Football Movie Marathon #13: Horse Feathers (1932)

Let's go back in time 75+ years for the next movie.



The Marx Brothers came into the picture right when silent movies were going away and "talkies" were becoming popular. Many of their early movies are all time classics. In the American Film Institute Top 100 Comedies list, the Marx Brothers account for five of the movies, including this weeks entry, Horse Feathers.



Groucho Marx (perhaps the most recognizeable to modern audiences) plays Professor Wagstaff, who's son Frank (played by Zeppo Marx) is the captain of the football team. They haven't beaten their rival in years, so the Professor decides to hire some ringers. Unfortunately, highjinx ensue and he ends up with two bumblers he meets at a speakeasy (played by Harpo and Chico). Several antics lead up to the big football game, which finishes up the movie in an interesting and climatic way.



Overall however, with the Marx Brothers, the plot is secondary to cramming in as many jokes as humanly possible into the movies runtime. Watching several of their movies, you realize that the brothers are creating so much freaking anarchy that you have no real idea of what is going on. It is very, very silly from start to finish...squeezing in more jokes than a Family Guy episode (which doesn't even require plot).



The movie runs 68 minutes long and currently can be found on YouTube. Personally, I think its a hell of a lot of fun, but the Marx Brothers are definately a lot different that what anyone would expect from a comedy in this day and age. Characters verbally lob softballs at Groucho just so he can turn their phrases against them. There are extended music scenes which feel incredibly dated. Overall, this slides in somewhere in the middle of the marathon movies for me.

Football Movie Marathon Rankings:
1) Any Given Sunday (1999)
2) Brian's Song (1971)
3) Knute Rockne: All American (1940)
4) Varsity Blues (1999)
5) The Longest Yard (1974)
6) Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL? (2009)
7) Horse Feathers (1932)
8) Gridiron Gang (2006)
9) The Waterboy (1998)
10) The Band That Wouldn't Die (2009)
11) Invincible (2006)
12) The Longest Yard (2005)
13) Two For the Money (2005)