Duck Soup. 1933. USA. Directed by Leo McCarey
These notes accompany the Leo McCarey screening program, October 6, 7, and 8 in Theater 3.
Leo McCarey (1898–1969) has long been one of the most unheralded major directors in film history. (I made my own small effort to resurrect his status in a 1973 Film Comment article.) At that time, I reminded readers of a quote from critic (and later screenwriter) Frank Nugent from 1939: “McCarey directs so well it is almost antisocial of him not to direct more often.” Unfortunately, McCarey remains all too obscure to this day.