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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.
Movies
Blondie of the Follies
Murchenson
The Buccaneer
Collector of the Port
Julius Caesar
Lepidus
Son of Paleface
Sheriff McIntyre
The Ten Commandments
Jannes
Road to Zanzibar
Slave trader
The Princess Comes Across
Lorel
A Day at the Races
Morgan
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
John Cedar
Allen in Movieland
Self- Lawyer
City in Darkness
B. Petroff (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Charlie Chan at Treasure Island
Stewart Salsbury, alias Thomas Gregory
The Big Store
Mr. Grover
Baby Face
Brody
World for Ransom
Insp. McCollum
Road to Utopia
Ace Larson
The Rustler's Roundup
Bill Brett (as Douglas Dunbrile)
Castle in the Desert
Paul Manderley
The Savage Horde
Col. Price
Riders of the Whistling Pines
Henry Mitchell
Du Barry was a Lady
Willie / Duc de Rigor
Lady Killer
Spade Maddock
The Firefly
Marquis de Melito
Crime and Punishment
Grilov
The Lives of a Bengal Lancer
Mohammed Khan
Naughty Marietta
Prince de Namours de la Bonfain, Marietta's Uncle
Elmer, the Great
Stillman (uncredited)
The Frozen Ghost
Inspector Brant
Unknown Woman
Buccaneer's Girl
Capt. Martos
Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime
John Matthews
Forty Thieves
Tad Hammond
False Colors
Mark Foster
Lumberjack
Daniel J. Keefer
Under Nevada Skies
Courtney
A Life at Stake
Gus Hillman
The Emperor's Candlesticks
Mr. Korum, a Conspirator
Spook Busters
Dr. Coslow
Plunder of the Sun
Consul (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Peter Ibbetson
Colonel Forsythe
Broadway Bill
Eddie Morgan
Harold Teen
H.H. Snatcher (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Mr. Moto in Danger Island
Comdr. La Costa
Christmas Eve
Dr. Bunyan
The Catman of Paris
Henry Borchard
A Gentleman After Dark
Enzo Calibra
Thunder Afloat
District Commander
I Loved a Woman
U.S. Attorney Brandt (uncredited)
Tell No Tales
Matt Cooper (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Ali Baba Goes to Town
Prince Musah
Laughter in Hell
Ed Perkins
Shake, Rattle and Rock!
Eustace Fentwick III
Michael Shayne: Private Detective
Benny Gordon (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Murder Among Friends
Carter Stevenson
The Three Musketeers
Athos (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Slightly Honorable
George Taylor
Riding High
Eddie Howard
The Music Goes 'Round
Bishop
Apache War Smoke
Maj. Dekker
A Medal for Benny
General
Jupiter's Darling
Scipio
The Kangaroo Kid
Vincent Moller
The Buccaneer
Governor William C.C. Claiborne
It's a Joke, Son!
Big Dan Healey
Sky Full of Moon
Rodeo Official
Hard to Handle
District Attorney (uncredited)
Kentucky
John Dillon - 1861
Night in Paradise
High Priest
Fast Company
Arnold Stamper (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Stolen Heaven
Klingman
You May Be Next!
Beau Gardner
The Public Menace
Mario Tonelli
The Lone Wolf and His Lady
John J. Murdock
Last of the Wild Horses
Charlie Cooper
Journal of a Crime
Cartier (as Douglas Dumbrille)
The World Changes
Buffalo Bill Cody
Air Hawks
Victor Arnold
The Fabulous Texan
Luke Roland
Scaramouche
Assembly President
The Pride of the Legion
McMahon
Pardon My Past
Uncle Wills
Alimony
Burton Crail
The Door Knocker
Gangster
Ten Gentlemen from West Point
Gen. William Henry Harrison
Gypsy Wildcat
Baron Tovar
Jungle Queen
Lang
South of Pago Pago
Williams
His Woman
Alisandroe
Rapture
W.C. Hutton
The Mysterious Rider
Pecos Bill aka Ben Wade
Washington Melodrama
District Attorney Donnelly
Dynamite
Hank Gibbons
M'Liss
Lou Ellis
The Lone Wolf Returns
Morphew
Operator 13
General Stuart
The Working Man
Lawyer Hammersmith (uncredited)
Johnny Cool
Jungle Woman
District Attorney
Treasure Island
Pirate of the Spanish Main
Woman in Distress
Jerome Culver
Fog Over Frisco
Joshua Mayard
Ride 'Em Cowboy
Jake Rainwater
Hi, Nellie!
Dawes
Virginia City
Maj. Drewery
King of the Jungle
Ed Peters
The Lawless Rider
Marshal Brady (as Douglas Dumbrille)
I Married an Angel
Baron Szigethy
Blonde Savage
Mark Harper
The Witness Chair
Stanley Whittaker
Rovin' Tumbleweeds
Stephen Holloway
The Man Who Dared
Judge Collier
Smoke Lightning
Sam Edson
Female
George Mumford
Uncertain Glory
Police Commissioner LaFarge
A Millionaire for Christy
J.C. Thompson
The Secret Bride
Breeden
Counterfeit Lady
August Marino
End of the Trail
Bill Mason
Sharpshooters
Count Maxim
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
District Attorney (uncredited)
Storm Over Bengal
Ramin Khan
Captain John Smith and Pocahontas
Powhatan (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Love Me Forever
Miller
Air Patrol
Millard Nolan
The Calling of Dan Matthews
Jeff Hardy
Captain Fury
Preston
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in the Foreign Legion
Sheik Hamud El Khalid
The Roundup
Capt. Bob Lane
King of the Mounties
Harper
The Daltons Ride Again
Sheriff Hoskins
Flame of the West
Marshal Tom Nightlander
Jungle Safari
Lang
Heroes for Sale
Chief Engineer Jim (uncredited)
Dishonored Lady
District Attorney O'Brien
Lost in a Harem
Nimativ
Dragnet
Frank Farrington
Complicated Women
Self (archive footage)
Stand by for Action
Capt. Ludlow
The Cat Creeps
Tom McGalvey
Joe Palooka in the Counterpunch
Captain Lance
That's My Boy
Coach "Daisy" Adams
The Way to Love
Agent Chapusard
Tell It to the Judge
George Ellerby
The Wiser Sex
Chauffeur - aka The Wop
Beyond Our Own
E.W. Osborne
Crime Takes a Holiday
J.J. Grant
The Symphony Murder Mystery
Giuseppe Benito
Mobs, Inc.
Leland Cameron James
Mobs Incorporated
Leland Cameron James
Monsieur Beaucaire
George Washington
Shows
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
77 Sunset Strip
Batman
The Doctor
The Beverly Hillbillies
Perry Mason
Judge Robert Adler
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Governor Spriggs
The Twilight Zone
Mr. Halpert
Bringing Up Buddy
China Smith
The Millionaire
B.G. Greenwise
Matinee Theater
Bat Masterson
Gen. Taylor Millard
Racket Squad
Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers
Cavalcade of America
Lord Rawdon
Crossroads
Dangerous Assignment
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
Warden
Letter to Loretta
George Haviland
Hey, Jeannie!
Gen. Hardwicke
The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show
Mr. Arthur J. Cahill
The Ford Television Theatre
J.B. Creston
Petticoat Junction
Dave La Salle
The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show
Judge Strickland
Perry Mason
Judge
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Governor William Claiborne
Lux Video Theatre
Whitfield
Screen Director's Playhouse
Red Beecham
The Untouchables
Judge Ben Harlow
The Life Of Riley
Cunningham
The Life Of Riley
Public Defender
Frank Hackman
The Ford Television Theatre