Bill Murray. Daffy Duck. Monty Python. Ricky Gervais. They never fail to make me laugh and I've written about all of them in this column before. But until now I've neglected maybe the funniest force in cinematic history--the Marx Brothers. Between 1929 and 1949 they starred in thirteen films, but the two movies I'll focus on are "Horse Feathers" and "Duck Soup," from 1932 and '33 respectively. Never before or after were their talents so perfectly on display. Almost eighty years later, they prove that regardless of era, funny is funny.

"Horse Feathers" is the story of Quincy Adams Wagstaff (Groucho), the new professor at Huxley College. His son Frank (Zeppo) is a student who plays for the hapless school football team. Frank encourages his father to find some ringers at the local speakeasy for the upcoming Thanksgiving Day game. What Wagstaff finds, however, are two simpletons by the names of Baravelli (Chico) and Pinky (Harpo). The ringers he was supposed to find have been snapped up by Huxley's rival. Meanwhile, all four of the boys vie for the attentions of student Connie Bailey (Thelma Todd). This is the extent of the movie's plot.

I watched it for the first time with my grandparents when I was nine and I've loved it ever since. The film demonstrates what makes them so brilliant and lovable, no matter your age.

Chico is an endless stream of bad puns with a silly Italian accent. But he knows the puns are bad and that the accent is silly, which is why we love him. Almost twenty years on, he's still my favorite of the brothers. His piano playing is the definition of joy.

Most of Chico's scenes are opposite the silent Harpo, named so for his supreme talent as a harpist. Harpo's greatest talent, however, is creating chaos wherever he goes. Upon hearing a request to "Cut the cards!" he produces a small hatchet from his oversized coat and chops them in half. With a mischievous twinkle, Harpo leaves destruction in his wake that's funny to anyone who's not on screen with him.

The most famous brother, Groucho, is known for the endless supply of zingers he fires off to anyone who happens to be in the same room. "Baravelli, you've got the brain of a four-year old child. And I bet he was glad to get rid of it." Outside of essentially being the ring leader, Groucho remains the most famous of the Marxes mainly because his lines are funny out of context.

After "Horse Feathers," the brothers delivered one of the greatest films of all-time. In "Duck Soup," Groucho stars as Rufus T. Firefly, the new leader of Freedonia. Naturally, he offends the leader of Sylvania, leading the nations into war. Chico and Harpo are a pair of bumbling spies who only exacerbate things.

This is the movie of "The Mirror Scene" and the brilliant musical sequence, "This Country's Going to War."

"They got guns/We got guns/All God's chillun got guuuuns!"

Regular Marx Brothers co-star Margaret Dumont is wonderful as she takes Groucho's many insults like a pro.

This Thanksgiving if you want to sit down with movies the entire family will enjoy, you can't go wrong with "Horse Feathers" and "Duck Soup." Also, with each film barely surpassing the hour mark there will be plenty of time left over for that game of Parcheesi. If another movie is suggested, simply sing, "Whatever it is! I'm a-gainst it!"