MovieChat Forums > Duck Soup (1933) Discussion > Two questions.

Two questions.

posted 14 years ago by Slaterson420
5 replies | jump to latest

1. Then end credits made me crack up when I noticed how the characters Groucho, Harpo & Chico play (Firefly, Pinky & Chicolini) all have silly, comedic names, while Zeppo is just named Bob Roland, which sounds like someone who sells above-ground swimming pools. I find that hilarious, but do you think they intended that or no?

2. I feel like an idiot for asking this one. I usually get Groucho's one-liners, but one of his more famous quotes I don't really get. "We're fighting for this woman's honor, which is more than she ever did." I know that's insulting, but I don't know what he's saying. Can somebody explain that one to me?

Damn it! We're never getting any candy if Kenny keeps eating people!

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] bradford-1 14 years ago

Zeppo's character name sorta reminds me of THE APE MAN, a Monogram d-film starring Bela Lugosi as "James Brewster." Even stranger is that Brewster's sister speaks in a clipped, upper-class British accent. And no one in the movie ever addresses the incongruity.
And of course, my tagline speaks for itself.
"We're fighting for this woman's honor, which is more than she ever did."

[–] scipio23 13 years ago

1. It must have been intentional, I would say. Zeppo was never really able to develop a comic persona. I think there just wasn't room for another zany character when you already have three of them.

2. He's insinuating that Mrs. Teasdale is "easy" and that she doesn't protect her honor. She sleeps with a lot of men, in other words.

Je suis Marxiste, tendance Groucho

[–] rockmail 10 years ago

"We're fighting for this woman's honor, which is more than she ever did."

Wow, his funniest line of all time. I'm sorry it didn't come easily to you.

It's a sly way of insulting her for being promiscuous without saying it outright.

It's common for men to say they were "defending a woman's honor" in other words in a general sense her reputation and dignity, but when you add in "which is more than she ever did" it immediately refers to her sexual behavior which makes it shocking which is what humor is based on - surprise twists.

[–] dt123 10 years ago

I, for one, think "Bob Roland" is a very funny name. It's meant as a non-sequitur... Like, "We'll have the pate de foie gras, the chateau briand, a bottle of Moet Chandon, and a hard boiled egg."