Duck Soup

Duck Soup (1927)

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.

Date of release
1927-03-13
TMDB
6.4 / 10 (38)
Runtime
17m
Genres
Comedy
Director
Fred Guiol

Casting

Interesting facts

Duck Soup is a 1927 American silent comedy short film starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy prior to their official billing as the duo Laurel and Hardy, directed by Fred Guiol.

Production notes

Duck Soup underwent a near half-century period of being classified as a lost film until a print resurfaced in 1974. Prior to its rediscovery, film scholars believed that Laurel and Hardy shared minimal screen time, if any. However, upon inspection, it became evident that they featured as a comedic duo throughout the entirety of the film, albeit in rudimentary tramp costumes. Hardy's portrayal included an unshaven chin, a monocle, and a top hat.

Directed by Fred Guiol, the film's significance was largely attributed to Leo McCarey, the supervising director, who recognized Laurel and Hardy's potential as a comedic pairing. McCarey would later employ the same title for the renowned Marx Brothers film, Duck Soup (1933), which he directed for Paramount Pictures. The sketch that inspired the film was penned by Stan Laurel's father, Arthur J. Jefferson.

Duck Soup was remade as Another Fine Mess (1930).

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