Editing Freedonia (section)

=== 1930s ===

In the Marx Brother's film ''[[Duck Soup (1933 film)|Duck Soup]]'', the tiny fictitious country of Freedonia ("Land of the Brave, and Free") is suffering from severe financial problems; government leaders request a $20 million loan from wealthy Freedonian widow Mrs. Gloria Teasdale ([[Margaret Dumont]]) to keep the nation afloat. Mrs. Teasdale agrees to lend the money only on the condition that Rufus T. Firefly ([[Groucho Marx]]), be appointed leader of  Freedonia. In the musical number that accompanies Firefly's appointment to office, Firefly informs the audience on how the government will be run, singing lyrics such as "The last man nearly ruined this place, he didn't know what to do with it / If you think this country's bad off now, just wait 'til I get through with it." Firefly insults and angers Ambassador Trentino ([[Louis Calhern]]) from the neighboring nation of Sylvania, which leads Freedonia into war.<ref name="time">{{cite magazine
  | title = The New Pictures
  | magazine = [[Time (magazine)|Time]]
  | date = November 20, 1933
  | url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,929605-2,00.html
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071001004121/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,929605-2,00.html
  | url-status = dead
  | archive-date = October 1, 2007
| access-date = April 9, 2007 }}</ref>

When ''Duck Soup'' was released in 1933, the village of [[Fredonia, New York]], complained about the possible negative impact the film might have on the town. The Marx Brothers replied "Change the name of your town. It is hurting our picture."<ref name="time"/> The satirical depiction of Freedonia is said to have led [[Benito Mussolini]] to ban ''Duck Soup'' in Italy.<ref name="Groucho">{{cite book
  | last = Kanfer.
  | first = Stefan
  | title = Groucho: The Life and Times of Julius Henry Marx
  | publisher = Vintage ([[Random House]])
  | year = 2001|edition=reprint
  | location = New York
  | url = http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780375702075&view=excerpt
  | isbn = 0-375-70207-5}}</ref>