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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.
Known For
The Ten Commandments
(1956)
Jannes
Baby Face
(1933)
Brody
Julius Caesar
(1953)
Lepidus
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
(1936)
John Cedar
Scaramouche
(1952)
Assembly President
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
(1932)
District Attorney (uncredited)
A Day at the Races
(1937)
Morgan
The Buccaneer
(1958)
Collector of the Port
Virginia City
(1940)
Maj. Drewery
Treasure Island
(1934)
Pirate of the Spanish Main
Johnny Cool
(1963)
Crime and Punishment
(1935)
Grilov
Road to Utopia
(1946)
Ace Larson
Full Filmography
Acting
The Door Knocker
(1931)
Gangster
His Woman
(1931)
Alisandroe
The Pride of the Legion
(1932)
McMahon
The Wiser Sex
(1932)
Chauffeur - aka The Wop
Blondie of the Follies
(1932)
Murchenson
That's My Boy
(1932)
Coach "Daisy" Adams
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
(1932)
District Attorney (uncredited)
The Symphony Murder Mystery
(1932)
Giuseppe Benito
Elmer, the Great
(1933)
Stillman (uncredited)
Smoke Lightning
(1933)
Sam Edson
Hard to Handle
(1933)
District Attorney (uncredited)
King of the Jungle
(1933)
Ed Peters
Baby Face
(1933)
Brody
The Rustler's Roundup
(1933)
Bill Brett (as Douglas Dunbrile)
The Working Man
(1933)
Lawyer Hammersmith (uncredited)
The World Changes
(1933)
Buffalo Bill Cody
Laughter in Hell
(1933)
Ed Perkins
The Way to Love
(1933)
Agent Chapusard
Lady Killer
(1933)
Spade Maddock
Heroes for Sale
(1933)
Chief Engineer Jim (uncredited)
Female
(1933)
George Mumford
I Loved a Woman
(1933)
U.S. Attorney Brandt (uncredited)
The Man Who Dared
(1933)
Judge Collier
The Secret Bride
(1934)
Breeden
Broadway Bill
(1934)
Eddie Morgan
Journal of a Crime
(1934)
Cartier (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Harold Teen
(1934)
H.H. Snatcher (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Treasure Island
(1934)
Pirate of the Spanish Main
Fog Over Frisco
(1934)
Joshua Mayard
Operator 13
(1934)
General Stuart
Hi, Nellie!
(1934)
Dawes
Naughty Marietta
(1935)
Prince de Namours de la Bonfain, Marietta's Uncle
The Lives of a Bengal Lancer
(1935)
Mohammed Khan
Crime and Punishment
(1935)
Grilov
The Public Menace
(1935)
Mario Tonelli
Unknown Woman
(1935)
The Lone Wolf Returns
(1935)
Morphew
Love Me Forever
(1935)
Miller
Air Hawks
(1935)
Victor Arnold
Peter Ibbetson
(1935)
Colonel Forsythe
The Calling of Dan Matthews
(1935)
Jeff Hardy
Counterfeit Lady
(1936)
August Marino
The Witness Chair
(1936)
Stanley Whittaker
The Princess Comes Across
(1936)
Lorel
M'Liss
(1936)
Lou Ellis
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
(1936)
John Cedar
The Music Goes 'Round
(1936)
Bishop
You May Be Next!
(1936)
Beau Gardner
End of the Trail
(1936)
Bill Mason
The Emperor's Candlesticks
(1937)
Mr. Korum, a Conspirator
Woman in Distress
(1937)
Jerome Culver
The Firefly
(1937)
Marquis de Melito
A Day at the Races
(1937)
Morgan
Ali Baba Goes to Town
(1937)
Prince Musah
Sharpshooters
(1938)
Count Maxim
The Mysterious Rider
(1938)
Pecos Bill aka Ben Wade
Storm Over Bengal
(1938)
Ramin Khan
The Buccaneer
(1938)
Governor William C.C. Claiborne
Crime Takes a Holiday
(1938)
J.J. Grant
Fast Company
(1938)
Arnold Stamper (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Stolen Heaven
(1938)
Klingman
Kentucky
(1938)
John Dillon - 1861
Slightly Honorable
(1939)
George Taylor
The Three Musketeers
(1939)
Athos (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Captain Fury
(1939)
Preston
Thunder Afloat
(1939)
District Commander
Tell No Tales
(1939)
Matt Cooper (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Mr. Moto in Danger Island
(1939)
Comdr. La Costa
Rovin' Tumbleweeds
(1939)
Stephen Holloway
Charlie Chan at Treasure Island
(1939)
Stewart Salsbury, alias Thomas Gregory
City in Darkness
(1939)
B. Petroff (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Michael Shayne: Private Detective
(1940)
Benny Gordon (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Virginia City
(1940)
Maj. Drewery
South of Pago Pago
(1940)
Williams
Murder Among Friends
(1941)
Carter Stevenson
Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime
(1941)
John Matthews
The Big Store
(1941)
Mr. Grover
Road to Zanzibar
(1941)
Slave trader
The Roundup
(1941)
Capt. Bob Lane
Washington Melodrama
(1941)
District Attorney Donnelly
Stand by for Action
(1942)
Capt. Ludlow
Ten Gentlemen from West Point
(1942)
Gen. William Henry Harrison
I Married an Angel
(1942)
Baron Szigethy
Ride 'Em Cowboy
(1942)
Jake Rainwater
Castle in the Desert
(1942)
Paul Manderley
A Gentleman After Dark
(1942)
Enzo Calibra
King of the Mounties
(1942)
Harper
False Colors
(1943)
Mark Foster
Du Barry was a Lady
(1943)
Willie / Duc de Rigor
Lost in a Harem
(1944)
Nimativ
Uncertain Glory
(1944)
Police Commissioner LaFarge
Lumberjack
(1944)
Daniel J. Keefer
Forty Thieves
(1944)
Tad Hammond
Jungle Woman
(1944)
District Attorney
Gypsy Wildcat
(1944)
Baron Tovar
A Medal for Benny
(1945)
General
Pardon My Past
(1945)
Uncle Wills
The Daltons Ride Again
(1945)
Sheriff Hoskins
Jungle Queen
(1945)
Lang
The Frozen Ghost
(1945)
Inspector Brant
Flame of the West
(1945)
Marshal Tom Nightlander
Night in Paradise
(1946)
High Priest
Spook Busters
(1946)
Dr. Coslow
The Catman of Paris
(1946)
Henry Borchard
Under Nevada Skies
(1946)
Courtney
Road to Utopia
(1946)
Ace Larson
The Cat Creeps
(1946)
Tom McGalvey
Blonde Savage
(1947)
Mark Harper
The Fabulous Texan
(1947)
Luke Roland
Dishonored Lady
(1947)
District Attorney O'Brien
Dragnet
(1947)
Frank Farrington
Beyond Our Own
(1947)
E.W. Osborne
Christmas Eve
(1947)
Dr. Bunyan
It's a Joke, Son!
(1947)
Big Dan Healey
Last of the Wild Horses
(1948)
Charlie Cooper
Dynamite
(1949)
Hank Gibbons
Alimony
(1949)
Burton Crail
The Lone Wolf and His Lady
(1949)
John J. Murdock
Joe Palooka in the Counterpunch
(1949)
Captain Lance
Tell It to the Judge
(1949)
George Ellerby
Riders of the Whistling Pines
(1949)
Henry Mitchell
Riding High
(1950)
Eddie Howard
The Kangaroo Kid
(1950)
Vincent Moller
Buccaneer's Girl
(1950)
Capt. Martos
The Savage Horde
(1950)
Col. Price
Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion
(1950)
Sheik Hamud El Khalid
A Millionaire for Christy
(1951)
J.C. Thompson
Sky Full of Moon
(1952)
Rodeo Official
Apache War Smoke
(1952)
Maj. Dekker
Sangue sul sagrato
(1952)
W.C. Hutton
Son of Paleface
(1952)
Sheriff McIntyre
Scaramouche
(1952)
Assembly President
Captain John Smith and Pocahontas
(1953)
Powhatan (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Julius Caesar
(1953)
Lepidus
Plunder of the Sun
(1953)
Consul (as Douglas Dumbrille)
The Lawless Rider
(1954)
Marshal Brady (as Douglas Dumbrille)
World for Ransom
(1954)
Insp. McCollum
Jupiter's Darling
(1955)
Scipio
A Life at Stake
(1955)
Gus Hillman
Allen in Movieland
(1955)
Self- Lawyer
Shake, Rattle and Rock!
(1956)
Eustace Fentwick III
The Ten Commandments
(1956)
Jannes
Jungle Safari
(1956)
Lang
Mobs, Inc.
(1956)
Leland Cameron James
The Buccaneer
(1958)
Collector of the Port
Air Patrol
(1962)
Millard Nolan
Johnny Cool
(1963)
Complicated Women
(2003)
Self (archive footage)