Margaret Dumont

Acting

Margaret Dumont

Born 1882-10-19 · Brooklyn, New York, USA

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).

Acting credits

Bathing Beauty poster
5.9

After breaking up with her fiancé, a gym teacher returns to work at a women's college, but a legal loophole allows him to enroll as one of her students.

Bathing Beauty

1944

The Cocoanuts poster
6.5

During the Florida land boom, the Marx Brothers run a hotel, auction off some land and thwart a jewel robbery.

The Cocoanuts

1929

Duck Soup poster
7.3

Rufus T. Firefly is named president/dictator of bankrupt Freedonia and declares war on neighboring Sylvania over the love of wealthy Mrs. Teasdale.

Duck Soup

1933

Auntie Mame poster
7.0

Mame Dennis, a progressive and independent woman of the 1920s, is left to care for her nephew Patrick after his wealthy father dies. Conflict ensues when the executor of the father's estate objects to the aunt's lifestyle and tries to force her to send Patrick to prep school.

Auntie Mame

1958

Animal Crackers poster
6.9

The well-known explorer and hunter Captain Spaulding has just returned from Africa, and is being welcomed home with a lavish party at the estate of influential society matron Mrs. Rittenhouse when a valuable painting goes missing. The intrepid Captain Spaulding attempts to solve the crime with the help of his silly secretary Horatio Jamison, while sparring with the anarchic Signor Emanuel Ravelli and his nutty sidekick The Professor.

Animal Crackers

1930

After Office Hours poster
6.5

A managing editor sends a socialite reporter to spy on her boyfriend, mixed up in murder.

After Office Hours

1935

Wise Girl poster
7.1

Snooty heiress decides to track down her dead sister's kids, who are living a Bohemian life with their uncle in Greenwich Village. Once she finds them, she discovers that the Bohemian life is fun and free of the constraints her country-club life places on her. But she decides to take the uncle to court anyway to free him from the kids so he can paint.

Wise Girl

1937

A Day at the Races poster
7.1

Doctor Hugo Hackenbush, Tony, and Stuffy try and save Judy's sanitarium by winning a big race with a finicky horse owned by Judy's boyfriend Gil. There are a few problems. Hackenbush, who was recently put in charge of the sanitarium, isn't really a doctor, he's a veterinarian.

A Day at the Races

1937

A Night at the Opera poster
7.4

The Marx Brothers take on high society and the opera world to bring two lovers together. A sly business manager and two wacky friends of two opera singers help them achieve success while humiliating their stuffy and snobbish enemies.

A Night at the Opera

1935

What a Way to Go! poster
7.1

A four-time widow discusses her four marriages, in which all of her husbands became incredibly rich and died prematurely because of their drive to be rich.

What a Way to Go!

1964

The Marx Brothers in a Nutshell poster
9.0

A fascinating look at the most beloved comedy team in motion picture history. Exclusive interviews with those closest to the brothers supplement this collection of highlights from their film, theater, and television appearances and offer a compelling look at their lives both on and off-screen.

The Marx Brothers in a Nutshell

1982

Hollywood: The Dream Factory poster
7.2

A documentary about the glorious history of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and its decline leading to the sale of its back lot and props. By extension this provides a general history of Hollywood's Golden Age and the legendary studio system.

Hollywood: The Dream Factory

1972

At the Circus poster
6.4

Jeff Wilson, the owner of a small circus, owes his partner Carter $10,000. Before Jeff can pay, Carter's accomplices steal the money so he can take over the circus. Antonio Pirelli and Punchy, who work at the circus, together with lawyer Loophole try to find the thief and get the money back.

At the Circus

1939

The Big Store poster
6.3

A detective is hired to protect the life of a singer, who has recently inherited a department store, from the store's crooked manager.

The Big Store

1941

That's Entertainment, Part II poster
7.0

Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire present more golden moments from the MGM film library, this time including comedy and drama as well as classic musical numbers.

That's Entertainment, Part II

1976

Rendezvous poster
4.9

A decoding expert tangles with enemy spies.

Rendezvous

1935

Tales of Manhattan poster
6.4

Ten screenwriters collaborated on this series of tales concerning the effect a tailcoat cursed by its tailor has on those who wear it. The video release features a W.C. Fields segment not included in the original theatrical release.

Tales of Manhattan

1942

The Life of the Party poster
6.2

A singer finds another heir (Gene Raymond) to marry, to avoid the one (Joe Penner) her mother found.

The Life of the Party

1937

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? poster
6.3

Period music, film clips and newsreel footage combined into a visual exploration of the American entertainment industry during the Great Depression.

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

1975

Little Giant poster
5.3

Lou Costello plays a country bumpkin vacuum-cleaner salesman, working for the company run by the crooked Bud Abbott. To try to keep him under his thumb, Abbott convinces Costello that he's a crackerjack salesman. This comedy is somewhat like "The Time of Their Lives," in that Abbott and Costello don't have much screen time together and there are very few vaudeville bits woven into the plot.

Little Giant

1946

Born to Sing poster
5.4

A group of children put on a show in order to prove that a down and out musician was the real composer of a Broadway show's songs.

Born to Sing

1942

Reckless poster
5.1

A theatrical star, born on the wrong side of the tracks, marries a drunken blue-blood millionaire.

Reckless

1935

About Face poster
6.6

Two Army sergeants disrupt a bar, a party and an Army-Navy dance.

About Face

1942

Zotz! poster
5.6

Jonathan Jones, a professor of ancient languages, comes into possession of an ancient coin. He translates its inscription, which gives him three powers: to inflict pain, slow down time or kill. Soon, he's pursued by enemy spies who have learned about the magic coin.

Zotz!

1962