{"id":19010,"date":"2011-07-30T22:28:50","date_gmt":"2011-07-31T05:28:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=19010"},"modified":"2020-12-21T22:36:55","modified_gmt":"2020-12-22T05:36:55","slug":"horse-feathers-1932","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=19010","title":{"rendered":"Horse Feathers (1932)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;You&#8217;ve got the brain of a four-year-old boy &#8212; and I&#8217;ll bet he was glad to get rid of it.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Poster-199x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"199\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-19011\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Poster-199x300.jpg 199w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Poster-84x128.jpg 84w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Poster.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nThe new president (Groucho Marx) of Huxley University hires two bumbling spies (Chico and Harpo Marx) to help his institution win a big football game against a rival university.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>College<\/li>\n<li>Comedy<\/li>\n<li>Football<\/li>\n<li>Marx Brothers Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nAs Peary notes, this &#8220;frantic, anarchical comedy&#8221; is &#8220;regarded as the most surrealistic of the Marx Brothers films&#8221;, given that it &#8220;takes us zooming from one senseless scene to the next and through completely absurd bits of dialogue&#8221;. Peary calls out several particularly &#8220;memorable scenes&#8221;, including the opening scene (&#8220;Groucho addressing the faculty and students&#8221;): <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Opening.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Opening-1024x625.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"391\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-58945\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Opening-1024x625.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Opening-300x183.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Opening-128x78.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Opening-768x468.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Opening-1536x937.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Opening-443x270.png 443w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Opening.png 1651w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Groucho trying to gain entrance into a speakeasy by guessing the doorman Chico&#8217;s secret word&#8221;: <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Password.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Password-1024x652.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"408\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-58946\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Password-1024x652.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Password-300x191.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Password-128x82.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Password-768x489.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Password-1536x978.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Password-424x270.png 424w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Password.png 1619w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>and &#8220;Groucho taking &#8216;college widow&#8217; Thelma Todd canoeing&#8221; (during which &#8220;she falls overboard and he tosses her a peppermint Life Saver&#8221;). <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Canoeing.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Canoeing-1024x640.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"400\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-58944\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Canoeing-1024x640.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Canoeing-300x187.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Canoeing-128x80.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Canoeing-768x480.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Canoeing-1536x960.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Canoeing-432x270.png 432w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Canoeing.png 1637w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m less a fan of the infamously climactic &#8220;wild, wild football game&#8221;, though I&#8217;ll concede its slapstick brilliance from afar.  <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Football.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Football-1024x645.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"403\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-58947\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Football-1024x645.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Football-300x189.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Football-128x81.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Football-768x483.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Football-1536x967.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Football-429x270.png 429w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Football.png 1625w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Listen for plenty of the Brothers&#8217; characteristically zany verbal wit: <\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Professor Wagstaff:<\/strong> Tomorrow we start tearing down the college.<br \/>\n<strong>Professors:<\/strong> But, Professor, where will the students sleep?<br \/>\n<strong>Professor Wagstaff:<\/strong> Where they always sleep: in the classroom.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The infectiously hummable opening song (&#8220;Whatever It Is, I&#8217;m Against It&#8221;)<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Whatever-It-Is.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Whatever-It-Is-1024x655.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"409\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-58949\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Whatever-It-Is-1024x655.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Whatever-It-Is-300x192.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Whatever-It-Is-128x82.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Whatever-It-Is-768x491.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Whatever-It-Is-1536x982.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Whatever-It-Is-422x270.png 422w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Horse-Feathers-Whatever-It-Is.png 1597w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Plenty of classic Marxian dialogue, one-liners, puns, and scenarios:<br \/>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Why don&#8217;t you bore a hole in yourself and let the sap run out?&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes. Most film fanatics will be curious to check out all of the Marx Brothers&#8217; early Paramount Studios classics, including this one. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Genuine Classic<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0023027\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1932\/08\/11\/archives\/groucho-marx-and-his-brothers-in-a-new-film-filled-with-their.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thespinningimage.co.uk\/cultfilms\/displaycultfilm.asp?reviewid=2176&#038;aff=13\">Spinning Image Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s1436marx.html\">DVD Savant Review (scroll down)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.filmsite.org\/hors.html\">Greatest Films Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/78393\/horse-feathers#articles-reviews?articleId=88204\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;You&#8217;ve got the brain of a four-year-old boy &#8212; and I&#8217;ll bet he was glad to get rid of it.&#8221; Synopsis: The new president (Groucho Marx) of Huxley University hires two bumbling spies (Chico and Harpo Marx) to help his institution win a big football game against a rival university. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: College Comedy Football Marx Brothers Films Response to Peary\u2019s Review: As Peary notes, this &#8220;frantic, anarchical comedy&#8221; is &#8220;regarded as the most surrealistic of the&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=19010\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19010","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19010"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19010\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58950,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19010\/revisions\/58950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}