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September 18, 2002
You should have this language pack by now
Well, it seems The Country's Going to War!
At last the country's going to war!
We're going to war!
This is a fact we can't ignore
We're going to war!
This is a fact we can't ignore
We're going to war!
In case you haven't heard before
I think they think we're going to war
I think they think we're going to war
We're going to war!
I think they think we're going to war
We're going to war!
We're going to war!
We're going to war!
We're going to war!
From Duck Soup (1933), featuring four of the three Marx Bros. Like most films acclaimed today as classics,
The outrageous film was both a critical and commercial failure at the time of its release - audiences were taken aback by such preposterous political disrespect, buffoonery and cynicism at a time of political and economic crisis, with Roosevelt's struggle against Depression in the US amidst the rising power of Hitler in Germany. (This film quote, spoken by Groucho, was especially detested: "And remember while you're out there risking life and limb through shot and shell, we'll be in here thinking what a sucker you are.") Insulted by the film, fascist Italian dictator Mussolini banned the film in his country. Fortunately, the film was rediscovered by a generation of 1960s college students, and by revival film festivals and museum showings. As a result, the film has attained immortal status.
See? Those 1960s college students were good for something, despite what Eric Raymond seems to think. I'd also credit 'em with the odd voter registration drive, the ocassional Freedom Ride (during which more than a few were beaten, often under the watchful eye and uninterfering presence of the FBI), and a few did get killed, but these are mere footnotes, unworthy of mention.
Want to know more? Mark Evanier has a section (well, a button and two articles) dedicated to Groucho, and recently linked to Robert B. Weide's cautionary tale, How I Got Screwed When Buying Harpo Marx's Harp from EntertainmentRarities.com.
Yeah, yeah. "Je suis Marxiste, tendance Groucho." You got a problem with that?
Posted by Aaron at September 18, 2002 07:14 AM
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