Douglass Dumbrille

Douglass Dumbrille

Birth : 1889-10-13, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Death : 1974-04-02

History

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.

Profile

Douglass Dumbrille

Movies

Complicated Women
Self (archive footage)
A look at actresses who starred in films with thought-provoking subjects made between 1930 and July 1934, before the Hollywood Production Code —the infamous Hays Code— was enforced.
Air Patrol
Millard Nolan
L.A. detective Sgt. Castle and his two partners investigate the theft of a valuable Fragonard painting by a thief who pilots a helicopter.
The Buccaneer
Collector of the Port
During the War of 1812 against Britain: General Andrew Jackson has only 1,200 men left to defend New Orleans when he learns that a British fleet will arrive with 60 ships and 16,000 men to take the city. In this situation an island near the city becomes strategically important to both parties, but it's inhabited by the last big buccaneer: Jean Lafitte. Although Lafitte never attacks American ships, the governor hates him for selling merchandise without taxes - and is loved by the citizens for the same reason. When the big fight gets nearer, Lafitte is drawn between the fronts. His heart belongs to America, but his people urge him to join the party that's more likely to win.
Shake, Rattle and Rock!
Eustace Fentwick III
A TV star meets with opposition from adults who object to the opening of a rock 'n' roll palace for teens.
The Ten Commandments
Jannes
Escaping death, a Hebrew infant is raised in a royal household to become a prince. Upon discovery of his true heritage, Moses embarks on a personal quest to reclaim his destiny as the leader and liberator of the Hebrew people.
Mobs, Inc.
Leland Cameron James
Captain Braddock of the Los Angeles Racket Squad schools a group of cadet policemen by telling them of three precarious and dangerous cases of con artistry. Included are tracking down a dance hall girl, who, together with a big operative, are thwarted in attempting a robbery; a racketeer fleecing a book publisher on a Trans-Atlantic voyage, and the tripping up of the plans of a phony land syndicate.
Jungle Safari
Lang
Feature version of the 1945 Universal serial, JUNGLE QUEEN.
Allen in Movieland
Self- Lawyer
TV goes Hollywood when Steve Allen visits Universal-International to prepare for his upcoming title role in "The Benny Goodman Story."
A Life at Stake
Gus Hillman
An out-of-work architect meets a married woman who has a business proposition for him. The architect begins to suspect the woman's interest in him is not just financial and may actually be deadly.
Jupiter's Darling
Scipio
Rome is on the verge of being conquered by Hannibal. While Rome's ruler, Fabius Maximus, plots a defense against Hannibal's armies, Fabius' fiancée, Amytis, is curious about the fearless conqueror. Amytis travels to Hannibal's camp just to get a look at him, but she ends up being captured. However, she is instantly smitten by the Carthaginian commander, so she tries to shift his attentions away from Rome -- and to her instead.
The Lawless Rider
Marshal Brady (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Johnny Carpenter plays a taciturn sheriff who disguises himself as a notorious gunslinger. His mission: to stem a series of violent raids on local cattle ranchers.
World for Ransom
Insp. McCollum
In Singapore, a private detective and the British authorities are on the trail of a crime syndicate that kidnaps a nuclear physicist with the aim of selling him to the highest bidder.
Captain John Smith and Pocahontas
Powhatan (as Douglas Dumbrille)
The story of, well, Captain John Smith and Pocahontas. Jamestown. Early 1600s.
Plunder of the Sun
Consul (as Douglas Dumbrille)
An American insurance adjuster, stranded in Havana, becomes involved with an archaeologist and a collector of antiquities in a hunt for treasure in the Mexican ruins of Zapoteca.
Julius Caesar
Lepidus
The assassination of the would be ruler of Rome at the hands of Brutus and company has tragic consequences for the idealist and the republic.
Sangue sul sagrato
W.C. Hutton
Sky Full of Moon
Rodeo Official
A cowboy seeks fame and fortune in Las Vegas where he meets a girl working in a casino.
Apache War Smoke
Maj. Dekker
An outlaw murders several Apaches and flees to a stagecoach way station with the tribe in hot pursuit. A stagecoach and its passengers have just pulled into the station, as has the stationmaster's father, a former bandit named Peso, and they all find themselves besieged by the Apaches, who want them to turn over the killer to them or they'll take the station and kill everybody. The problem is that the people in the station aren't sure just who among therm is the actual killer.
Son of Paleface
Sheriff McIntyre
Peter Potter Jr. returns to claim his father's gold, which is nowhere to be found.
A Millionaire for Christy
J.C. Thompson
Christy Sloane is sent on a business trip to inform radio personality Peter Lockwood that his uncle has died and left him $2 million. Christy, who's in financial straits, decides to try to snag Peter. Zany hijinks ensue and romantic sparks fly.
The Kangaroo Kid
Vincent Moller
A 19th-century San Francisco detective named Tex Kinnane is sent "Down Under" to nab shyster lawyer Vincent Moller. Several comparisons are made between the American Wild West and the equally treacherous Australian outback.
Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion
Sheik Hamud El Khalid
Jonesy and Lou are in Algeria looking for a wrestler they are promoting. Sergeant Axmann tricks them into joining the Foreign Legion, after which they discover Axmann's collaboration with the nasty Sheik Hamud El Khalid. Bits include Lou's mirage sightings, one a New York newsboy ("they gave me a bad corner").
The Savage Horde
Col. Price
A charismatic gunfighter who is on the run takes refuge in a frontier cattle town and attempts to help a group of ranchers against a wealthy cattle baron.
Riding High
Eddie Howard
A horse trainer who has fallen on hard times looks to his horse, Broadway Bill, to finally win the big race.
Buccaneer's Girl
Capt. Martos
A New Orleans performer loves a pirate who robs only from the shipowner who ruined his father.
Tell It to the Judge
George Ellerby
Marsha Meredith, an attorney-at-law, is nominated for a federal judgeship, but her nomination is opposed by a 'Good-Government' group that thinks her divorce makes her unfit for the job. This evolves into situations, happening in Florida, New England, Washington D.C., and the Adirondacks, such as the misunderstood husband trying to win back his wife, and the misunderstood wife trying to make her husband jealous, and one case of mistaken identity after another, after another.
Joe Palooka in the Counterpunch
Captain Lance
Joe heads for South America to fight the Latin champ. Shipboard, he helps federal agents fight counterfeiters. He also spars with love interest Anne Howe.
The Lone Wolf and His Lady
John J. Murdock
A newspaper man, and former jewel thief, is accused of gem theft.
Alimony
Burton Crail
A promising young composer is tempted away from his devoted wife by a fortune-seeking woman who cares more for his prospects than for him.
Riders of the Whistling Pines
Henry Mitchell
While trailing Forest Ranger Charles Carter, who is suspected of permitting lumber man Henry Mitchell to cut restricted timber, Gene fires at a dangerous mountain lion and apparently kills Carter. Actually, Bill Wright, Mitchell's associate, killed Carter because the ranger had discovered tussock moth infestation in the forest, and if the infestation was not reported, the trees would die and have to be cut, thereby profiting Mitchell and Wright. In order to compensate the best he can, Gene sells his sportsman's camp and gives the money to Carter's daughter Helen . En route to Texas, Gene discovers the infestation and is assigned by the Forest Department to supervise the program of spraying the area with DDT from the air. After the first day of spraying, the DDT is blamed by furious stock men for the many animals found dead of poisoning.
Dynamite
Hank Gibbons
Two members of a dynamite crew--a rugged veteran and a young college drop-out--finds themselves at odds regarding safety precautions for their co-workers.
Last of the Wild Horses
Charlie Cooper
A cowboy must clear himself of a murder he did not commit.
Blonde Savage
Mark Harper
An expedition into the deep jungle discovers a native tribe led by a tall white blonde woman.
Beyond Our Own
E.W. Osborne
This latter-day parable focuses on two brothers. Peter Rogers is an ambitious, hard-driving attorney. Bob Rogers is a thoughtful, contemplative doctor who decides to forsake his practice to do missionary work in war-torn China. When Peter's young son is tragically killed in an accident, he visits his brother and learns first-hand the importance of compassion and charity. In a world rocked by strife and pain, love can overcome and triumph.
The Fabulous Texan
Luke Roland
A couple of Confederate soldiers, returning home from the Civil War, find Texas transformed into an armed camp with a quasi-dictator gathering up land and power as fast as he can. The two former Rebels take on this despot each in his own way.
Christmas Eve
Dr. Bunyan
The greedy nephew of eccentric Matilda Reid seeks to have her judged incompetent so he can administer her wealth, but she will be saved if her three long-lost adopted sons appear for a Christmas Eve reunion. Separate stories reveal Michael as a bankrupt playboy loved by loyal Ann; Mario as a seemingly shady character tangling with a Nazi war criminal in South America; Jonathan as a hard-drinking rodeo rider intent on a flirtatious social worker. Is there hope for Matilda?
Dragnet
Frank Farrington
Scotland Yard Inspector Geoffrey James comes to the United States looking for a band of international gem-thieves who have smuggled a rich load of jewels from England to America via a trans-ocean airline. Mary Hogan, an airline hostess, aids him in his quest.
Dishonored Lady
District Attorney O'Brien
Art editor Madeleine Damian carries on numerous loveless affairs. After a failed relationship with advertiser Felix Courtland, the increasingly depressed Madeleine attempts suicide. When Jack Garet, her secretary and former lover, tries to blackmail her, Madeleine resigns and seeks a reclusive life. Neighbor David Cousins befriends Madeleine, but soon Courtland and Garet discover her whereabouts and disrupt her new life.
It's a Joke, Son!
Big Dan Healey
Claghorn gets into some financial difficulties and is forced by a machine-political gang to enter a race for state senator against his wife (Una Merkel) who appears to have a good chance to beat the political hack backed by the machine. Claghorn is in to siphon votes and ensure his wife's opponent will win and is expected to run a campaign that will defeat himself and his wife. But, he runs to win and the machine's henchies abduct him.
Under Nevada Skies
Courtney
Rodeo star Roy Rogers returns home to find that his old friend Tom Craig has been murdered after he was accused of stealing a family crest from Helen Williams. Helen joins up with Roy and Gabby Whittaker to find the killers and the crest.
Spook Busters
Dr. Coslow
The Bowery Boys--Slip, Sach, Bobby, Whitey & Chuck--start their own exterminating service, and get a job which takes them to a spooky old abandoned mansion in the middle of the night. Meeting up with pal Gabe and his new French bride, the boys are tormented by mad scientists who try to convince them the place is haunted and then kidnap Sach in order to place his brain inside a gorilla.
The Cat Creeps
Tom McGalvey
A black cat is suspected of being possessed by the spirit of a elderly murdered woman.
Night in Paradise
High Priest
Aesop of fable fame poses as an old man and woos away a princess who wants a king for his gold.
The Catman of Paris
Henry Borchard
When author Charles Regnier (Carl Esmond) returns to Paris with a best-selling book that criticizes the government, he's tormented by frequent blackouts. After a mysterious cat-like creature slaughters people close to him, Charles is suspected of murder. Charles fears that he is the beast, but his paramour, Marie (Lenore Aubert), and best friend, Henry (Douglass Dumbrille), believe he's innocent ... until the creature begins to stalk Marie (from Netflix description).
Pardon My Past
Uncle Wills
Eddie York (MacMurray) is mistaken for playboy Francis Pemberton and gets into trouble.
The Daltons Ride Again
Sheriff Hoskins
The notorious Dalton Boys have decided to go straight and move to Argentina. Just before they leave, they learn of a friend whose land is about to be seized by a greedy land company. Before they can help, the man is killed by a company assassin. The brothers do manage to rescue his widow and head for the hills. There, they decide to revert back to outlaw life. Meanwhile, a newspaper publisher's daughter falls for one of the brothers.
Road to Utopia
Ace Larson
While on a ship to Skagway, Alaska, Duke and Chester find a map to a secret gold mine, which had been 'stolen' by thugs. In Alaska to recover her father's map, Sal Van Hoyden falls in with Ace Larson, who secretly wants to steal the gold mine for himself. Duke, Chester, the thugs, Ace and his henchman chase each other all over the countryside—for the map.
Flame of the West
Marshal Tom Nightlander
Flame of the West has always attracted more attention than most of Johnny Mack Brown's Monogram westerns, if for no other reason than the offbeat casting of Douglass Dumbrille. Usually seen in villainous roles, Dumbrille herein offers a sincere, effective performance as a scrupulously honest US marshal named Nightlander. When he takes on a gang of crooked gamblers, Nightlander is shot down in cold blood, compelling frontier doctor John Poole (Johnny Mack Brown) to put his Hippocratic oath on the back burner and strap on the shootin' irons.
The Frozen Ghost
Inspector Brant
When a man dies of a heart attack, a stage and radio mentalist believes he has willed him to die because he was angry with the man. Riddled with guilt, the mentalist cancels further shows, breaks off his engagement to his female partner, who can read minds while in a hypnotic trance, and takes refuge in the eerie wax-museum-cum-home of another woman friend.
A Medal for Benny
General
Benny's girl friend is being romanced by the town ne'er do well who keeps coming up with get-rich-quick schemes. Benny's father is a simple man who is bewildered by the world at large.
Jungle Queen
Lang
A young girl journeys to Africa to find her father, an explorer who vanished in the jungle.
Lost in a Harem
Nimativ
Two bumbling magicians help a Middle Eastern prince regain his rightful throne from his despotic uncle.
Gypsy Wildcat
Baron Tovar
In an unspecified Renaissance kingdom, no sooner has Anube's gypsy tribe encamped near Baron Tovar's village when Count Orso is found murdered. The wicked baron blames the gypsies and imprisons them all in his castle. Meanwhile, a mysterious stranger on a white horse has hidden the murder arrow and won the heart of gypsy belle Carla, to the discomfiture of her erstwhile fiancée Tonio. Baron Tovar is also fascinated by Carla...especially when he notices her heraldic pendant.
Forty Thieves
Tad Hammond
When he runs for sheriff, Hoppy is beaten by Jerry Doyle, the gutless wonder voted for by every crook in town. When Hoppy moves to have the new sheriff impeached, outlaw leader Tad Hammond hires forty gunslingers to stop him. Stop Hoppy? Hah!
Jungle Woman
District Attorney
Paula, the ape woman, has survived the ending of CAPTIVE WILD WOMAN and is running around a creepy old sanitarium run by the kindly Dr. Fletcher, reverting to her true gorilla form every once in a while to kill somebody.
Lumberjack
Daniel J. Keefer
Julie's husband has been murdered and land agents want her to sign away her property rights. Hoppy warns against this but she does so anyway. It looks as though she will be unable to deliver the timber called for in her agreement. Hoppy has to make the lumber deal happened and solve the murder.
Uncertain Glory
Police Commissioner LaFarge
In occupied France, a convicted thief and murderer escapes the guillotine when a bombing raid strikes the prison, but is quickly re-captured by the inspector of the Surete responsible for his original arrest. Fearing the guillotine more than his actual death, the convict inveigles the inspector to help him with a plan to rescue 100 Frenchmen taken by the Gestapo following an act of sabotage: he will confess to being the saboteur and allow himself to be executed by firing squad, the Gestapo's method of execution, thus freeing the 100 men.
False Colors
Mark Foster
Before he was killed by Mark Foster's men, Bud Lawton willed part ownership in his ranch to Hoppy and his two pals. When the three arrive they find a fake posing as Lawton. When they expose the imposter, Foster gets the Sheriff to jail them for Lawton's murder.
Du Barry Was a Lady
Willie / Duc de Rigor
Hat check man Louis Blore is in love with nightclub star May Daly. May, however, is in love with a poor dancer but wants to marry for money. When Louis wins the Irish Sweepstakes, he asks May to marry him and she accepts even though she doesn't love him. Soon after, Louis has an accident and gets knocked on the head, where he dreams that he's King Louis XV pursuing the infamous Madame Du Barry.
Stand by for Action
Capt. Ludlow
U. S. Navy Lieutenant Gregg Masterman, of The Harvard and Boston Back Bay Mastermans, learned about the sea while winning silver cups sailing his yacht. He climbs swiftly in rank, and is now Junior Aide to Rear Admiral Stephen Thomas.
King of the Mounties
Harper
King of the Candian riding police is up against Japs and Nazis who are about to invade Canada. They just want to clear the way with a new futuristic plane called "The Falcon" first, but that's not gonna happen if Kig has his way.
I Married an Angel
Baron Szigethy
A playboy drops his many girlfriends when he falls in love with a grounded angel.
Ten Gentlemen from West Point
Gen. William Henry Harrison
This historical drama tells the story of the first class to graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. In the early 19th Century, Congress appropriated the money to build the school, but opponents who believed it to be an illegitimate expansion of the powers of the federal government decided to sabotage the school. They put the hard-as-nails Major Sam Carter in charge of the academy, and he ruthlessly put the recruits through grueling training -- until only ten prospective soldiers remained. They include Dawson, a patriotic farm boy and Howard Shelton, a selfish playboy who has come to West Point only because of its prestige. The two vie for Carolyn Bainbridge, while they, along with the other eight, try convince Carter that the school is worth keeping.
A Gentleman After Dark
Enzo Calibra
A greedy woman betrays her jewel thief husband to the police, for the reward. Her husband's friend, a detective, adopts the couple's child and raises her as his own. Eighteen years later the husband, still in prison, finds out that his ex-wife is now blackmailing their daughter. He vows to break out and put a stop to her once and for all.
Ride 'Em Cowboy
Jake Rainwater
Two peanut vendors at a rodeo show get in trouble with their boss and hide out on a railroad train heading west. They get jobs as cowboys on a dude ranch, despite the fact that neither of them knows anything about cowboys, horses, or anything else.
Castle in the Desert
Paul Manderley
Charlie Chan, with son Jimmy on a week's pass from the Army, takes up a request for help at a castle-home, miles from anywhere in the American desert south-west and inhabited by an eccentric, reclusive historian and his wife, a descendant of Lucrezia Borgia. Once there, he finds the request's legitimacy denied by all who are present, but still necessary as one houseguest has already been murdered, the other guests are at each other's throat, and the Borgia-related chatelain is suspected...
Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime
John Matthews
Ralph Bellamy makes the third of four appearances as "master detective" Ellery Queen in Columbia's Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime. The principal villain is crooked stockbroker John Mathews, whose Wall Street manipulations render Ray Jarden penniless. Mathews' chicanery seems particularly coldblooded, inasmuch as his daughter Marian is engaged to Jarden's son Walter. When the latter disappears, Mathews asks Ellery Queen to locate the young man.
The Big Store
Mr. Grover
A detective is hired to protect the life of a singer, who has recently inherited a department store, from the store's crooked manager.
Washington Melodrama
District Attorney Donnelly
An elderly businessman (Frank Morgan) plans what he thinks is an innocent night on the town while his wife is away. Instead, he finds himself involved in a showgirl's murder.
Road to Zanzibar
Slave trader
Stranded in Africa, Chuck and his pal Fearless have comic versions of jungle adventures, featuring two attractive con-women.
The Roundup
Capt. Bob Lane
Originally written as a stage vehicle for corpulent character actor Macklyn Arbuckle, Ernest Day's The Roundup was first filmed in 1920 with Fatty Arbuckle (no relation) in the lead. By the time the film was remade in 1941, Arbuckle's character, a roly-poly frontier sheriff named Slim (!), was refashioned as a supporting role, with Jack Benny's radio announcer Don Wilson essaying the part. The plot, however, remained fairly intact: Upon hearing that her fiance Greg (Preston Foster) has been killed, Janet (Patricia Morison) agrees to marry rancher Steve (Richard Dix) on the rebound. On the day of the wedding, who should show up but Greg, determined to raise as much Hell as humanly possible
Murder Among Friends
Carter Stevenson
A society doctor helps an insurance-company file clerk check deaths related to a big policy.
Michael Shayne: Private Detective
Benny Gordon (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Millionaire sportsman Hiram Brighton hires gumshoe Michael Shayne to keep his spoiled daughter Phyllis away from racetrack betting windows and roulette wheels. After Phyllis slips away and continues her compulsive gambling, Shayne fakes the murder of her gambler boyfriend, who is also romancing the daughter of casino owner Benny Gordon, in order to frighten her. When the tout really ends up murdered, Shayne and Phyllis' Aunt Olivia, an avid reader of murder mysteries, both try to find the identity of the killer.
South of Pago Pago
Williams
Sent by cutthroat pirates to turn Kehane’s head while they loot his island paradise of a fortune in pearls, Ruby instead falls for the young chief. Together, the two save Kehane’s people and their island home from the rapacious picaroons but at the tragic cost of their own future together.
Virginia City
Maj. Drewery
Union officer Kerry Bradford escapes from a Confederate prison and races to intercept $5 million in gold destined for Confederate coffers. A Confederate sympathizer and a Mexican bandit, each with their own stake in the loot, stand in his way.
Slightly Honorable
George Taylor
A lawyer is framed for the murder of a young party girl and tries to clear his name.
Rovin' Tumbleweeds
Stephen Holloway
Rancher Autry takes a job singing on the radio to aid farmers and ranchers whose lands were destroyed by raging floods. Blaming crooked politicians, he goes to Washington and tries to put through a food control bill and finds he has a lot to learn. In this classic release, Gene introduces his immortal theme song, "Back in the Saddle Again," which has gone on to become a piece of American History.
City in Darkness
B. Petroff (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Chan, in Paris for a reunion with friends from World War I, becomes involved in investigating the murder of a munitions manufacturer who was supplying arms to the enemy, even as the rising clouds of World War II force the city into nightly blackout status..
Thunder Afloat
District Commander
A tugboat captain serves under his rival as a U-boat chaser in World War I.
Charlie Chan at Treasure Island
Stewart Salsbury, alias Thomas Gregory
Charlie Chan's investigation of a blackmail-induced suicide as a case of murder leads him into a world of magick and mysticism peopled with a stage magician, a phoney spiritualist, and a for-real mind reader.
Tell No Tales
Matt Cooper (as Douglas Dumbrille)
A newspaper editor turns a kidnapping into the banner headlines and exclusive story that could save his publication.
Captain Fury
Preston
An Irish convict sentenced to hard labor in Australia escapes into the outback, and organizes a band of fellow escapees to fight a corrupt landlord.
Mr. Moto in Danger Island
Comdr. La Costa
In Puerto Rico to investigate a glut of contraband diamonds that are flooding the world's jewel market, Mr. Moto and his sidekick, a wrestler, find themselves involved in murders by thrown daggers, the frame-up of an overstressed Army colonel, and a pirate gang led by an unknown boss who has inside knowledge of the ensuing investigation.
The Three Musketeers
Athos (as Douglas Dumbrille)
A parodic remake of the story of the young Gascon D'Artagnan, who arrives in Paris, his heart set on joining the king's Musketeers. He is taken under the wings of three of the most respected and feared Musketeers, Porthos, Aramis, and Athos. Together they fight to save France and the honor of a lady from the machinations of the powerful Cardinal Richelieu.
Kentucky
John Dillon - 1861
Young lovers Jack and Sally are from families that compete to send horses to the 1938 Kentucky Derby, but during the Civil War, her family sided with the South while his sided with the North--and her Uncle Peter will have nothing to do with Jack's family.
Sharpshooters
Count Maxim
Ace newsreel cameraman is working in a mythical European country when the king is assassinated. He gets his negatives out of the country and finds the young crown prince who is also in danger.
Storm Over Bengal
Ramin Khan
This being a Republic picture, it should come as no surprise that Storm Over Bengal was filmed in its entirety in the San Fernando Valley. Within its concise 65 minutes, the film manages to accommodate a Bengal Lancers main plot, a romantic subplot, the obligatory coward who makes good, intrigue aplenty from a villainous Indian potentate, and an outsized climactic battle between the rebels and the British forces. Patric Knowles, previously one of the leads in the British-India epic Charge of the Light Brigade, heads the cast. Worth noting is the presence in the cast of Richard Cromwell as secondary romantic lead Neil Allison and Douglass Dumbrille as the despicable Khan. Three years earlier, Cromwell had been tortured by Dumbrille's minions in Lives of a Bengal Lancer, and he undergoes much the same treatment here-"just to make him feel at home" observed film historian Roger Dooley.
Crime Takes a Holiday
J.J. Grant
A district attorney uses psychology to expose a criminal gang by publicizing the prosecution of an innocent man.
The Mysterious Rider
Pecos Bill aka Ben Wade
Ben Wade and his partner Frosty return to Bellounds' ranch where twenty years earlier Wade was wanted for murder. Unrecognized, he gets a job on the ranch and soon becomes involved in Folsom's cattle rustling and a chance to settle an old score.
Fast Company
Arnold Stamper (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Married book-dealers Joel & Garda Sloane try to clear a friend in the murder of a rival book-seller.
Stolen Heaven
Klingman
Two attractive jewel thieves, one female (Olympe Bradna), one male (Gene Raymond) escape together after their latest escapade and hide out in the home of an aged concert pianist (Lewis Stone). To cover their tracks and keep the old man from turning them in, the thieves pretend to arrange his comeback concert. The artifice becomes reality, the pianist makes a triumphant return, and the thieves reform. This 1938 film is not a remake of 1932's Stolen Heaven, which wove an entirely different story about a suicide pact.
The Buccaneer
Governor William C.C. Claiborne
French pirate Jean Lafitte rescues a girl and joins the War of 1812.
The Firefly
Marquis de Melito
Nina Maria Azara is the beautiful and alluring singing spy for Spain during the Napoleonic Wars. Her mission is to seduce French Officers, in order for them to reveal Napolean's intentions toward Spain. She is sent to Bayonne, France to gather military secrets. Prior to this, she meets, Don Diego while performing at a club. Unknown to her, Don Diego is actually Captain Andre, who is sent to Spain to spy on her. While in France, Nina discovers Diego's true identity, only after she has fallen in love with him. Nina Maria outwits her potential captors and returns to Spain, and goes into hiding. Napoleon's troops invade Spain, resulting in Nina's capture. In a strange twist of fate, Nina and Captain Andre are reunited, but, the 2 nations are now at war... Written by Kelly
Ali Baba Goes to Town
Prince Musah
While visiting Hollywood a starstruck movie fan (Eddie Cantor) fantasizes about himself cast in an Arabian adventure. Director David Butler's comedy--with many songs--also features Tony Martin, Roland Young, Gypsy Rose Lee (billed as Rose Hovick), John Carradine, June Lang, Virginia Field, Charles Lane, The Peters Sisters and many big-name guest stars playing themselves.
The Emperor's Candlesticks
Mr. Korum, a Conspirator
Spies on opposite sides fall in love in pre-revolutionary Russia.
A Day at the Races
Morgan
Doctor Hugo Hackenbush, Tony, and Stuffy try and save Judy's farm by winning a big race with her horse. There are a few problems. Hackenbush runs a high priced clinic for the wealthy who don't know he has his degree in Veterinary Medicine.
Woman in Distress
Jerome Culver
Investigating rumors that a priceless Rembrandt, believed destroyed years ago, is actually in the possession of an elderly spinster, a male newspaper reporter and his female rival determine that it is genuine but subsequently learn it has been stolen by a gang of art thieves who plan to kill the spinster to prevent her from later identifying it.
Counterfeit Lady
August Marino
Phyllis Fowler claims to be just a "simple little country girl" trying to get by in the wicked big-city, and she takes a big getting-by step when she pulls a scam that gains her a $17,000 diamond from an exclusive jewelry store. Soon, a private-detective, who has a dupe gem matching the stolen one, the police, and two gangster buddies of the jeweler are all racing each other to get the diamond back from Phyllis. The country-girl provides them all with a wild chase.
End of the Trail
Bill Mason
In this western, a Spanish-American war veteran cannot find gainful employment. In desperation, he becomes a cattle rustler until he can get back on his feet. Just as he is ready to go straight, his girlfriend's younger brother is shot.
M'Liss
Lou Ellis
The third film version of the Bret Harte tale, starring Anne Shirley as a miner's daughter in a small town who falls for a handsome young schoolteacher.
The Princess Comes Across
Lorel
A Swedish princess boards an ocean liner in Europe en route to an acting career in America, and finds herself getting inconveniently attached to a bandleader returning home. To complicate matters, a blackmailer on board apparently knows she is not who she claims to be - and he has his sights set on other passengers with secrets of their own. In the meantime an escaped killer has stowed away under someone else's identity, and is killing again to cover his tracks; five international police detectives on board are heading the investigation to find him. When evidence points to the princess and bandleader, they must find the killer themselves - before he finds them.
The Witness Chair
Stanley Whittaker
Late one night, secretary Paula Young (Ann Harding) leaves the office of her boss, Stanley Whittaker (Douglas Dumbrille, locking the door and taking the stairs to avoid being seen by the elevator operator (Frank Jenks). The next morning, the cleaning lady finds Whittaker's dead body, an apparent suicide. Police Lieutenant Poole (Moroni Olsen) finds a letter signed by Whittaker in which the deceased states he embezzled $75,000. Soon, however, he suspects otherwise and, after investigating, arrests widower James "Jim" Trent (Walter Abel), the vice president of Whittaker.
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
John Cedar
Longfellow Deeds lives in a small town, leading a small town kind of life. When a relative dies and leaves Deeds a fortune, Longfellow moves to the big city where he becomes an instant target for everyone. Deeds outwits them all until Babe Bennett comes along. When small-town boy meets big-city girl anything can, and does, happen.
You May Be Next!
Beau Gardner
Gangster tries to censor a crusading radio station by jamming its signal.
The Lone Wolf Returns
Morphew
Once a jewel thief always a jewel thief? Yes and no. Yes if you consider the fact that Michael Lanyard also known as the Lone Wolf once retired from the "trade" but relapses back into his old habits when he is tempted by the emerald pendant of beautiful socialite Marcia Stewart. The trouble (?) is that he falls for the belle and he soon gets more interested in getting the girl than the jewels that adorn her. What he wants now is to return the pendant but a rival gang interfere and force him to take part in a big-time caper.
The Calling of Dan Matthews
Jeff Hardy
Dan Matthews (Richard Arlen), a young parson, is in love with Hope Strong (Charlotte Wynters), the daughter of James B. Strong ('FRederick Burton'), a man who controls the town with his real estate and business interests. Strong is an upstanding citizen who has fallen into the hands of a clever racketeer, Jeff Hardy (Douglass Dumbrille), who acts as Strong's manager of some innocent-appearing amusement places that are really secret dens of vice.
Crime and Punishment
Grilov
A man is haunted by a murder he's committed.
Peter Ibbetson
Col. Forsythe
When his mother dies, young Peter Ibbetson leaves Paris and his best friend, Mary, behind to live with a severe uncle in England. Years later, Peter is an architect with little time for women, until he begins a project with the Duke and Duchess of Towers. When Peter and the duchess become great friends, she reveals that she is Mary — but the duke soon suspects his wife of infidelity and challenges Peter to a duel, threatening the pair's second chance.
The Public Menace
Mario Tonelli
1935 comedy in which an immigrant (Jean Arthur), a reporter (George Murphy) and a gangster (Douglass Dumbrille) cross paths.
Love Me Forever
Miller
A man who loves an aspiring opera singer is prepared to sacrifice everything to help her with her career, even though he knows she doesn't love him.
Unknown Woman
A young attorney, Larry Condon, is on a retainer by a nightclub-owning gangster, to carry and deliver what he thinks are legal papers but he is innocently carrying around millions of dollars in stolen bonds. He meets Helen Griffith when she is arrested in a raid on a gambling house and befriends her. She talks him into taking her to the nightclub of the man he is working for and, while there and unobserved by anyone by Larry, he sees her going through the files and desk of the owner. Who is this mystery woman he just got released from jail, and what is she up to?
Air Hawks
Victor Arnold
A small, independent air delivery service is menaced by a mad scientist with a death ray machine that blows up planes in mid-flight.
Naughty Marietta
Prince de Namours de la Bonfain, Marietta's Uncle
A French princess flees an arranged marriage and sails for New Orleans, where she is rescued from pirates by a dashing mercenary.
The Lives of a Bengal Lancer
Mohammed Khan
In the Northwest Frontier of India, the 41st Bengal Lancers leaded by the harsh Colonel Tom Stone are having trouble with the rebellious leader Mohammed Khan. After two casualties, the experienced but insubordinate Lieutenant Alan McGregor receives as replacement, the arrogant Lieutenant Forsythe and the immature son of Colonel Stone, Lieutenant Donald Stone. With the intention to prove that he will not have any privilege in the troop, the reception of Colonel Stone to his son is absolutely cold, but he becomes the protégé of McGregor. When Lieutenant Stone is kidnapped by Mohammed Khan, McGregor and Forsythe disobey the direct order of their commander, disguise as Indian peddlers and go to Khan's fortress to attempt to rescue their friend
The Secret Bride
Breeden
Before Ruth Vincent, daughter of a state governor, and state attorney general Robert Sheldon can announce their marriage, the governor is accused of bribe-taking. To avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest, they decide to keep their marriage secret. The political intrigue becomes more involved, and no one is quite what they seem. Soon Sheldon and Ruth must decide between saving the governor's career and an innocent person's life.
Broadway Bill
Eddie Morgan
Tycoon J.L. Higgins controls his whole family, but one of his sons- in-law, Dan Brooks and his daughter Alice are fed up with that. Brooks quits his job as manager of J.L.'s paper box factory and devotes his life to his racing horse Broadway Bill, but his bank- roll is thin and the luck is against him, he is arrested because of $150 he owes somebody for horse food, but suddenly a planed fraud by somebody else seems to offer him a chance...
Treasure Island
Pirate of the Spanish Main
In this early film adaptation of the classic novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, young Jim Hawkins is caught up with the pirate Long John Silver in search of buccaneer Captain Flint's buried treasure.
Operator 13
General Stuart
American Civil War, 1862. After the disaster of the Second Battle of Bull Run, Major Allen, chief of the Secret Service of the Union, asks actress Gail Loveless to become one of his operators and infiltrate enemy territory.
Fog Over Frisco
Joshua Mayard
Val takes the assistance of a society reporter and a journalist to investigate the disappearance of her half-sister Arlene, a wealthy socialite who is involved in criminal activities.
Harold Teen
H.H. Snatcher (as Douglas Dumbrille)
A young reporter pines for his high-school sweetheart, but she's preoccupied with appearing in their small town's community musical show. This 1934 comedy, with numerous songs, was inspired by the popular Depression-era comic strip of the same title. With Hal Le Roy, Rochelle Hudson, Guy Kibbee, Hugh Herbert,Douglass Dumbrille and Patricia Ellis.
Journal of a Crime
Cartier (as Douglas Dumbrille)
A woman murders her husband's mistress and someone else gets accused of the crime.
Hi, Nellie!
Dawes
Managing Editor Brad Bradshaw refuses to run a story linking the disappearance of Frank Canfield with embezzlement of the bank. He considers Frank a straight shooter and he goes easy on the story. Every other paper goes with the story that Frank took the money and Brad is demoted, by the publisher, to the Heartthrob column - writing advice to the lovelorn. After feeling sorry for himself for two months, he takes the column seriously and makes it the talk of the town. But Brad still wants his old job back so he will have to find Canfield and the missing money.
Lady Killer
Spade Maddock
An ex-gangster tries to resist his old cohorts' criminal activities after he accidentally becomes a movie star.
The World Changes
Buffalo Bill Cody
Generational saga tracing the events in the lives of the midwest pioneering Nordholm family, as seen through the eyes of businessman Orin Nordholm Jr., who ages from a youth to an elderly grandfather.
Female
George Mumford
Alison Drake, the tough-minded executive of an automobile factory, succeeds in the man's world of business until she meets an independent design engineer.
The Way to Love
Agent Chapusard
Francois, a cheerful Parisian bohemian, wants more than anything to be a tour guide in his beloved city. While working the streets, Francois meets Madeleine, who works at a circus.
I Loved a Woman
U.S. Attorney Brandt (uncredited)
The son of a ruthless meatpacking king goes through a number of changes in ideals and motivations as he reluctantly inherits the mantle and falls in love.
Baby Face
Brody
A young woman uses her body and her sexuality to help her climb the social ladder, but soon begins to wonder if her new status will ever bring her happiness.
The Man Who Dared
Judge Collier
An "imaginative biography" of Anton Cermak, mayor of Chicago who was killed in the line of fire during an assassination attempt on President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt in Miami on February 15, 1933.
Heroes for Sale
Chief Engineer Jim (uncredited)
Tom Holmes is someone guided by honesty and moral rectitude, a heroic veteran of the World War I marked by the unbearable suffering caused by his battle wounds, a traumatized but courageous man who will experience, in the years to come, the pain of misfortune but also the happiness of success and hope and love for other human beings.
The Working Man
Lawyer Hammersmith (uncredited)
A successful shoe manufacturer named John Reeves goes on vacation and meets the grown children of his recently deceased and much-respected competitor; they're on the verge of losing the family legacy through their careless behavior. Reeves takes it upon himself to save his rival's company by teaching the heirs a lesson in business.
The Rustler's Roundup
Bill Brett (as Douglas Dunbrile)
Winters is after the Brand ranch, and his man Brett who is foreman there is rustling the Brand stock. But Tom is on to their game and breaks up their attempt to buy the ranch. When they plan to rustle their horses, Tom must not only rescue Danny Brand, who is their prisoner, but stop the rustlers.
King of the Jungle
Ed Peters
A white youth who is raised in the jungle by the animals is captured by a safari and brought back to civilization as an attraction in a circus.
Hard to Handle
District Attorney (uncredited)
A hustling public relations man promotes a series of fads.
Laughter in Hell
Ed Perkins
In the late 1800s, a man is sentenced to life at hard labor for killing his wife and her lover.
That's My Boy
Coach "Daisy" Adams
Featuring members of the 1931 National Champion football team from the University of Southern California Trojans, with team members Russell Saunders and Oscar "Dutch" Hendrian also cast in roles other than just team members.
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
District Attorney (uncredited)
A World War I veteran’s dreams of becoming a master architect evaporate in the cold light of economic realities. Things get even worse when he’s falsely convicted of a crime and sent to work on a chain gang.
The Pride of the Legion
McMahon
After suffering a traumatic injury, a policeman resigns from the force and, after he's saved from a suicide attempt, goes to work at a café frequented by gangsters.
Blondie of the Follies
Murchenson
New York City tenement dwelling neighbors Blondie and Lottie are longtime best friends. When Lottie makes the cast of the Follies and moves up in the world, she arranges for Blondie, as well, to join the cast and gain the advantages. But the friendship goes awry when Lottie's sweetheart, wealthy Larry Belmont, falls for Blondie and she for him.
The Wiser Sex
Chauffeur - aka The Wop
A young woman goes undercover to gather evidence to free her boyfriend, an attorney who has been framed for a murder he didn't commit.
The Symphony Murder Mystery
Giuseppe Benito
A cellist is murdered during a symphony concert. Shortly afterwards, the manager of the hall is found dead, an apparent suicide. But is it?
His Woman
Alisandroe
Tough Caribbean freighter Captain Sam Whelan engages Sally Clark, a tramp masquerading as a missionary's daughter, to care for an abandoned baby on board his ship. En route to New York, ships mate Gatson sexually attacks her. The Captain knocks Gatson overboard in an ensuing scuffle. A romance developing between the Captain and Miss Clark is put to the test in New York after an assault investigation uncovers the girl's questionable past.
The Door Knocker
Gangster
Al St. John working as a door-to-door book salesman.