Duck Soup

Ohmygawd, it's almost 3 AM and I'm still working. Just saw last half of "Horse Feathers" and all of "Duck Soup" on TCM. I love the Marx Brothers. I truly think it's in my genes. My mother always said she didn't know where my sense of humor came from, but it's gotta be a Russian/German Jewish thing. I love that scene in Woody Allen's "Hannah and Her Sisters" and he's felling suicidal. He's walking around and enters a theatre. What's playing? "Duck Soup," the perfect antidote to the blues.

Saw 1969 episode with Groucho on Dick Cavett on TCM earlier tonight. Groucho was 79 years old, singing, dancing and saying the wittiest remarks. I remember seeing that the first time. I was in college and "Duck Soup" was re-released around that time, having been out of circulation for at least 3 decades. Considered a flop when it first played, but praised as a timeless classic during the Vietnam War by '60's teens and college students.

That's when some of us actually took to the streets and marched locally and in Washington, DC until the government finally had to throw in the towel. People truly had more power then because they exercised their power. Not like today, where they don't mourn the death of Habeus Corpus. Check out Keith Obermann if you don't get him on cable/satellite. He brilliantly demonstrated how all but one of the Bill of Rights have been eradicated by the current regime. I don't just blame the Repugs -- the Dems have been sitting on their asses and long-time enablers to the Rethugs.

OK, TCM is playing a Daffy Duck/Porky Pig cartoon. It's time to hit the hay before the sun comes up. One last thought: when I was in high school and college, I watched not only Dick Cavett, but Mervy Griffin, Mike Douglas, and David Frost. They LISTENED to their guests, who were THE stars of the day, whether John Lennon or Bette Davis. I will never forget when Merv's guest was Orson Welles, who opened up to the public as he never had, and passed away that night. Or Katherine Hepburn, who NEVER gave interviews til Cavett. I truly wish ALL those episodes were available. That's entertainment.

By the way, if these posts appear a day or two after I've written them, don't blame me. I don't know why Blogger is not posting these right away. Well, just gotta laugh about it!