Mrs. Rittenhouse

Mrs. Rittenhouse
Notability:	Supporting character
Type:	Socialite
Gender:	Female
Location:	Rittenhouse estate
Known relatives:	Arabella Rittenhouse
Status:	Deceased by virtue of time era
First:	Animal Crackers
Actor:	Margaret Dumont

Mrs. Rittenhouse is a fictional socialite and a supporting character in the 1930 Marx Brothers film Animal Crackers. She was played by actress Margaret Dumont.

Overview

Mrs. Rittenhouse was a wealthy socialite who lived at Rittenhouse Manor in Long Island, New York. She was the mother of Arabella Rittenhouse. Mrs. Rittenhouse disliked the notion of Arabella pledging herself to a down-and-out artist named John Parker, and encouraged her to focus her attention on men better suited for her station.

Biography

In 1930, Mrs. Rittenhouse hosted a gala event at her mansion home, catering to many of her socialite friends as well as various patrons of the arts. She showcased a painting by Beauregard called "After the Hunt", which was valued at $100,000. As an extra treat for her guests, she also invited famed explorer and safari hunter Captain Geoffrey T. Spaulding to attend the function. Her other guests included the enigmatically silent individual called The Professor and a pianist named Signor Emanuel Ravelli.

Notes & Trivia

• The character of Mrs. Rittenhouse was created by director Victor Heerman and screenwriter Morrie Ryskind based on a musical play by Ryskind, George S. Kaufman, Bert Kalmar, and Harry Ruby.

See also

• Comedy film characters
• Margaret Dumont characters

External Links

• Animal Crackers at AMG
• Animal Crackers at IMDB
• Animal Crackers at Wikipedia
• Animal Crackers at Filmsite.org
• Animal Crackers at Themoviedb.org

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