Today’s quick review: Horse Feathers. Professor Quincy Adams Wagstaff (Groucho Marx), the new president of Huxley College, makes it his first order of business to break the school’s decades-long losing streak at football. His son Frank (Zeppo Marx) suggests recruiting two star players from the local speakeasy. Instead Wagstaff winds up with Baravelli (Chico Marx) and Pinky (Harpo Marx), a pair of misfits, to lead the charge against the school’s rival.
Horse Feathers is a classic slapstick comedy from the Marx Brothers. Groucho, Chico, Harpo, and Zeppo slip into their usual roles, this time with an academic twist. Horse Feathers offers fast-paced comedy in a stew of complementary styles, including wordplay and insults, non sequiturs, sight gags, and plenty of slapstick, all topped off with a few musical interludes. Horse Feathers has little in the way of plot but plenty in the way of laughter.
The only substantive difference between Horse Feathers and the Marx Brothers’ other films is its academic setting. Groucho takes over the lecture hall and the football field with his distinctive style of patter, and he’s soon joined by Chico and Harpo for further mayhem. What plot there is involves Wagstaff’s attempts to win a football game by hook or by crook, but frequent distractions and a nonsensical ending make the story a moot point.
Fans of the Marx Brothers won’t want to miss Horse Feathers. The film has less of a story or supporting cast than some of their other offerings, but the comedy is as sharp as ever, and their particular flavor of wit remains impossible to find anywhere else. Skip it if you’re looking for subdued comedy or a story that makes perfect sense. For another Marx Brothers comedy of similar caliber, check out Animal Crackers.
7.7 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 7.5 for outstanding comedy.