Acting
181
Man
Dec 25, 1902
Jan 1, 1969 (66)
Columbia, South Carolina, USA
Barton MacLane
Barton MacLane graduated from Wesleyan University, where he displayed a notable aptitude for sports, in particular football and basketball. Not surprisingly, his physical prowess led to an early role in The Quarterback (1926) with Richard Dix. MacLane once commented that, as an actor, he needed to have the physical strength to tear the bad guys "from limb to limb", if necessary. Ironically, it was usually Barton himself who was destined to be at the end of a hiding (when not getting shot, instead), typically as snarling henchmen, outlaws and other assorted dubious or abrasive types throughout most of his 40-year acting career. In fact, Barton became so typecast that his name was for a time used proverbially, to generally describe a shouting, hard-nosed ruffian. After training at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, MacLane joined a stock company in Brooklyn. In 1927 he had his first part on Broadway, a brief moment as an assistant district attorney, in the melodrama "The Trial of Mary Dugan". He then played a small featured role as a police officer in "Subway Express" (1929-30), a drama enacted in the interior of a subway car. In mid-1932 MacLane tried his hand at writing his own starring vehicle for the stage, entitled "Rendezvous". While the play closed after just 21 performances, it led to a contract with Warner Brothers. Barton had already appeared in bit roles for Paramount at their Astoria Studios, including The Marx Brothers' debut film The Cocoanuts (1929). He portrayed mobster Brad Collins in 'G' Men (1935) (with James Cagney), which set the tone for most of his future assignments. Brawny, with squinty eyes and a rasping voice, MacLane was the ideal surly tough guy, particularly suitable for westerns and the type of films noir Warner Brothers excelled at. He was often cast as cops, be they bent or honest. Some of his most representative performances include gangster Al Kruger in Bullets or Ballots (1936), which won him some of the best critical notices of his career; outlaw Jack Slade in Western Union (1941); crooked construction boss Pat McCormick, who gets beaten up by Humphrey Bogart and Tim Holt over past-due wages in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948); hard-nosed cops Detective Dundy in The Maltese Falcon (1941) and Lt. Reece in Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (1950). MacLane, on loan to Universal, also had a starring role in Prison Break (1938) as an innocent tuna fisherman who is framed for murder. He was prominent as a tough but sympathetic cop, foil to sleuthing girl reporter Glenda Farrell in the "Torchy Blaine" series of the mid- to late 1930s. In the 1960s Barton began to cultivate a good-guy image as Marshal Frank Caine in the NBC western series Outlaws (1960) as well as showing up in a small recurring role as Air Force Gen. Martin Peterson in I Dream of Jeannie (1965). Barton was married to the actress Charlotte Wynters, who appeared with him in six of his films. When not on the set, the couple spent time on their 2000-acre cattle ranch in Madera County, California. For his work in television, Barton has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Year | Movie / TV show / Other | Role |
---|---|---|
1997 | Bogart: The Untold Story | Self (archive footage) |
1983 | Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage | Self (archive footage) (uncredited) |
1976 | It's Showtime | Self (archive footage) |
1968 | Buckskin | Dr. H. 'Doc' Raymond |
1968 | Arizona Bushwhackers | Sheriff Grover |
1968 | The Mummy's Ghost | Mob Organizer (archive footage) |
1967 | Hondo | |
1966 | The Monkees | |
1965 | I Dream of Jeannie | General Peterson |
1965 | The Rounders | Tanner |
1965 | Town Tamer | James Fell |
1964 | The Munsters | |
1964 | Law of the Lawless | Big Tom Stone |
1961 | Pocketful of Miracles | Police Commissioner |
1960 | Noose for a Gunman | Carl Avery |
1960 | Gunfighters of Abilene | Seth |
1960 | Outlaws | Marshal Frank Caine |
1959 | Black Saddle | General Fowler |
1959 | Tightrope | |
1958 | The Geisha Boy | Major Ridgley |
1958 | 77 Sunset Strip | |
1958 | Frontier Gun | Simon Crayle |
1958 | Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse | |
1958 | Girl on the Run | Francis J. Brannigan |
1958 | Girl in the Woods | Big Jim |
1957 | Perry Mason | Senator Harriman Baylor |
1957 | Perry Mason | Sheriff Eugene Norris |
1957 | Perry Mason | Harold Minter |
1957 | Perry Mason | Archer Osmond |
1957 | Hell's Crossroads | Clyde O'Connell |
1957 | Sierra Stranger | Lem Gotch |
1957 | Naked In The Sun | Wilson |
1956 | Backlash | Sergeant George Lake |
1956 | Three Violent People | Yates |
1956 | The Man Is Armed | Det. Lt. Dan Coster |
1956 | Naked Gun | Joe Barnum |
1956 | Wetbacks | Karl Shanks |
1956 | Telephone Time | |
1956 | Jaguar | Steve Bailey |
1956 | Wire Service | Gen. Bailey |
1955 | Gunsmoke | Herkimer Crawford |
1955 | Gunsmoke | Willard Kerner |
1955 | Cheyenne | |
1955 | Foxfire | Jim Mablett |
1955 | The Silver Star | Henry 'Tiny' Longtree |
1955 | Jail Busters | Captain Jenkins |
1955 | Treasure of Ruby Hills | Chalk Reynolds |
1955 | Last of the Desperados | Mosby, Gang Leader |
1954 | The Glenn Miller Story | General Arnold |
1954 | The Wonderful World of Disney | Rawls Kettrick |
1954 | Rails Into Laramie | Lee Graham |
1954 | Jubilee Trail | Deacon Bartlett |
1954 | Hell's Outpost | Sheriff Olson |
1954 | The Whistler | |
1954 | Studio 57 | |
1953 | Kansas Pacific | Cal Bruce |
1953 | Captain Scarface | Captain Scarface |
1953 | Cow Country | Marvin Parker |
1953 | Jack Slade | Jules Reni |
1953 | Sea of Lost Ships | Capt. Jack Matthews |
1952 | Bugles in the Afternoon | Capt. Myles Moylan |
1952 | Four Star Playhouse | Capt. Webber |
1952 | Four Star Playhouse | Milo |
1952 | Thunderbirds | Sgt. Durkee |
1952 | The Half-Breed | Marshal Cassidy |
1951 | Best of the Badmen | Joad |
1951 | Drums in the Deep South | Sgt. Mac McCardle |
1951 | Schlitz Playhouse of Stars | Chief Brooks |
1950 | Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye | Lieutenant John Reece |
1950 | Let's Dance | Larry Channock |
1950 | The Bandit Queen | Sheriff Jim Harden |
1950 | Lux Video Theatre | Steve |
1950 | Lux Video Theatre | Marvin Platt |
1949 | Red Light | Detective Strecker |
1948 | The Treasure of the Sierra Madre | Pat McCormick |
1948 | Silver River | 'Banjo' Sweeney |
1948 | Unknown Island | Capt. Tarnowski |
1948 | Angel in Exile | Max Giorgio |
1948 | Relentless | Tex Brandow |
1948 | The Walls of Jericho | Rufus J. "Gotch" McCurdy |
1948 | The Dude Goes West | Texas Jack Barton |
1947 | Tarzan and the Huntress | Paul Weir |
1947 | Cheyenne | Webb Yancey |
1947 | Jungle Flight | Case Hagin |
1946 | Mysterious Intruder | Detective Taggart |
1946 | San Quentin | Nick Taylor |
1946 | Santa Fe Uprising | Crawford |
1945 | Tarzan and the Amazons | Ballister |
1945 | The Spanish Main | Capt. Benjamin Black |
1945 | Scared Stiff | George 'Deacon' Markham |
1944 | The Mummy's Ghost | Inspector Walgreen |
1944 | Cry of the Werewolf | Lt. Barry Lane |
1944 | Nabonga | Carl Hurst |
1944 | Gentle Annie | Sheriff Tatum |
1944 | Marine Raiders | Sgt. Maguire |
1944 | Secret Command | Red Kelly |
1943 | Bombardier | Archie Dixon |
1943 | Man of Courage | John Wallace |
1943 | The Crime Doctor’s Strangest Case | Detective Rief |
1943 | Song of Texas | Jim Calvert |
1943 | The Underdog | John Tate |
1942 | All Through the Night | Marty Callahan |
1942 | The Big Street | Case Ables |
1942 | Highways by Night | Leo Bronson |
1941 | The Maltese Falcon | Lt. of Detectives Dundy |
1941 | High Sierra | Jake Kranmer |
1941 | Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde | Sam Higgins |
1941 | Western Union | Jack Slade |
1941 | Come Live with Me | Barney Grogan |
1941 | Manpower | Smiley Quinn |
1941 | Barnacle Bill | John Kelly |
1941 | Wild Geese Calling | Pirate Kelly |
1941 | Hit the Road | James J. Ryan |
1940 | Melody Ranch | Mark Wildhack |
1940 | Gangs of Chicago | Jim Ramsey |
1940 | Men Without Souls | Blackie Drew |
1940 | The Secret Seven | Sam O'Donnell |
1939 | Torchy Runs for Mayor | Steve McBride |
1939 | Mutiny in the Big House | Red Manson |
1939 | Stand Up and Fight | Crowder |
1939 | Torchy Blane in Chinatown | Det. Lt. Steve 'Mac' McBride |
1939 | I Was a Convict | Ace King |
1939 | Big Town Czar | Phil Daley |
1939 | Breakdowns of 1939 | Self |
1938 | You and Me | Mickey |
1938 | Gold Is Where You Find It | Slag Martin |
1938 | Blondes at Work | Lt. Steve McBride |
1938 | Prison Break | Joaquin Shannon |
1938 | Torchy Gets Her Man | Detective Steve McBride |
1938 | The Kid Comes Back | Gunner Malone |
1938 | The Storm | Captain Cogswell |
1937 | You Only Live Once | Stephen Whitney |
1937 | The Prince and the Pauper | John Canty |
1937 | San Quentin | Lt. Druggin |
1937 | The Adventurous Blonde | Det. Lt. Steve McBride |
1937 | Ever Since Eve | Al McCoy |
1937 | Smart Blonde | Steve McBride |
1937 | Fly Away Baby | Steve McBride |
1937 | Born Reckless | Jim Barnes |
1937 | God's Country and the Woman | Bullhead |
1937 | Breakdowns of 1937 | Self |
1937 | Wine, Women and Horses | Jim Turner |
1937 | Draegerman Courage | Andrew Beaupre |
1936 | The Walking Dead | Loder |
1936 | Bullets or Ballots | Al Kruger |
1936 | Ceiling Zero | Al Stone |
1936 | Jailbreak | Detective Captain Rourke |
1936 | Times Square Playboy | Casey (Vic's Butler/Trainer) |
1936 | Bengal Tiger | Cliff Ballenger |
1936 | Breakdowns of 1936 | Self |
1935 | 'G' Men | Collins |
1935 | Black Fury | McGee |
1935 | The Case of the Curious Bride | Detective Lucas |
1935 | Frisco Kid | Spider Burke |
1935 | Dr. Socrates | Red Bastian |
1935 | The Case of the Lucky Legs | Bisonette |
1935 | Page Miss Glory | Blackie |
1935 | Stranded | Sharkey |
1935 | I Found Stella Parish | Clifton Jeffords |
1935 | Go Into Your Dance | Duke Hutchinson |
1935 | Man of Iron | Chris Bennett |
1935 | A Dream Comes True | Himself (uncredited) |
1934 | All of Me | First Cop (uncredited) |
1934 | The Last Round-up | Charley Benson |
1933 | To the Last Man | Neil Stanley |
1933 | Tillie and Gus | Commissioner McLennan |
1933 | The Thundering Herd | Henchman Pruitt |
1933 | Lone Cowboy | Policeman Baxter |
1933 | Man of the Forest | Mulvey |
1933 | Let's Dance | |
1933 | Big Executive | Harry the Guide |
1932 | The Acid Test | |
1932 | Naughty-Cal | Sailor |
1931 | His Woman | Crewman |
1931 | Crimes Square | Detective with Handcuffs |
1931 | The Gigolo Racket | Cafe Customer |
1930 | Politics | |
1929 | The Cocoanuts | Bather |
1926 | The Quarterback | Football Player (uncredited) |
Year | Movie / TV show / Other | Role |
---|---|---|
1943 | Man of Courage | Story |
1943 | Man of Courage | Screenplay |