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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Recent movies
| # | Name | Character | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Buccaneer (1958) | Collector of the Port | - | - |
| 2 | The Ten Commandments (1956) | Jannes | 7.5 | |
| 3 | A Life at Stake (1955) | Gus Hillman | 4 | |
| 4 | World for Ransom (1954) | Insp. McCollum | 5 | |
| 5 | Julius Caesar (1953) | Lepidus | 8 | |
| 6 | Son of Paleface (1952) | Sheriff McIntyre | 1 | |
| 7 | Buccaneer's Girl (1950) | Capt. Martos | - | - |
| 8 | Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in the Foreign Legion (1950) | Sheik Hamud El Khalid | - | - |
| 9 | Last of the Wild Horses (1948) | Charlie Cooper | 1 | |
| 10 | The Catman of Paris (1946) | Henry Borchard | - | - |
| 11 | The Cat Creeps (1946) | Tom McGalvey | 6 | |
| 12 | Road to Utopia (1946) | Ace Larson | 6.5 | |
| 13 | The Frozen Ghost (1945) | Inspector Brant | 5 | |
| 14 | A Medal for Benny (1945) | General | - | - |
| 15 | Jungle Woman (1944) | District Attorney | 5 | |
| 16 | Ride 'Em Cowboy (1941) | Jake Rainwater | - | - |
| 17 | Road to Zanzibar (1941) | Slave Trader | 8 | |
| 18 | Kentucky (1938) | John Dillon - 1861 | - | - |
| 19 | A Day at the Races (1937) | Morgan | 6 | |
| 20 | Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) | John Cedar | 5.8 | |
| 21 | Naughty Marietta (1935) | Prince de Namours de la Bonfain, Marietta's Uncle | 4 | |
| 22 | Peter Ibbetson (1935) | Colonel Forsythe | 3 | |
| 23 | The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935) | Mohammed Khan | 5 | |
| 24 | Crime and Punishment (1935) | Grilov | 4 | |
| 25 | Treasure Island (1934) | Pirate of the Spanish Main | 7 | |
| 26 | Hard to Handle (1933) | District Attorney (uncredited) | 4 | |
| 27 | Female (1933) | George Mumford | - | - |
| 28 | Heroes for Sale (1933) | Chief Engineer Jim (uncredited) | 7 | |
| 29 | Lady Killer (1933) | Spade | 6.5 | |
| 30 | Baby Face (1933) | Brody | 5 | |
| 31 | I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932) | District Attorney (uncredited) | 9 |
