Horse Feathers

Horse Feathers is a comedy about Quincy Adams Wagstaff, who becomes president of Huxley College, an institution with a long football losing record against its rival, Darwin. His son Frank is a student there. Eager for a win, Wagstaff tries to recruit experienced players, but through a mix-up ends up with two incompetents, Baravelli and Pinky, who are caught up in schemes involving the opposing side. The Marx Brothers play the leads, with Groucho Marx as Wagstaff, Chico Marx as Baravelli, Harpo Marx as Pinky and Zeppo Marx as Frank, alongside Thelma Todd and David Landau in a credited cast of twenty-three.

Norman Z. McLeod directed the film, the first in his directing career listed here, ahead of later titles including Alice in Wonderland, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and The Paleface. Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby and S.J. Perelman wrote the screenplay, with Herman J. Mankiewicz producing for Paramount.

Released in August 1932, the film runs 68 minutes and blends comedy with romance. It holds a rating of 7.5 out of 10 on IMDb from about 14,000 votes and 6.9 out of 10 on TMDB from 258 votes. A film critics' rating of 8.4 out of 10 from 31 reviews places it above the more mixed audience scores, suggesting critics have responded to it more warmly than general viewers have.