Horse Feathers

Now Playing

1h 10m

Comedy

List

97%

Tomatometer

30 Reviews

86%

Audience Score

5,000+ Ratings

The Marx Brothers take on higher education and football in this riotous comedy. The newly minted president of Huxley University, Quincy Adams Wagstaff (Groucho Marx), is getting pressure from his son Frank (Zeppo Marx) to improve the football squad at the school. Frank thinks his father should recruit two professional ball players so Huxley can finally defeat their gridiron rival, Darwin. But when Wagstaff hires the wrong guys, suddenly a pair of bootleggers are wreaking havoc as undergrads.

Read More

Read Less

Now in Theaters

Now Playing

Buy Tickets

Critics Consensus

Horse Feathers finds the Marx Brothers in fine madcap form, taking aim at an array of timely targets while serving up classic set pieces.

Read Critics Reviews

Variety Staff

Variety

The madcap Marxes, in one of their maddest screen frolics.

Oct 18, 2008

Full Review

Time Out

The Brothers have never been so chaotic or so aggressively funny.

Feb 9, 2006

Full Review

Mordaunt Hall

New York Times

Some of the fun is even more reprehensible than the doings of these clowns in previous films, but there is no denying that their antics and their patter are helped along by originality and ready wit.

Rated: 4/5

Jan 28, 2006

Full Review

Danielle Solzman

Solzy at the Movies

Over 90 years later, Horse Feathers still holds up as one the greatest comedy movies of all time.

Rated: 5/5

Nov 17, 2023

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Somehow, the boys manage to incorporate a horse-drawn vehicle into a football game.

Rated: 3.5/4

Nov 12, 2023

Full Review

Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

The overarching plot may be different, but the slapstick, the breaks for harp strumming or guitar plucking, and the competition over a pretty girl are entirely familiar.

Rated: 6/10

Dec 7, 2020

Full Review

Read all reviews

Chuck J

Very funny,great lines and ridiculous plot to entertain.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/23/23

Full Review

David B

Outrageously fun, a true comedy classic.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/23/23

Full Review

Taylor L

As I see more of their work, it's becoming more apparent just how formulaic the Marx Brothers were (as most comedy routines, and even full studio production departments, tended to be at the time); Groucho does his rapid-fire joke schtick, Chico helps him out by making him look funnier by comparison, and Harpo smoothes over all the rough patches with the real gold, the physical comedy. And Zeppo might also be there for some reason. Physical comedy is essentially the most timeless aspect of film, it's why Chaplin can still get laughs all these years later even when film as a medium has evolved so much. That's partly why Harpo looks like such a genius compared to his brothers in retrospect, even if Groucho was redefining the medium with spoken jokes that had never been seen before, because the former was building off of what had been pioneered during the Silent Era and vaudeville. Even taking that into account, it's tough to enjoy Groucho to his full extent, partly because his jokes rely on a lot of wordplay that isn't really part of common vernacular anymore, and partly because he didn't really opt for good comedic delivery as much as he just spoke very quickly and expected the audience to mistake whiplash for good writing. When the joke deluge works, it's great. When it doesn't, it's alienating. It's a classic, but in the same mold as other Marx Brothers films that are probably better all-around. (3/5)

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

09/03/22

Full Review

Ethan S

Some of what is on display here will be done with greater aplomb in later films (most notably Duck Soup) but the Marxes are in fine madcap form here.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/03/22

Full Review

joel h

If you're a fan of the Marx Brothers' comedy, you'll like Horse Feathers. But if you're a fan of the Marx Brothers, you've probably already seen this movie. It features the usual fast-talking setups and punchlines peppered with slapstick. It's also barely over an hour long, so even if you're not enjoying it, it will be over soon. This comedy is definitely dated, but there's still something amusing about these movies.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

william d

Duck Soup remains my favorite Marx Brothers movie, but this one is great too. "I know, but it's no fun keeping him after school." Classic.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Norman Z. McLeod

Director

Groucho Marx

Professor Quincy Adams Wagstaff

Harpo Marx

Pinky

Chico Marx

Baravelli

Zeppo Marx

Frank Wagstaff

Thelma Todd

Connie Bailey

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

Horse Feathers: Official Clip - Three's a Crowd

2:33

Horse Feathers: Official Clip - Pinky's Fourth Quarter Heroics

2:55

Horse Feathers: Official Clip - Romance on a Canoe

3:00

Horse Feathers: Official Clip - Everyone Says I Love You

2:34

Horse Feathers: Official Clip - Class Clowns

2:55

Horse Feathers: Official Clip - Recruiting at the Speakeasy

2:36

Horse Feathers: Official Clip - Advice for Dad

2:14

Horse Feathers: Official Clip - Prof. Wagstaff's Office

2:49

Horse Feathers: Official Clip - I'm Against It

2:59

View more videos

90%

84%

Monkey Business

100%

83%

The Major and the Minor

91%

91%

Duck Soup

100%

86%

Sons of the Desert

75%

61%

Come Blow Your Horn

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Chris Columbus’ Five Favorite Films

View more photos

Synopsis

The Marx Brothers take on higher education and football in this riotous comedy. The newly minted president of Huxley University, Quincy Adams Wagstaff (Groucho Marx), is getting pressure from his son Frank (Zeppo Marx) to improve the football squad at the school. Frank thinks his father should recruit two professional ball players so Huxley can finally defeat their gridiron rival, Darwin. But when Wagstaff hires the wrong guys, suddenly a pair of bootleggers are wreaking havoc as undergrads.

Director: Norman Z. McLeod
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Paramount
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 10, 1932, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 8, 2020
Runtime: 1h 10m