Horse Feathers

Horse Feathers
Poster by Al Hirschfeld
Directed byNorman Z. McLeod
Written byS. J. Perelman
Bert Kalmar
Harry Ruby
Will B. Johnstone
Arthur Sheekman
(uncredited)
Produced byHerman J. Mankiewicz (uncredited)
StarringGroucho Marx
Harpo Marx
Chico Marx
Zeppo Marx
Thelma Todd
David Landau
CinematographyRay June
Music byJohn Leipold
Harry Ruby
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • August 19, 1932 (1932-08-19)
Running time
68 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$647,000[1]
Box office$945,000 (U.S. and Canada rentals)[1]

Horse Feathers is a 1932 American pre-Code comedy film starring the Marx Brothers.[2][3] It stars the Four Marx Brothers (Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo), Thelma Todd and David Landau. It was written by Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby, S. J. Perelman, and Will B. Johnstone. Kalmar and Ruby also wrote the original songs for the film. Several of the film's gags were taken from the Marx Brothers' stage comedy from the 1900s, Fun in Hi Skule.[4] The term horse feathers is U.S. slang for "nonsense, rubbish, balderdash," attributed originally to Billy DeBeck.[5] As a work published in 1932 and renewed within 28 years, it will enter the public domain on January 1, 2028.[a]

  1. ^ a b "You Didn't Have Ice Cream All The Way Through ... --- Part One". greenbriarpictureshows.blogspot.com. October 2, 2007.
  2. ^ "Film Reviews". Variety. New York: Variety, Inc. August 16, 1932. p. 15.
  3. ^ Harrison's Reports film review; August 20, 1932, page 135.
  4. ^ Louvish, Simon (2000). Monkey Business: The Lives and Legends of the Marx Brothers. New York City, New York: Thomas Dunne Books. ISBN 0312252927.
  5. ^ "horse, n." OED Online. Oxford University Press.


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).