Duck Soup is a Laurel and Hardy

Laurel and Hardy

Laurel and Hardy were one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comedy double acts of the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema...

 short silent film

Silent film

A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...

 produced by Hal Roach Studios.

Production background

Duck Soup was considered a lost film

Lost film

A lost film is a feature film or short film that is no longer known to exist in studio archives, private collections or public archives such as the Library of Congress, where at least one copy of all American films are deposited and catalogued for copyright reasons...

 for nearly fifty years, until a print was discovered in 1974. It was previously thought by film scholars that the comedians barely shared any scenes, if any, but in fact they appear as a team throughout the entire picture, albeit rather primitively, dressed in tramp costuming, with Hardy sporting an unshaven chin and top hat

Top hat

A top hat, beaver hat, high hat silk hat, cylinder hat, chimney pot hat or stove pipe hat is a tall, flat-crowned, broad-brimmed hat, predominantly worn from the latter part of the 18th to the middle of the 20th century...

. In the next few films, Laurel and Hardy

Laurel and Hardy

Laurel and Hardy were one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comedy double acts of the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema...

 were together as separate performers and not working as a double act

Double act

A double act, also known as a comedy duo, is a comic pairing in which humor is derived from the uneven relationship between two partners, usually of the same gender, age, ethnic origin and profession, but drastically different personalities or behavior...

, before their potential as a team was used again, notably in Do Detectives Think? (1927), another Hal Roach two-reeler.

The film was directed by Fred Guiol

Fred Guiol

Fred Guiol was an American film director and screenwriter. Guiol worked at the Hal Roach Studios for many years, and directed Laurel and Hardy's earliest short films, as their famous comic partnership gradually developed during 1927...

. However, the more important contribution was by the films' supervising director, Leo McCarey

Leo McCarey

Thomas Leo McCarey was an American film director, screenwriter and producer. During his lifetime he was involved in nearly 200 movies, especially comedies...

, 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

Marx Brothers

The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act, originally from New York City, that enjoyed success in Vaudeville, Broadway, and motion pictures from the early 1900s to around 1950...

 film, Duck Soup, which he directed for Paramount Pictures

Paramount Pictures

Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...

 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

Another Fine Mess (1930 film)

Another Fine Mess is a 1930 short comedy film starring Laurel and Hardy. It is based on the 1908 play Home From The Honeymoon by Arthur J. Jefferson, Stan Laurel's father, and is a talkie remake of the 1927 silent Laurel and Hardy film Duck Soup....

(1930).

Plot

Fleeing a group of forest rangers, who are rounding up tramps to serve as firefighters, they 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.

Cast

• Stan Laurel
  Stan Laurel
  Arthur Stanley "Stan" Jefferson , better known as Stan Laurel, was an English comic actor, writer and film director, famous as the first half of the comedy team Laurel and Hardy. His film acting career stretched between 1917 and 1951 and included a starring role in the Academy Award winning film...
  
  
• Oliver Hardy
  Oliver Hardy
  Oliver Hardy was an American comic actor famous as one half of Laurel and Hardy, the classic double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted nearly 30 years, from 1927 to 1955.-Early life:...
  
  
• James A. Marcus
  James A. Marcus
  James A. Marcus was an American actor. He appeared in 109 films between 1915 and 1937.He was born in New York, New York and died in Hollywood, California from a heart attack...
  
  
• Stuart Holmes
• William Austin
• Madeline Hurlock
  Madeline Hurlock
  Madeline Hurlock was a silent film actress, hailing from Federalsburg, Maryland.Hurlock appeared in many short comedies for Mack Sennett, starting as one of the Sennett Bathing Beauties in 1923, and was one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars of 1925. She was a talented comedian, also known for her...
  
  
• Bob Kortman
  Bob Kortman
  Bob Kortman was an American film actor mostly associated with westerns, though he also appeared in a number of Laurel and Hardy comedies...
  
  
• William Courtright
  William Courtright
  William Courtright was an American film actor. He appeared in 68 films between 1912 and 1930. He was born in New Milford, Illinois and died in Ione, California...