A Night at the Opera1935
As Mrs. Claypool
TMDb 7.4 / 10
Margaret Dumont
Born
Margaret Dumont would probably consider it a tragedy that she is best-known for her performances as the ultimate straight woman in seven of the Marx Brothers' films (including most of their best). By all accounts she never understood their jokes (offscreen and on), which is of course a major reason why she's so funny. Apart from a small role in a 1917 Dickens adaptation, she spent her early career on the stage, ending up with the Marxes in the late 1920s in the stage versions of The Cocoanuts (1929) and Animal Crackers (1930), and was given a Paramount contract at the same time they were. She played similar roles alongside other great comedians, including W.C. Fields, Laurel & Hardy and Jack Benny and also played straight dramatic parts (her chief love), but few of them made much impact - it is as Groucho Marx's foil that she ranks among the immortals, and she died shortly after being reunited with him on "The Hollywood Palace" (1964).
Filmography (57)
Duck Soup1933
As Gloria Teasdale
TMDb 7.3 / 10
Bathing Beauty1944
As Mrs. Allenwood
TMDb 5.9 / 10
Auntie Mame1958
As Noblewoman in Play (uncredited)
TMDb 7.0 / 10
What a Way to Go!1964
As Mrs. Foster
TMDb 7.1 / 10
At the Circus1939
As Mrs. Suzanna Dukesbury
TMDb 6.4 / 10
A Day at the Races1937
As Emily Upjohn
TMDb 7.1 / 10
The Cocoanuts1929
As Mrs. Potter
TMDb 6.5 / 10
Animal Crackers1930
As Mrs. Rittenhouse
TMDb 6.9 / 10
Tales of Manhattan1942
As Mme. Langehanke (uncredited)
TMDb 6.4 / 10
The Big Store1941
As Martha Phelps
TMDb 6.3 / 10
That's Entertainment, Part II1976
As (archive footage)
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Hollywood: The Dream Factory1972
As Self (archive footage)
TMDb 7.2 / 10
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?1975
As Self (archive footage)
TMDb 6.3 / 10
Up in Arms1944
As Mrs. Willoughby
TMDb 5.7 / 10
Little Giant1946
As Mrs. Hendrickson
TMDb 5.3 / 10
About Face1942
As Mrs. Culpepper
TMDb 6.6 / 10
Wise Girl1937
As Mrs. Bell-Rivington
TMDb 7.1 / 10
Anything Goes1936
As Mrs. Wentworth
TMDb 5.8 / 10
Never Give a Sucker an Even Break1941
As Mrs. Hemogloben
TMDb 7.0 / 10
The Dancing Masters1943
As Louise Harlan
TMDb 6.3 / 10
The Girl Habit1931
As Blanche Ledyard
TMDb 8.0 / 10
Around the World with Nellie Bly1960
As Dowager #1
TMDb 10.0 / 10
Shake, Rattle and Rock!1956
As Georgianna Fitzdingle
TMDb 5.6 / 10
The Horn Blows at Midnight1945
As Mme. Traviata / Miss Rodholder
TMDb 5.9 / 10
Enemies of Women1923
As French Beauty
TMDb 6.5 / 10
Reckless1935
As Woman in Audience Yelling 'Get Off the Stage' (uncredited)
TMDb 5.1 / 10
After Office Hours1935
As Mrs. Murchison (uncredited)
TMDb 6.5 / 10
Rendezvous1935
As Mrs. Hendricks (uncredited)
TMDb 4.9 / 10
A Tale of Two Cities1917
As Aristocrat (uncredited)
TMDb 4.8 / 10
Zotz!1962
As Persephone Updike
TMDb 5.6 / 10
Stop, You're Killing Me1952
As Mrs. Whitelaw
TMDb 7.7 / 10
Kentucky Kernels1934
As Mrs. Baxter
TMDb 6.4 / 10
Song and Dance Man1936
As Mrs. Whitney
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Dramatic School1938
As Pantomime Teacher
TMDb 6.5 / 10
High Flyers1937
As Martha Arlington
TMDb 7.5 / 10
The Life of the Party1937
As Mrs. Penner
TMDb 6.2 / 10
The Marx Brothers in a Nutshell1982
As (archive footage)
TMDb 9.0 / 10
The Hollywood Clowns1979
As (archive footage)
Gridiron Flash1934
As Mrs. Fields
TMDb 4.8 / 10
Born to Sing1942
As Mrs. E. V. Lawson
TMDb 5.4 / 10
Susie Steps Out1946
As Mrs. Starr
TMDb 10.0 / 10
Arbor Day1936
As Woman Outside (uncredited)
TMDb 6.2 / 10
Diamond Horseshoe1945
As Mrs. Standish
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Storm at Daybreak1933
As Duchess Sophie (uncredited)
TMDb 6.6 / 10
Sing Your Worries Away1942
As Flo Faulkner - Landlady
TMDb 6.0 / 10
Youth on Parole1937
As Mrs. Abernathy
TMDb 3.9 / 10
Sunset in El Dorado1945
As Aunt Dolly / Aunt Arabella
TMDb 5.7 / 10
Three for Bedroom C1952
As Mrs. Agnes Hawthorne
TMDb 10.0 / 10
Seven Days Ashore1944
As Mrs. Croxton-Lynch
TMDb 4.2 / 10
Wonderland of California1933
As Self
Hidden Hollywood II: More Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Vaults1999
As (archive footage)
TMDb 9.0 / 10
Rhythm Parade1942
As Ophelia MacDougal
TMDb 9.0 / 10
For Beauty's Sake1941
As Mrs. Franklin Evans
TMDb 10.0 / 10
Here, Prince
Here, Prince1932
As The Queen of Deleria (uncredited)
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Fifteen Wives1934
As Sybilla Crum
TMDb 3.0 / 10
Gypsy Sweetheart
Gypsy Sweetheart1935
As Mrs. Van Updyke
TMDb 5.7 / 10
Filmography and biography: TMDb