E. E. Clive

Born: 1879-08-26

Edward Erskholme Clive was a Welsh stage actor and director who had a prolific acting career in Britain and America. He also played numerous supporting roles in Hollywood movies between 1933 and his death. E. E. Clive was born on 28 August 1879 in Blaenavon in Monmouthshire. Clive studied for a medical career, and had completed four years of medical studies at St Bartholomew's Hospital before switching his focus to acting at age 22. Touring the provinces for a decade, Clive became an expert at virtually every sort of regional dialect in the British Isles. He moved to the US in 1912, where after working in the Orpheum vaudeville circuit he set up his own stock company in Boston. By the 1920s, his company was operating in Hollywood; among his repertory players were such up-and-comers as Rosalind Russell. He also worked at the Broadway in several plays. E. E. Clive made his film debut as a village police constable in 1933's The Invisible Man with Claude Rains, then spent the next seven years showing up in wry supporting and bit parts, where he often portrayed comical versions of English stereotypes. He often played butlers, reporters, aristocrats, shopkeepers and cabbies during his short film career. Though his roles were often small, Clive was a well-known and prolific character actor of his time. Among his best-known roles was the incompetent Burgomaster in James Whale's horror classic Bride of Frankenstein (1935). He was a semi-regular as Tenny the Butler in Paramount Pictures' Bulldog Drummond B series, starring John Howard; he also played butlers in other movies like Bachelor Mother with David Niven and Ginger Rogers. In 1939, Clive appeared in The Little Princess as the lawyer Mr. Barrows, and the first two entries of the classic Sherlock Holmes series starring Basil Rathbone. One of Clive's last roles was Sir William Lucas in the 1940 literature adaption Pride and Prejudice (1940) with Laurence Olivier and Greer Garson. E. E. Clive died on 6 June 1940, of a heart ailment, in his Hollywood home. He was survived by his wife Eleanor and their child. Clive was a member of the Euclid lodge of Freemasons in Boston.


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The Invisible Man

as Constable Jaffers
Released: 1933-11-03

Working in Dr. Cranley's laboratory, scientist Jack Griffin was always given the latitude to...

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Bride of Frankenstein

as Burgomaster
Released: 1935-04-20

Dr. Frankenstein and his monster both turn out to be alive, not killed as previously believed....

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Pride and Prejudice

as Sir William Lucas
Released: 1940-07-26

Mrs. Bennet wishes to wed her five unmarried daughters and is overjoyed when a wealthy bachelor...

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A Tale of Two Cities

as Judge in 'Old Bailey'
Released: 1935-12-25

The exciting story of Dr. Manette, who escapes the horrors of the infamous Bastille prison in...

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Dracula's Daughter

as Detective Sergeant Wilkes
Released: 1936-05-11

A countess from Transylvania seeks a psychiatrist’s help to cure her vampiric cravings.

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Captain Blood

as Clerk of the Court
Released: 1935-12-26

Dr. Peter Blood, unjustly convicted of treason and exiled from England, becomes a notorious pirate.

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The Hound of the Baskervilles

as London Cabbie John Clayton
Released: 1939-03-24

On his uncle's death Sir Henry Baskerville returns from Canada to take charge of his ancestral...

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The Little Princess

as Mr. Barrows
Released: 1939-03-17

A little girl goes in search of her father who is reported missing by the military during the...

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Libeled Lady

as Fishing Instructor
Released: 1936-10-09

When a major newspaper accuses wealthy socialite Connie Allenbury of being a home-wrecker, and...

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Foreign Correspondent

as Mr. Naismith (uncredited)
Released: 1940-08-16

American crime reporter John Jones is reassigned to Europe as a foreign correspondent to cover...

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David Copperfield

as Sheriff's Man (uncredited)
Released: 1935-01-18

Charles Dickens' timeless tale of an ordinary young man who lives an extraordinary life, filled...

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Camille

as Saint Gaudens (uncredited)
Released: 1936-12-26

Life in 1847 Paris is as spirited as champagne and as unforgiving as the gray morning after. In...

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Bachelor Mother

as Butler
Released: 1939-06-30

Polly Parrish, a clerk at Merlin's Department Store, is mistakenly presumed to be the mother of...

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Tarzan Escapes

as Masters
Released: 1936-11-06

White hunter Captain Fry tries to take Tarzan back to civilization, caged for public display. He...

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Little Lord Fauntleroy

as Sir Harry Lorridaile
Released: 1936-03-06

An American boy turns out to be the heir of a wealthy British earl. He is sent to live with the...

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The Charge of the Light Brigade

as Sir Humphrey Harcourt
Released: 1936-10-20

In 1853, as the British and Russian empires compete to gain and maintain their place in the...

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The Gay Divorcee

as Chief Customs Inspector (uncredited)
Released: 1934-10-12

Seeking a divorce from her absentee husband, Mimi Glossop travels to an English seaside resort....

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The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

as Inspector Bristol
Released: 1939-09-01

Having once again avoided criminal conviction, Professor Moriarity develops a murderous plan to...

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Show Boat

as uncredited
Released: 1936-05-17

Despite her mother's objections, the naive young daughter of a show boat captain is thrust into...

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Show Boat

as Sir Arthur
Released: 1936-05-17

Despite her mother's objections, the naive young daughter of a show boat captain is thrust into...

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Gold Diggers of 1935

as Thorpe's Chauffeur Westbrook (uncredited)
Released: 1935-03-15

Romance strikes when a vacationing millionairess and her daughter and son spend their vacation...

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One More River

as Chayne
Released: 1934-08-06

A young lady leaves her brutal husband and meets another man on board a ship.

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The Emperor's Candlesticks

as Auctioneer
Released: 1937-07-02

Spies on opposite sides fall in love in pre-revolutionary Russia.

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Mr. Moto's Last Warning

as Port Commandant General (uncredited)
Released: 1939-01-20

A Japanese man claiming to be Mr. Moto, of the International Police, is abducted and murdered...

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Isle of Fury

as Dr. Hardy
Released: 1936-10-10

An island pearl merchant and his new wife make room for a mysterious shipwrecked man.

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Night Must Fall

as Guide
Released: 1937-04-30

Wealthy widow Mrs. Bramson notices that her maid is distracted, and when she learns the girl's...

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Bulldog Drummond Comes Back

as Tenny
Released: 1937-09-24

Drummond's girlfriend is kidnapped by his enemies and he along with his friend Nielsen, an...

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Adventure in Diamonds

as Mr. MacPherson
Released: 1940-03-08

A government pilot (George Brent) falls for a woman (Isa Miranda) helping her partner (John...

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Charlie Chan in London

as Det. Sgt. Thacker
Released: 1934-09-12

Charlie Chan is sought out by Pamela Gray, a desperate young socialite whose brother Paul awaits...

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Trouble for Two

as King
Released: 1936-05-29

A decadent prince unhappy over an impending arranged marriage, looking for a good time in London...

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The Golden Arrow

as Walker
Released: 1936-05-23

A fake heiress marries a common reporter to thwart the advances of gold-digging playboys.

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Personal Property

as Cosgrove Dabney
Released: 1937-03-19

Raymond Dabney returns to his family after trouble with the law. He convinces the sheriff to...

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Ready, Willing and Able

as Sir Samuel Buffington
Released: 1937-03-06

Two starving songwriters will only get funding if they get British actress Jane Clarke to star...

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Bulldog Drummond in Africa

as 'Tenny' Tennison
Released: 1938-08-05

Drummond has to leave for Morocco on his wedding day with his fiancee and trusted friends to...

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Live, Love and Learn

as Mr. Palmiston
Released: 1937-10-29

A starving, uncompromising artist and an heiress fall in love on first sight and immediately get...

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Kind Lady

as Grammaphone Man (uncredited)
Released: 1935-12-06

Mary, a woman with good intentions, takes pity on Henry, an artist with no home. What begins as...

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Kidnapped

as Minister MacDougall
Released: 1938-05-27

Robert Louis Stevenson's hero David Balfour joins rebel Alan Breck Stewart in 18th-century...

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Bulldog Drummond's Peril

as Tenny
Released: 1938-03-18

Drummond's wedding with Phyllis is interrupted when the inspector guarding their gifts is...

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The Unguarded Hour

as Lord Henry Hathaway
Released: 1936-04-10

A blackmailer tries to stop a woman from revealing evidence that could save a condemned man.

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Congo Maisie

as Horace Snell
Released: 1940-01-19

Maisie gets lost in a jungle in Africa and the jungle of romance. The African jungle has snakes,...

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Rose of Washington Square

as Barouche Driver
Released: 1939-05-05

Rose Sargent, a Roaring '20s singer, becomes a Ziegfeld Follies star as her criminal husband...

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The Earl of Chicago

as Mr. Redwood
Released: 1940-01-05

A behind the times Chicago bootlegger goes to England with his lawyer to claim his estate as the...

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The Little Minister

as Sheriff Greer
Released: 1934-12-28

The stoic, proper Rev. Gavin Dishart, newly assigned to a church in the small Scottish village...

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Lloyd's of London

as Magistrate
Released: 1936-11-25

Norfolk, England, 1770. The nephew of an innkeeper and the son of a reverend maintain a very...

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It's Love I'm After

as First Butler
Released: 1937-10-08

An infatuated debutante renews a Shakespearean actor's running feud with his leading lady.

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3 Kids and a Queen

as Coachman
Released: 1935-10-21

An eccentric, wealthy spinster, 'Queenie' Baxter is erroneously presumed to be kidnapped. She...

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Bulldog Drummond Escapes

as "Tenny" Tennison
Released: 1937-01-22

Drummond manages to save a woman from jumping in front of his car but she runs away with his...

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The Dark Hour

as Foot, the Butler
Released: 1936-02-17

A pair of detectives investigates the murder of an elderly millionaire who was the target of...

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Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back

as London Bobbie
Released: 1934-08-15

Bulldog Drummond finds himself immersed in another adventure when he stumbles upon a corpse in...

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Beg, Borrow or Steal

as Lord Nigel Braemer
Released: 1937-12-03

We find con-man Ingraham Steward living by his wits by steering wealthy Paris visitors to...

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Riptide

as Major Mills (uncredited)
Released: 1934-03-29

Mary is an impetuous romantic who marries British aristocrat Lord Philip Rexford on a whim....

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The Poor Rich

as Lord Fetherstone
Released: 1934-02-25

Albert Stuyvesant Spottiswood and his cousin Harriet Winthrop Spottiswood arrive separately at...

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Father Brown, Detective

as Sergeant Dawes
Released: 1934-12-14

After notorious jewel thief Flambeau meets Evelyn Fischer during a raid on a casino, he falls...

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Raffles

as Barraclough
Released: 1939-11-11

Man about town and First Class cricketer A.J. Raffles keeps himself solvent with daring...

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Gateway

as Room Steward
Released: 1938-08-05

Irish immigrant meets returning war correspondent on a liner bound for New York. When she...

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Long Lost Father

as Spot Hawkins
Released: 1934-01-19

A long-absent father is reunited with his daughter, who still holds a grudge that he had...

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Cain and Mabel

as Charles Fendwick
Released: 1936-09-26

A chorus girl and a heavyweight boxer are paired romantically as a publicity stunt.

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The Widow from Monte Carlo

as Lord Holloway
Released: 1935-12-19

In this romantic comedy, an aspiring socialite heads for a vacation in Monte Carlo where she...

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On the Avenue

as Cabby
Released: 1937-02-12

A new Broadway show starring Gary Blake shamelessly lampoons the rich Carraway family. To get...

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Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police

as Tenny
Released: 1939-03-29

Captain Drummond and his girlfriend want to marry but a hidden treasure in the house in which...

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Ticket to Paradise

as Barkins
Released: 1936-06-24

A man on his way to closing a million dollar deal has an accident and gets amnesia.

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Flowing Gold

as Mr. Naismith (uncredited)
Released: 1940-08-24

In the American oilfields, a fugitive from justice's destiny is intertwined with the fortunes...

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Bulldog Drummond's Revenge

as 'Tenny' Tennison
Released: 1937-12-16

Captain Drummond is travelling to Switzerland to marry his girlfriend. However, when a cargo...

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Bulldog Drummond's Bride

as Tenny
Released: 1939-07-12

Hugh “Bulldog” Drummond is on the precipice of matrimony to his beloved Phyllis -- but a bank...

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A Feather in Her Hat

as Higgins - Pub Proprietor (uncredited)
Released: 1935-10-25

After the woman who raised him claims he's not her son, Richard searches for clues about his...

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Maid of Salem

as Bilge
Released: 1937-02-12

When a young woman named Barbara Clarke has an affair with adventurer Roger Coverman, it causes...

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Arrest Bulldog Drummond

as Tenny
Released: 1938-11-25

The invention of a machine that can cause remote explosions brings the attention of Scotland...

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Danger – Love at Work

as Wilbur
Released: 1937-09-30

A New York City lawyer finds himself falling in love with the daughter of a screwball South...

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Love Before Breakfast

as Yacht Captain (uncredited)
Released: 1936-03-09

Scott is a very rich businessman who hangs out with a snooty, silly Countess, but has the hots...

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They Wanted to Marry

as Stiles
Released: 1937-02-05

Newspaper photographer Jim Tyler sneaks into a society girl's wedding, and the bride's sister...

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Piccadilly Jim

as London Gossip Editor Bill Mechan
Released: 1936-08-14

Jim's father wants to marry Eugenia, but her sister Netta refuses to allow it. When Jim sees Ann...

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The Big Parade of Comedy

as Cosgrove Dabney in 'Personal Property' (arch. foot.) (uncred.)
Released: 1964-09-02

Film clips highlight the funniest scenes and brightest comic stars in MGM's history.

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Stars Over Broadway

as Crane
Released: 1935-11-23

An aggressive agent turns a hotel porter into an overnight sensation.

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The Mystery of Edwin Drood

as Mayor Thomas Sapsea
Released: 1935-02-04

A choirmaster addicted to opium and obsessed with a beautiful young woman will stop at nothing...

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Page Miss Glory

as Monogram Shirtmaker (uncredited)
Released: 1935-09-07

A country girl goes to the city and gets a job in a posh hotel, and winds up becoming an instant...

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Palm Springs

as Morgan
Released: 1936-06-05

A gambler in need of cash plots a romance between his daughter and a wealthy Englishman. The...

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Man About Town

as Hotchkiss
Released: 1939-06-29

Producer Bob Temple, who's brought an American show to London, loves his star Diana, but she...

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The White Angel

as Dr. Smith (uncredited)
Released: 1936-06-25

In Victorian England, Florence Nightingale's heroic measures slowly change the attitude towards...

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We're in the Money

as Jevons
Released: 1935-08-17

Ginger and Dixie are process servers for goofy lawyer Homer Bronson. The two friends want to...

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Remember Last Night?

as Coroner's Photographer (uncredited)
Released: 1935-10-28

After a night of wild partying at a friend's house, a couple wake up to discover the party's...

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All American Chump

as . Montgomery Brantley
Released: 1936-10-16

A country bumpkin who's a mathematical genius falls into the hands of gangsters.

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All American Chump

as Montgomery Brantley
Released: 1936-10-16

A country bumpkin who's a mathematical genius falls into the hands of gangsters.

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The Last Warning

as Major Barclay
Released: 1938-12-07

In their third and last teaming, Bill Crane and Doc Williams visit a country estate to...

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Arsène Lupin Returns

as Alf
Released: 1938-02-25

A woman and a man vying for a woman's affection: the usual love trio? Not quite so since the...

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The First Hundred Years

as Chester Blascomb
Released: 1938-03-12

David and Lynn are a happily married couple. When David gets his dream job in another state,...

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Cheaters at Play

as Steward
Released: 1932-01-27

Modest picture centering on a blunderous jewel heist aboard an ocean liner.

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Love Under Fire

as Captain Bowden
Released: 1937-08-20

A suspense-thriller-comedy set against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War.

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Submarine Patrol

as uncredited
Released: 1938-11-25

A naval officer is demoted for negligence and put in command of a run-down submarine chaser with...

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Atlantic Adventure

as McIntosh
Released: 1935-08-25

When reporter Dan Miller is once again late to meet his girl friend, Helen Murdock, because he...

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