President Firefly ends up declaring war on their neighboring country, Sylvania. The war was declared to fight for the love of the rich Mrs. Teasdale (Margaret Dumont). This movie is interesting because it shows how countries can go to war over things that are not necessarily worth going to war for. The comedy in the movie makes it have a light feeling to it. Instead of the movie being too serious and completely about the war, the comedy makes it easier to watch
There are many comedic scenes that include the other Marx brothers. There is the ongoing skit with the lemonade vendor (Edgar Kennedy) and the peanut vendor (Chico Marx). The great part about this skit is that even though the same thing happens every time the two vendors meet, it is still very humorous. The movie also highlights that many times, when a president chooses members of the government, it seems as though he and his advisors pluck them off of the street. In this movie that is actually the case. Firefly brings in Chicolini (Chico Marx) and Pinky (Harpo Marx) away from their lemonade stand to work in his government.
Of course, unknown to Firefly, Chicolini and Pinky are both spies that are there to spy on Firefly and his government. The viewer knowing this makes the movie very funny. Also the mirror skit is a classic bit of humor. Having both Chicolini and Pinky both dressed up as Firefly and copy each other's movements makes it impossible not to laugh. Though this movie is not actually about a real historical aspect, it is loosely based on things that can, and do happen in real life.