Doro Merande

Acting

Doro Merande

Born 1892-03-29 · Columbus, Kansas, USA

Plain, angular Doro Merande was one of those delightful character actresses you couldn't take your eyes off of, no matter how minuscule the part. She excelled at playing older than she was -- doting aunts, inveterate gossips, curt secretaries and small-minded townspeople -- all topped with an amusing warble in her voice and bristly eccentric edge. Too bad then that she wasn't used more in films, but she preferred live theater and based herself for the most part on the East Coast. She was born Dora Matthews in Kansas in 1892 and orphaned as a child. Growing up in boarding schools, she headed to New York and pursued an acting career immediately after finishing her education. She appeared long and hard on the stock stage before making it on Broadway at age 43. She settled there sparking over 25 Broadway plays in her lifetime, including a scene-stealing turn in the classic Thorton Wilder play "Our Town" which brought her to Hollywood to preserve the role on film. On and off she remained a delightful film and TV cameo player with roles in The Gazebo (1959), The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming (1966), and The Front Page (1974). She and star Enid Markey (Jane of the "Tarzan" film silents) starred together as pampering aunts in the sitcom Bringing Up Buddy (1960), but, despite promising ratings, the two veteran actresses did not get along and the series folded after only a season. Ms. Merande was also a recurring presence for Jackie Gleason on his variety show. She died, in fact, of a stroke while there in Miami to film an episode. Date of Birth 31 March 1892, Columbia, Kansas Date of Death 1 November 1975, New York City, New York  (stroke)

Acting credits

The Snake Pit poster
7.1

Virginia Cunningham is confused upon finding herself in a mental hospital, with no memory of her arrival at the institution. Tormented by delusions and unable to even recognize her husband, Robert, she is treated by Dr. Mark Kik, who is determined to get to the root of her mental illness. As her treatment progresses, flashbacks depict events in Virginia's life that may have contributed to her instability.

The Snake Pit

1948

The Seven Year Itch poster
7.0

When his family goes away for summer vacation, a hitherto faithful publishing executive with an overactive imagination is tempted by an attractive new neighbor.

The Seven Year Itch

1955

The Man with the Golden Arm poster
7.1

When illegal card dealer and recovering heroin addict Frankie Machine gets out of prison, he decides to straighten up. Armed with nothing but an old drum set, Frankie tries to get honest work as a drummer. But when his former employer and his old drug dealer re-enter his life, Frankie finds it hard to stay clean and eventually finds himself succumbing to his old habits.

The Man with the Golden Arm

1955

The Front Page poster
7.3

Ruthless Chicago newspaper editor Walter Burns resorts to dubious motives in order to get top reporter Hildy Johnson to cover one more big crime story before retirement.

The Front Page

1974

The Cardinal poster
6.5

A young Catholic priest from Boston confronts bigotry, Nazism, and his own personal conflicts as he rises to the office of cardinal.

The Cardinal

1963

Hurry Sundown poster
6.4

A ruthless Southern opportunist tries to buy his cousin's land, and when thwarted, brings several tragedies to the lives of his loved ones.

Hurry Sundown

1967

The Gazebo poster
6.9

TV writer Elliott Nash buries a blackmailer under the new gazebo in his suburban backyard. But the nervous man can't let the body rest there.

The Gazebo

1959

The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming! poster
6.5

When a Soviet submarine gets stuck on a sandbar off the coast of a New England island, its commander orders his second-in-command, Lieutenant Rozanov, to get them moving again before there is an international incident. Rozanov seeks assistance from the island locals, including the police chief and a vacationing television writer, while trying to allay their fears of a Communist invasion by claiming he and his crew are Norwegian sailors.

The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!

1966

Kiss Me, Stupid poster
7.0

While traveling home from Vegas, an amorous lounge singer named Dino gets conned by a local mechanic/songwriter into staying in town for the night. The mechanic's songwriting partner, Orville, offers Dino his home for overnight lodging and enlists a local waitress/call girl to pose as his wife in order to placate Dino's urges.

Kiss Me, Stupid

1964

Our Town poster
5.9

Change comes slowly to a small New Hampshire town in the early 20th century. We see birth, life and death in this small community.

Our Town

1940

Cover Up poster
6.6

Insurance investigator Sam Donovan is looking into the apparent suicide of a man in a small Midwestern town. All clues leads him into suspecting murder. Unfortunately, no one wants to assist him with the case, including Sheriff Larry Best.

Cover Up

1949

Wayward poster
6.3

Story of a mother's antagonism to her son's wife. Based on the novel "Wild Beauty" by Mateel Howe Farnham.

Wayward

1932

If You Knew Elizabeth poster
NR

The life and complex relationships of ambitious college professor Walter Hubbard and the titular character, Elizabeth Owen, exploring the deeply intertwined personal and professional conflicts he faces, and how Elizabeth's presence and their history together reshape his trajectory.

If You Knew Elizabeth

1957

Change of Habit poster
5.4

Dr. John Carpenter takes the job of running a health center in a low-income district. He enlists three women to help out who — unbeknownst to him — are actually nuns in street clothes. The church wants to improve the neighborhood but fears that nuns in full habit would be poorly received. Unaware of her unavailability, John falls for Sister Michelle, serenading her with his guitar — which, luckily for him, effectively wears away at her religious resolve.

Change of Habit

1969

Skidoo poster
4.7

Ex-gangster Tony Banks is called out of retirement by mob kingpin God to carry out a hit on fellow mobster "Blue Chips" Packard. When Banks demurs, God kidnaps his daughter Darlene on his luxury yacht.

Skidoo

1968

Bondage poster
7.0

Judy Peters is about to be sentenced after she has pled guilty to her third offense of prostitution, when Dr. Nelson interrupts and tells her story to the court. (Mubi.)

Bondage

1933

Strictly Personal poster
7.5

Soapy Gibson (Edward Ellis) and his wife Annie (Marjorie Rambeau) run a lonely hearts club in a small town. Even during the Depression years these were often "clip joints" - places where people with money but no mate got taken by someone offering the promise of companionship. However, Soapy and Annie are strictly on the level - and they have more than one reason to want to stay on the level. You see Soapy escaped from the law years ago, had some plastic surgery and changed his name, and has been living on the lam with his wife ever since.

Strictly Personal

1933

Personal Maid poster
6.5

Nora Ryan, a poor Irish girl, living in New York decides to change her life by working as a personal maid for the wealthy, Gary family.

Personal Maid

1931

Navy Wife poster
6.0

A Hawaiian naval nurse weds a widowed officer partly because he has a crippled daughter.

Navy Wife

1935

Bad Boy poster
7.5

An unemployed loafer who spends his time playing pool decides he's ready to look for a job so he can secure his girlfriend's parents' approval for their marriage.

Bad Boy

1935

State Fair poster
6.3

The children of Iowa farmers find love, with mixed results, at the state fair.

State Fair

1933

The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker poster
7.1

In early 1900s' Pennsylvania, Mr. Pennypacker has two company offices and two families with a combined total of 17 children. With an office in Harrisburg and an office in Philadelphia, he has successfully kept two separate homes. However, when an emergency requires his oldest son to find him, Mr. Pennypacker's dual life is revealed.

The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker

1959

The Whistle at Eaton Falls poster
6.8

A newly promoted plant supervisor finds himself in the position of having to announce a layoff of his fellow workers.

The Whistle at Eaton Falls

1951

Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell poster
7.2

Posing as a man over 70, a lecturer (Clifton Webb) enters an old-folks home to prove age is a state of mind.

Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell

1951