Unfinished: The Marx Brothers appearances ranked worst to best
The approximate best-to-worst list of Marx Brothers appearances according to IMDB. As always, TV appearances seem to get rated much higher than films.
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- DirectorWilliam AsherStarsLucille BallDesi ArnazVivian VanceThe gang meets Harpo Marx and Lucy does the famous 'mirror' routine with him.
- 1951–19711hTV-G8.9 (18)TV EpisodeDirectorSeymour BernsStarsRed SkeltonHarpo MarxVirginia Grey
- DirectorArthur HillerStarsHarpo MarxErnest TruexBert FreedA deaf-mute witnesses a murder but is unable to tell the police what he knows. Meanwhile the killer and his accomplice seek to find the deaf-mute in order to eliminate him.
- DirectorRichard SmithStarsGroucho MarxHarpo MarxChico MarxHarpo played the hero, a detective named Watson who "made his entrance in a high hat, sliding down a coal chute into the basement". Groucho played an "old movie" villain, who "sported a long mustache and was clad in black", while Chico was probably his "chuckling [Italian] henchman". Zeppo portrayed a playboy who was the owner of a nightclub in which most of the action took place, including "a cabaret, [which allowed] the inclusion of a dance number". The final shot showed Groucho "in ball and chain, trudging slowly off into the gloaming". Harpo, in a rare moment of romantic glory, gets the girl in the end.
- DirectorRalph LevyStarsJack BennyGroucho MarxEddie 'Rochester' AndersonWhen Jack learns that the jackpot on Groucho Marx's television quiz show "You Bet Your Life" has risen to a whopping $3,000, he sneaks onto the show as a contestant, by wearing a disguise.
- DirectorDavid SwiftStarsWilliam LundiganBetsy PalmerJane GreerAn airliner flying nonstop at night from Miami to New York fails to check in, then disappears from radar. We see how its disappearance affects people on the ground.
- DirectorOscar RudolphStarsFess ParkerSandra WarnerStan IrwinSenator Smith mistakes Harpo for a famous French pianist and invites him to play at the White House.
- DirectorVictor HeermanStarsGroucho MarxHarpo MarxChico MarxMayhem and zaniness ensue when a valuable painting goes missing during a party in honor of famed African explorer Captain Spaulding.
- DirectorNorman Z. McLeodStarsGroucho MarxHarpo MarxThe Marx BrothersOn a transatlantic crossing, The Marx Brothers get up to their usual antics and manage to annoy just about everyone on board the ship.
- DirectorNorman Z. McLeodStarsGroucho MarxChico MarxHarpo MarxQuincy Adams Wagstaff, Huxley University's new president, accidentally hires bumblers Baravelli and Pinky to help his school win the big football game against their rival, Darwin University.
- DirectorLeo McCareyStarsGroucho MarxHarpo MarxChico MarxRufus T. Firefly is named the dictator of bankrupt Freedonia and declares war on neighboring Sylvania over the love of his wealthy backer Mrs. Teasdale, contending with two inept spies who can't seem to keep straight which side they're on.
- DirectorSam WoodEdmund GouldingStarsGroucho MarxChico MarxHarpo MarxA sly business manager and the wacky friends of two opera singers in Italy help them achieve success in America while humiliating their stuffy and snobbish enemies.
- DirectorSam WoodStarsGroucho MarxChico MarxHarpo MarxA veterinarian posing as a doctor teams with a singer and his friends as they struggle to save an upstate New York sanitarium with the help of a misfit racehorse.
- DirectorShamus CulhaneStarsOrson BeanSalome JensGroucho Marx
- DirectorFrank TashlinStarsTony RandallJayne MansfieldBetsy DrakeTo save his career, a writer for television advertising wants a famous actress to endorse a lipstick. In return, he has to pretend to be her new lover.
- DirectorNorman CampbellMartyn GreenStarsMartyn GreenGroucho MarxRobert RounsevilleIn a mythical Japan, Ko-Ko, a cheap tailor, has been appointed Lord High Executioner and must find someone to execute before the arrival of the ruling Mikado. He lights upon Nanki-Poo, a strolling minstrel who loves the beautiful Yum-Yum. But Yum-Yum is also loved by Ko-Ko, and Nanki-Poo, seeing no hope for his love, considers suicide. Ko-Ko offers to solve both their problems by executing Nanki-Poo, and an agreement is reached whereby Ko-Ko will allow Nanki-Poo to marry Yum-Yum for one month, at the end of which Nanki-Poo will be executed, in time for the arrival of the Mikado. But what Ko-Ko doesn't know is that Nanki-Poo is the son of the Mikado and has run away to avoid a betrothal to an old harridan named Katisha. The arrival of the Mikado brings all the threads of the tale together.
- DirectorCharles F. HaasStarsRonald ReaganGroucho MarxDennis HopperWhen his daughter Margie announces her intention to marry young Fred Judson, John Graham is disturbed. He believes the couple is too young for marriage and, more importantly, unprepared for the independence he believes marriage requires. Margie and Fred seem content to live on hand-outs from their parents, but John seems the only parent to think that's a bad idea. No matter what he says, the two insist on marrying, even if John won't attend the wedding. Eventually, it's what John doesn't say that affects their decision.
- DirectorMichael RitchieStarsRobert RedfordPeter BoyleMelvyn DouglasBill McKay is a candidate for the U.S. Senate from California. He has no hope of winning, so he is willing to tweak the establishment.
- DirectorFelix E. FeistStarsCarey WilsonJane BarnesMaureen O'SullivanThis short follows the early career of actress Jane Barnes. She starts by doing extra work. After several months she is offered a studio contract (the "first step"). However, her work consists mostly of fashion shoots and bit parts that end up on the cutting-room floor. She is even used as a stand-in for Maureen O'Sullivan on the set of a Tarzan movie when camera angles and lighting must be set up.
- DirectorPaul SloaneStarsRichard DixFrank CurrierAlbert TavernierRichard Gaylord, Jr. is a modern Lothario who has so many sweethearts that his father does not know what to do with him. Tired of paying to get his son out of one romantic entanglement after another, the elder Gaylord sends his son to the Basque region of France, believing that the women there will accept attentions only from their own people. Almost immediately, a local girl, Yvonne Hurja becomes infatuated with Richard, whom she sees as being able to help her break free from the unwanted attention of local guardsman Julio. A rivalry grows between Richard and Julio.
- DirectorFrank BorzageStarsCheryl WalkerWilliam TerryJudith AndersonA young soldier arrives in NYC and, before heading overseas to WWII, visits Stage Door Canteen, where famous actresses and entertainers volunteer to entertain soldiers.
- DirectorRobert FloreyJoseph SantleyStarsGroucho MarxHarpo MarxChico MarxDuring the Florida land boom, The Marx Brothers run a hotel, auction off some land, thwart a jewel robbery, and generally act like themselves.
- DirectorAlexander HallStarsGeorge RaftDolores CostelloIda LupinoCasino operator Johnny Lamb hires down-on-her-luck socialite Lucille Sutton as his casino hostess, in order to help her and to improve casino income. But Lamb's pals fear that he could follow Lucille onto the straight-and-narrow path, which would not be good for business. So they hire Gert Malloy and Dictionary McKinney, a pair of con-artists, to manipulate Johnny back off the path of righteousness.
- DirectorWilliam A. SeiterStarsGroucho MarxHarpo MarxChico MarxA penniless theatrical producer must outwit the hotel efficiency expert trying to evict him from his room, while securing a backer for his new play.
- DirectorEdward BuzzellStarsGroucho MarxChico MarxHarpo MarxThe Marx Brothers try to help the owner of a circus recover some stolen funds before he finds himself out of a job.
- DirectorEdward BuzzellStarsGroucho MarxChico MarxHarpo MarxThe Marx Brothers come to the rescue in the Wild West when a young man, trying to settle an old family feud so he can marry the girl he loves, runs afoul of crooks.
- DirectorCharles ReisnerStarsGroucho MarxChico MarxHarpo MarxA detective is hired to protect the life of a singer, who has recently inherited a department store, from the store's crooked manager.
- DirectorArchie MayoStarsGroucho MarxHarpo MarxChico MarxThe Marx Brothers are employed at a hotel in postwar Casablanca, where a ring of Nazis is trying to recover a cache of stolen treasure.
- DirectorAlfred E. GreenStarsGroucho MarxCarmen MirandaSteve CochranAn agent has his only client pose as both a French chanteuse and Brazilian bombshell to fool a nightclub owner.
- DirectorRichard HaydnStarsBing CrosbyNancy OlsonCharles CoburnA golf-crazy songwriter tries to avoid the long, solitary hours of concentration needed to produce a hit musical. His producer and his secretary conspire to get him back on track.
- 1953–196230mTV-G6.6 (59)TV EpisodeDirectorMitchell LeisenStarsHarpo MarxChico MarxBenny RubinJewel thieves Chico and Harpo Marx disguised as Groucho plan the perfect crime. Groucho appears as himself at the end in a police line up.
- DirectorHal KanterStarsDiahann CarrollLloyd NolanMarc CopageA retiring messenger showers Julia with gifts.
- DirectorFrank TelfordStarsConrad NagelChico MarxArgentina BrunettiChaos erupts in the Romani apartment when Papa has a telephone installed. Superstitious Mama hates the idea because it means people will call with bad news of people dying. Neighbors invading to use the new device include a bookie; his illegal enterprise results in Papa being arrested.
- DirectorDavid MillerStarsGroucho MarxHarpo MarxChico MarxThe Marx Brothers help young Broadway hopefuls while thwarting diamond thieves.
- DirectorIrving CummingsStarsJane RussellGroucho MarxFrank SinatraAn innocent bank teller, suspected of embezzlement, is aided by an eccentric, wisecracking waiter.
- DirectorChester ErskineStarsGroucho MarxMarie WilsonWilliam BendixAfter two sailors are conned into buying a lame race-horse, they go ashore to sort out the problem, but when they realize that the horse is one of a pair of identical twins, their plan for revenge becomes more complicated.
- DirectorGeorge SidneyStarsReginald DennyGeorge HamiltonLouis & CelesteThe Brian Sisters are also featured in this short.
- DirectorIrwin AllenStarsRonald ColmanHedy LamarrGroucho MarxThe Devil and the Spirit of Man argue as to whether or not humanity is ultimately good or evil.
- DirectorAndrew MartonStarsSoupy SalesTab HunterArthur O'ConnellMelvin Byrd, who dreams of being a scientist, is a Cape Kennedy "miniscule molecular particle surveillance monitor" - in short, a janitor. His job is to keep a major rocket project completely dust-free, and this he does with his own hilariously fantastic inventions - including a literal attack on dirt by a "knight on a white horse". In his work, he meets Judy, a chimp involved in a top-secret project, which leads Melvin into the one room strictly off-limits to him. Not until he has entered the project room does Melvin learn that any man entering it will be negatively ionized - making him fly like a bird.
- DirectorOtto PremingerStarsJackie GleasonCarol ChanningFrankie AvalonInfamous psychedelic all-star comedy about ex-gangster Tony Banks, who's called out of retirement by mob kingpin God to carry out a hit on fellow mobster "Blue Chips" Packard. When Banks demurs, God kidnaps his daughter Darlene on his luxury yacht.
- DirectorFrank TelfordStarsChico MarxArgentina BrunettiWilliam FrawleyThings change in the Romani household with the installation of a telephone. Their neighbors, a bookie and others start asking to use their phone.
- StarsAnna Maria AlberghettiJerry ColonnaEdward Everett HortonAdaptation of the 1934 Broadway musical by Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz involving a romantic triangle.
- DirectorRalph NelsonStarsRichard JoyHarpo MarxMarilyn MaxwellSome racetrack Johnnies are talking between races when one wonders if you can hynotize a horse into thinking it's a champion. The idea sets in motion a series of hilarious events.
- DirectorDelbert MannStarsEdward AndrewsShirley JonesHarpo MarxIn the small Dutch village of Kattwyk-am-Zee, Mayor Van Borkem bemoans the fate of the town. Once a mecca for tourists because of the Red Mill, a landmark, the town now is neglected. The mayor informs Bertha, who operates a local inn, and her pretty niece Gretchen, that he has an offer from the Brussels World's Fair to buy the mill. Meanwhile, in a expensive car on route to the Brussels World's Fair, Hollywood movie stars Rod and Candy Carter and their friend and "producer" Johnny Shaw arrive and take an interest in the Mill.