Director: Norman Z. McLeod

Screenwriters: Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby, S. J. Perelman, and Will B. Johnstone

Produced by: Paramount Pictures

Starring: The 4 Marx Brothers

Why Now? With all the unrest and problems in the world these days, we could all use a little bit of comedy in our lives to keep us going. For the month of July, I wanted to watch some classic pre-code comedies in the vein of The Three Stooges and Laurel and Hardy, and now seemed to be the perfect opportunity to delve into the films of The Marx Brothers.  I’ve now seen Duck Soup and Monkey Business, so it’s time to move onto this one, which was released in between the other two.

Why Horse Feathers? It’s another Paramount picture starring the Marx Brothers. I’ve heard this one is about colleges, and since I’ve recently graduated from my university, I thought it was fitting to look into this one next.

What do I Know About the Marx Brothers (Now)? Groucho is iconic, Chico is fun, Harpo is kooky, and Zeppo is just a nice guy. Take that as you will.

Post-Screening Synopsis:

Shenanigans at a college where Groucho Marx is the president, Zeppo is his college student son, and Chico and Harpo are two “icemen” who are accidentally recruited to play in the school’s football team against the rival institution.

Praise:

The idea of setting the story at a college is really interesting, and had the potential to be a hilarious precursor to college comedies like Animal House (1978), Revenge of the Nerds (1984), and Back to School (1986). If only.

Chico Marx’ piano sequences where he plays around on the keys with different fingers is a gag we’ve seen in their other films, but is always a delight. The comedic dancing is also fun.

Comments:

After the high of last week’s Monkey Business, I was looking forward to this film and having as good of a time. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

In this first viewing of the film, I found the whole thing thoroughly unfunny, and honestly, boring. It was not as wild as Monkey Business, and a lot of the jokes fell flat for me (except for a couple include a well known “password” gag).

Groucho was still wild as ever, but his jokes didn’t land for me, and sometimes felt forced.

Chico and Harpo were there and occasionally had some good gags once they were “students” at the college, but they were largely forgettable.

And Zeppo? Who’s that? Honestly, I am glad he had more to do in the Monkey Business the following year, because he was completely overshadowed by Groucho, who played his character’s father and flirted with the widow he was interested in.

Verdict:

I didn’t enjoy this film. Even less than Duck Soup. I don’t know if that’s a byproduct of following up Monkey Business, but this one was a let down.