Stats and Possibly Interesting Things From The Above Marx Brothers Table

1. Seven Marx Brothers movies crossed the magical $100 million domestic gross mark.  That is a percentage of 41.11% of their movies listed. A Day At The Races (1937) was their biggest box office ht when looking at adjusted domestic box office gross.
2. An average Marx Brothers movie grosses $94.70 million in adjusted box office gross.
3. Using RottenTomatoes.com’s 60% fresh meter.  13 of Marx Brothers’ movies are rated as good movies…or 72.22% of their movies. A Night At The Opera (1935) is their highest rated movie while The Story of Mankind (1957) was their lowest rated movie.
4. One Marx Brothers movie (A Day At The Races) received at least one Oscar® nomination in any category…..or 5.55% of their movies.
5. Zero Marx Brothers movie won at least one Oscar® in any category…..or 0.00% of their movies.
6. An average Ultimate Movie Ranking  (UMR) Score is 60.00.  13 Marx Brothers movies scored higher than that average….or 72.22% of their movies. A Day At The Races (1937) got the the highest UMR Score while The Story of Mankind (1957) got the lowest UMR Score.

Know Your Marx Brother

Chico Marx was born Leonard Marx.  Originally his nickname was Chick-O but due to a typing error he became Chico. Chico was actually the 2nd Marx brother to be born.  His older brother (Manfred) died in infancy.  His persona in the act was that of a charming, dim-witted albeit crafty con artist.  After their mother passed away, Chico became the manager of the brothers. He played an important role in the management and development of the act.  He was married two times and had one child.   Chico loved to gamble. His favorite gambling pursuits were card games as well as horse racing, dog racing, and various sports betting. His addiction cost him millions of dollars by his own account. When an interviewer in the late 1930s asked him how much money he had lost from gambling, he answered, “Find out how much money Harpo’s got. That’s how much I’ve lost.”

 

Harpo Marx was born Arthur Marx.  He was a mime artist and musician, and the second-oldest of the Marx Brothers. His comic style was influenced by clown and pantomime traditions. He wore a curly reddish blonde wig, and never spoke during performances (he blew a horn or whistled to communicate). He frequently used props such as a horn cane, made up of a lead pipe, tape, and a bulbhorn, and he played the harp in most of his films.  So why did Harpo never speak?  Early in his vaudeville days he got a bad review.  The review said his pantomime was excellent…but when he talked he ruined the performance.  So he decided to stop speaking….and the Marx Brothers quickly realized that his not speaking worked very well in their act.  He was married one time and had 4 children.

Groucho Marx was born Julius Henry Marx. He was known as a master of quick wit^. His rapid-fire, often impromptu delivery of innuendo-laden patter earned him many admirers and imitators.  His distinctive appearance, carried over from his days in vaudeville, included quirks such as an exaggerated stooped posture, glasses, cigar, and a thick greasepaint mustache and eyebrows. He also had a successful solo career, most notably as the host of the radio and television game show You Bet Your Life.  The Marx Brothers’ movies did not get much Oscar® love (their movies combined for only ONE nomination) ….but they did give Groucho an Honorary Oscar® in 1974.  His Oscar® reads…. “In recognition of his brilliant creativity and for the unequaled achievements of the Marx Brothers in the art of motion picture comedy”.  He was married three times and had three children.

 

Zeppo Marx was born Herbert Marx.  He was the youngest of The Marx Brothers, Zeppo was put into the role of the straight man after his brother Gummo (the other brother) left the act. Zeppo also acted as an understudy to all three of his brothers.  After playing small parts in the first five Marx Brothers movies, Zeppo felt his talent wasn’t being used to its full extent and left the act to join Gummo as an agent. Somewhat of a mechanical whiz, Zeppo invented a wristwatch that would monitor the pulse rate of cardiac patients, and his company, Marman Products, produced clamping devices which were used in the first atomic bomb raids over Japan in 1945. Zeppo was married twice and had one child.  Gummo Marx (1892-1977) was the 4th brother.  He left the Marx Brothers just when they were reaching popularity because he felt he lacked the performing skills of his brothers.  He became a well respected agent.

Marx Brothers Financials Directly From MGM/RKO Ledgers 1935-1941

The really cool thing about this table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies anyway you want.

• Column 1 is the name of the movie
• Column 2 is the name of the studio
• Column 3 is the domestic rental total
• Column 4 is the international rental total
• Column 5 is the total of domestic and international rentals
• Column 6 is the profit or loss in dollars of the movie
• Coulmn 7 is the profit margin %

Check out the Marx Brothers career compared to current and classic actors.  Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.   Another outstanding Marx Brothers tribute page to check out is Steve Lensman’s The Marx Brothers- On The Screen.  That page has posters and classic quotes from their movies.

AFI’s Top 25 Screen Legend Actors….with links to our movie pages on the Screen Legend

1.   Humphrey Bogart  58 Movies Ranked….from Casablanca (1942) to Swing Your Lady (1938)

2.   Cary Grant 58 Movies Ranked… from North by Northwest (1959) to Born To Be Bad (1934)

3.   James Stewart 73 Movies Ranked Mr. Smith Goes to Washington(1939) to Big Sleep(1978)

4.   Marlon Brando 37 Movies Ranked….from The Godfather (1972) to Christopher Columbus (1992)

5.   Fred Astaire 39 Movies Ranked The Towering Inferno (1974) to The Amazing Dobermans (1976)

6.   Henry Fonda 81 Movies Ranked… On Golden Pond (1981) to City on Fire (1979)

7.   Clark Gable 63 Movies Ranked….from Gone With The Wind (1939) to Parnell (1937)

8.   James Cagney 61 Movies Ranked….from Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) to Boy Meets Girl (1938)

9.   Spencer Tracy 53 Movies Ranked….from Boy’s Town (1938) to Up the River (1930)

10. Charles Chaplin 12 Movies Ranked….from The Kid (1921) to A Countess from Hong Kong (1967)

11. Gary Cooper 67 Movies Ranked….from Sergeant York (1941) to Fighting Caravans (1931)

12. Gregory Peck 53 Movies Ranked To Kill a Mockingbird(1962) to Amazing Grace & Chuck(1987)

13. John Wayne 83 Movies Ranked….from True Grit (1969) to Brannigan (1975)

14. Laurence Olivier 48 Movies Ranked….from Rebecca (1940) to Inchon (1982)

15. Gene Kelly 40 Movies Ranked….from Anchors Aweigh (1945) to Viva Knievel! (1977)

16. Orson Welles 75 Movies Ranked….from Citizen Kane (1941) to Treasure Island (1972)

17. Kirk Douglas 71 Movies Ranked….from Spartacus (1960) to Diamonds (1999)

18. James Dean 3 Movies Ranked….from East of Eden (1955) to Giant (1956)

19. Burt Lancaster 67 Movies Ranked From Here to Eternity (1953) to Executive Action (1973)

20. Marx Brothers 18 Movies Ranked….from Horse Feathers (1932) to The Story of Mankind (1957)

21. Buster Keaton 28 Movies Ranked….from The Cameraman (1928) to The Intruder (1936)

22. Sidney Poitier 46 Movies Ranked….from In the Heat of the Night (1967) to Fast Forward (1985)

23. Robert Mitchum 83 Movies Ranked….from The Longest Day (1962) to Matilda (1978)

24. Edward G. Robinson 67 Movies Ranked 10 Commandments(1956) to BiggestBundleofAll(1968)

25. William Holden 66 Movies Ranked….from The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) to Ashanti (1979)

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