Image copyright © by Marcus Trahan

Horsefeathers

(1932)

This is one of Groucho’s least interesting character names. Professor Quincy Wagstaff just doesn’t measure up to Rufus T. Firefly, Otis P. Driftwood, Hugo Z. Hackenbush, J. Cheever Loophole, or Wolf J. Flywheel. But the Marx Brothers never made a really bad film, though Love Happy is not very good. This I’d say is in the mid-range. I personally think Duck Soup is their best, but if you prefer any of half a dozen others you wouldn’t get much argument from me. It lacks the wonderfully stuffy and clueless Margaret Dumont, but it does have two of my favorite songs: “I’m Against It” and “Everyone Says I Love You.” Chico tells Harpo that you can’t burn a candle at both ends, and of course Harpo pulls a candle from his trench coat, lit at both ends. Can’t recall ever seeing that anywhere else. There’s a pretty funny football game at the end.