Hail, Hail, Euphoria!: Presenting the Marx Brothers in Duck Soup, the Greatest War Movie Ever Made

by Roy Blount Jr.

Overview

Bestselling author Roy Blount Jr. tells the story of theclassic Marx Brothers wartime satire Duck Soup. As always, Blount isinformed yet informal, tongue-in-cheek yet tempered, providing the perfectvoice to recount the irreverent antics of Harpo, Chico, Groucho, and Zeppo. Readers of HarpoSpeaks, The Essential Groucho,and Monkey Business and fans of Animal Crackers, A Night at the Opera and the Marx Brothers’ other timelesscomedies—as well as all fans of Blount’s witty and insightful books like Alphabet Juice and Feet on the Street and listeners to NPR’s weekly news quiz, Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me—will becaptivated by the lyrical humorist’s compelling, behind-the-scenes storytellingof the 1933 classic film.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061808173
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	11/22/2011
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.80(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Humorist, sportswriter, poet, performer, lecturer, dramatist, and author of seventeen books, Roy Blount Jr.’s writing has appeared in numerous publications, including The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, and National Geographic. His work has also been anthologized in such collections as The Best of Modern Humor and The Ultimate Baseball Book. He lives in western Massachusetts and New York City.

Editorial Reviews

Hail, Hail, Euphoria! is the most lyrical, insightful, scholarly, illuminating and celebratory 144 pages I’ve ever sat down with. This book is a stream of fun.” — Wall Street Journal

“Roy Blount Jr. knows from humor. In [Hail, Hail, Euphoria!], he sets out to remedy the lack of a scene-by-scene commentary on the Marx Brothers’ greatest movie, the sublimely nonsensical Duck Soup.” — Washington Post

“An essential read for Marx Brothers fans, those curious about the melding of war and humor in film, and browsers looking for a good read.” — Library Journal

“Readers will enjoy the stories behind this iconic film and the careers of the Marx Brothers.” — Booklist

“Roy Blount Jr. deconstructs the Marx Brothers’ magic.” — Los Angeles Times

From the Publisher

Roy Blount Jr. deconstructs the Marx Brothers’ magic.

|Los Angeles Times

Roy Blount Jr. knows from humor. In [Hail, Hail, Euphoria!], he sets out to remedy the lack of a scene-by-scene commentary on the Marx Brothers’ greatest movie, the sublimely nonsensical Duck Soup.

Washington Post

Readers will enjoy the stories behind this iconic film and the careers of the Marx Brothers.

Booklist

Hail, Hail, Euphoria! is the most lyrical, insightful, scholarly, illuminating and celebratory 144 pages I’ve ever sat down with. This book is a stream of fun.

Wall Street Journal

Roy Blount Jr. knows from humor. In [Hail, Hail, Euphoria!], he sets out to remedy the lack of a scene-by-scene commentary on the Marx Brothers’ greatest movie, the sublimely nonsensical Duck Soup.

Washington Post

Readers will enjoy the stories behind this iconic film and the careers of the Marx Brothers.

Booklist

Roy Blount Jr. deconstructs the Marx Brothers’ magic.

Los Angeles Times

Hail, Hail, Euphoria! is the most lyrical, insightful, scholarly, illuminating and celebratory 144 pages I’ve ever sat down with. This book is a stream of fun.

Wall Street Journal

…Roy Blount Jr. takes on "Duck Soup," not as a film critic or as a culture pundit or even as a comedy writer, but as a passionate amateur fan…Folksy, warm and up on his Marx lore—he seems not only to have seen every one of the brothers' movies, but to have read early drafts of every script—Blount makes for swell company.
—The New York Times

Dana Stevens

Roy Blount Jr., knows from humor…In this short, zippy tribute, he sets out to remedy the lack of a scene-by-scene commentary on the DVD of the Marx Brothers' greatest movie, the sublimely nonsensical "Duck Soup" (1933).
—The Washington Post

Dennis Drabelle

Blount (Robert E. Lee: A Life; Alphabet Juice), the renowned humorist and NPR contributor (Wait Wait…Don't Tell Me!), offers a fully entertaining part biography, part film review, and part sociocultural exploration. He readily admits that he has long been a convert to the cult of the Marx Brothers and that Duck Soup is one of the greatest films ever made. More than just a compendium of reasons the film and the Marxes are still influential nearly 80 years after its release, the narrative jumps among the film—which Blount was watching on YouTube as he was writing—the script, and the historical background of some of the film's most obscure references. VERDICT An essential read for Marx Brothers fans, those curious about the melding of war and humor in film, and browsers looking for a good read.—Teri Shiel, Westfield State Coll. Lib., MA

Library Journal