• Happy First Use of Insulin to Treat Diabetes (1922)! ⚕️💉

Horse Feathers Canoeing Scene

alsg

alsg

Joined
Aug 29, 2017
Messages
1,346
Reaction score
792
Location
Gaithersburg, MD
This scene from the 1932 Marx Bros. film, Horse Feathers, cracks me up. Goucho is playing his guitar in a wood canvas canoe (can anyone identify the model?) while his date "paddles" the canoe. His guitar playing is real, not dubbed, and is more than passable. But her paddling technique is in the running for the worst stroke ever filmed! A lot of jokes here, but the best in my opinion is when they are discussing canoe safety and Groucho quips he wanted "a flat bottom, but the girl in the boathouse didn't have one."
 
I skimmed the movie and watched the canoe looking for obvious identification features. There wasn't much to go by. The deck, thwart and tapered ribs suggest an Old Town canoe to me. There is brief look at the head of a carriage bolt over Groucho's shoulder which might be a diamond head bolt also suggesting Old Town.
 
Bad technique and all, she can paddle my canoe. It's always amazing to me that, in the early 20th century, canoeing was a favorite destination for couples on dates.

For poor paddling technique in movies, I nominate "White Water Summer," a 1987 clunker with young Kevin Bacon. It is amusing to watch the action scenes which switch back and forth between the duffer paddling actors and a team of ww stunt paddlers who really knew what they were doing. Just watch the paddles to tell which scenes feature actors and which scenes use the paddling stunt doubles.

Thanks for posting the link to the clip, which produced many grins!
 
I doubt she is still paddling in this world, probably portaged into the hereafter. Bunches of us are wondering how good the tripping is on the other side. Some of us are getting close to as Bob Zimmerman said "Knock Knocking on Heaven's Door."
I am also wondering how old Groucho would do in today "Me Too" world.
 
Paddling Pitt......
I dated a girl in college that lived next to Bob in Hibbing Minnesota. Bob was her baby sitter when she was small. He gave her two Scotty dog figurines, said he was a really nice human being. Made me like him even more. Really liked his lyrics, man sure knew how to put words ' together.
 
Last edited:
Boreal Birch said:
Paddling PittI dated a girl in college that lived next to Bob in Hibbing Minnesota. Bob was her baby sitter when she was small. He gave her two Scotty dog figurines, said he was a really nice human being. Made me like him even more. Really liked his lyrics, man sure knew how to put words together.
Click to expand...

Boreal,

Next you're going to tell me that your college girlfriend was the inspiration for "Girl From the North County!"

I also liked the way Bob put words together. He did, after all, receive the Nobel Prize in Literature. I have to admit though, that I often didn't know what the hell he was talking about.
 
Paddling Pitt....
She was to young to be that girl, but I did read that the real one died not to long ago.
 
Black_Fly said:
No portaging in afterlife.
Click to expand...

Just another reason to stay here as long as I can then.

I wouldn't say I love portaging but I wouldn't want to be without it. Well, there might be some days.....

Alan
 
Alan Gage said:
Just another reason to stay here as long as I can then.

I wouldn't say I love portaging but I wouldn't want to be without it. Well, there might be some days.....

Alan
Click to expand...

Bill Mason said that portages allowed him to get away from the crowds. Like Alan, I kind of like portaging. I used to be a backpacker. A portage is just a short backpacking trip with pleasant jaunts back to pick up the next bundle.
 
It does break up long paddles, but a lot depends on the load. Last summer I double portaged 2 canoes through WCPP with very heavy packs. My knees will never let me forget.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top