Horse Feathers (1932)

I haven't seen this for a long time, and it's much much better than I remember. I used to think it was something akin to Monkey Business (sparks of brilliance but inconsistant) but really, I'd have to say (having watched them all recently) it's my third favorite Marx Brothers' film, behind only A Night at the Opera and Duck Soup.

It lacks a big memorable setpiece like the mirror scene in Duck Soup or the cabin scene in A Night At The Opera, but it's very consistant, well paced, and funny. It even has some musical interludes, which I've always enjoyed.

Harpo had some great gags in this. "Hey, could you spare something, so I could get a cup of coffee?" *Harpo pulls out a steaming cup of coffee, hands it to him, walks away*

And the whole slot machine bit, when the payphone starts spitting out quarters, his reaction is priceless.

God bless the new search function.

 

Apparently I forgot that this was one of my favorites again. The more I watch Marx Brothers movies now, the more I understand the true nature of their anarchy. Anarchic in this case doesn't just mean that the gags are fast paced and they don't care about the plot: it literally means that the Brothers only exist to disrupt any and all institutions. From the opening song "I'm Against It" to Harpo giving a cop a ticket to Harpo literally shoveling books into a fire (for absolutely no discernible reason), every bone in their bodies is designed to destroy and subvert. It goes WAY beyond "Slobs vs. Snobs" (though I'm sure they're a major influence on that) or Anchorman, which people often (wrongly) cite as a throwback to the Marx Brother's anarchy. It's not even close.

 

Also, when Harpo runs in and throws the ice out the window, I nearly died.

 

But 2008 me can suck it when it comes to the musical numbers. They're pretty rote here. Even Harpo's harp performance can't compare to the one he gave in A Night At The Opera.