Well, folks, I'd confidently say that Horse Feathers' fast-talking, good-natured silliness worked to its comical advantage for about half the time.
With a real keen sense of sly relish, there were certainly some priceless one-liners deftly delivered here. As well, the innuendo, the insults, the wordplay and all of the crazy slapstick shenanigans were all brought off quite cleverly in dizzy, rapid-fire succession.
But, with that all said, I found that the overall charm and humor of the Marx Brothers to be somewhat dated and, yes, even forced at times. (Well, hey, what could I expect from a film that is now more than 80 years old?)
But, despite all of Horse Feathers' noticeable flaws and inconsistencies, if one simply viewed this comedy from a purely nostalgic perspective, rather that from a strictly critical point of view, then one would be more likely to enjoy its jolly absurdity in the long run.
I mean, c'mon, now. Horse Feathers really isn't half as bad as some people claim it to be. All that I can say about it is - You can give me the Marx Brothers over the likes of Abbott & Costello or Jerry Lewis or even frickin' Will Ferrell any day at all.
Horse Feathers' simple-minded story (set during Prohibition) has Groucho Marx, as Quincy Adams Wagstaff, who is unanimously elected as the new president of Huxley University. (Why he was elected, who knows?)
Wagstaff mistakenly hires bumblers Baravelli (Chico) and Pinky (Harpo) dirt-cheap to help his school win the big, all-important football game that's coming up against their hated rivals from Darwin University.
And, with that in mind, you can bet that everything that can go wrong, indeed, does go wrong when you've got the Marx Brothers taking charge.
Filmed in b&w, this picture has a brief running time of only 68 minutes.
With a real keen sense of sly relish, there were certainly some priceless one-liners deftly delivered here. As well, the innuendo, the insults, the wordplay and all of the crazy slapstick shenanigans were all brought off quite cleverly in dizzy, rapid-fire succession.
But, with that all said, I found that the overall charm and humor of the Marx Brothers to be somewhat dated and, yes, even forced at times. (Well, hey, what could I expect from a film that is now more than 80 years old?)
But, despite all of Horse Feathers' noticeable flaws and inconsistencies, if one simply viewed this comedy from a purely nostalgic perspective, rather that from a strictly critical point of view, then one would be more likely to enjoy its jolly absurdity in the long run.
I mean, c'mon, now. Horse Feathers really isn't half as bad as some people claim it to be. All that I can say about it is - You can give me the Marx Brothers over the likes of Abbott & Costello or Jerry Lewis or even frickin' Will Ferrell any day at all.
Horse Feathers' simple-minded story (set during Prohibition) has Groucho Marx, as Quincy Adams Wagstaff, who is unanimously elected as the new president of Huxley University. (Why he was elected, who knows?)
Wagstaff mistakenly hires bumblers Baravelli (Chico) and Pinky (Harpo) dirt-cheap to help his school win the big, all-important football game that's coming up against their hated rivals from Darwin University.
And, with that in mind, you can bet that everything that can go wrong, indeed, does go wrong when you've got the Marx Brothers taking charge.
Filmed in b&w, this picture has a brief running time of only 68 minutes.