Margaret Dumont
Acting
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).
Known for
Acting61
movieThe Marx Brothers in a Nutshell
1982
(archive footage)
movieThe Hollywood Clowns
1979
(archive footage)
movieThat's Entertainment, Part II
1976
(archive footage)
movieBrother, Can You Spare a Dime?
1975
Self (archive footage)
movieHollywood: The Dream Factory
1972
Self (archive footage)
movieWhat a Way to Go!
1964
Mrs. Foster
movieZotz!
1962
Persephone Updike
movieAuntie Mame
1958
Noblewoman in Play (uncredited)
movieShake, Rattle and Rock!
1956
Georgianna Fitzdingle
movieStop, You're Killing Me
1952
Mrs. Whitelaw
movieThree for Bedroom C
1952
Mrs. Agnes Hawthorne
movieSusie Steps Out
1946
Mrs. Starr
movieLittle Giant
1946
Mrs. Hendrickson
movieSunset in El Dorado
1945
Aunt Dolly / Aunt Arabella
movieDiamond Horseshoe
1945
Mrs. Standish
movieThe Horn Blows at Midnight
1945
Mme. Traviata / Miss Rodholder
movieBathing Beauty
1944
Mrs. Allenwood
movieSeven Days Ashore
1944
Mrs. Croxton-Lynch
movieUp in Arms
1944
Mrs. Willoughby
movieThe Dancing Masters
1943
Louise Harlan
movieRhythm Parade
1942
Ophelia MacDougal
movieTales of Manhattan
1942
Mme. Langehanke (uncredited)
movieAbout Face
1942
Mrs. Culpepper
movieSing Your Worries Away
1942
Flo Faulkner - Landlady
movieBorn to Sing
1942
Mrs. E. V. Lawson
movieNever Give a Sucker an Even Break
1941
Mrs. Hemogloben
movieThe Big Store
1941
Martha Phelps
movieFor Beauty's Sake
1941
Mrs. Franklin Evans
movieAt the Circus
1939
Mrs. Suzanna Dukesbury
movieDramatic School
1938
Pantomime Teacher
movieWise Girl
1937
Mrs. Bell-Rivington
movieHigh Flyers
1937
Martha Arlington
movieYouth on Parole
1937
Mrs. Abernathy
movieThe Life of the Party
1937
Mrs. Penner
movieA Day at the Races
1937
Emily Upjohn
movieArbor Day
1936
Woman Outside (uncredited)
movieSong and Dance Man
1936
Mrs. Whitney
movieAnything Goes
1936
Mrs. Wentworth
movieA Night at the Opera
1935
Mrs. Claypool
movieRendezvous
1935
Mrs. Hendricks (uncredited)
movieReckless
1935
Woman in Audience Yelling 'Get Off the Stage' (uncredited)
Gypsy Sweetheart
1935
Mrs. Van Updyke
movieAfter Office Hours
1935
Mrs. Murchison (uncredited)
movieKentucky Kernels
1934
Mrs. Baxter
movieGridiron Flash
1934
Mrs. Fields
movieFifteen Wives
1934
Sybilla Crum
movieDuck Soup
1933
Gloria Teasdale
movieStorm at Daybreak
1933
Duchess Sophie (uncredited)
Here, Prince
1932
The Queen of Deleria (uncredited)
movieThe Girl Habit
1931
Blanche Ledyard
movieAnimal Crackers
1930
Mrs. Rittenhouse
movieThe Cocoanuts
1929
Mrs. Potter
movieEnemies of Women
1923
French Beauty
movieA Tale of Two Cities
1917
Aristocrat (uncredited)