---
name: "Robert Cummings"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/robert-cummings"
fi1m_id: "robert-cummings"
imdb_id: "nm0191950"
tmdb_id: 7125
wikidata_id: "Q366678"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "9 June 1910"
died: "2 December 1990"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 4
average_fi1m_score: 78
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 3
updated: "2026-09-25T01:53:55.255500+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Robert Cummings

## Identity

Robert Cummings

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/robert-cummings
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** robert-cummings
- **IMDb ID:** nm0191950
- **TMDB ID:** 7125
- **Wikidata ID:** Q366678
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Cummings, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q366678, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0191950/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/7125

Actor. Born 9 June 1910 in Joplin, Missouri, USA. Died 2 December 1990.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 9 June 1910, Joplin, Missouri, USA
- **Died:** 2 December 1990
- **Active:** 1942–1959
- **Also known as:** Charles Clarence Robert Orville Cummings, Bob Cummings, Blade Stanhope Conway, Bruce Hutchens, Роберт Каммингс, Bryce Hutchens, رابرت کامینگز
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 4: 3 acting, 1 other
- **Primetime Emmy Awards:** 1 Emmy (1 won)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 78, as actor, over 3 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1930s 85 (1), 1940s 70 (1), 1950s 82 (2)
- **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 1 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 1 of 2 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Drama 3, Mystery 2, Crime 1, Romance 1, Sci-Fi & Fantasy 1, Thriller 1
- **Screen time:** 4 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $3m across 1 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Cummings, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q366678, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0191950/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/7125

## Streaming the US now

- **Tubi:** [*Sons of the Desert*](https://film.one/film/sons-of-the-desert.md) (85), [*Dial M for Murder*](https://film.one/film/dial-m-for-murder.md) (80)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Robert Cummings

> Robert Cummings makes good company of men who are trying their best and not always managing it. We rate his light comic assurance, but Hitchcock gives his ordinary-man appeal a more demanding use.

In *Dial M for Murder* (1954), Robert Cummings’s Mark Halliday helps keep a confined thriller’s long conversations worth listening to. Ray Milland’s persuasive schemer is the obvious attraction, with Cummings in a key supporting role alongside him and Grace Kelly. Cummings brings an agreeable presence to company we do not entirely trust. We like that quality in him: a thriller need not have every actor competing to look dangerous.

That ease had a home in the light comedies that made him a leading man by the late 1930s and early 1940s. He was often cast as a well-meaning young man whose efforts did not quite go to plan; the bumbling mattered as much as the charm. *The Devil and Miss Jones* (1941), opposite Jean Arthur, is a useful example of that comic work. *Saboteur* (1942) put him into Hitchcock’s suspense as Barry Kane, an innocent man on the run, giving an audience a more urgent reason to want things to go right for him.

We were thoroughly entertained by *Dial M for Murder*, because the actors keep the long exchanges engaging even when Hitchcock has a great deal to explain. Some passages are stiff, and Cummings shares the task of making exposition bearable rather than having the film arranged around his strengths. There is less opportunity here for the bumbling that served his comedies, and he fits into the ensemble without it. We recommend the film for its precise, nasty suspense and its actors, with Milland foremost; Cummings is part of why the long conversations work.

His dramatic television work included *Twelve Angry Men* (1954), before *The Bob Cummings Show* (1955–59) gave his comedy a sustained home. As bachelor photographer Bob Collins, he became a television star, and the subsequent association with comedy is easy enough to understand. It is also a poor reason to neglect the suspense films. After *Dial M for Murder*, try *Saboteur* to see what Hitchcock does with him in the lead.

## Biography

Robert Cummings (born Charles Clarence Robert Orville Cummings, also credited as Bob Cummings, Blade Stanhope Conway and Bruce Hutchens) was an American actor. He was born on 9 June 1910 in Joplin, Missouri, and died on 2 December 1990. He trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and began his career on Broadway and in films in the 1930s, initially using assumed identities including an English stage name.

Cummings appeared in more than 100 films. He is known for roles in the Alfred Hitchcock thrillers *Saboteur* (1942) and *Dial M for Murder* (1954), in which he played Mark Halliday. Other film credits include *The Devil and Miss Jones* (1941), *King's Row* (1942) and *What a Way to Go!* (1964).

On television he starred in *The Bob Cummings Show* (1955–59) and made guest appearances including in *The Twilight Zone* and *Bewitched*. He received five Primetime Emmy Award nominations and won the award for Best Actor in a Single Performance in 1955. In 1960 he was awarded two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

*Sources: imdb.com, en.wikipedia.org, walkoffame.com.*

## On Fi1m (4)

### Performed in (3) — the average rests on these

- *The Twilight Zone* (1959), Fi1m 84, as James Embry — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-twilight-zone.md)
- *Dial M for Murder* (1954), Fi1m 80, as Mark Halliday — [page](https://film.one/film/dial-m-for-murder.md)
- *Kings Row* (1942), Fi1m 70, as Parris Mitchell — [page](https://film.one/film/kings-row.md)

### Also credited (1) — thanks, archive footage, uncredited

- *Sons of the Desert* (1933), Fi1m 85, as Steamship Announcement Witness (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/sons-of-the-desert.md)

## Complete filmography (100)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Three on a Date* (1978), as Cab Driver
- *The Love Boat* (1977), series, as Eliott Smith
- *Partners in Crime* (1973), as Ralph Elsworth
- *The Great American Beauty Contest* (1973), as Dan Carson (as Bob Cummings)
- *Arnie* (1970), series, Actor
- *Gidget Grows Up* (1969), as Russell Lawrence
- *Love, American Style* (1969), series, as Grandpa
- *Here's Lucy* (1968), series, as Bob Collins, Robert Henning
- *Five Golden Dragons* (1967), as Bob Mitchell
- *Stagecoach* (1966), as Henry Gatewood (as Bob Cummings)
- *Promise Her Anything* (1966), as Dr. Philip Brock
- *Green Acres* (1965), series, as Mort Warner
- *My Living Doll* (1964), series, as Dr. Robert McDonald
- *Bewitched* (1964), series, Actor
- *What a Way to Go!* (1964), as Victor Stephanson
- *The Carpetbaggers* (1964), as Dan Pierce
- *The Great Adventure* (1963), series, as Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse
- *Beach Party* (1963), as Professor Sutwell
- *The Beverly Hillbillies* (1962), series, as Robert Cummings
- *My Geisha* (1962), as Bob Moore, Songs
- *The New Bob Cummings Show* (1961), series, Actor
- *The Twilight Zone* (1959), series, as James Embry — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-twilight-zone.md)
- *Bomber's Moon* (1958), as Colonel Culver
- *The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour* (1957), series, as Robert Cummings
- *Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre* (1956), series, as Lt. Charles Gatewood
- *How to Be Very, Very Popular* (1955), as Fillmore 'Wedge' Wedgewood
- *Disneyland's Opening Day Broadcast* (1955), Actor
- *The Bob Cummings Show* (1955), series, as Bob Collins · Director
- *The Elgin Hour* (1954), series, as Jeff Clark
- *Twelve Angry Men* (1954), as Juror #8
- *Dial M for Murder* (1954), as Mark Halliday — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/dial-m-for-murder.md)
- *Lucky Me* (1954), as Dick Carson
- *Marry Me Again* (1953), as Bill
- *General Electric Theater* (1953), series, as Russ Baker
- *My Hero* (1952), series, as Robert Beanblossom · Writer
- *The First Time* (1952), as Joe Bennett
- *The Barefoot Mailman* (1951), as Sylvanus Hurley
- *Schlitz Playhouse of Stars* (1951), series, as Spencer O. Spencer
- *For Heaven's Sake* (1950), as Jeff Bolton
- *The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show* (1950), series, Actor
- *Lux Video Theatre* (1950), series, as Wally
- *The Petty Girl* (1950), as George Petty, aka Andrew 'Andy' Tapp
- *Your Show of Shows* (1950), series, Actor
- *Paid in Full* (1950), as Bill Prentice
- *Robert Montgomery Presents* (1950), series, as Sawyer
- *Tell It to the Judge* (1949), as Pete Webb
- *Free For All* (1949), as Christopher Parker
- *Reign of Terror* (1949), as Charles D'Aubigny
- *The Accused* (1949), as Warren Ford
- *Let's Live a Little* (1948), as Duke Crawford
- *Studio One* (1948), series, as Juror #8, George Lumley
- *Sleep, My Love* (1948), as Bruce Elcott
- *The Lost Moment* (1947), as Lewis Venable
- *Heaven Only Knows* (1947), as Michael, aka Mike
- *The Chase* (1946), as Chuck Scott
- *The Bride Wore Boots* (1946), as Jeff Warren
- *You Came Along* (1945), as Maj. Bob Collins
- *Flesh and Fantasy* (1943), as Michael (segment 1)
- *Princess O'Rourke* (1943), as Eddie O'Rourke
- *Forever and a Day* (1943), as Ned
- *Between Us Girls* (1942), as Jimmy Blake
- *Saboteur* (1942), as Barry Kane
- *Kings Row* (1942), as Parris Mitchell — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/kings-row.md)
- *It Started with Eve* (1941), as Johnny Reynolds Jr.
- *Moon Over Miami* (1941), as Jeffrey 'Jeff' Boulton II
- *The Devil and Miss Jones* (1941), as Joe O'Brien
- *Free and Easy* (1941), as Max Clemington
- *One Night in the Tropics* (1940), as Steve Harper
- *Spring Parade* (1940), as Corporal Harry Marten
- *Private Affairs* (1940), as Jimmy Nolan
- *And One Was Beautiful* (1940), as Ridley Crane
- *Everything Happens at Night* (1939), as Ken Morgan
- *Charlie McCarthy, Detective* (1939), as Scotty Hamilton
- *Rio* (1939), as Bill Gregory
- *The Under-Pup* (1939), as Dennis Lane
- *Three Smart Girls Grow Up* (1939), as Harry Loren
- *I Stand Accused* (1938), as Frederick A. Davis
- *The Texans* (1938), as Alan Sanford
- *Touchdown, Army* (1938), as Cadet Jimmy Howal
- *You and Me* (1938), as Jim
- *College Swing* (1938), as Radio Announcer
- *Wells Fargo* (1937), as Dan Trimball, prospector
- *Sophie Lang Goes West* (1937), as Curley Griffin
- *Souls at Sea* (1937), as George Martin
- *The Last Train from Madrid* (1937), as Juan Ramos
- *Arizona Mahoney* (1936), as Phillip Randall
- *Hideaway Girl* (1936), as Mike Winslow
- *The Accusing Finger* (1936), as Jimmy Ellis
- *Hollywood Boulevard* (1936), as Jay Wallace
- *Three Cheers for Love* (1936), as Jimmy Tuttle
- *Border Flight* (1936), as Lt. Bob Dixon
- *Forgotten Faces* (1936), as Clinton Faraday
- *Desert Gold* (1936), as Fordyce 'Ford' Mortimer
- *So Red the Rose* (1935), as George Pendleton
- *Millions in the Air* (1935), as Jimmy
- *The Virginia Judge* (1935), as Jim Preston
- *Sons of the Desert* (1933), as Steamship Announcement Witness (uncredited) — Fi1m 85, [page](https://film.one/film/sons-of-the-desert.md)
- *Seasoned Greetings* (1933), as Husband (uncredited)
- *Romeo and Juliet* (1916), as Friar Lawrence
- *The Tracking of a Russian Spy*, Screenplay

## Gallery

- ![Screenshot from trailer for the American drama film The Carpetbaggers (1964).](https://film.one/media/person/106328/gallery-ad684518e988.jpg) Screenshot from trailer for the American drama film The Carpetbaggers (1964). — Paramount Pictures, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/72/Carpetbaggers-trailer.jpg/1280px-Carpetbaggers-trailer.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Bob Cummings, Judy Canova, Fritz Feld and wife Virginia Christine (the Folger's Coffee lady) at the National Film Society convention, May 1979. NOTE: Permission](https://film.one/media/person/106328/gallery-6c218c503a35.jpg) Bob Cummings, Judy Canova, Fritz Feld and wife Virginia Christine (the Folger's Coffee lady) at the National Film Society convention, May 1979. NOTE: Permission — Alan Light, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f2/Cummings%2C_Canova%2C_Feld_and_Christine_%28214265189%29.jpg/1280px-Cummings%2C_Canova%2C_Feld_and_Christine_%28214265189%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![L. to R. : Ray Milland, Robert Cummings & John Williams in Dial M for Murder - trailer (cropped screenshot) (1954)](https://film.one/media/person/106328/gallery-a6ebf9027cd4.jpg) L. to R. : Ray Milland, Robert Cummings & John Williams in Dial M for Murder - trailer (cropped screenshot) (1954) — film trailer screenshot (Warner Bros.), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Dial_M_for_Murder_%281954%29_trailer_4.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Robert Cummings, Judy Canova, unknown person, Fritz Feld, Virginia Christine at the National Film Society convention, May 1979. NOTE: Permission granted to copy](https://film.one/media/person/106328/gallery-2de865add12c.jpg) Robert Cummings, Judy Canova, unknown person, Fritz Feld, Virginia Christine at the National Film Society convention, May 1979. NOTE: Permission granted to copy — Alan Light, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b2/Robert_Cummings%2C_Judy_Canova%2C_%3F%2C_Fritz_Feld%2C_Virginia_Christine_%284506015336%29.jpg/1280px-Robert_Cummings%2C_Judy_Canova%2C_%3F%2C_Fritz_Feld%2C_Virginia_Christine_%284506015336%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Robert Cummings](https://film.one/media/person/106328/gallery-0caba273b31f.jpg) Robert Cummings — Image via TMDB
- ![Robert Cummings, Judy Canova, Fritz Feld and Virginia Christine at the National Film Society convention, May 1979. NOTE: Permission granted to copy, publish, br](https://film.one/media/person/106328/gallery-906e1b04f578.jpg) Robert Cummings, Judy Canova, Fritz Feld and Virginia Christine at the National Film Society convention, May 1979. NOTE: Permission granted to copy, publish, br — Alan Light, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Robert_Cummings%2C_Judy_Canova%2C_Fritz_Feld%2C_Virginia_Christine_%284505667033%29.jpg/1280px-Robert_Cummings%2C_Judy_Canova%2C_Fritz_Feld%2C_Virginia_Christine_%284505667033%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Robert Cummings and wife Regina Fong at the National Film Society convention, May 1979. NOTE: Permission granted to copy, publish, broadcast or post any of my p](https://film.one/media/person/106328/gallery-3a37d4c54271.jpg) Robert Cummings and wife Regina Fong at the National Film Society convention, May 1979. NOTE: Permission granted to copy, publish, broadcast or post any of my p — Alan Light, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/64/Robert_Cummings_%284505675141%29.jpg/1280px-Robert_Cummings_%284505675141%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)

## Awards

### Primetime Emmy Awards — 1 won

- 1955: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie (won), for *Westinghouse Studio One*

### Other awards — 1 won

- Aberconway Medal 1984: Aberconway Medal (won)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/robert-cummings