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Douglass Dumbrille

Douglass Dumbrille

Birthday: 1889-10-13 | Place of Birth: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

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.

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Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

1958
The Buccaneer

as    Collector of the Port

1956
Shake, Rattle and Rock!

as    Eustace Fentwick III

1955
Jupiter's Darling

as    Scipio

1954
World for Ransom

as    Insp. McCollum

1954
The Lawless Rider

as    Marshal Brady (as Douglas Dumbrille)

1953
Plunder of the Sun

as    Consul (as Douglas Dumbrille)

1952
Sky Full of Moon

as    Rodeo Official

1950
Buccaneer's Girl

as    Capt. Martos

1950
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in the Foreign Legion

as    Sheik Hamud El Khalid

1949
Alimony

as    Burton Crail

1949
Tell It to the Judge

as    George Ellerby

1949
Riders of the Whistling Pines

as    Henry Mitchell

1948
Last of the Wild Horses

as    Charlie Cooper

1947
Dishonored Lady

as    District Attorney O'Brien

1947
Blonde Savage

as    Mark Harper

1946
Under Nevada Skies

as    Courtney

1946
The Catman of Paris

as    Henry Borchard

1945
The Frozen Ghost

as    Inspector Brant

1945
Jungle Queen

as    Lang

1945
Pardon My Past

as    Uncle Wills

1944
Gypsy Wildcat

as    Baron Tovar

1944
Lumberjack

as    Daniel J. Keefer

1944
Jungle Woman

as    District Attorney

1944
Forty Thieves

as    Tad Hammond

1943
Du Barry was a Lady

as    Willie / Duc de Rigor

1942
I Married an Angel

as    Baron Szigethy

1942
Stand by for Action

as    Capt. Ludlow

1942
Castle in the Desert

as    Paul Manderley

1941
The Big Store

as    Mr. Grover