All 13 Marx Brothers Movies Ranked by Tomatometer

by Eliza

(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.

Synopsis: The Marx Brothers run amuck in the world of opera when Otis B. Driftwood (Groucho Marx) meets aspiring singer Ricardo… [More]

#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.

Synopsis: When the tiny nation of Freedonia goes bankrupt, its wealthy benefactor, Mrs. Teasdale (Margaret Dumont), insists that the wacky Rufus… [More]

#3

Adjusted Score: 41336%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: “At the Circus” features the Marx Brothers (Groucho, Harpo, Chico) working together to save a circus from closing. Circus owners… [More]

#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.

Synopsis: The Marx Brothers take on higher education and football in this riotous comedy. The newly minted president of Huxley University,… [More]

#5

Adjusted Score: 99442%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: The well-known explorer and hunter Captain Spaulding has just returned from Africa, and is being welcomed home with a lavish… [More]

#6

Adjusted Score: 91620%

Critics Consensus: Brought to life by the Marx Brothers’ charming anarchy, The Cocoanuts is a groundbreaking musical rom.

Synopsis: In an effort to keep his business, Hotel de Cocoanuts, from bankruptcy, owner Hammer (Groucho Marx) flatters and cajoles the… [More]

#7

Adjusted Score: 97020%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Hugo Hackenbush (Groucho Marx) is a veterinarian who masquerades as a lead doctor at Standish Sanitarium to aid the wealthy… [More]

#8

Adjusted Score: 90781%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: The four Marx Brothers star in their first film written specifically for the screen as stowaways on an ocean liner… [More]

#9

Adjusted Score: 36388%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: New Yorkers “Rusty” Panello (Harpo Marx) and his brother, Joe (Chico Marx), cheat S. Quentin Quale (Groucho Marx) out of… [More]

#10

Adjusted Score: 41219%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Broadway producer Gordon Miller (Groucho Marx) has sunk every dime into his latest project but still lacks the money to… [More]

#11

Adjusted Score: 27288%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Private detectives Wolf J. Flywheel, Wacky and Ravelli (The Marx Brothers) are hired by the officious Martha Phelps (Margaret Dumont),… [More]

#12

Adjusted Score: 18335%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: In this Marx Brothers film, Ronald Kornblow (Groucho Marx) takes over as the manager of a luxurious hotel in Casablanca,… [More]

#13

Adjusted Score: -1%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: A detective (Groucho Marx) and a shoplifter (Harpo Marx) race a dangerous blonde (Ilona Massey) to recover the stolen Romanoff… [More]