Emma Dunn
Date of birth: 1874-02-24
Place of birth: Birkenhead, Cheshire, England, UK
Known for: Acting
Also known as:
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Emma Dunn (26 February 1875 – 14 December 1966) was an English character actress on the stage and in motion pictures. Emma Dunn appeared onstage in her early teens, graduating to the London stage for several years and later became a noted Broadway actress. She appeared in the first American production of Ibsen's Peer Gynt (1906) with Richard Mansfield as Peer. She played Peer's mother, Ase, even though she was, in real life, 20 years younger than Mansfield. She appeared in three productions for theatre impresario David Belasco: The Warrens of Virginia (1907), The Easiest Way (1909) and The Governor's Lady (1912). In The Easiest Way, Dunn portrayed Annie, who was black, in blackface. In 1913 Dunn appeared in vaudeville. Dunn made her first film in 1914, a silent film of her 1910 stage success, Mother, directed by Maurice Tourneur. This was Tourneur's first American film. Dunn's second film was 1920's Old Lady 31, reprising the role she played in the 1916 Broadway play of the same name. One more silent film followed in 1924, Pied Piper Malone, before she made her talkie debut in Side Street, co-starring the Moore brothers, Matt, Owen and Tom as her sons. Dunn wrote two books on elocution and speech: Thought Quality in the Voice (1933) and You Can Do It (1947). Emma Dunn was born 26 February 1875, in Birkenhead, England, although she sometimes gave her year of birth as 1883. Dunn married Harry Beresford, an actor who was then known professionally as Harry J. Morgan, in Chicago on 4 October 1897. They divorced on 10 February 1909, in New York City. She was awarded sole custody of their young daughter, Dorothy. On 19 May 1909, Dunn married John W. Stokes (John W. S. Sullivan), an actor, playwright and theatrical manager. They subsequently adopted a second daughter, Helen. The couple divorced sometime between 1923 and Stokes' death in 1931. After suffering a heart attack some months before, Dunn died 14 December 1966, in Los Angeles, California, aged 91.
Movie Credits
The Great Dictator
1940-10-15
Dictator Adenoid Hynkel tries to expand his empire while a poor Jewish barber tries to avoid persecu
Son of Frankenstein
1939-01-13
One of the sons of late Dr. Henry Frankenstein finds his father's ghoulish creation in a coma and re
The Postman Didn't Ring
1942-07-03
Stolen way back in 1880, a sack of United States mail is discovered in an old attic in 1942. The let
The Talk of the Town
1942-08-20
Hilarity ensues when a falsely accused fugitive from justice hides at the house of his childhood fri
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
1941-01-31
Happily married for three years, Ann and David Smith live in New York. One morning Ann asks David if
Life with Father
1947-09-13
A straitlaced turn-of-the-century father presides over a family of boys and the mother who really ru
Ladies in Retirement
1941-09-09
Ellen Creed is a housekeeper who looks after Leonora Fiske, a retired actress living in the English
The Glass Key
1935-06-15
When Paul Madvig, a successful politician who fights his rivals to seize the city, becomes implicate
Second Wife
1936-08-21
Kenneth discovers that his son by his first wife is ill in a remote Swiss village, and is forced to
The Woman in White
1948-05-07
A young painter stumbles upon an assortment of odd characters at an English estate where he has been
Blessed Event
1932-09-10
A New York gossip columnist feuds with a singer and enjoys the power of the press.
Madame X
1937-10-01
An alcoholic woman was charged and tried for murder and a young defense attorney, unaware that she i
Elmer, the Great
1933-04-29
Elmer does not want to leave Gentryville, because Nellie is the one that he loves. Even when Mr. Wad
When You're in Love
1937-02-12
An Australian opera singer hires a husband so she can work in the U.S. Moore sings "Minnie the Mooc
Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day
1941-08-22
A variety of predicaments arise to distract Dr. Kildare from his wedding to Nurse Mary Lamont.
Minesweeper
1943-11-10
A naval officer who had deserted several years earlier is drawn back to the Navy when World War II b
Dr. Kildare Goes Home
1940-09-06
A young doctor gives up big-city success to help his father set up a small-town clinic.
Under Eighteen
1932-01-02
Working girl Margie Evans has decided there are two kinds of opportunities for a slum kid during the
Little Big Shot
1935-09-07
A con man and his partner inherit a dead gangster's precocious daughter.
Dr. Monica
1934-06-23
A prominent New York doctor, unable to have a child, discovers her philandering husband has impregna
The Bridge of San Luis Rey
1944-02-11
A rope bridge over a gorge in the Peruvian Andes snaps, sending five people plunging to their deaths
The Bad Sister
1931-03-29
Marianne falls in love with con man Valentine who uses their relation to get her father's endorsemen
The Wet Parade
1932-03-26
The evils of alcohol before and during prohibition become evident as we see its effects on the rich
Hard to Handle
1933-01-28
A hustling public relations man promotes a series of fads.
Varsity Show
1937-09-04
Winfield College students rebel against a stodgy professor who won't permit "swing" music be played
Hell's House
1932-01-30
A teenager lands in a brutal reform school for refusing to squeal on his bootlegger boss.
The Duke of West Point
1938-12-29
A cocky new West Point cadet from Cambridge is given the cold shoulder by his classmates because of
The Keeper of the Bees
1935-07-14
A severely traumatized World War I veteran, believing that he's living on borrowed time, comes upon
Ladies Crave Excitement
1935-06-21
Bored rich girl hooks up with news photographer, gets caught up in his adventures.
George White's 1935 Scandals
1935-03-29
A Broadway producer discovers new talent in a small Georgia town and brings them to New York for his
Seven Keys to Baldpate
1935-12-13
A writer, looking for some peace and quiet in order to finish a novel, takes a room at the Baldpate
It's Tough to Be Famous
1932-04-02
Scotty, an unwilling Navy war hero is cast into the limelight. He wants to get married and be an eng
This Modern Age
1931-08-29
A Harvard football star disobeys his upper class parents and runs off with his true love.
Thanks for the Memory
1938-11-11
Steve Merrick is an out of work writer who stays home and plays house husband while his wife goes to
Morals for Women
1931-10-24
A desperate woman turns to prostitution but is saved by true love.
Circus Girl
1937-03-01
A jealous trapeze star decides he must eliminate his romantic rival.
The Llano Kid
1939-12-08
Lora Travers is the only person who can identify hold-up artist The Llano Kid and she persuades him
Flirtation
1934-11-09
A naive farmer encounters a beautiful burlesque dancer on the streets of New York and agrees to pose
The Harvester
1936-04-18
In a small town in Indiana in the 1890s, the domineering and ambitious Mrs. Biddle arranges a marria
You Can't Fool Your Wife
1940-05-21
Longtime school sweethearts discover married life, thanks to a disagreeable live-in mother-in-law an
High School
1940-01-26
A teenager who's been raised and home-schooled on her father's Texan ranch must adjust to her new su
Dark Hazard
1934-01-31
Jim is a compulsive gambler. He meets Marge at a boarding house and they get married. His gambling c
Manslaughter
1930-07-22
A spoiled young rich girl is sent to prison for accidentally running down a pedestrian. There she le
The Cowboy and the Lady
1938-11-17
Mary Smith decides after a lifetime of being a shut-in to do something wild while her father is out
Three Loves Has Nancy
1938-09-02
A small-town country homebody goes to New York to find her missing fiancé and gets romantically invo
The Guilty Generation
1931-11-19
The children of feuding gangsters fall in love and fight to escape their parents' notoriety.
A Man of Sentiment
1933-09-15
A man and woman fall in love at first sight, but everyone in their universe tries to keep them apart
Cowboy from Brooklyn
1938-07-09
A singing cowboy turns out to be a tenderfoot.
Hideaway
1937-08-13
A poor family receives unwanted houseguests when they're visited by gangsters looking for a place to
Letty Lynton
1932-04-30
Socialite Letty Lynton is returning to New York, abandoning one-time lover Emile Renaul in South Ame
Hoosier Holiday
1943-09-13
During World War II three brothers go to enlist in the Air Force, but since they're farmers they're
Side Street
1929-09-14
Three New York Irish brothers cross paths as policeman, doctor and bootlegger.
Half a Sinner
1940-04-05
Although young and beautiful, schoolteacher Anne Gladden fears a dull future. She finally decides to
Young Dr. Kildare
1938-10-14
A medical school graduate takes an internship at a big city hospital, only to be subjected to a rigo
Waikiki Wedding
1937-03-23
Tony Marvin is a laid back but incredibly successful promoter and fair-haired boy for J. P. Todhunte
The Penalty
1941-03-13
In this crime drama, a ruthless gangster's son is soon following in his father's footsteps. When his
Calling Dr. Kildare
1939-04-28
Following an argument with his young protege, the curmudgeonly Dr. Gillespie dumps Jimmy Kildare in
Each Dawn I Die
1939-08-19
A corrupt D.A. with governatorial ambitions is annoyed by an investigative reporter's criticism of h
This Is the Life
1935-10-07
A popular child star, exploited and overworked by her greedy guardians, decides enough is enough--an
The Prodigal
1931-02-21
An aspiring singer, who has fallen on hard times and is now living as a hobo, returns to his wealthy
The Secret of Dr. Kildare
1939-11-24
Intern Kildare heals a millionaire's daughter and tricks Dr. Gillespie into taking a vacation.
Compromised
1931-11-19
Poor working-class girl Stella marries wealthy Sidney Brock, recently jilted by his fiancée and soci
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
1936-04-09
Longfellow Deeds lives in a small town, leading a small town kind of life. When a relative dies and
The Quitter
1934-02-05
When her husband, who founded the town's crusading local newspaper, doesn't come back from the Frenc
Broken Lullaby
1932-01-19
A young French soldier in World War I is overcome with guilt when he kills a German soldier who, lik
The Texan
1930-05-10
Outlaw Llano Kid poses as a rich Mexican widow's son and falls in love with a cousin.
It Happened Tomorrow
1944-03-31
A young turn-of-the-century newspaper man finds he can get hold of the next day's paper. This brings
Little Orvie
1940-03-11
Family film, based on a Booth Tarkington tale, about a young boy who takes extreme measures to keep
Mourning Becomes Electra
1947-11-19
Near the end of the Civil War, the proud residents of Mannon Manor await the return of shipping tyco
My Buddy
1944-10-12
A priest relates the tale of his friend, a WWI veteran, to the Post-War Planning Committee. Unable t
Scattergood Meets Broadway
1941-08-22
Scattergood finds out that his neighbor, Elly Drew, is going to sell her home to support her son Dav
The Hoodlum Saint
1946-04-04
A former reporter comes back home after serving in the army during World War I and finds that it's m
Dance, Girl, Dance
1940-08-30
Judy O'Brien is an aspiring ballerina in a dance troupe. Also in the company is Bubbles, a brash man
Dr. Kildare's Strange Case
1940-04-12
Kildare tries brain surgery, advised by Dr. Gillespie, and faces a rival for nurse Lamont.
Too Young to Marry
1931-05-03
In this comedy drama set in a small town, a milque-toast gets a backbone and stands up to his overbe
Are These Our Parents?
1944-06-27
A mother's preference for partying, boozing and running around with an assortment of sleazy characte
I Married a Witch
1942-10-30
A 17th-century witch returns to wreak havoc in the life of a descendant of the Puritan witch hunter
It's Great to Be Alive
1933-07-08
An aviator who crash landed on an island in the South Pacific returns home to find that he is the la
One Crowded Night
1940-08-09
The future of a group of strangely connected lives is determined on one crucial night at a dinky mot
Pied Piper Malone
1924-02-04
Pied Piper Malone (1924)
The Mad Martindales
1942-05-15
A girl tries to pay the mortgage on a Nob Hill home and gets involved in selling her father's art tr
Private Jones
1933-03-25
After America enters World War I, young William "Bill" Jones tries to avoid military service by tell
Rise and Shine
1941-11-21
The college president, the head cheerleader and a gambling gangster try to keep a flunking football
The Monster and the Girl
1941-02-28
After a young woman is coerced into prostitution and her brother framed for murder by an organized c
Grand Slam
1933-02-22
A Russian waiter in New York City becomes a national celebrity after he develops a "system" for winn
Lord Jeff
1938-06-17
Spoiled child Geoffrey Bramer teams up with a pair of small time crooks to pose as an aristocrat and
Bad Company
1931-10-16
A psychotic and sadistic mob boss is infatuated with the young wife of his newlywed attorney, and he
Scattergood Baines
1941-02-21
Young Scattergood Baines arrives in the small New England town of Coldriver. Through some shrewd bus
Scattergood Pulls the Strings
1941-05-23
Small-town store owner Scattergood Baines helps a runaway boy find his father, who has escaped after
Another Face
1935-12-20
The surgeon who did the job was dead. Only the nurse knew what this gangster looked like in his new
Babes on Broadway
1941-12-31
Penny Morris and Tommy Williams are both starstruck young teens but nobody seems to give them any ch
Hero for a Day
1939-10-06
When a night watchman is mistaken for a wealthy college alumnus, his family and friends help him go
The Cohens and Kellys in Hollywood
1932-03-27
The Cohens and the Kellys invade a Hollywood studio after Kitty becomes the darling of the studio.
The Emperor's Candlesticks
1937-07-02
Spies on opposite sides fall in love in pre-revolutionary Russia.
Mother
1914-09-28
Maurice Tourneur's first American made film is a silent drama about a mother's love and sacrifice st
Old Lady 31
1920-05-23