
(Photo by Courtesy Everett Collection)
We’re ranking the films of legendary comedy troupe the Marx Brothers!
Groucho (the wisecracker), Chico (the schemer), Harpo (the musical mute), and Zeppo (the straight man) honed their vaudeville comedy and musical routine on stage in the 1910s and 1920s, before singing with Paramount to adapt their act just as the talkies were overtaking silent pictures. The five Paramount films (The Cocoanuts, Animal Crackers, Monkey Business, Horse Feathersand Duck Soup) are their most anarchic films, with Soup still a deft political satire with non-stop jokes.
After Paramount (and with Zeppo gone), the rest of the three brothers signed with MGM and produced two of their biggest box office draws: 1935’s A Night at the Opera (arguably their masterpiece) and A Day at the Races. The Marx Brothers continued making films into the 1940s, ending with Love Happy. —Alex Vo
#1
Adjusted Score: 110132%
Critics Consensus: Watermelons may go out of season, but in A Night at the Operathe Marx Brothers’ daffy laughs are never anything less than uproariously fresh.
#2
Adjusted Score: 98245%
Critics Consensus: Fueled by inspired silliness and blessed with some of the Marx brothers’ most brilliant work, Duck Soup is one of its — or any — era’s finest comedies.
#3
Adjusted Score: 41336%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#4
Adjusted Score: 100179%
Critics Consensus: Horse Feathers finds the Marx Brothers in fine madcap form, taking aim at an array of timely targets while serving up classic set pieces.
#5
Adjusted Score: 99442%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#6
Adjusted Score: 91620%
Critics Consensus: Brought to life by the Marx Brothers’ charming anarchy, The Cocoanuts is a groundbreaking musical rom.
#7
Adjusted Score: 97020%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#8
Adjusted Score: 90781%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#9
Adjusted Score: 36388%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#10
Adjusted Score: 41219%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#11
Adjusted Score: 27288%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#12
Adjusted Score: 18335%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#13
Adjusted Score: -1%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.