Directed by Norman Z. McLeod and written by Bert Kalmar, S.J. Perelman, Harry Ruby, and Will B. Johnstone, Horse Feathers is a film that revolves around a college football game where a college president decides to cheat in order to beat a rival school. The film is a farcical film that revolves around the world of college sports with references into the world of Prohibition as it stars the Marx Brothers in Groucho, Chico, Harpo, and Zeppo Marx. Also starring Thelma Todd and David Landau. Horse Feathers is a witty and crazy romp of a film from Norman Z. McLeod.
The film is set in a college where its new president decides to focus on beating a rival school by hiring ringers. Along the way, the president does whatever to buck the system as he woos a woman who is dating his son as well as having an affair with the president of the rival school. It’s all part of this strange world where it explores some of the corruption in colleges and how men are willing to defeat their rivals at any cost. The film’s screenplay makes no bones into that corruption while allowing the Marx Brothers to improvise in their gags which has them defying the ideas of the college system. Even as there’s a plot device where the school president enters a speakeasy to meet with two men he thinks are the ringers.
Norman Z. McLeod’s direction definitely plays into that spirit of anarchy where the improvisation feels very natural as well as some of the musical and dance numbers. Much of the direction involve a lot of medium shots to play into that spirit along with gags that keep on being inventive and lively. While some of those gags are presented with some botched cuts due to being out of print and some moments of the film were cut as some of those moments feel abrupt. Yet, it doesn’t deter from the sense of comedy as it includes this climatic showdown in the football game which is total anarchy at its finest. Even in scenes where the president and his men do whatever to romance the woman whom his son has been going out with. Overall, McLeod creates a wild and sensational film about a college professor trying to cheat in a football game against a rival school.
Cinematographer Ray June does excellent work with the film‘s black-and-white cinematography to play into the craziness of the comedy as well as a vibrant look for its interior and exterior settings. Sound mixer Gene Merritt does nice work with the sound to help play into some of the gags as well in some of the raucous moments in the football game. The film’s music by John Leipold is fantastic for its mixture of folk and classical as it includes a performance in the latter by Harpo while the songs by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby are very funny as it’s often full of anarchy as well as play into the personalities of the characters.
The film’s cast is brilliant as it features some notable small roles from Reginald Barlow as the retiring professor, Nate Pendleton and James Pierce as the original ringers, Walter Brennan as a football commentator, and Robert Greig as a biology professor who loses control of classroom due to the actions of the Marx Brothers. David Landau is terrific as the film’s antagonist Jennings who is a secret lover of Connie as he tries to get her to find out what the rival school is up to. Thelma Todd is amazing as Connie as Jennings’ mistress who is also having an affair with the rival president’s son Frank as she would get the attention of his father and his ringers.
Zeppo Marx is excellent as Frank as the president’s son who is wooed by this woman as he is supposed to get an education as Zeppo is the most straightforward character of the film. Chico Marx is superb as the talkative and smart-aleck Baravelli while Harpo Marx is great as the very silent but innocent mute Pinky who does many of the film’s hilarious gags. Finally, there’s Groucho Marx in a thrilling performance as President Quincy Adams Wagstaff as he maintains that spirit of complete anarchy while saying things that are very brash as it’s such a fun performance.
Horse Feathers is a marvelous film from Norman Z. McLeod and the Marx Brothers. Though it’s presented in a restored but slightly botched cut due to censors of the times, it is still a very funny and exciting film that pokes fun at the world of college athletics. In the end, Horse Feathers is a hilariously rich and wild film from Norman Z. McLeod and the Marx Brothers.
Marx Brothers Films: (Humor Risk) - (I’ll Say She Is) - (The Cocoanuts (1925)) - (Animal Crackers (1928 film)) - (The Cocoanuts (1929 film)) - (Animal Crackers (1930 film)) - (The House That Shadows Built) - (Monkey Business) - Duck Soup - A Night at the Opera - A Day at the Races - Room Service - At the Circus - Go West - (The Big Store) - (A Night in Casablanca) - (Love Happy) - (The Story of Mankind)
© thevoid99 2015
Directed by Leo McCarey and written and scored by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby with additional dialogue from Arthur Sheekman and Nat Perrin, Duck Soup is the story of a man is named a dictator to a poor country as he declares war on a neighboring country. The film is a comedy where it plays to absurdist humor as it stars the Marx Brothers in Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo in roles that defy description. Also starring Margaret Dumont, Louis Calhern, Raquel Torres, and Edgar Kennedy. Duck Soup is an insane yet roaring film from Leo McCarey and the Marx Brothers.
The film is this odd yet farcical film where a man is asked by a rich woman to lead her country out of poverty as he deals with a neighboring country’s ambassador where a series of misunderstandings and insults lead to the man declaring war. A lot of it is told through some very unconventional humor where it’s about jokes and gags that continue throughout the film as screenwriters Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby throw away the rule book of what is funny and go for something that has an air of satire about government and war.
Especially as the fate of the fictional country Freedonia is in the hands of someone as completely out-of-step and off-the-wall as Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho Marx) who often spouts insults and does things to piss off the Sylvanian ambassador Trentino (Louis Calhern). Trentino would hire Chicolini (Chico Marx) and his mute brother Pinky (Harpo Marx) to spy on Firefly but things don’t exactly go as planned as it involves more hilarity and gags. Especially as some of the dialogue features some insults and such that adds to the film’s anarchic tone.
The direction of Leo McCarey is just as chaotic as the film’s script where it is about not just gags but the physicality in the performances that goes on that add to the film’s off-the-wall humor. McCarey’s direction does have some simple shots yet some of the wide shots he creates for some of the film’s musical numbers are very vibrant as it adds to the looseness of the film’s humor. The original music and songs written by its screenwriters do play into the frenzy of war, with some traditional songs in the mix, as well as the personalities of the characters. Some of the gags in the film showcase not just the brilliance of the Marx Brothers as comedy performers but also in what McCarey does to keep the humor going such as the much-lauded mirror scene and the climatic battle scene as it just adds to the farcical tone of the film. Overall, McCarey creates a very witty and entertaining film about a man who declares war on another country and create anarchy in every move he makes.
Cinematographer Henry Sharp does excellent work with the black-and-white photography to create some nice lighting schemes for some of the exteriors as well as some vibrant lights for the interior scenes. Editor LeRoy Stone does nice work with the editing as it has some rhythmic cuts for its humor and musical numbers as well as some stylish transitional wipes. Art directors Hans Dreier and W.B. Inhen do fantastic work with the sets from the palace that Firefly lives and work at to the office of Trentino. Sound recording engineer H.M. Lindgren does terrific work with some of the sound effects to play into Pinky‘s gags as well as some of the aspects in some of the funnier moments of the film.
The film’s cast includes some small yet noteworthy performances from Edgar Kennedy as a lemonade vendor who would have unfortunate encounters with Pinky and Chicolini, Raquel Torres as a femme fatale working for Trentino who tries to woo Firefly, Margaret Dumont as the rich widow Mrs. Gloria Teasdale whom Trentino and Firefly compete for her affection and money, and Louis Calhern as the snobbish yet conniving Sylvanian ambassador Trentino as he serves as a great man who often falls for the jokes. Finally, there’s the Marx Brothers in absolutely amazing performances with Zeppo in a small yet very memorable performance as Firefly’s personal secretary Lt. Bob Roland as he plays it straight. Chico brings a lot of wit as the very talkative Chicolini while Harpo is the funniest of the bunch as Pinky as he never says anything while doing all sorts of crazy things. Groucho is great as Rufus T. Firefly as he brings in a lot of witty banter and physicality to his performance as it includes some amazing moments with his brothers as they’re the film’s highlight.
Duck Soup is a magnificent film from Leo McCarey and the Marx Brothers as it’s one of the finest comedies ever created. Particularly in its mix of pantomime, physical comedy, and irreverent humor to showcase a world that is becoming more out-of-step with humanity. Most notably as it makes fun of the idea of war and governments in grand style. In the end, Duck Soup is a spectacular film from Leo McCarey and the Marx Brothers.
Marx Brothers Films: (Humor Risk) - (I’ll Say She Is) - (The Cocoanuts (1925)) - (Animal Crackers (1928 film)) - (The Cocoanuts (1929 film)) - (Animal Crackers (1930 film)) - (The House That Shadows Built) - (Monkey Business) - Horse Feathers - A Night at the Opera - A Day at the Races - Room Service - At the Circus - Go West - (The Big Store) - (A Night in Casablanca) - (Love Happy) - (The Story of Mankind)
© thevoid99 2014
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