Esther Dale

Esther Dale

Acting
Born Nov 10, 1885
From Beaufort, South Carolina, USA
Died Jul 23, 1961

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Esther Dale (November 10, 1885 – July 23, 1961) was an American actress, best known perhaps for her role as Aunt Genevieve in the 1935 Shirley Temple vehicle, Curly Top. On the stage, Dale starred in Carrie Nation on Broadway in 1933. Her other Broadway credits include Harvest of Years (1947), And Be My Love (1944), and Another Language (1932). Dale's first film was Crime Without Passion (1934) in an uncredited role. She was a familiar face in films of the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, frequently playing stern, authoritarian characters such as prison matrons and head nurses, although she was equally adept at playing grande dames and ladies of the aristocracy. Dale played many roles in television over the years. In the 1958-1959 season of The Donna Reed Show, Dale played a job-seeking housekeeper who is frightened from the Stone home by Jeff Stone's pet mouse, and she appeared in the 1957 Maverick episode "According to Hoyle" opposite James Garner.

Known For

Fury
7.5

Fury

Mrs. Whipple
The Women
7.1

The Women

Ingrid (uncredited)
North to Alaska
6.5

North to Alaska

Woman at Picnic
Dead End
7.0

Dead End

Mrs. Fenner
Curly Top
6.4

Curly Top

Genevieve Graham
Monkey Business
6.7

Monkey Business

Mrs. Rhinelander
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
6.0

Mr. & Mrs. Smith

Mrs. Krausheimer
The North Star
6.0

The North Star

Anna Kurin
The Awful Truth
7.2

The Awful Truth

Mrs. Leeson
On Moonlight Bay
6.4

On Moonlight Bay

Filmography — Acting

Fury
7.5
1936

Fury

Mrs. Whipple
The Women
7.1
1939

The Women

Ingrid (uncredited)
North to Alaska
6.5
1960

North to Alaska

Woman at Picnic
Dead End
7.0
1937

Dead End

Mrs. Fenner
Curly Top
6.4
1935

Curly Top

Genevieve Graham
Monkey Business
6.7
1952

Monkey Business

Mrs. Rhinelander
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
6.0
1941

Mr. & Mrs. Smith

Mrs. Krausheimer
The North Star
6.0
1943

The North Star

Anna Kurin
The Awful Truth
7.2
1937

The Awful Truth

Mrs. Leeson
On Moonlight Bay
6.4
1951

On Moonlight Bay
Easy Living
7.1
1937

Easy Living

Lillian
A Stolen Life
6.4
1946

A Stolen Life

Mrs. Johnson
No Man of Her Own
6.9
1950

No Man of Her Own

Josie
Made for Each Other
6.1
1939

Made for Each Other

Annie (uncredited)
Margie
6.9
1946

Margie

Grandma McSweeney
Holiday Affair
6.9
1949

Holiday Affair

Mrs. Ennis
The Oklahoman
5.6
1957

The Oklahoman

Mrs. Fitzgerald
Walk Softly, Stranger
5.0
1950

Walk Softly, Stranger

Miss Thompson
The Egg and I
7.0
1947

The Egg and I

Birdie Hicks
The Sound and the Fury
6.6
1959

The Sound and the Fury

Mrs. Maud Mansfield
Abe Lincoln in Illinois
6.8
1940

Abe Lincoln in Illinois

Lincoln's Cook (uncredited)
A Song Is Born
6.3
1948

A Song Is Born

Miss Bragg
Back Street
7.2
1941

Back Street

Mrs. Smith
My Reputation
7.1
1946

My Reputation

Anna
Sergeant Madden
6.0
1939

Sergeant Madden

Mrs. McGillivray
Untamed
4.2
1940

Untamed

Mrs. Smith
Private Worlds
6.0
1935

Private Worlds

Matron
I Dream Too Much
5.1
1935

I Dream Too Much

Mrs. Dilley (uncredited)
Old Acquaintance
7.1
1943

Old Acquaintance

Harriet
The Mortal Storm
7.3
1940

The Mortal Storm

Marta
Broadway Serenade
6.2
1939

Broadway Serenade

Mrs. Olsen, the Landlady
Swanee River
6.7
1939

Swanee River

Temperance Woman
Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair
6.4
1952

Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair

Birdie Hicks
The Wedding Night
5.8
1935

The Wedding Night

Mrs. Kaise Novak
Laddie
6.0
1940

Laddie

Sarah, the Housekeeper
Murder in Times Square
4.3
1943

Murder in Times Square

Longacre Lil
The Great Man Votes
6.1
1939

The Great Man Votes

Mrs. Markham
Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki
7.3
1955

Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki

Birdie Hicks
Smoky
5.2
1946

Smoky

Mrs. 'Gram' Richards
Arise, My Love
6.3
1940

Arise, My Love

Susie
Ten Gentlemen from West Point
5.8
1942

Ten Gentlemen from West Point

Mrs. Thompson
Aloma of the South Seas
6.2
1941

Aloma of the South Seas

Tarusa
Big Town Czar
1939

Big Town Czar

Ma Daley
All-American Co-Ed
4.2
1941

All-American Co-Ed

Aunt Matilda Collinge
Forty Little Mothers
6.4
1940

Forty Little Mothers

Mrs. Mason the Landlady
A Tale of Two Cities
1953

A Tale of Two Cities

Pross
Too Young to Kiss
4.8
1951

Too Young to Kiss

Mrs. Boykin
What's Cookin'?
5.5
1942

What's Cookin'?

Mrs. Murphy (uncredited)
Blackmail
6.4
1939

Blackmail

Sarah
The Case Against Mrs. Ames
4.2
1936

The Case Against Mrs. Ames

Matilda
Maisie Gets Her Man
6.5
1942

Maisie Gets Her Man

Mrs. McIntyre (Uncredited)
Unfinished Business
5.3
1941

Unfinished Business

Aunt Mathilda
I Live My Life
6.4
1935

I Live My Life

Brumbaugh, Mrs. Gage's Housekeeper
Surrender
4.4
1950

Surrender

Aunt May
Bedside Manner
5.7
1945

Bedside Manner

Martha Gravitt
Hollywood Boulevard
2.7
1936

Hollywood Boulevard

Martha
And One Was Beautiful
6.2
1940

And One Was Beautiful

Margaret
Blondie Goes to College
6.4
1942

Blondie Goes to College

Mrs. Carrie Dill, the Landlady
The Amazing Mrs. Holliday
6.7
1943

The Amazing Mrs. Holliday
Crime Without Passion
5.8
1934

Crime Without Passion

Miss Keeley (uncredited)
A Child is Born
6.5
1939

A Child is Born

Prison Matron (uncredited)
Blondie Has Servant Trouble
7.2
1940

Blondie Has Servant Trouble

Anna Vaughn
Dangerously They Live
5.9
1941

Dangerously They Live

Dawson, Goodwin's Housekeeper
Tell No Tales
4.6
1939

Tell No Tales

Mrs. Haskins
Convicted Woman
3.4
1940

Convicted Woman

Chief Matron Brackett
Wild Money
1937

Wild Money

Jenny Hawkins
Prison Farm
5.7
1938

Prison Farm

Cora Waxley
Cross-Country Romance
6.4
1940

Cross-Country Romance

Mrs. McGillicuddy
Behind City Lights
1945

Behind City Lights

Sarah Lowell
Bad Little Angel
4.9
1939

Bad Little Angel

Miss Brown, Orphanage Secretary (uncredited)
Lady of Secrets
6.0
1936

Lady of Secrets

Miss Eccles
6,000 Enemies
6.0
1939

6,000 Enemies

Prison Matron
The Unfinished Dance
6.0
1947

The Unfinished Dance

Olga
Outcast
1937

Outcast

Hattie Simmerson
Timothy's Quest
3.0
1936

Timothy's Quest

Hitty Tarbox
The Farmer in the Dell
1936

The Farmer in the Dell

Ma Boyer
Mary Burns, Fugitive
1935

Mary Burns, Fugitive

Kate
On Stage Everybody
1945

On Stage Everybody

Ma Cassidy
Swing Your Partner
1943

Swing Your Partner

Caroline Bird, aka Anna Robbins
Betrayed Women
4.7
1955

Betrayed Women

Head Matron Ballard
You're Telling Me
1942

You're Telling Me

Aunt Fannie Handley
Women Without Names
4.1
1940

Women Without Names

Head Matron Ingles
Girls on Probation
5.9
1938

Girls on Probation

Mrs. Engstrom
Ma and Pa Kettle
7.1
1949

Ma and Pa Kettle

Mrs. Birdie Hicks
On Such a Night
1937

On Such a Night

Miss Belinda Fentridge
Wrecking Crew
6.0
1942

Wrecking Crew

Mike O'Glendy
In Old Kentucky
1935

In Old Kentucky

Dolly Breckenridge
Condemned Women
6.3
1938

Condemned Women

Mrs. Clara Glover, Head Matron
The Great Impersonation
8.0
1935

The Great Impersonation

Mrs. Unthank
A Letter From Bataan
4.5
1942

A Letter From Bataan

Mrs. Jackson
1940

Village Barn Dance

Minerva Withers
How to Sub-Let
3.5
1939

How to Sub-Let

Mrs. Mustavas
Opened by Mistake
1940

Opened by Mistake

Mrs. Anthony DeBorest
Stolen Heaven
1938

Stolen Heaven

Lieschen
Damaged Goods
3.0
1937

Damaged Goods

Mrs. Dupont