Talk:Horse Feathers/Archive 1

Archive 1

Hall and coffeepot

If those things -- where Groucho says, "From now on, anyone caught in the halls will be shot," Harpo having everything in the world inside his trench coat aren't in this film, which one are they in? It has admittedly been years since I've seen it, but those things do exist, and if not in this film, which one?

Rlquall 21:27, 4 Oct 2004 (UTC)

I'm not familiar with that particular quote, but Harpo produced all sorts of impossible objects out of his coat in almost every film. The most memorable would be in the final scene of Animal Crackers, when a cop — trying to persuade him to return to his non-existant home and mother — keeps pumping his arm good-narturedly, causing impossible amounts of stolen silverware and elements of a silver tea service to fall cacophoniously out of his coat at irregular intervals. Canonblack 01:51, 3 August 2006 (UTC)

Nor am I. It could be in one of the later ones. In the silverware incident, according to a story Groucho told years later, he expected the silver coffeepot to fall sooner than it did. At some point, Groucho says, "I can't understand what's keeping that coffeepot!" and it soon spills out. That might be just one of Groucho's tall tales, of course. But he did say that on camera. Wahkeenah 03:11, 3 August 2006 (UTC)

From what I've read the "I don't know what's keeping the coffeepot" quote, as with many of the bits in Marx Bros. early films, came from an adlib in one of their revue routines before they hit big. Wahkeenah's statement is otherwise correct; Groucho knew from previous experience it was a laugh-line so he said it whenever Harpo did the silverware bit, including Animal Crackers. As for the original quote in question "From now on, anyone caught in the halls will be shot," as of this date it gets 0 google hits and the only searach.live.com hit is this talk page. My pointless 2¢. Fitfatfighter (talk) 20:57, 25 January 2008 (UTC)

I think Harpo had something about it in his autobiography. As far as the trenchcoat, I don't know about the most memorable, but the most unlikely thing he pulled out, I think you would all agree, was the "candle burning at both ends"... with the hot, steaming cup of coffee maybe a close second. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} 22:45, 25 January 2008 (UTC)

Well, Rlquall, I think I've been able to pinpoint the film in which the Groucho quote you referred to originated. I know the first 11 Marx Bros. films extremely well, so I'm 98% sure it doesn't come from any of those films. The only films left are A Night in Casablanca, Love Happy, and The Story of Mankind. The latter can be easily ruled out because, although I have yet to see the film, the Brothers do not appear together and thus the quote would be extremely out of context. The most logical film in which the quote is quipped is probably A Night in Casablanca; for instance, the film is primarily set in Groucho's Moroccon hotel, and Love Happy does not feature Groucho very much at all. So, I think your quote is from A Night in Casablanca. But if I'm wrong, somebody please let me know. --- JS, 164.58.96.126 20:40, 12 June 2007 (UTC)

Copyright status

Does anyone know the copyright status of this film? Meekrob 17:39, 9 March 2006 (UTC)

The film, as well as the rest of the films the Marx Brothers made for Paramount, was sold to Universal, who still own the films. (Ibaranoff24 00:01, 23 April 2006 (UTC))

Wow, this article is messy.

CUT THE CARDS gag

It probably should be mentioned that the "cut the cards" gag was not only included in the Bugs Bunny cartoon ''Bugs Bunny Rides Again'', but also in a Three Stooges short subject. (I'm wondering if this kind of card gag is actually an old vaudeville joke, since both The Marx Bros. and the Three Stooges were products of vaudeville.) I'm sorry, I can't recall the name of the Three Stooges short that has that gag. I think another comedy buff does, though. --- JS. 164.58.96.126 20:11, 21 April 2007 (UTC)

It turns out I wasn't incorrect about this CUT THE CARDS gag being an old vaudeville joke, because if you read the original I'll Say She Is script---which contained the CUT THE CARDS gag---it says that the script is based on the old vaudeville afterpiece "Irish Justice".--- JS, 156.110.47.73 14:40, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

It just goes to show that, as Henny Youngman once said, "There are no new jokes. When Caesar went to his slave and said, 'Call me a chariot', the slave answered, 'OK. You're a chariot.'" Wahkeenah 16:01, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

BTW, it took a little while for me to pin down, but the title of that Stooge short was Ants in the Pantry. — Cinemaniac (talk • contribs) 18:56, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

I added some of this to the article Cut (cards), although I'm not certain it will last long there. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} 19:29, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

One thing that works about the Marxes rendition of this oh-so-obvious gag is that Harpo has the axe concealed in his trenchcoat, so it only appears at the right moment. The coat is for him what Felix the Cat's bag of tricks was for the cat, or Snoopy's doghouse was for the dog. Anyone who can pull a steaming cup of coffee, a lighted candle, a complete silverware set, a flask, a fish, a flute, etc. out of his coat certainly has plenty of room. Bugs doesn't have any kind of coat except fur, so he has to reach off-screen for his axe. That was a common WB trick - Bugsy would reach offscreen for a mallet, an axe, whatever... the kind of thing which Harpo had in his coat. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} 19:40, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

A similar joke occurs later in the film, when Chico and Harpo are locked in a room on the second floor of their opponents' building. At one moment, these guys are arguing over ties and beds and breaking each other's necks, the next they are seen sawing a hole through the floor. The question persists, where did they get the saws? IMHO, while one could justifiably assume that Harpo hid the saws in his coat, one still wonders: How were the two able to get the saws' teeth into the floor at the angles presented?

I should probably just stop analyzing gags too seriously, and get off Wikipedia (I've been on here long enough today already!). Cinemaniac (talk • contribs • critique) 20:31, 15 February 2008 (UTC)

Jumping anaconda

I added a paragraph about this joke. I know you will come down on me for not providing adequate footnotes, but I think it's pretty commonly known that the Brothers were hard hit by the Depression ([[1]]) and to me the reference is clear. Richard K. Carson 04:35, 24 October 2007 (UTC)

Mullen & McCarty

When Chico mentions the two professional football players, it sounds to me like he’s saying ‘Mullen and McCarty’, although The Marx Brothers Encyclopedia lists the second of these as ‘McCarthy’ - but I don’t think ‘MacHardie’ is correct. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.107.78.193 (talk) 23:40, 18 February 2008 (UTC)

I've often wondered this too. A lot of printed sources state the name as "McCarthy", but I recall Chico saying "McCarty" while talking to Jennings. And I'm sure "MacHardie" isn't correct, even though the subtitles (usually done very quickly and sloppily) state it that way. Cinemaniac (talk • contribs • critique) 02:52, 20 February 2008 (UTC)

I just watched the film, needing a break after a hard day's work of editing. You've caught them in a continuity mistake. The Brothers, as well as the player himself, say "McCarty". However, the radio announcer (Phil Tead, better known as Prof. Pepperwinkle in the Adventuers of Superman series) calls him "McCarthy". Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} 04:35, 20 February 2008 (UTC)

Should MacHardie be changed then? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.107.121.119 (talk) 22:52, 20 February 2008 (UTC)

I'm just telling you how I heard it. If there's dispute about it, it could be considered "original research" or POV to say that it is "definitely" a certain way. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} 23:24, 20 February 2008 (UTC)

Having recently seen the Stooges' "Three Little Pigskins", it's interesting to see how writers would steal from each other. Early in the game, they tell Harpo to tackle whoever has the ball. So of course he tackles the ref, who's carrying the ball. The Stooges use the exact same joke in their film. Then there's a place where someone gets injured. Groucho asks, "Is there a doctor in the stands?" A man says, "I'm a doctor!" Groucho says, "How do you like the game, Doc?" Bugsy would use a variant on the same joke in Hair-Raising Hare. And on and on it goes. :) Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} 04:39, 20 February 2008 (UTC)

Very true, indeed. Funny you should mention the Three Stooges, since, although The Marx Brothers are rightfully ranked amongst the top film comedians, the Stooges usually are not. As I put it in a previous Stooge discussion: "In reality, the Stooges were undoubtedly both influenced by and influencing their contemporaries. For example, you can clearly see similarities between the Stooge short Boobs in Arms and the Abbott and Costello landmark Buck Privates, including a few of the routines. Costello himself seems to have picked up some things from Curly Howard, and vice versa—not to mention that Shemp appeared in a few A&C films, too. A young Lou Costello can be seen in the audience during a fight scene from The Battle of the Century, and the Three Stooge short you're referring to deliberately alluded to L&H's The Music Box, going so far as being shot only a few blocks away from that original staircase! Curly himself referenced the Marx Brothers' Duck Soup in one of the You Nazty Spy! shorts. Even so, there are some that cringe at the very mention of the Three Stooges, dismissing them as nothing but rag-a-muffin, slap-happy misfits. If that were so, how have they achieved so much fame for the last near 75 years? Maybe those critics like their comedy more refined? I dunno, but I can tell you this: The Stooges have lasted for the last 75 years because they were funny." Cinemaniac (talk • contribs • critique) 22:41, 23 February 2008 (UTC)

Pink wig?

Where does this information come from? The film is in black and white, and in the movie poster he's clearly blond. APL (talk) 23:49, 18 February 2009 (UTC)

For some films it was pink, hence his character name "Pinky". They didn't always get the movie poster right, though. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} 01:28, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

For example, this poster [2] has more of a reddish tint. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} 01:53, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

Notable scenes = WAY too much trivia??

Does this article need the notable scenes section? To me it looks like a bloated trivia section... Tommyt (talk) 20:05, 10 February 2010 (UTC)

Notable scenes: too much trivia??

Someone raised an issue about the Notable scenes section over a year ago that was archived without receiving a response. The issue raised was that the section in question is a trivia and quote farm. I agree. The section is largely unsourced, uses weasel words and seems to be stating a lot of someone's unsupported opinion. It's practically a fancruft dump. There is no focus to the section or argument made, it's just a spewing of dialog and site gags from the film with no indication of why those particular elements are more notable than any other in the film, or any other performed by the Marxes in other films. Without sources or structure it's just someone's opinion on what he thought was particularly cool about the film the last time he saw it. 71.200.89.119 (talk) 15:11, 11 June 2011 (UTC)

Stuck on...

An editor rightly corrected someone's original research on this expression. "Stuck on..." as in "in love with" has been around for at least a century, though it may be considered old-fashioned nowadays. The editor points out a Lionel Richie song, and there's also Elvis Presley's punning song which goes, "I'm gonna stick like glue / 'Cause I'm stuck on you." There's a Billy Murray song from sometime in the 1910s, a comic song about an overweight girlfriend named "Juanita": "Far off in Spain / When you're stuck on a dame ..." ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 07:08, 3 September 2012 (UTC)