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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
Storm Over Bengal
Ramin Khan
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
The Big Store
Mr. Grover
Charlie Chan at Treasure Island
Stewart Salsbury, alias Thomas Gregory
City in Darkness
B. Petroff (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Baby Face
Brody
World for Ransom
Insp. McCollum
Road to Utopia
Ace Larson
Castle in the Desert
Paul Manderley
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
Naughty Marietta
Prince de Namours de la Bonfain, Marietta's Uncle
The Lives of a Bengal Lancer
Mohammed Khan
The Frozen Ghost
Inspector Brant
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
Plunder of the Sun
Consul (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Peter Ibbetson
Colonel Forsythe
Spook Busters
Dr. Coslow
Broadway Bill
Eddie Morgan
Harold Teen
H.H. Snatcher (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Christmas Eve
Dr. Bunyan
Mr. Moto in Danger Island
Comdr. La Costa
The Catman of Paris
Henry Borchard
A Gentleman After Dark
Enzo Calibra
Thunder Afloat
District Commander
Laughter in Hell
Ed Perkins
Shake, Rattle and Rock!
Eustace Fentwick III
Murder Among Friends
Carter Stevenson
Tell No Tales
Matt Cooper (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Ali Baba Goes to Town
Prince Musah
Michael Shayne: Private Detective
Benny Gordon (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Slightly Honorable
George Taylor
The Three Musketeers
Athos (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Riding High
Eddie Howard
Apache War Smoke
Maj. Dekker
Jupiter's Darling
Scipio
A Medal for Benny
General
The Buccaneer
Governor William C.C. Claiborne
The Kangaroo Kid
Vincent Moller
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 Lone Wolf and His Lady
John J. Murdock
Last of the Wild Horses
Charlie Cooper
The Public Menace
Mario Tonelli
The World Changes
Buffalo Bill Cody
Air Hawks
Victor Arnold
The Fabulous Texan
Luke Roland
The Pride of the Legion
McMahon
Alimony
Burton Crail
The Door Knocker
Gangster
Gypsy Wildcat
Baron Tovar
Jungle Queen
Lang
South of Pago Pago
Williams
The Lone Wolf Returns
Morphew
His Woman
Alisandroe
The Mysterious Rider
Pecos Bill aka Ben Wade
Washington Melodrama
District Attorney Donnelly
Dynamite
Hank Gibbons
Operator 13
General Stuart
M'Liss
Lou Ellis
The Working Man
Lawyer Hammersmith (uncredited)
Journal of a Crime
Cartier (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Jungle Woman
District Attorney
Woman in Distress
Jerome Culver
Fog Over Frisco
Joshua Mayard
Ride 'Em Cowboy
Jake Rainwater
Hi, Nellie!
Dawes
King of the Jungle
Ed Peters
The Lawless Rider
Marshal Brady (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Virginia City
Maj. Drewery
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
Ten Gentlemen from West Point
Gen. William Henry Harrison
Female
George Mumford
Uncertain Glory
Police Commissioner LaFarge
Pardon My Past
Uncle Wills
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)
Captain John Smith and Pocahontas
Powhatan (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Air Patrol
Millard Nolan
Love Me Forever
Miller
The Calling of Dan Matthews
Jeff Hardy
Captain Fury
Preston
Abbott and 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)
Lost in a Harem
Nimativ
Dishonored Lady
District Attorney O'Brien
Complicated Women
Self (archive footage)
Dragnet
Frank Farrington
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
Julius Caesar
Lepidus
Allen in Movieland
Self- Lawyer
The Rustler's Roundup
Bill Brett (as Douglas Dunbrile)
The Savage Horde
Col. Price
Unknown Woman
I Loved a Woman
U.S. Attorney Brandt (uncredited)
It's a Joke, Son!
Big Dan Healey
Sangue sul sagrato
W.C. Hutton
Treasure Island
Pirate of the Spanish Main
Elmer, the Great
Stillman (uncredited)
The Music Goes 'Round
Bishop
Scaramouche
Assembly President
Johnny Cool
Smoke Lightning
Sam Edson
Shows
Batman
The Doctor
Perry Mason
Judge Robert Adler
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Governor Spriggs
Crossroads
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
77 Sunset Strip
The Beverly Hillbillies
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
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
Warden
Cavalcade of America
Lord Rawdon
Dangerous Assignment
Letter to Loretta
George Haviland
Hey, Jeannie!
Gen. Hardwicke
The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show
Mr. Arthur J. Cahill
Perry Mason
Judge
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Governor William Claiborne
Screen Director's Playhouse
Red Beecham
The Ford Television Theatre
J.B. Creston
Petticoat Junction
Dave La Salle
The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show
Judge Strickland
Lux Video Theatre
Whitfield