Actor · Acting

Douglass Dumbrille

Born 1889-10-12

Died 1974-04-02

📍 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.

Filmography 183

Complicated Women

as Self (archive footage)

as Corrupt City Council Member

Petticoat Junction

as Dave La Salle

The Beverly Hillbillies

as Millard Nolan

as Judge Carter (uncredited)

The Untouchables

as Judge Ben Harlow

The Twilight Zone

The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis

The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis

as Prof. Brinkerhoff, Esq.

The DuPont Show with June Allyson

as Collector of the Port

77 Sunset Strip

as Gen. Taylor Millard

as Judge Robert Adler

Shake, Rattle and Rock!

as Eustace Fentwick III

Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers

The Ten Commandments

as Leland Cameron James

Matinee Theater

Screen Director's Playhouse

Allen in Movieland

as Self- Lawyer

A Life at Stake

Jupiter's Darling

The Millionaire

as B.G. Greenwise

The Lawless Rider

as Marshal Brady (as Douglas Dumbrille)

Public Defender

as Frank Hackman

World for Ransom

as Insp. McCollum

Captain John Smith and Pocahontas

as Powhatan (as Douglas Dumbrille)

Letter to Loretta

as George Haviland

Plunder of the Sun

as Consul (as Douglas Dumbrille)

The Life Of Riley

The Life Of Riley

Sky Full of Moon

as Rodeo Official

The Ford Television Theatre

as J.B. Creston

The Ford Television Theatre

Cavalcade of America

Apache War Smoke

Son of Paleface

as Sheriff McIntyre

as Assembly President

Dangerous Assignment

Hallmark Hall of Fame

as Governor Spriggs

Hallmark Hall of Fame

as Governor William Claiborne

A Millionaire for Christy

as J.C. Thompson

The Kangaroo Kid

as Vincent Moller

The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show

as Mr. Arthur J. Cahill

The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show

as Judge Strickland

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in the Foreign Legion

as Sheik Hamud El Khalid

The Savage Horde

as Eddie Howard

Buccaneer's Girl

as Capt. Martos

Tell It to the Judge

as George Ellerby

Joe Palooka in the Counterpunch

as Captain Lance

The Lone Wolf and His Lady

as John J. Murdock

as Burton Crail

Riders of the Whistling Pines

as Henry Mitchell

as Hank Gibbons

Last of the Wild Horses

as Charlie Cooper

as E.W. Osborne

The Fabulous Texan

as Frank Farrington

Dishonored Lady

as District Attorney O'Brien

It's a Joke, Son!

as Big Dan Healey

Monsieur Beaucaire

as George Washington

Under Nevada Skies

as Tom McGalvey

Night in Paradise

The Catman of Paris

as Henry Borchard

The Daltons Ride Again

as Sheriff Hoskins

Flame of the West

as Marshal Tom Nightlander

The Frozen Ghost

as Inspector Brant

A Medal for Benny

Lost in a Harem

as District Attorney

as Daniel J. Keefer

Uncertain Glory

as Police Commissioner LaFarge

Du Barry Was a Lady

as Willie / Duc de Rigor

Stand by for Action

as Capt. Ludlow

King of the Mounties

I Married an Angel

as Baron Szigethy

Ten Gentlemen from West Point

as Gen. William Henry Harrison

A Gentleman After Dark

as Enzo Calibra

Castle in the Desert

as Paul Manderley

Ride 'Em Cowboy

as Jake Rainwater

Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime

as John Matthews

Washington Melodrama

as District Attorney Donnelly

Road to Zanzibar

as Slave trader

as Capt. Bob Lane

Murder Among Friends

as Carter Stevenson

Michael Shayne: Private Detective

as Benny Gordon (as Douglas Dumbrille)

South of Pago Pago

as Maj. Drewery

Slightly Honorable

as George Taylor

Rovin' Tumbleweeds

as Stephen Holloway

City in Darkness

as B. Petroff (as Douglas Dumbrille)

as District Commander

Charlie Chan at Treasure Island

as Stewart Salsbury, alias Thomas Gregory

Mr. Moto in Danger Island

as Comdr. La Costa

The Three Musketeers

as Athos (as Douglas Dumbrille)

as John Dillon - 1861

Storm Over Bengal

Crime Takes a Holiday

The Mysterious Rider

as Pecos Bill aka Ben Wade

as Arnold Stamper (as Douglas Dumbrille)

as Governor William C.C. Claiborne

as Marquis de Melito

Ali Baba Goes to Town

as Prince Musah

The Emperor's Candlesticks

as Mr. Korum, a Conspirator

A Day at the Races

Woman in Distress

as Jerome Culver

Counterfeit Lady

as August Marino

End of the Trail

The Princess Comes Across

The Witness Chair

as Stanley Whittaker

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

The Music Goes 'Round

You May Be Next!

as Beau Gardner

The Lone Wolf Returns

The Calling of Dan Matthews

Crime and Punishment

as Colonel Forsythe

The Public Menace

as Mario Tonelli

Love Me Forever

as Victor Arnold

Naughty Marietta

as Prince de Namours de la Bonfain, Marietta's Uncle

The Lives of a Bengal Lancer

as Mohammed Khan

The Secret Bride

as Eddie Morgan

Treasure Island

as Pirate of the Spanish Main

as General Stuart

Fog Over Frisco

as Joshua Mayard

as H.H. Snatcher (as Douglas Dumbrille)

Journal of a Crime

as Cartier (as Douglas Dumbrille)

as Harvey Dawes

The World Changes

as Buffalo Bill Cody

as George Mumford

The Way to Love

as Agent Chapusard

I Loved a Woman

as U.S. Attorney Brandt (uncredited)

The Man Who Dared

as Judge Collier

Heroes for Sale

as Chief Engineer Jim (uncredited)

Elmer, the Great

as Stillman (uncredited)

The Working Man

as Lawyer Hammersmith (uncredited)

The Rustler's Roundup

as Bill Brett (as Douglas Dunbrile)

King of the Jungle

as District Attorney (uncredited)

Laughter in Hell

Smoke Lightning

as Coach "Daisy" Adams

I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang

as District Attorney (uncredited)

The Pride of the Legion

Blondie of the Follies

as Chauffeur - aka The Wop

The Symphony Murder Mystery

as Giuseppe Benito

What 80 Million Women Want

as District Attorney(uncredited)