollie is packing what he can steal from the home. In slapstick tradition that means one thing--the Colonel will begin shooting wildly as the boys and the innocent renters scramble for their lives. Eventually, the forest rangers catch the boys and force them to work--leading to a very "forced" ending.
While this film is funny and worth watching for Laurel and Hardy fans, the chemistry just isn't there and the film isn't any better than any other Hal Roach short of the day. Worth seeing but far from a must-see unless you are a nut like myself who wants to see every Laurel and Hardy film ever made (minus the lost ones such as HATS OFF and ROGUE SONG).
FYI--When the movie begins, you may notice that a tiny bit of it is missing and the print is, in places, poor. Unfortunately, this seems to be all that remains of this film due to the degradation of the nitrate stock.
The film begins with news that because local forest fires are so bad, hobos are being drafted by the forest rangers to battle the fire. Stan and Ollie are happy and lazy and want nothing to do with work--particularly of the dangerous variety. So they escape from the press gang and eventually hide out in a mansion that is vacant. However, soon some people arrive who intend to rent the place and the boys pretend to be the owner (Ollie plays "the Colonel") and his maid (Stan). Seeing Stan in drag was pretty cute and was something he did in several early films. Naturally, the REAL Colonel arrives and finds that Ollie is packing what he can steal from the home. In slapstick tradition that means one thing--the Colonel will begin shooting wildly as the boys and the innocent renters scramble for their lives. Eventually, the forest rangers catch the boys and force them to work--leading to a very "forced" ending.
While this film is funny and worth watching for Laurel and Hardy fans, the chemistry just isn't there and the film isn't any better than any other Hal Roach short of the day. Worth seeing but far from a must-see unless you are a nut like myself who wants to see every Laurel and Hardy film ever made (minus the lost ones such as HATS OFF and ROGUE SONG).
FYI--When the movie begins, you may notice that a tiny bit of it is missing and the print is, in places, poor. Unfortunately, this seems to be all that remains of this film due to the degradation of the nitrate stock.
First Movie Laurel and Hardy Appeared Together For A Lengthy Period of Time
springfieldrental20 April 2022
Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy appeared in lengthy scenes together for the first time in March 1927's "Duck Soup" (not to be confused with the Marx Brothers' 1933 film of the same name). Even though they appear on a park bench and go about escaping from the forestry rangers conscripting the unemployed to fight nearby fires, Stan and Laurel dress like tramps, with Hardy unshaven and wearing a monocle and a top hat. This was the first movie, however, that McCarey saw the potential of the two as a comedy team. Despite finding themselves in the same locations and situations, the two act more as individuals then they do playing off one another in "Duck Soup"-lingo for "Easy as pie" and "As good as done."
After "Duck Soup," Laurel and Hardy appeared in their next seven movies together, but each playing different characters from the other, even though they did interact.
After "Duck Soup," Laurel and Hardy appeared in their next seven movies together, but each playing different characters from the other, even though they did interact.
Long-lost Laurel & Hardy hilarity
F Gwynplaine MacIntyre6 March 2003
Besides being very funny, the silent film 'Duck Soup' is a vitally important link in the evolution of Laurel and Hardy as a comedy team. This movie was based on a music-hall sketch written by Stan Laurel's father, Arthur Jefferson, a successful theatre manager in northern England who resented his son's attempts to become a stage comedian. Laurel and Hardy made 'Duck Soup' at a point when they were already established as a team but were still developing the 'Stan' and 'Oliie' characters that would soon become so popular and beloved. By this time, Oliver Hardy had already got his fastidious little moustache, but in 'Duck Soup' he also has a considerable amount of beard stubble which makes him look quite jowly. 'Duck Soup' was remade only three years later as 'Another Fine Mess'.
'Duck Soup' was a lost film for more than 50 years: in the early 1980s, a print turned up in Belgium. The original silent-film intertitles had been cut out and replaced with French titles. Also, one insert shot of a newspaper article had been cut out and a French translation spliced in. The prints which are currently available feature English-language titles which are blatantly translations of the French titles, and this brings a jarring touch: Laurel keeps addressing Hardy as 'sir', which doesn't really fit the relationship between their characters.
The missing shot of the newspaper article has been replaced (in 1982) with a modern mock-up, and this provides an unintentional laugh. While Hardy reads the newspaper article in 1927, we can see the article directly underneath it... which is all about John DeLorean getting arrested for financial misdeeds in 1982! Oo-er!
In 'Duck Soup', Laurel and Hardy are tramps who discover that a local forest fire has made things hot for them: forest rangers are conscripting all the local indigent men for firefighting duty. Fleeing from the rangers, the two pals end up sharing a bicycle at the top of a steep hill, with disastrously funny results.
Still hiding from the rangers, they end up inside the swank house of Colonel Blood, who is currently away ... but Lord and Lady Plumtree have arrived to rent the house in the colonel's absence. Hardy disguises himself as the colonel, pressing Laurel into service to masquerade as the maid! Stan Laurel was a gifted female impersonator: one of the very few male performers who could convincingly portray a woman and be funny at the same time. His drag turn as the maid here is astonishing and funny.
The ending of this movie is quite different from the ending of the remake 'Another Fine Mess'. Laurel and Hardy would occasionally end a film with an impossible gag, and they use one here.
Is Laurel and Hardy's "Duck Soup" any relation to the Marx Brothers' movie "Duck Soup:"? Yes, indeed! Leo McCarey was an assistant director on this movie. Six years later, when he directed the Marxes in what would become their greatest and funniest film, McCarey decided to recycle the title from this earlier film. The talkie revolution had changed Hollywood so utterly that silent movies made only a few years earlier were regarded as obsolete and unfit for re-release ... so McCarey figured he had a free hand to re-use the title, and this silent movie vanished into oblivion for more than half a century. Fortunately, 'Duck Soup' is now available again, and it's very funny. I'll rate this movie 8 points out of 10.
'Duck Soup' was a lost film for more than 50 years: in the early 1980s, a print turned up in Belgium. The original silent-film intertitles had been cut out and replaced with French titles. Also, one insert shot of a newspaper article had been cut out and a French translation spliced in. The prints which are currently available feature English-language titles which are blatantly translations of the French titles, and this brings a jarring touch: Laurel keeps addressing Hardy as 'sir', which doesn't really fit the relationship between their characters.
The missing shot of the newspaper article has been replaced (in 1982) with a modern mock-up, and this provides an unintentional laugh. While Hardy reads the newspaper article in 1927, we can see the article directly underneath it... which is all about John DeLorean getting arrested for financial misdeeds in 1982! Oo-er!
In 'Duck Soup', Laurel and Hardy are tramps who discover that a local forest fire has made things hot for them: forest rangers are conscripting all the local indigent men for firefighting duty. Fleeing from the rangers, the two pals end up sharing a bicycle at the top of a steep hill, with disastrously funny results.
Still hiding from the rangers, they end up inside the swank house of Colonel Blood, who is currently away ... but Lord and Lady Plumtree have arrived to rent the house in the colonel's absence. Hardy disguises himself as the colonel, pressing Laurel into service to masquerade as the maid! Stan Laurel was a gifted female impersonator: one of the very few male performers who could convincingly portray a woman and be funny at the same time. His drag turn as the maid here is astonishing and funny.
The ending of this movie is quite different from the ending of the remake 'Another Fine Mess'. Laurel and Hardy would occasionally end a film with an impossible gag, and they use one here.
Is Laurel and Hardy's "Duck Soup" any relation to the Marx Brothers' movie "Duck Soup:"? Yes, indeed! Leo McCarey was an assistant director on this movie. Six years later, when he directed the Marxes in what would become their greatest and funniest film, McCarey decided to recycle the title from this earlier film. The talkie revolution had changed Hollywood so utterly that silent movies made only a few years earlier were regarded as obsolete and unfit for re-release ... so McCarey figured he had a free hand to re-use the title, and this silent movie vanished into oblivion for more than half a century. Fortunately, 'Duck Soup' is now available again, and it's very funny. I'll rate this movie 8 points out of 10.
Early version of a Laurel and Hardy classic
Libretio12 March 2005
DUCK SOUP
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Sound format: Silent
(Black and white - Short film)
A couple of vagrants (Laurel and Hardy) take refuge inside a fancy mansion whose owner has left for the weekend, but they're forced to play master and maid when prospective tenants William Austin and Madeline Hurlock) arrive on the doorstep.
Based on a stage-skit written by Stan Laurel's father, this fast-paced farce opens with L&H fleeing from Californian forest rangers who are rounding up various lowlifes to help tackle a series of dangerous bush fires. The premise is sound (and was expanded into the L&H classic ANOTHER FINE MESS, produced only three years later), but the pratfalls and slapstick are only mildly amusing, and Fred Guiol's routine direction lacks much of the inspiration that would ignite Stan 'n' Ollie's sound-era productions.
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Sound format: Silent
(Black and white - Short film)
A couple of vagrants (Laurel and Hardy) take refuge inside a fancy mansion whose owner has left for the weekend, but they're forced to play master and maid when prospective tenants William Austin and Madeline Hurlock) arrive on the doorstep.
Based on a stage-skit written by Stan Laurel's father, this fast-paced farce opens with L&H fleeing from Californian forest rangers who are rounding up various lowlifes to help tackle a series of dangerous bush fires. The premise is sound (and was expanded into the L&H classic ANOTHER FINE MESS, produced only three years later), but the pratfalls and slapstick are only mildly amusing, and Fred Guiol's routine direction lacks much of the inspiration that would ignite Stan 'n' Ollie's sound-era productions.
When something missing finally turns up
theowinthrop23 February 2008
Warning: Spoilers
There are moments when scholars or specialists get really happy. When (in the 1950s) the play DYSKOLOS by Menander popped up (in the hands of a Swiss bibliophile), the world finally had a complete play by the only other extant Greek Comic Dramatist after Aristophanes. Archeologists saw the discovery of Tutankhamon's tomb by Howard Carter in 1922 as wonderful because we got an idea of what the treasure of a dead Pharaoh of Egypt was like.
The same thing happens with movies, when a "lost" film somehow turns up. One of those that did was DUCK SOUP, a 1927 short subject that was considered gone forever until a copy (with French subtitles) showed up in 1982 in Holland. It turned out to be an important rediscovery. In 1927 Hal Roach was still experimenting with his players (as his main star, Harold Lloyd, had gone off into his own production company). He was using Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Charlie Chase, James Finlayson, and others as "the Hal Roach Comedy All Stars." A typical film for this group is CALL OF THE CUCKOO, where the story is about Max Davidson buying a badly made house next door to an insane asylum where Stan, Ollie, Charlie, and Jimmy are cavorting about. The film did give the Stan and Ollie "Cuckoo song" theme to them, but it did not highlight them (they are cavorting about with a bow and arrow in the film). Roach's point of view was to avoid a star, as he did not want a second ingrate walking out on him. Ironically, by doing this method of film making, he overlooked not only Stan and Ollie as a great duo for awhile, but he also failed to push Charlie Chase as he should have.
Then, Roach slowly began pushing Stan and Ollie into roles in several films where they were more or less confrontational (WHY GIRLS LOVE SAILORS is an example of this, with Stan as a stowaway on a ship where Ollie is a bullying purser (who thinks he is a ladies man)). But finally came DUCK SOUP. In it, although the characters are still in transition to the two "babes-in-the-woods" they became, the embryos appear there for the first time.
A great hunter sportsman leaves his home on a trip, giving orders to his butler to rent the mansion while he is gone. The Colonel's name (apparently originally) was Colonel Blood. However, because DUCK SOUP was remade as ANOTHER FINE MESS in 1930, the character was renamed for the same one that Jimmy Finlayson played in the later film, "Colonel Buckshot". Similarly, the couple who come to rent the house are "Lord and Lady Tarbotham", but the new prints rename them "Lord and Lady Plumtree", after the characters in the 1930 film.
It's understandable that the name changes are kept. The basic plot is the same. The boys are chased by representatives of the law, and hide in the mansion. When the renters arrive they pretend to be the Colonel (Ollie) and his maid (Stan), and they proceed to make a successful rental sale to his Lordship, only to have the original Colonel show up. The only difference is that Ollie and Stan are hobos who are fleeing a dragnet of army personnel rounding up tramps to help put out some forest fires. We learn that two tramps were responsible, and we wonder if it's our boys here. Ollie has a grubby week of heavy beard on his face (something unusual for him) but he wears a monocle to show his original gentility. Stan already shows his infantilism (Ollie always tries to be more serious - with disastrous results). Stan and Ollie are first seen reading a newspaper on a bench, but Stan concentrates on the comic strip page. When they see the military men approach them they flee, steal a bicycle, and drive off until they get to the home of Colonel Blood. Then they fall into their roles as the two inhabitants of the mansion.
The rest of the film reminds us of the later sound remake, but the sound remake let's them escape in a crazy manner on a bicycle. Here they are recaptured while trying to rob the mansion, and they are then taken to the spot of the forest fires, only to have a final mishap with the fire hose.
I must admit that while it is an enjoyable short, the later one is far better. The dialog is a plus, as is Hardy playing the piano in the mansion, and the idiot nobleman does have a good running joke about introducing himself and handing out his card. But the silent film does stand up well for the most part, and is a welcome re-addition to the existing corpus of Laurel & Hardy films.
The same thing happens with movies, when a "lost" film somehow turns up. One of those that did was DUCK SOUP, a 1927 short subject that was considered gone forever until a copy (with French subtitles) showed up in 1982 in Holland. It turned out to be an important rediscovery. In 1927 Hal Roach was still experimenting with his players (as his main star, Harold Lloyd, had gone off into his own production company). He was using Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Charlie Chase, James Finlayson, and others as "the Hal Roach Comedy All Stars." A typical film for this group is CALL OF THE CUCKOO, where the story is about Max Davidson buying a badly made house next door to an insane asylum where Stan, Ollie, Charlie, and Jimmy are cavorting about. The film did give the Stan and Ollie "Cuckoo song" theme to them, but it did not highlight them (they are cavorting about with a bow and arrow in the film). Roach's point of view was to avoid a star, as he did not want a second ingrate walking out on him. Ironically, by doing this method of film making, he overlooked not only Stan and Ollie as a great duo for awhile, but he also failed to push Charlie Chase as he should have.
Then, Roach slowly began pushing Stan and Ollie into roles in several films where they were more or less confrontational (WHY GIRLS LOVE SAILORS is an example of this, with Stan as a stowaway on a ship where Ollie is a bullying purser (who thinks he is a ladies man)). But finally came DUCK SOUP. In it, although the characters are still in transition to the two "babes-in-the-woods" they became, the embryos appear there for the first time.
A great hunter sportsman leaves his home on a trip, giving orders to his butler to rent the mansion while he is gone. The Colonel's name (apparently originally) was Colonel Blood. However, because DUCK SOUP was remade as ANOTHER FINE MESS in 1930, the character was renamed for the same one that Jimmy Finlayson played in the later film, "Colonel Buckshot". Similarly, the couple who come to rent the house are "Lord and Lady Tarbotham", but the new prints rename them "Lord and Lady Plumtree", after the characters in the 1930 film.
It's understandable that the name changes are kept. The basic plot is the same. The boys are chased by representatives of the law, and hide in the mansion. When the renters arrive they pretend to be the Colonel (Ollie) and his maid (Stan), and they proceed to make a successful rental sale to his Lordship, only to have the original Colonel show up. The only difference is that Ollie and Stan are hobos who are fleeing a dragnet of army personnel rounding up tramps to help put out some forest fires. We learn that two tramps were responsible, and we wonder if it's our boys here. Ollie has a grubby week of heavy beard on his face (something unusual for him) but he wears a monocle to show his original gentility. Stan already shows his infantilism (Ollie always tries to be more serious - with disastrous results). Stan and Ollie are first seen reading a newspaper on a bench, but Stan concentrates on the comic strip page. When they see the military men approach them they flee, steal a bicycle, and drive off until they get to the home of Colonel Blood. Then they fall into their roles as the two inhabitants of the mansion.
The rest of the film reminds us of the later sound remake, but the sound remake let's them escape in a crazy manner on a bicycle. Here they are recaptured while trying to rob the mansion, and they are then taken to the spot of the forest fires, only to have a final mishap with the fire hose.
I must admit that while it is an enjoyable short, the later one is far better. The dialog is a plus, as is Hardy playing the piano in the mansion, and the idiot nobleman does have a good running joke about introducing himself and handing out his card. But the silent film does stand up well for the most part, and is a welcome re-addition to the existing corpus of Laurel & Hardy films.
A bit too messy overall
Horst_In_Translation26 January 2019
Warning: Spoilers
"Duck Soup" is an American 20-minute live action short film from 1927, so this one is already over 90 years old. It was directed by Fred Guiol 3 decades before he became and Oscar nominee and the highly prolific H.M. Walker adapted the original material here. But even without Oscar nominations, the real big stars here are Laurel and Hardy in their early years, well relatively early as both are over the age of 30 already too, even if this is such an old film and from their silent movie days. The two don't want to work and are on the run as always pretty much and pose as owners of a big house, which quickly attracts people interested in the house. These other two were really just only there to propel L&H's comedy and sometimes it works, sometimes not so much. Honestly, the comedy here was a bit sub-par to me. Laurel running around in drag = women's clothes did get old pretty quickly and he is much better than this. Also this film lacked the S&O trademark close camera focus recordings on the duo's faces. It gets slightly, but not much better, when at the very end the real owner shows up accompanied by a gun and he sure ain't afraid to use it. Oh and those suitors from early on are back to, to our delight more than to Stan and Ollie's I suppose. The action inside the house comedy-wise throughout the entire film is not bad, but not too good either. This movie has nothing on the famous duo's better let alone best works. The hose escalation at the very end cannot save anything in terms of all the mediocrity before that. Only watch if you are a completionist for the perhaps still today world's most famous comedy duo. There is a reason nobody thinks of these two when hearing the words "Duck Soup", but of another group of comedies that made the much more known full feature film with the same title. It's also not even anywhere near Stan and Ollie's most known. And for good reason. Watch something else instead.
Brilliantly constructed silent comedy short with Laurel & Hardy for the first time together as a comical duo.
Boba_Fett11383 April 2006
This is not the funniest Laurel & Hardy comedy short but still it's a great movie due to the way the movie is constructed.
This was not the first movie with starring both Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in it (they both appeared before in the movies " 45 Minutes from Hollywood" and " A Lucky dog".) but it was the first movie of the two appearing as a comical duo. Therefor this movie already is a bit of a must-see. It's an historical significant movie, that marked one of the very first step of silent-movie history.
No, it certainly ain't an hilarious movie but it rather is a very well constructed movie, with an excellent story and extremely good timing and pace. The editing was truly superb and kept the pace high, as well as the movie itself consistent. It all helps to make "Duck Soup" a very pleasant and amusing movie to watch.
Stan Laurel is already great in his role but Oliver Hardy still obviously had to grown into his role. The beginning is there but he's not quite perfect yet. The subtle little things that made his character so great are still missing in this movie. Luckily the boys already have some great chemistry together in this movie.
Not an hilarious movie but a very well constructed and amusing one, with Laurel & Hardy for the very first time together as a comical duo.
10/10
http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/
This was not the first movie with starring both Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in it (they both appeared before in the movies " 45 Minutes from Hollywood" and " A Lucky dog".) but it was the first movie of the two appearing as a comical duo. Therefor this movie already is a bit of a must-see. It's an historical significant movie, that marked one of the very first step of silent-movie history.
No, it certainly ain't an hilarious movie but it rather is a very well constructed movie, with an excellent story and extremely good timing and pace. The editing was truly superb and kept the pace high, as well as the movie itself consistent. It all helps to make "Duck Soup" a very pleasant and amusing movie to watch.
Stan Laurel is already great in his role but Oliver Hardy still obviously had to grown into his role. The beginning is there but he's not quite perfect yet. The subtle little things that made his character so great are still missing in this movie. Luckily the boys already have some great chemistry together in this movie.
Not an hilarious movie but a very well constructed and amusing one, with Laurel & Hardy for the very first time together as a comical duo.
10/10
http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/
Generallly Amusing, Besides Being Historically Significant
Snow Leopard23 August 2001
While it's not one of the funniest Laurel & Hardy comedies, "Duck Soup" is still worth seeing. It is at least fairly amusing, and at times quite funny, besides its greater historical significance. The story and some of the gags both allow you to see the beginnings of the "Stan and Ollie" personas that the comic duo would later refine and perfect.
In this short, the humor mostly comes from the ways that they work together, and from the silly predicaments in which the boys find themselves, rather than from any of the specific gags. Most of the gags do work all right, but they are not as imaginative or as creative as the kinds of routines that Laurel and Hardy did in later features. The basic situation is funny, and it creates some good possibilities, some of which are used well. After they had a little more experience with each other, they learned how to take this kind of setup and make it even funnier.
Overall, this movie is probably going to be of interest mostly to those who are already Laurel & Hardy fans, who will certainly find this an interesting look at their early days together. In itself it has some good moments of comedy as well.
In this short, the humor mostly comes from the ways that they work together, and from the silly predicaments in which the boys find themselves, rather than from any of the specific gags. Most of the gags do work all right, but they are not as imaginative or as creative as the kinds of routines that Laurel and Hardy did in later features. The basic situation is funny, and it creates some good possibilities, some of which are used well. After they had a little more experience with each other, they learned how to take this kind of setup and make it even funnier.
Overall, this movie is probably going to be of interest mostly to those who are already Laurel & Hardy fans, who will certainly find this an interesting look at their early days together. In itself it has some good moments of comedy as well.
Duck Soup
jboothmillard17 June 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are the most famous comedy duo in history, and deservedly so, so I am happy to see any of their films. Oh, and by the way, don't get confused with the Marx Brothers film, this is nowhere similar to it. Colonel Blood (James A. Marcus) is leaving his mansion to go away, and meanwhile, tramps Hives (Laurel) and Maltravers (Hardy) are resting on a park bench reading about recent forest fires. Soon enough a cop comes to get the boys off the bench, and they run away stealing a bicycle, until they run into Blood's mansion, just as a couple who rented the house are leaving. While Blood has remembered his bow and arrow left at home, Maltravers is pretending to be the master of the house, while Hives is the maid "Agnes", in front of Lord Tarbotham (William Austin) and Lady Tarbotham (Madeline Hurlock), another couple wanting to rent the house. When the man agrees to rent the house with his wife, the boys collect some valuables as they get ready to leave, and then Blood returns, and gets a gun out when the Lord thinks he is crazy, according to Maltravers. The boys are eventually caught, and in the end taken to help put out the forest fires, only to be hanging on to the swinging, spraying hose. Filled with good slapstick and all classic comedy you want from a black and white film, the music added to the film sounds off tune at times, but I suppose it doesn't matter, it is an enjoyable silent film. Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were number 7 on The Comedians' Comedian. Worth watching!
Nearly-unseen hilarity
StevePulaski24 July 2014
Laurel and Hardy's 1927 short film Duck Soup was originally thought to be lost by film scholars, critics, and the industry. The only pieces of the short that were rumored or assumed to exist were stills or very short clips, but miraculously, the film was found in a Belgium archive in 1974. However, not before the short was remade into Another Free Ride in 1930 and ideas salvaged for Pack Up Your Troubles in 1931, both Laurel and Hardy shorts.
Watching Duck Soup is nothing shy of a privilege, as it was almost never meant to be. Yet, like with all lost films, I quietly hope most of the famous lost films will not be lost forever and that we will eventually get to see the famous works as they were originally intended.
Duck Soup concerns Laurel and Hardy as two impoverished men, who are about to be recruited by forest rangers as volunteer firefighters. In a sublime chase, in true silent movie fashion, the two manage to escape them on a bike and take refuge in a mansion, while the owner and his servants have go away on business. Hardy impersonates the owner and offers to rent the home to an older English couple, with Laurel posing as the mansion's maid. This can only go on for so long, as they are the targets of two very temperamental groups of people.
Aside from the hilarious chase scene, Duck Soup wins one over mainly because of its simplicity and the fact that it begins and conducts itself by following the building blocks of comedy, which usually starts from the lead character(s) doing something they don't want to do. In this case, Laurel and Hardy don't want to fight wildfires, so they stumble into a decidedly more lavish option of taking refuge in a mansion to only disastrous results. To add to that, the film is consistently active, bearing the fantastic physical comedy and rabble-rousing entertainment necessary for a short like this to work, only proving why Laurel and Hardy became two enormous comedic names.
Starring: Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Directed by: Fred L. Guiol.
Watching Duck Soup is nothing shy of a privilege, as it was almost never meant to be. Yet, like with all lost films, I quietly hope most of the famous lost films will not be lost forever and that we will eventually get to see the famous works as they were originally intended.
Duck Soup concerns Laurel and Hardy as two impoverished men, who are about to be recruited by forest rangers as volunteer firefighters. In a sublime chase, in true silent movie fashion, the two manage to escape them on a bike and take refuge in a mansion, while the owner and his servants have go away on business. Hardy impersonates the owner and offers to rent the home to an older English couple, with Laurel posing as the mansion's maid. This can only go on for so long, as they are the targets of two very temperamental groups of people.
Aside from the hilarious chase scene, Duck Soup wins one over mainly because of its simplicity and the fact that it begins and conducts itself by following the building blocks of comedy, which usually starts from the lead character(s) doing something they don't want to do. In this case, Laurel and Hardy don't want to fight wildfires, so they stumble into a decidedly more lavish option of taking refuge in a mansion to only disastrous results. To add to that, the film is consistently active, bearing the fantastic physical comedy and rabble-rousing entertainment necessary for a short like this to work, only proving why Laurel and Hardy became two enormous comedic names.
Starring: Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Directed by: Fred L. Guiol.
Hilarious Short
GManfred24 August 2021
This is the first short in which Laurel and Hardy worked together as a team. They were not called 'Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy' but have fictitious names. And Hardy has a two day growth of stubble. Nevertheless, this one is loaded with some very funny sight gags (this being the silent era) and ranks among their funniest films.
Forest Rangers are recruiting volunteers and have been given permission to press into service vagrants found in the LA area. Our heroes fall into that category in this short and do all they can to avoid the Rangers. They come upon an unoccupied mansion and hide inside - until a couple who rented it show up at the front door. Things begin to unravel for the boys in predictable fashion, making it one of their best. It played at Capitolfest, Rome NY, 8/14/21.
******** 8/10 - Website no longer prints my star rating.
Forest Rangers are recruiting volunteers and have been given permission to press into service vagrants found in the LA area. Our heroes fall into that category in this short and do all they can to avoid the Rangers. They come upon an unoccupied mansion and hide inside - until a couple who rented it show up at the front door. Things begin to unravel for the boys in predictable fashion, making it one of their best. It played at Capitolfest, Rome NY, 8/14/21.
******** 8/10 - Website no longer prints my star rating.
Rags to Riches to Rags
Maliejandra1 September 2021
Stan and Ollie are bums who don't want to have to join the volunteer fire department; they run away into a mansion whose owner is going on a hunting expedition and pretend to own the place.
Who doesn't like Laurel and Hardy? I know cross-dressing has become a taboo comedy plot, but it still makes me laugh. Some Laurel and Hardy scholars identify this as the first identifiable film where they were a team.
Who doesn't like Laurel and Hardy? I know cross-dressing has become a taboo comedy plot, but it still makes me laugh. Some Laurel and Hardy scholars identify this as the first identifiable film where they were a team.
Two L&H shorts
Michael_Elliott13 March 2008
Duck Soup (1927)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Laurel and Hardy, trying to get away from firemen wanting to recruit them, run and hide in a house but when someone shows up to rent it they must pretend to be the owner and maid. L&H went onto remake this with better results in Another Fine Mess but this short has a few funny moments but not enough to make it work throughout.
45 Minutes from Hollywood (1926)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
A country boy goes to Hollywood to pay a bill and gets caught up in what he thinks is a movie being made. What he doesn't know is that he's caught up in a real robbery. There are a few good gags here but the real highlight is Oliver Hardy playing the Hotel Detective. Stan Laurel has a brief role as well. This was the first Hal Roach film where the two were in the same movie, although they don't share any scenes here.
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Laurel and Hardy, trying to get away from firemen wanting to recruit them, run and hide in a house but when someone shows up to rent it they must pretend to be the owner and maid. L&H went onto remake this with better results in Another Fine Mess but this short has a few funny moments but not enough to make it work throughout.
45 Minutes from Hollywood (1926)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
A country boy goes to Hollywood to pay a bill and gets caught up in what he thinks is a movie being made. What he doesn't know is that he's caught up in a real robbery. There are a few good gags here but the real highlight is Oliver Hardy playing the Hotel Detective. Stan Laurel has a brief role as well. This was the first Hal Roach film where the two were in the same movie, although they don't share any scenes here.
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