Duck Soup Quotes
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Source: Duck Soup
Speaker: Rufus T. Firefly
I could dance with you 'til the cows come home. On second thought, I'd rather dance with the cows 'til you came home.
Context
This line is spoken by Rufus T. Firefly (played by Groucho Marx) in the movie Duck Soup, directed by Leo McCary (1933).
Widely considered one of their best, Duck Soup is the Marx Bothers' screwy take on the ridiculousness of war. In this one, Groucho is Rufus T. Firefly, who's installed as the dictator of a bankrupt country called Freedonia by a frumpy rich lady named Mrs. Tisdale (Margaret Dumont). Eventually, Freedonia is drawn into a pointless war with a neighboring country called Sylvania—all for the honor of the dumpy lady.
This wisecrack from Groucho comes early in the movie, after Tisdale introduces Firefly to a sexy young dancer. So, yeah this zinger is Groucho's version of a pickup line. Try it at the club and see what happens.
Dance your way on over to the clip here.
Where you've heard it
We can't find a specific reference to this quote, but other lines like "Of course you know that this means war" lived on—most notably as taglines for Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny.
And not for your viewing pleasure: here's Bugs.
Pretentious Factor
If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.
Though the movie is old-school, it's also a screwball comedy. If you ask us, a snappy one-liner doesn't have an expiration date.