[Reportedly, the plot of the antagonistic romance was inspired by the alleged affair that bespectacled director John Ford had with a mismatched Hepburn during the filming ofMary of Scotland (1936).There are, however, a couple of musical numbers that are perfectly integrated into the plot:When the Clock on the Wall Strikes TenGroucho""s song with the chorus - the Freedonia HymnJust Wait ""Til I Get Through With Itthe staged production number,The Country""s Goin"" o War(it was the only musical number in any of their films o feature all four of the brothers together)Why the titleDuck Soup? [Earlier in 1927, director Leo McCarey had made a two-reel Laurel and Hardy film with the same itle - and he borrowed the title from there.Happily, Bilbo spotted a stairway (built into the side of a massive Dwarf-guard statue) to a high entry point where they hoped that he ebbing light would reveal a secret keyhole on the rock""s surface.The top-line, prestige production was directed by William Wyler, a master of romantic period dramas, who had already brought bona-fide classics of literature and the stage to the screen, includingDodsworth (1936),Jezebel (1938),Wuthering Heights (1939),The Letter (1940),The Little Foxes (1941), andMrs.