Douglass Dumbrille
Acting • Born 1889-10-12 – Died 1974-04-02
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Douglass Rupert Dumbrille (October 13, 1889 – April 2, 1974) was a Canadian actor and one of the Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood. In 1913, the East Coast film industry was flourishing and that year he appeared in the film What Eighty Million Women Want, but it would be another 11 years before he appeared on screen again. In 1924, he made his Broadway debut and worked off and on in the theatre for several years while supplementing his income by selling such products as car accessories, tea, insurance, real estate, and books. During the Great Depression, Dumbrille moved to the West Coast of the U.S., where he specialized in playing secondary character roles alongside the great stars of the day. His physical appearance and suave voice equipped him for roles as slick politician, corrupt businessman, crooked sheriff, or unscrupulous lawyer. He was highly regarded by the studios and was sought out by Cecil B. DeMille, Frank Capra, Hal Roach and other prominent Hollywood filmmakers. A friend of fellow Canadian-born director Allan Dwan, Dumbrille played Athos in Dwan’s 1939 adaptation of The Three Musketeers. Dumbrille had roles in more than 200 motion pictures and, with the advent of television, made numerous appearances in the 1950s and 1960s. He had the ability to project a balance of menace and pomposity in roles as the "heavy" in comedy films, such as those of the Marx Brothers or Abbott and Costello.
Filmography
188 credits
Blondie of the Follies
Movie • 1932
Murchenson
The Buccaneer
Movie • 1958
Collector of the Port
Julius Caesar
Movie • 1953
Lepidus
Son of Paleface
Movie • 1952
Sheriff McIntyre
The Ten Commandments
Movie • 1956
Jannes
Road to Zanzibar
Movie • 1941
Slave trader
The Princess Comes Across
Movie • 1936
Lorel
A Day at the Races
Movie • 1937
Morgan
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
Movie • 1936
John Cedar
Allen in Movieland
Movie • 1955
Self- Lawyer
City in Darkness
Movie • 1939
B. Petroff (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Charlie Chan at Treasure Island
Movie • 1939
Stewart Salsbury, alias Thomas Gregory
The Big Store
Movie • 1941
Mr. Grover
Baby Face
Movie • 1933
Brody
World for Ransom
Movie • 1954
Insp. McCollum
Road to Utopia
Movie • 1946
Ace Larson
The Rustler's Roundup
Movie • 1933
Bill Brett (as Douglas Dunbrile)
Castle in the Desert
Movie • 1942
Paul Manderley
The Savage Horde
Movie • 1950
Col. Price
Riders of the Whistling Pines
Movie • 1949
Henry Mitchell
Du Barry Was a Lady
Movie • 1943
Willie / Duc de Rigor
Lady Killer
Movie • 1933
Spade
The Firefly
Movie • 1937
Marquis de Melito
Crime and Punishment
Movie • 1935
Grilov
The Lives of a Bengal Lancer
Movie • 1935
Mohammed Khan
Naughty Marietta
Movie • 1935
Prince de Namours de la Bonfain, Marietta's Uncle
Elmer, the Great
Movie • 1933
Stillman (uncredited)
The Frozen Ghost
Movie • 1945
Inspector Brant
Unknown Woman
Movie • 1935
Phil Gardner
Buccaneer's Girl
Movie • 1950
Capt. Martos
Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime
Movie • 1941
John Matthews
Forty Thieves
Movie • 1944
Tad Hammond
False Colors
Movie • 1943
Mark Foster
Lumberjack
Movie • 1944
Daniel J. Keefer
Under Nevada Skies
Movie • 1946
Courtney
A Life at Stake
Movie • 1955
Gus Hillman
The Emperor's Candlesticks
Movie • 1937
Mr. Korum, a Conspirator
Spook Busters
Movie • 1946
Dr. Coslow
Plunder of the Sun
Movie • 1953
Consul (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Peter Ibbetson
Movie • 1935
Colonel Forsythe
Broadway Bill
Movie • 1934
Eddie Morgan
Harold Teen
Movie • 1934
H.H. Snatcher (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Mr. Moto in Danger Island
Movie • 1939
Comdr. La Costa
Christmas Eve
Movie • 1947
Dr. Bunyan
The Catman of Paris
Movie • 1946
Henry Borchard
A Gentleman After Dark
Movie • 1942
Enzo Calibra
Thunder Afloat
Movie • 1939
District Commander
I Loved a Woman
Movie • 1933
U.S. Attorney Brandt (uncredited)
Tell No Tales
Movie • 1939
Matt Cooper
Ali Baba Goes to Town
Movie • 1937
Prince Musah
Laughter in Hell
Movie • 1933
Ed Perkins
Shake, Rattle and Rock!
Movie • 1956
Eustace Fentwick III
Michael Shayne: Private Detective
Movie • 1940
Benny Gordon (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Murder Among Friends
Movie • 1941
Carter Stevenson
The Three Musketeers
Movie • 1939
Athos (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Slightly Honorable
Movie • 1939
George Taylor
Riding High
Movie • 1950
Eddie Howard
The Music Goes 'Round
Movie • 1936
Bishop
Apache War Smoke
Movie • 1952
Maj. Dekker
A Medal for Benny
Movie • 1945
General
Jupiter's Darling
Movie • 1955
Scipio
The Kangaroo Kid
Movie • 1950
Vincent Moller
The Buccaneer
Movie • 1938
Governor William C.C. Claiborne
It's a Joke, Son!
Movie • 1947
Big Dan Healey
Sky Full of Moon
Movie • 1952
Rodeo Official
Hard to Handle
Movie • 1933
District Attorney (uncredited)
Kentucky
Movie • 1938
John Dillon - 1861
Night in Paradise
Movie • 1946
High Priest
Fast Company
Movie • 1938
Arnold Stamper (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Stolen Heaven
Movie • 1938
Klingman
You May Be Next!
Movie • 1936
Beau Gardner
The Public Menace
Movie • 1935
Mario Tonelli
The Lone Wolf and His Lady
Movie • 1949
John J. Murdock
Last of the Wild Horses
Movie • 1948
Charlie Cooper
Journal of a Crime
Movie • 1934
Cartier (as Douglas Dumbrille)
The World Changes
Movie • 1933
Buffalo Bill Cody
Air Hawks
Movie • 1935
Victor Arnold
The Fabulous Texan
Movie • 1947
Luke Roland
Scaramouche
Movie • 1952
Assembly President
The Pride of the Legion
Movie • 1932
McMahon
Pardon My Past
Movie • 1945
Uncle Wills
Alimony
Movie • 1949
Burton Crail
The Door Knocker
Movie • 1931
Gangster
Ten Gentlemen from West Point
Movie • 1942
Gen. William Henry Harrison
Gypsy Wildcat
Movie • 1944
Baron Tovar
Jungle Queen
Movie • 1945
Lang
South of Pago Pago
Movie • 1940
Williams
His Woman
Movie • 1931
Alisandroe
Rapture
Movie • 1952
W.C. Hutton
The Mysterious Rider
Movie • 1938
Pecos Bill aka Ben Wade
Washington Melodrama
Movie • 1941
District Attorney Donnelly
Dynamite
Movie • 1949
Hank Gibbons
M'Liss
Movie • 1936
Lou Ellis
The Lone Wolf Returns
Movie • 1935
Morphew
Operator 13
Movie • 1934
General Stuart
The Working Man
Movie • 1933
Lawyer Hammersmith (uncredited)
Johnny Cool
Movie • 1963
Jungle Woman
Movie • 1944
District Attorney
Treasure Island
Movie • 1934
Pirate of the Spanish Main
Woman in Distress
Movie • 1937
Jerome Culver
Fog Over Frisco
Movie • 1934
Joshua Mayard
Ride 'Em Cowboy
Movie • 1941
Jake Rainwater
Hi, Nellie!
Movie • 1934
Dawes
Virginia City
Movie • 1940
Maj. Drewery
King of the Jungle
Movie • 1933
Ed Peters
The Lawless Rider
Movie • 1954
Marshal Brady (as Douglas Dumbrille)
I Married an Angel
Movie • 1942
Baron Szigethy
Blonde Savage
Movie • 1947
Mark Harper
The Witness Chair
Movie • 1936
Stanley Whittaker
Rovin' Tumbleweeds
Movie • 1939
Stephen Holloway
The Man Who Dared
Movie • 1933
Judge Collier
Smoke Lightning
Movie • 1933
Sam Edson
Female
Movie • 1933
George Mumford
Uncertain Glory
Movie • 1944
Police Commissioner LaFarge
A Millionaire for Christy
Movie • 1951
J.C. Thompson
The Secret Bride
Movie • 1934
Breeden
Counterfeit Lady
Movie • 1936
August Marino
End of the Trail
Movie • 1936
Bill Mason
Sharpshooters
Movie • 1938
Count Maxim
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
Movie • 1932
District Attorney (uncredited)
Storm Over Bengal
Movie • 1938
Ramin Khan
Captain John Smith and Pocahontas
Movie • 1953
Powhatan (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Love Me Forever
Movie • 1935
Miller
Air Patrol
Movie • 1962
Millard Nolan
The Calling of Dan Matthews
Movie • 1935
Jeff Hardy
Captain Fury
Movie • 1939
Preston
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in the Foreign Legion
Movie • 1950
Sheik Hamud El Khalid
The Roundup
Movie • 1941
Capt. Bob Lane
King of the Mounties
Movie • 1942
Harper
The Daltons Ride Again
Movie • 1945
Sheriff Hoskins
Flame of the West
Movie • 1945
Marshal Tom Nightlander
Jungle Safari
Movie • 1956
Lang
Heroes for Sale
Movie • 1933
Chief Engineer Jim (uncredited)
Dishonored Lady
Movie • 1947
District Attorney O'Brien
Lost in a Harem
Movie • 1944
Nimativ
Dragnet
Movie • 1947
Frank Farrington
Complicated Women
Movie • 2003
Self (archive footage)
Stand by for Action
Movie • 1942
Capt. Ludlow
The Cat Creeps
Movie • 1946
Tom McGalvey
Joe Palooka in the Counterpunch
Movie • 1949
Captain Lance
That's My Boy
Movie • 1932
Coach "Daisy" Adams
The Way to Love
Movie • 1933
Agent Chapusard
Tell It to the Judge
Movie • 1949
George Ellerby
The Wiser Sex
Movie • 1932
Chauffeur - aka The Wop
Beyond Our Own
Movie • 1947
E.W. Osborne
Crime Takes a Holiday
Movie • 1938
J.J. Grant
The Symphony Murder Mystery
Movie • 1932
Giuseppe Benito
Mobs, Inc.
Movie • 1956
Leland Cameron James
Monsieur Beaucaire
Movie • 1946
George Washington
High Time
Movie • 1960
Judge Carter (uncredited)
The Big Brain
Movie • 1933
Dan Thomas
What 80 Million Women Want
Movie • 1913
District Attorney(uncredited)
Life of Vernon Hathaway
Movie • 1955
Red Beecham
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
TV • 1959
77 Sunset Strip
TV • 1958
Batman
TV • 1966
The Doctor
The Beverly Hillbillies
TV • 1962
Perry Mason
TV • 1957
Judge Robert Adler
Hallmark Hall of Fame
TV • 1951
Governor Spriggs
The Twilight Zone
TV • 1959
Mr. Halpert
Bringing Up Buddy
TV • 1960
China Smith
TV • 1952
The Millionaire
TV • 1955
B.G. Greenwise
Matinee Theater
TV • 1955
Bat Masterson
TV • 1958
Gen. Taylor Millard
Racket Squad
TV • 1951
Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers
TV • 1956
Cavalcade of America
TV • 1952
Lord Rawdon
Crossroads
TV • 1955
Dangerous Assignment
TV • 1952
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
TV • 1959
Warden
Letter to Loretta
TV • 1953
George Haviland
Hey, Jeannie!
TV • 1956
Gen. Hardwicke
The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show
TV • 1950
Mr. Arthur J. Cahill
The Ford Television Theatre
TV • 1952
J.B. Creston
Petticoat Junction
TV • 1963
Dave La Salle
The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show
TV • 1950
Judge Strickland
Perry Mason
TV • 1957
Judge
Hallmark Hall of Fame
TV • 1951
Governor William Claiborne
Lux Video Theatre
TV • 1950
Whitfield
Screen Director's Playhouse
TV • 1955
Red Beecham
The Untouchables
TV • 1959
Judge Ben Harlow
The Life Of Riley
TV • 1953
The Life Of Riley
TV • 1953
Cunningham
Public Defender
TV • 1954
Frank Hackman
The Ford Television Theatre
TV • 1952
Studio 57
TV • 1954
Goldy
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
TV • 1959
Prof. Brinkerhoff, Esq.