Film- The Marx Brothers and The Three Stooges

Both the Marx Brothers and the Three Stooges are two of my favorite comedy teams and two of the best of all time. While both groups share similarities, they also feature enough contrasts to not make them direct competitors.

The Three Stooges

The Three Stooges began performing in vaudeville acts in the 1920s with comedian Ted Healy. They were then known as “Ted Healy and His Stooges”. In the 1930s, the Three Stooges split from Healy and starred in their own short movies. From 1934-1946, the Three Stooges consisted of brothers Moe and Curly Howard and friend Larry Fine. Curly suffered a stroke in the late 1940s and brother Shemp Howard took his place from 1946-1955 until his death. Joe Besser took Shemp’s place for more short movies from 1956-1958. The last Stooge addition was Curly Joe DeRita from 1958-1970.
The Three Stooges reached new popularity once their short movies started showing on TV. This led to renewed interest from older fans and new attention from younger viewers that experienced their comedy for the first time. This new popularity led to them producing several full length feature films from 1959-1965. The Three Stooges continued to perform live until Larry Fine suffered a stroke in the early 1970s.

Moe Howard, the last surviving original Stooge, passed in 1975. Curly Joe DeRita was the last surviving replacement Stooge, when he passed in 1993.

The Marx Brothers

The Marx Brothers started as a vaudeville act as well. All of the Marx Brothers were actually brothers. Groucho, Chico, and Harpo Marx are the best known brothers, but Zeppo and Gummo  performed with them at first. Gummo never appeared in any of their films. Zeppo was in their first five films, usually as a straight man. Both Zeppo and Gummo became successful organizing the business responsibilities for the family. Eventually, the Marx Brothers transitioned from the vaudeville stage to the Broadway stage.

The Marx Brothers first feature length films were adaptations of their Broadway shows. From 1929-1933, the Brothers appeared in five feature films at Paramount with the focus on the Brothers themselves and their distinct characters. Often the gags would take precedence over the narrative.
In 1935, the Brothers were signed to MGM studios and appeared in 8 additional films from 1935-1949. The focus of these films were much more on a tighter narrative, musical interludes, and romantic subplots that most often did not involve the Brothers.
After the popularity of their movies started to wane, Groucho, Harpo, and Chico transitioned to television appearances, with Groucho finding the most success hosting shows like “You Bet Your Life”.

Chico passed in 1961 and Harpo in 1964. Groucho and Gummo passed in 1977. Zeppo was the last surviving Marx Brother when he passed in 1979.
Actress Margaret Dumont was often considered an unofficial Marx Brother. She appeared as the straight woman in 7 of their movies from 1929-1939, most often opposite Groucho. She played the dignified wealthy widow that would look down upon Groucho’s antics. 

Similarities and Differences

Both the Three Stooges and Marx Brothers were Jewish families that grew up in New York City. Both used the medium of motion pictures to reach their widest audience. Both used a combination of verbal and physical humor. Both groups also used the idea of a team with contrasting characters to their advantage.
The Three Stooges were always involved in situations together. Moe is almost always the de facto leader of the group. However it is important to note that although he confidently tries to explain things to the other Stooges, he is often just as lost as they are. Larry is often the quietest in the group, preferring to hang back with a puzzled look on his face. He is also the most physically distinctive of the group with his hair looking like a clown’s.

Curly was often the most vulnerable, or easily mislead member of the group. He always featured the physical trait of a single button done on his jacket, giving the impression that the jacket was about to pop open. Shemp’s physical characteristic was his hair combed back that would constantly fall in front of his face. No disrespect, but I always found Joe Besser to be kind of whiny. I do not remember many of his movies. Curly Joe DeRita was mostly an imitation of Curly, which I think was the intention all along.
As for the Marx Brothers, Zeppo Marx often played the straight man which contrasted with his brothers. Groucho Marx often played the lead in their movies. His distinctive walk, painted on mustache, glasses, and cigar have become popular with glasses imitating him still available at costume stores. His greatest strength was the speed of his verbal banter. He would acknowledge his brothers but was often featured in scenes apart from them.
Chico and Harpo had many scenes together both sharing their musical as well as their comedic talents. Chico followed the recent immigrant stereotype. He believed himself to have good business sense but the language barrier would often get him mixed up. Harpo was the always silent brother, relying on his physical comedy. Like Larry from the Three Stooges, Harpo’s curly blond wig makes him look the most like a clown.
Both groups seem to use class identity to better identify with their audiences. In many situations the Three Stooges and Marx Brothers portray lower to middle class characters contrasted in an upper class world. Whereas the Three Stooges seem to have a goal of assimilating and wanting to fit in and always failing, the Marx Brothers seem to celebrate that they are at the limits of society.
Today, the Marx Brothers seem to get more recognition from critics and scholars than the Three Stooges. Feature films have always been recognized over short films, especially in the genre of comedy. However, more viewers today seem to know the Three Stooges. I believe this may be how friendly the short movie format is to television.
As I said before, I love the work of both groups and I think their styles complement each other well. No one has to choose between them. Why not enjoy both?