Lumsden Hare (1874-1964): Another Forgotten Face

Sometimes, a performer can become so identified with a particular role that, even if their career was brief, their name or face can bring some recognition many years after the performance. On the other hand, some actors and actresses labor for years without ever having that particular part that assures a lasting legacy. Such was the case with Lumsden Hare, whose acting credits span 70 years, including 45 years (1916-1961) in the motion picture and television industries. Hare was in the cast of many major motion pictures [e.g., The Crusades (1935), The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936), Lloyds of London (1936), Northwest Passage (1940), etc.], playing with most of the major stars of his day. Hare appeared in two Oscar-winning films for Best Picture—The Life of Emile Zola (1937) and Rebecca (1940)—while also being featured in seven other Best Picture nominees —Arrowsmith (1931), The House of Rothschild (1934), The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935), Suspicion (1941), Random Harvest (1942), Madame Curie (1943), and Julius Caesar (1953). Lumsden worked under top-flight directors (Alfred Hitchcock, John Ford, Cecil B. DeMille, Frank Lloyd, Henry Hathaway, etc.), many on multiple occasions. Hare’s connection to the horror/fantasy genre is through such films as Svengali (1931), She (1935), A Christmas Carol (1938), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941), The Canterville Ghost (1944), The Lodger (1944), The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945), The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947), Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid (1948), and The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake (1957). His name was often prominently displayed in the credits, although he also appeared unbilled on many occasions. Although there is likely no single portrayal that evokes the name “Lumsden Hare,” he still graced the screen with many carefully etched characterizations that merit examination of his body of work.

Francis Lumsden Hare was born in Pimlico, Middlesex, London, England, on April 27, 1874. Many sources claim that Hare was born in Cashel, County Tipperary, Ireland, where his ancestral family hailed, but that is not the case. Francis Lumsden was the son of Matthew Francis Pennefather Hare (1847-1883), a wine and spirit merchant, and the former Ada Elizabeth Lumsden (1854-1937). Matthew was from Tipperary, but Ada was not from Scotland, as Lumsden later claimed. She was born in Clapham, Surrey, England. There were four children from the union of Matthew and Ada Hare: Francis Lumsden Hare, Mary Ada Hare (1871- ?), John Henry Hare (1873-1932), and James Pennefather Hare (1877-1952). Young Francis Lumsden was educated at St. Dunstan’s College, Stanstead Road, Catford, London. Matthew Hare died in 1883, but whether it was in the service of his country as a British naval officer (as has been written) is uncertain. In any case, soon after his death, Ada married Ernest Slocombe for a second time on July 25, 1883. By 1891, Ada and her second husband lived in the Forest Hill section of London with Mary, John, and James. Francis Lumsden, who yearned to be a sailor from a young age, had already left home and was on board a ship at sea. He allegedly sailed around the world four times before deciding that the stage rather than the sea was his true calling.

Although Lumsden Hare often incorrectly stated that he was from Tipperary rather than London, there is no doubt about his Irish connections. He was the nephew of Edward Gibson (1837-1913), the first Baron Ashbourne, Lord Chancellor of Ireland, and Justice John George Gibson (1846-1923) of Dublin. The Hare family could trace their roots to many generations in County Tipperary. Lumsden preferred to think of himself as Irish rather than British, considering the severe political turmoil in Ireland in the first two decades of the Twentieth Century.

F. Lumsden Hare (as he was initially known professionally) made his first stage appearance in 1892. He began his theatrical career playing the British provinces with various repertory companies. Hare frequently appeared at the Court Theatre in London in plays by George Bernard Shaw and Oscar Wilde. He was also seen on the London stage in Ben-Hur, The Admirable Crichton, and The Christian, where he played the role of John Storm. An early role for Hare was that of Rupert Romney, a young author, in the operatic comedy Local Veto Villa (October 30, 1895), presented at the Royal Assembly Rooms, Weston-super-Mare. Lumsden toured extensively during his formative years as an actor, playing theaters in Japan, China, Australia, South Africa, and South America.

On January 9, 1899, Francis Lumsden Hare married Frances Mary Rutledge (1872-1946) at the Paris Chapel of St. Pancras in Camden, England. They lived for a time at 31 Brunswick Square in London. His wife Frances gave birth to a daughter, Norah Patricia M. Hare, on November 8, 1900. Norah would later become an actress on the London stage and live until the age of 96, dying in Sussex, England, in April 1997. Frances Mary Rutledge Hare petitioned for divorce from Lumsden on July 17, 1911. The divorce was finally granted on May 13, 1912.

In 1900, Hare made his first visit to the United States, appearing in New York at Wallack’s Theatre in Otis Skinner’s production of Prince Otto (9/3/1900). Soon after returning to London, Hare signed on for a 1902 tour of Australia in the play Sherlock Holmes, which had catapulted William Gillette to stardom. Harry Plimmer and then Cuyler Hastings took on the role of Holmes, while Hare portrayed Dr. Watson. The company has ventured into Australia’s major cities, including Sydney, Adelaide, and Melbourne. The Melbourne Age (9/15/02) review stated, "… the character of Dr. Watson found a gentlemanly and appropriately undemonstrative representative in Mr. Lumsden Hare.” Following the Australian and other tours, Hare was again on stage at London’s Court Theatre as Charles Lomax in Shaw’s Major Barbara (1/1/06), which starred Annie Russell.

Under the management of Charles Frohman, Hare returned to America, playing the Savoy on Broadway in The House of Mirth (10/22/06). Lumsden was seen as George Saunders opposite Ethel Barrymore at the Hudson Theatre in Her Sister (12/25/07). After closing on Broadway, Frohman took the New York cast of Her Sister on the road, playing various locations, including the New Montauk Theatre on Long Island (3/16/08). What Every Woman Knows (12/23/08), with Maude Adams, enjoyed a successful run (198 performances) at the Empire Theatre with Hare featured as cabinet minister Charles Venables. Disengaged (5/11/09) had Lumsden in a cast with Selene Johnson, an actress who would eventually become his second wife. Staged by noted silent screen villain Gustav von Seyffertitz, The Flag Lieutenant (8/30/09) included Hare as Sir Berkeley Wynne. With A. L. Godoy, Hare co-authored the farce "The Hoodoo," which was copyrighted on February 26, 1910, but never reached Broadway. In the role of Oliver, Hare toured with Maude Adams in Shakespeare’s As You Like It (spring/summer 1910). In one of many Charles Frohman productions at Broadway’s Lyceum Theatre, Lumsden was paired with Billie Burke in The Philosopher on the Apple Orchard (1/20/11). Hare again acted with Ethel Barrymore in The Witness for the Defense (12/4/11). At the Lyceum, Lumsden was also featured in the comedy Preserving Mr. Panmure (2/27/12).

Lumsden Hare was married for the second time to actress Selene Johnson (1874-1960) on June 25, 1912. The wedding occurred at St. John’s German Evangelist Church in Jersey City, New Jersey, where Selene’s family had moved in the late 1870s from Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Selene had signed under the management of Charles Frohman in 1894. One of Johnson’s early successes came with her portrayal of Mercedes opposite James O’Neill (the father of playwright Eugene O’Neill) in Monte Cristo (10/23/1900). Selene and Lumsden occasionally performed together on Broadway between 1909 and 1921.

Working for the first time with producer William A. Brady, with whom Hare would have a long professional relationship, Lumsden scored a hit (163 performances) as the Reverend Vernon Haslam in The Whip (11/22/12) at the Manhattan Opera House. Back with Frohman at the Lyceum, Hare played with frequent co-star Billie Burke in The Land of Promise (12/25/13) and Jerry (3/28/14). Lumsden portrayed Doctor Kirk in the latter. Other Broadway appearances for Hare at this point in his career came in The Elder Son (9/15/14), Driven (12/14/14), and The Fallen Idol (1/23/15). Charles Frohman, who produced Driven and had a long-time association with Hare, died when a German U-boat sank the RMS Lusitania on May 7, 1915. With the talented Grace George (the wife of William Brady), Hare was seen as Philip Phillimore in the New York Idea (9/28/15) and as Gilbert Nepean in a revival of The Liars 11/9/15.

Lumsden and his wife, Selene, purchased a home and property in Beechhurst, Whitestone Landing, Queens, New York, overlooking Fort Schuyler, near where the East River meets Long Island Sound. Hare named his estate Ballingary after a village in County Tipperary, Ireland. Lumsden enjoyed farming on his land, mainly vegetables, but he took even more pride in his flowers. In an interview with Pearl Malvern (Motion Picture Classic, October 1919), Lumsden claimed:

I show flowers. Last summer I took several prizes and things. It is an enormous hobby of mine. I might say that, outside of my work, I grow flowers and read plays—and then more plays. Not because I am peculiarly addicted to plays as a means of mental recreation, but I am always hoping to stumble across something suited to me as actor and producer, or one or the other.

Golf and motoring were among Hare’s other passions. Although he enjoyed these activities and the life on his estate, Lumsden Hare remained involved in the theatrical community as a member of the Lambs and Players clubs and Actors' Equity.

While still active on stage, William Brady influenced Hare to make his film debut for World Film Corp.’s production of Love’s Crucible (1916). Lumsden played Stephen Wright. A Looking Glass (1916), also for World, had Hare as U.S. Navy planner Andrew Livingston, whom Kitty Gordon betrays. She seduces him to steal military plans, but then really falls in love, marries him, and is killed trying to rectify her misdeeds. The Test (1916) had Hare as wealthy and unscrupulous hotel owner Arthur Thome. Lumsden was David Trevor, the owner of a munitions factory, who falls for an immigrant singer in Arms and the Woman (1916).

Although dabbling in motion pictures, Hare’s primary interest at the time remained the theater. He was part of an illustrious cast, including Henrietta Crosman and William Faversham, in the comedy Getting Married (November 6, 2016, 112 performances). Hare played General Bridgenorth in Getting Married. Although Lumsden preferred acting on stage, he reflected that the screen “… is more remunerative” (Malvern, 1919).

Lumsden played Stanton Skinner in Envy (1917), part of a series of five-reel features comprising The Seven Deadly Sins (1917). As Sir Claude Wyverne, Hare was the neglectful husband of Elsie Ferguson in Barbary Sheep (1917), directed by Maurice Tourneur. The couple reconciles amidst violence and intrigue during a trip to Arabia. Along with stage and screen luminaries like John, Ethel, and Lionel Barrymore, E. H. Sothern, and Ina Claire, Lumsden Hare was featured in the National Red Cross Pageant (1917). He was the Archbishop of Canterbury in the English segment of the pageant, involving the signing of the Magna Carta. The Light Within (1918) had Hare as the despicable millionaire Clinton Durand, who brutalizes his wife, Olga Petrova, and later meets an agonizing death from anthrax. Lumsden then played novelist Price Ruyler in The Avalanche (1918), again with Elsie Ferguson.

Hare was seen with Maxine Elliott and William Faversham on stage in Lord and Lady Algy (12/22/17). Lumsden both directed and appeared in Peter’s Mother (10/29/18) for William Brady. The cast of Peter’s Mother included Selene Johnson and Herbert Belmore, the brother of Lionel Belmore, the Burgomaster in Frankenstein (1931). Hare, as Gerald Hastings, played opposite Marjorie Rambeau in The Unknown Woman (11/10/19) at Maxine Elliott’s Theatre.

As Archie Gore, Hare was an uncouth scoundrel in The Country Cousin (1919), a film starring Elaine Hammerstein. He then played Holland Webb, a gigolo living off the money of his wealthy wife, in The Blue Pearl (1920). The shameless character roles continued as Lumsden was Prussian Captain Von Pfaffen, who disgraces a young Austrian girl (Claire Whitney) in Mothers of Men (1920). Children Not Wanted (1920) had him as Marcus Hazard, a gem dealer whose unwanted sexual advances led to his murder. For once, a man of principle, Hare was portrayed as banker John Hewitt in Thoughtless Women (1920), starring Alma Rubens. In the role of Frank Morley, Lumsden rejoined his theater partner Billie Burke in The Frisky Mrs. Johnson (1920).

Continuing to rotate between the stage and screen, Hare was the Reverend Wayne in Trimmed in Scarlet (2/2/20), a play starring Maxine Elliott and a young Sidney Blackmer. The Title (11/14/21), a satire with Ernest Cossart and Lumsden’s wife, Selene Johnson, was staged by Hare, who also appeared as Mr. Culver. Drifting (1/2/22), the Broadway debut of Humphrey Bogart, had Hare in the colorful role of Chinese dignitary Dr. Li Shen Kueng, a villain who speaks in proverbs and harasses star Alice Brady with a knife. Hare then staged Up the Ladder (3/6/22, 117 performances) for William Brady at his Playhouse theater. In front of the footlights, Lumsden was seen as Colonel Preedy with Selena Royle in Billeted (5/9/22) at the Greenwich Village Theatre.

The silent screen roles for Hare were on the decline in the early to mid-1920s. Lumsden played Thomas in The Education of Elizabeth (1921) with Billie Burke. With John Barrymore splendid in the title role and Gustav von Seyffertitz a menacing Moriarty, Sherlock Holmes (1922) had Lumsden as Dr. Leighton. On the Banks of the Wabash (1923) gave Hare a challenging role as despondent, unsuccessful artist Paul Bixler, who deserts his family, intent on suicide, but later finds his spirit renewed and rejoins his loved ones. Second Youth (1924) featured rare screen appearances by Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, and it had Hare as James Remmick. As Sir Edward Hutton, Hare was the husband of the flirtatious Anna Q. Nilsson in One Way Street (1925).

Brock Pemberton, the producer who brought Dwight Frye to Broadway, engaged Hare to play Pier Zanotti in The Mask and the Face (September 10, 1924). For the Stagers, Lumsden produced The Blue Peter (3/24/25), with Margaret Wycherley and Warren William. Hare played Arthrike Takarpoulis in His Queen (5/11/25), Vince Fancsy in Antonia (10/20/25), and Lord Douglas Rayhaven in Ashes of Love (3/22/26). Lumsden repeated his role as Charles Venables in the successful (268 performances) revival of What Every Woman Knows (4/13/26), starring Helen Hayes. Hare staged Slaves All (12/6/28), featuring Lionel Atwill and Halliwell Hobbes, at the Bijou Theatre for William Brady. The Patriot (1/19/28), representing the Broadway debut of John Gielgud, had Lumsden as Count Valerian Zuboff. 12,000 (3/12/28), a tale of the American Revolution with Leonard Mudie and Walter Kingsford, featured Hare as the Colonel. Hare staged and played T. J. Diggs in the original production of Elmer Gantry (8/7/28) with Edward Pawley in the title role.

Soon after the closing of Elmer Gantry, Hare accepted a contract offer from Fox to come to Hollywood and serve in various capacities. In addition to his contract as an actor, Hare would serve as a dialogue director when needed, as well as a speech and diction coach for performers adjusting to the new sound medium of motion pictures.

Hare’s first acting assignment for Fox came with his role as Uncle Ned in Fugitives (1929), starring Madge Bellamy (of White Zombie fame), who was falsely accused of murder. Girls Gone Wild (1929) had Lumsden as Tom Holworthy, the wealthy father of Sue Carol. In addition to providing the direction of the dialogue under John Ford, Hare portrayed the Colonel in The Black Watch (1929). Just as the famed Scottish regiment is mobilizing to fight in France in WWI, the Colonel of the Black Watch must order Victor McLaglen, whom he knows will be viewed by his peers as a coward, to undertake a secret mission to India. Salute (1929), also directed by John Ford, explored the rivalry between the United States Military Academy and the United States Naval Academy, with Hare as the grandfather of both a West Point cadet (George O’Brien) and an Annapolis midshipman (William Janney). John Wayne and Ward Bond had minor roles as cadets in Salute. The Sky Hawk (1929), about aviators, featured Helen Chandler and included Hare as Judge Allan.

Hare portrayed Mr. Jordan, the father of Joan Bennett’s character, in Crazy That Way (1930). Lumsden had a substantial role opposite star, Will Rogers in So This is London (1930). As Lord Percy Worthing, Lumsden indulged in political sparring and a shooting match with Rogers, playing an American cotton mill owner on a business trip to England. With Edmund Lowe in a dual role, Scotland Yard (1930) had Hare as Sir Clive Heathcote. Lumsden played Freil, a Royal Canadian Mountie, who teaches John Smith (J. Harold Murray) about the value of self-respect and unselfishness in Under Suspicion (1930). Charlie Chan Carries On (1931), the first Fox entry of the “Chan” series with Warner Oland in the lead (and unfortunately a lost film), had Hare as Inspector Hayley.

As part of his contractual responsibilities for Fox, Hare had to provide voice and diction lessons for several of the studio’s players. Lumsden had the task of working with John Wayne before the onset of the shooting of The Big Trail (1931), on which he also served as dialogue director. After more than two weeks of three-hour sessions with Hare, the future star rebelled, prompting Wayne to provide lessons in elocution, projection, and movement. Wayne received the backing of director Raoul Walsh in stopping the lessons, with Hare capitulating because “Duke,” in Lumsden’s estimation, would never be an actor.

Lumsden was loaned to Warners to appear as Monsieur Taffy in Svengali (1931). Taffy and the Laird (Donald Crisp), both painters, have grown weary of the scrounging and manipulating of Svengali (John Barrymore). The two artists hide their valuables when Svengali and Gecko (Luis Alberni) visit them. After forcing Svengali to bathe, they discover the eccentric guest has stolen Taffy’s suit and the Laird’s money purse. Years later, Taffy, the Laird, and Billee (Bramwell Fletcher) go to listen to Maestro Svengali with his new singing sensation, who turns out to be their former model and Billee’s love, Trilby (Marian Marsh). The Schenectady (NY) Gazette (6/13/31) wrote, “Lumsden Hare is perfect as Taffy, the big fellow with the fair whiskers.”

Hare portrayed Blake in Always Goodbye (1931), Mr. Wey-Smith in The Road to Singapore (1931), and Sir Robert Fairland, the governor, in Arrowsmith (1931), the latter directed by John Ford. In The Silent Witness (1932), Hare was Colonel Grayson, who investigates the killing of Greta Nissen, clearing the presumed murderer (Bramwell Fletcher), the son of aristocrat Lionel Atwill. Lumsden was again trying to solve a crime as Inspector Avery in Devil’s Lottery (1932), a tale of newfound wealth, deceit, and murder with Elissa Landi, Victor McLaglen, and Halliwell Hobbes.

The White Sister (1933), with Helen Hayes and Clark Gable, had Hare as the Commander. Lumsden was Sir Mortimer Fortescue, the father of Sari Maritza, amidst the craziness of W. C. Fields and others (including Bela Lugosi) in International House (1933). College Humor (1933) featured Hare as the president who forces Professor Bing Crosby to resign over an incident involving a drunken football player. Lumsden played Oxford, the art dealer, in His Double Life (1933), starring Roland Young.

Hare spent the summer of 1933 performing in stock at Raymond Moore’s Cape Theatre in Dennis, Massachusetts. Later that same summer, Lumsden appeared at the Shore Playhouse near his old estate in Beechhurst, Queens, New York, in The Late Christopher Bean.

Man of Two Worlds (1934) included Hare as Captain Swan, whose ship transports British explorers to Greenland in search of polar bears for the London Zoo. As part of a stellar cast of character actors, including Boris Karloff, Lumsden was the Prince Regent in The House of Rothschild (1934), starring George Arliss. Black Moon (1934), concerned with voodoo on the island of St. Christopher near Haiti, had Hare as Maclin, the overseer of Dorothy Burgess’ uncle’s estate, who is killed trying to warn her not to return to the island. The World Moves On (1934) featured Hare in two distinct roles in different periods: Gabriel Warburton in 1825 and Sir John Warburton in 1914. Lumsden played Guy in Outcast Lady (1934) with Constance Bennett. As Tammas Whammond, the judgmental village precentor, Hare clashed with John Beal and Katharine Hepburn in The Little Minister (1934).

The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935) had Hare as Major General Woodley, the British intelligence officer who suspects Mohammed Khan (Douglass Dumbrille) of plotting to attack a munitions convoy. Lumsden portrayed Sergeant Clark in Clive of India (1935), Gustave in Folies Bergere de Paris (1935), Lord Abernathy in Lady Tubbs (1935), and the constable in The Bishop Misbehaves (1935). Again opposite George Arliss, Hare was Gustavus Adolphus, the King of Sweden, in Cardinal Richelieu (1935). She (1935), based on the novel by H. Rider Haggard, featured Hare as Dugmore, Helen Mack’s greedy father, who is killed by an avalanche. Lumsden played Robert, Earl of Leicester, in Cecil B. DeMille’s The Crusades (1935). Like James McLean, Hare owned a lumber company in Freckles (1935). The Three Musketeers (1935) had him as de Treville, the commander of the King’s musketeers and surrogate father to his men. As Duke Henry, Lumsden was the jolly English politician who labels almost everything “amazing” in The Great Impersonation (1935). This cast included horror genre favorites like Dwight Frye, Ivan Simpson, Frank Reicher, and Leonard Mudie. In Professional Soldier (1935), as Paul Valdis, Hare solicits soldier of fortune Victor McLaglen to kidnap his king to protect him from the vile C. Henry Gordon.

Under Two Flags (1936) featured Hare as Lord Seraph, whose discovery of a miniature wooden horse reveals Ronald Colman’s true identity. The Princess Comes Across (1936), starring Carole Lombard, had Lumsden as Cragg. As General Abercrombie, Hare led the relief force that saves Hawkeye (Randolph Scott) from a fiery death at the hands of the Huron in The Last of the Mohicans (1936). Michael Curtiz’s spectacular The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936) had Hare as Colonel Woodward. In Lloyds of London (1936), another historical drama, Lumsden was Captain Maurice Suckling.

Back on stage, Hare appeared as His Excellency Count Albert Mariaszy, the conservative prime minister, in The Lady Has a Heart, along with Vincent Price and Elissa Landi. The show played the Shubert, New Haven (9/20/37) as part of its out-of-town tryouts before opening on Broadway at the Longacre Theatre on September 25, 1937. The Lady Has a Heart, which ran for 91 performances, reunited Hare with Hilda Spong, with whom he had appeared, playing young sweethearts, in Getting Married in 1916. They had maintained a friendship since that time. “Even today, Miss Spong calls Hare ‘Boxer,’ the name of the character he created in Getting Married” (uncited clipping, 1937). Spong and Hare play an older married couple in The Lady Has a Heart.

The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1937) had Hare as Inspector Witherspoon of Scotland Yard, to whom William Powell turns himself in near the conclusion. Lumsden played a newspaper editor in Parnell (1937). He was Mr. Richards in The Life of Emile Zola (1937), Colonel Hardwick in The Little Diplomat (1937), and Colonel William Addington Drake III in Life Begins With Love (1937). In the “Christmas Yet to Come” sequence of A Christmas Carol (1938), Hare was among those discussing the funeral of Scrooge (Reginald Owen). As Major Mitchell in Gunga Din (1939), Hare, with his superior Colonel Weed (Montagu Love), discovers that the Thuggee, a violent cult, is behind the insurrection in India. Lumsden was Mr. Bailey, the patriarch of a family of settlers in Australia, in Captain Fury (1939). The MGM “Passing Parade” short The Giant of Norway (1939) featured Hare as the lead character, Fridtjof Nansen. Returning to the theater once again with the venerable Grace George, Hare was seen as Alfred Parsons in the comedy Billy Draws a Horse (12/21/39) at the Playhouse.

Northwest Passage (1940), with Spencer Tracy excellent as Robert Rogers, had Hare as Lord Jeffrey Amherst, the commander-in-chief of the British Army in North America. Hitchcock’s Rebecca (1940), starring Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine, included Hare as Tabbs, the boat builder, who testifies at the coroner’s inquest. Lumsden portrayed the chairman in A Dispatch from Reuters (1940), Captain Alan MacKinnon in Hudson’s Bay (1941), the doorman in One Night in Lisbon (1941), and the Duke in the short More Trifles of Importance (1941). Shadows on the Stairs (1941), a murder mystery with a fine cast including Turhan Bey, Heather Angel, and Miles Mander, included Hare as the police inspector investigating the case.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941), the remake starring Spencer Tracy, featured Hare as Colonel Weymouth, an old cavalry officer, who in the Marley dining room sequence, stresses the need for discipline (“Everything else is poppycock!”). Suspicion (1941), directed by Alfred Hitchcock, had Lumsden as Inspector Hodgson, who questions Joan Fontaine about the death of Nigel Bruce. Hare played Inspector Bray in Passage from Hong Kong (1941), Reginald Belvin in The Blonde from Singapore (1941), Sir Titus Scott in Confirm or Deny (1941), and the first head waiter in This Above All (1942). The short The Greatest Gift (1942) had Lumsden as Father Cyprian, who provides shelter for a nearly frozen man (Edmund Gwenn) but then is skeptical that the vagrant’s juggling skills can be offered as a gift to the Virgin Mary. Random Harvest (1942), with Ronald Colman in fine form as an amnesiac army officer, included Hare as Sir John.

Lumsden Hare’s final Broadway role was that of Dr. Hawes in the short-lived (six performances) Plan M (2/20/42) at the Belasco Theatre. Set in the British War Office during the early days of World War II, Plan M featured an interesting cast, including Charles K. Gerrard (Martin in the 1931 Dracula) and Neil Fitzgerald (Rudy in Bride of Frankenstein). Brooks Atkinson’s review (the New York Times, 2/21/42) noted, “Lumsden Hare has an impressive medical presence as the physician—bald, bespectacled and benevolent.”

Set in wartime at a sanitarium run by duplicitous doctors, Paul Cavanagh and John Abbott's The Gorilla Man (1943) featured Hare as General Randall Devon, who attempts to determine when and where the Nazis will strike next. Lumsden played Superintendent Neil in London Blackout Murders (1943) and Fitch in Forever and a Day (1943). As Lord Chilston, Hare was the British Ambassador to Russia in the controversial Mission to Moscow (1943). Lumsden was seen as the government official at the train station in The Man From Down Under (1943), Benson the footman in Holy Matrimony (1943), and Professor Roget in Madame Curie (1943). Jack London (1943) had Hare as English correspondent Dick Davis, who, while covering the Russo-Japanese War, informs the U.S. government of the arrest of London (Michael O’Shea) as a spy by the Japanese.

As Dr. Sheridan, the theater physician in The Lodger (1944), Hare postulates that the murderer, later revealed to be Laird Cregar (in a bravura performance), must have medical expertise. Lumsden portrayed freighter Captain Mack in Passport to Destiny (1944) and the Vicar in The White Cliffs of Dover (1944). His scenes as Daniel Glennie were deleted from the final print of The Keys of the Kingdom (1944). He did appear as Mr. Potts in the charming fantasy The Canterville Ghost (1944), with young Margaret O’Brien interacting with Charles Laughton as the pathetic specter.

Hare was included as “Mr. X” in the Universal serial Jungle Queen (1945) with Ruth Roman. The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945) featured Lumsden as Thornton, Dorian’s gamekeeper, who speculates that a recently discovered corpse appears to be that of a sailor. Hare played Dr. McClintock in The Valley of Decision (1945), Mr. Quinton in Love Letters (1945), Lord Fallsworth in Captain Kidd (1945), Lawyer McKellar in The Green Years (1946), and Dr. Shadrack in Sister Kenny (1946), the latter starring Rosalind Russell. He was Canon Green in It Happened in Brooklyn (1947), the Mayor of Canteleu in The Private Affairs of Bel Ami (1947), and Hardy in The Imperfect Lady (1947). Ivy (1947), starring Joan Fontaine, had Lumsden as Dr. Lanchester, the physician who murdered Richard Ney, who resents the interference of Patric Knowles. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947), with Danny Kaye as the creative daydreamer, included Hare as Dr. Pritchard-Mitford. At this time, Lumsden's other roles were Anderson in Green Dolphin Street (1947) and the Roundhead general in The Exile (1947). Hare’s third and last performance in an Alfred Hitchcock film came as the courtroom attendant in The Paradine Case (1947).

The Swordsman (1948), with Larry Parks, had Hare as Reverend Douglas. In the whimsical Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid (1948), Lumsden, as Colonel Mandrake, suspects William Powell of murdering Ann Blyth. Hills of Home (1948) had Hare as Lord Kilspindle. He portrayed the Viceroy in The Fighting O’Flynn (1949) with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. Hare was Mr. MacFarland, the Scottish boss with whom sheepherder Donald Crisp leaves Lassie when he prepares to depart from Edinburgh, in Challenge to Lassie (1949). Lumsden played Roger Forsyte in That Forsyte Woman (1949), starring Greer Garson.

Hare portrayed Tom Mannering in Fortunes of Captain Blood (1950) and Warwick in Rogues of Sherwood Forest (1950), with John Derek as Robin. The biblical story David and Bathsheba (1951) featured Lumsden as an old shepherd. He was uncredited as a doctor in The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel (1951). In The Lady and the Bandit (1951), Hare played Sir Robert Walpole, who intervenes with the king on behalf of condemned Dick Turpin (Louis Hayward). As Blunt, Hare appeared with Edmund Lowe in “The Invisible Hand” (1951), an episode of the early TV series Front Page Detective (DuMont). Lumsden was even seen on The Amos ‘n Andy Show (CBS) as the English clerk in “Andy Gets a Telegram” (12/27/51). Dangerous Assignment, a TV series starring Brian Donlevy, featured Hare as Frobisher in “The Lagoon Story” (April 28, 1952, Season 1, Episode 10).

Hare played a member of Parliament in 5 Fingers (1952), Jacks in Diplomatic Courier (1952), Tamblyn in My Cousin Rachel (1952), the president in Rogue’s March (1953), and had a minor role in And Now Tomorrow (1952). Julius Caesar (1953), with a strong cast headed by Louis Calhern, Marlon Brando, and James Mason, featured Hare as Publius. Lumsden was Archbishop Cranmer in Young Bess (1953), which starred Jean Simmons. Rose Marie (1954), the musical remake featuring Ann Blyth and Howard Keel in the roles played by Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy in the 1936 version, had Hare uncredited as the judge. Again, without billing, Lumsden played a physician in King Richard and the Crusaders (1954) with Rex Harrison. Battle Cry (1955) gave Hare the minor part of a New Zealander in a bar.

From the mid-50s on, virtually all of Hare’s acting was done on television. On The Loretta Young Show, Hare played Dr. Wilson in “Guest in the Night” (8/29/54, season 2, episode 1). For the anthology show Cavalcade of America (ABC), Lumsden was seen in “A Man’s Home” (12/28/54, season 3, episode 10) and “The Ship That Shook the World” (3/29/55, season 3, episode 19). On Hallmark Hall of Fame (NBC), Hare was Governor Winthrop in “The First Mintmaster” (1/19/55), Ambassador Wakefield in “The Finest Gift” (3/27/55), and in the cast of “Crusade to Liberty” (1/10/54). Hare appeared with John Carradine in two episodes of Climax! (CBS), “The First and the Last” (4/28/55, season 1, episode 23) and “The Hanging Judge” (1/12/56, season 2, episode 17). On Lux Video Theatre (NBC), Lumsden played religious characters in three presentations: The Bishop in “Love Letters” (1/20/55, season 5, episode 22), the vicar in “My Name is Julia Ross” (3/31/55, season 5, episode 32, starring Beverly Garland) and a minister in “Here Comes the Groom” (3/1/56, season 6, episode 23).

Hare appeared twice on The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, portraying Angus MacTavish, an elderly kilt-wearing, bagpipe-playing Scot who befriends Rusty (Lee Aaker). “The Lost Scotchman” (5/27/55, Season 1, Episode 33) featured Angus dwelling in a mine believed to be haunted. MacTavish reappeared in “Scotchman’s Gold” (4/6/56, season 2, episode 30).

Hare was seen in “The Joyful Lunatic” (7/8/56), an episode of Telephone Time, and played the judge in “The Trial of Edward Pritchard” (9/14/56), the first installment of The Joseph Cotton Show: On Trial. Oh! Susanna (aka The Gale Storm Show) had Lumsden again playing a Scot, Kenneth MacNab, in “Bonnie Lassie” (10/20/56, season 1, episode 4). Matinee Theatre (NBC) featured Hare in “Captain Brassbound’s Conversion” (12/13/56, season 2, episode 63), an adaptation of the George Bernard Shaw play, in which Lumsden had been featured more than 50 years prior in London. For the same NBC daily anthology program (Matinee Theatre), Hare enacted the role of Poole, Jekyll’s servant, in “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” (3/8/57, season 2, episode 121), starring Douglass Montgomery in the dual role. Crossroads, a spiritual anthology series, featured Lumsden as Bishop Manning in “Greenhill Far Away” (January 28, 1957, Season 2, Episode 39), which included an early role for young Barbara Eden.

The Disney theatrical release Johnny Tremain (1957), which was soon edited for television’s Walt Disney Presents, included Hare as Admiral Montagu, who is thwarted in his attempt to land British troops in Boston Harbor. Count Your Blessings (1959), starring Deborah Kerr and Rossano Brazzi, had Hare in the part of John. Lumsden was Sir Richard Willingham, the British ambassador, in The Oregon Trail (1959) with Fred MacMurray. From the big screen to the small, Hare played the judge in “Doomsday” (10/13/59, season 2, episode 4), a tale of witchcraft and an old curse, on Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond hosted by John Newland.

Despite being in his mid-80s, Hare gave a lively performance as Rogers, the Drake family butler, in the horror genre film The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake (1959). At one point, Rogers’ entrance deters the Jivaro Zutai (Paul Wexler) from killing Jonathan (Eduard Franz) with a poisoned bamboo blade. It was somewhat nostalgic to see Hare interacting with Henry Daniell, as the two had often worked together in theater and film for many years, particularly as the creepy villain Zurich.

On a two-part (season 7, episodes 5 & 6) offering of Walt Disney Presents (ABC), Hare played Croaker in “Moochie of Pop Warner Football: Pee Wees Versus City Hall” ((11/20/60) and “Moochie of Pop Warner Football: From Ticonderoga to Disneyland” (11/27/60). Kevin Corcoran, the young Disney favorite, played Moochie.

As of 1960, Lumsden Hare and his wife Selene lived at 212 S. Canon Drive, Beverly Hills, California. Selene Johnson passed away on December 11, 1960, leaving a significant void in Lumsden, as the couple had been together for nearly 50 years.

Fittingly, Hare’s last professional appearance was on CBS television’s Thriller, hosted by Boris Karloff. Lumsden portrayed Thomas Watson, a farmer and woodcutter in a Wales/England border village, in “Hay-Fork and Bill-Hook” (2/7/61, season 1, episode 20). As the story unfolds in a town inhabited by descendants of ancient Druids, Watson is brutally and ritually murdered with the title objects, and the latter is used to carve a cross on his throat. Watson knew too much and jeopardized the secretive community, including matriarch Doris Lloyd.

On August 28, 1964, Lumsden Hare passed away in Beverly Hills, California, at the age of 90. The cause of death was listed as pneumonia.

Lumsden Hare had a long and distinguished career spanning almost 70 years, with 170 films, television programs, and numerous plays. Lumsden transitioned from a leading man in the silent era to a steady character player in sound films. Usually, as a nobleman, military officer, or some authority figure, he appeared in numerous major costume dramas, particularly during the 1930s. As earlier stated, Hare’s fantasy genre credits include Svengali, She, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941), The Lodger, The Canterville Ghost, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid, and The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake. Despite his prolific list of motion picture appearances, Hare has rarely received recognition for his contributions to film and theater. It is hoped that this tribute brings him some degree of overdue acknowledgment.

Lloyds of London (20th Century Fox, 1936): Freddie Bartholomew and Douglas Scott are bemused by Lumsden Hare (as Captain Suckling).

The photo above shows Lumsden Hare as the Drake family butler from The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake (United Artists, 1957).