Barton MacLane
Acting
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.
Bogart: The Untold Story
Self (archive footage)
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
It's Showtime
Self (archive footage)
Buckskin
Dr. H. 'Doc' Raymond
Arizona Bushwhackers
Sheriff Grover
Town Tamer
James Fell
The Rounders
Tanner
Law of the Lawless
Big Tom Stone
Pocketful of Miracles
Police Commissioner
Noose for a Gunman
Carl Avery
Gunfighters of Abilene
Seth
The Geisha Boy
Major Ridgley
Frontier Gun
Simon Crayle
Girl on the Run
Francis J. Brannigan
Girl in the Woods
Big Jim
Naked In The Sun
Wilson
Sierra Stranger
Lem Gotch
Hell's Crossroads
Clyde O'Connell
Three Violent People
Yates
Naked Gun
Joe Barnum
The Man Is Armed
Det. Lt. Dan Coster
Wetbacks
Karl Shanks
Backlash
Sergeant George Lake
Jaguar
Steve Bailey
Last of the Desperados
Mosby, Gang Leader
Jail Busters
Captain Jenkins
Foxfire
Jim Mablett
The Silver Star
Henry 'Tiny' Longtree
Treasure of Ruby Hills
Chalk Reynolds
Hell's Outpost
Sheriff Olson
Jubilee Trail
Deacon Bartlett
Rails Into Laramie
Lee Graham
The Glenn Miller Story
General Arnold
Jack Slade
Jules Reni
Sea of Lost Ships
Capt. Jack Matthews
Captain Scarface
Captain Scarface
Cow Country
Marvin Parker
Kansas Pacific
Cal Bruce
Thunderbirds
Sgt. Durkee
The Half-Breed
Marshal Cassidy
Bugles in the Afternoon
Capt. Myles Moylan
Drums in the Deep South
Sgt. Mac McCardle
Best of the Badmen
Joad
The Bandit Queen
Sheriff Jim Harden
Let's Dance
Larry Channock
Rookie Fireman
Captain Jess Henshaw
Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
Lieutenant John Reece
Red Light
Detective Strecker
The Walls of Jericho
Rufus J. "Gotch" McCurdy
Angel in Exile
Max Giorgio
Unknown Island
Capt. Tarnowski
Relentless
Tex Brandow
The Dude Goes West
Texas Jack Barton
Silver River
'Banjo' Sweeney
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Pat McCormick
Jungle Flight
Case Hagin
Cheyenne
Webb Yancey
Tarzan and the Huntress
Paul Weir
San Quentin
Nick Taylor
Santa Fe Uprising
Crawford
Mysterious Intruder
Detective Taggart
The Spanish Main
Capt. Benjamin Black
Scared Stiff
George 'Deacon' Markham
Tarzan and the Amazons
Ballister
Gentle Annie
Sheriff Tatum
Cry of the Werewolf
Lt. Barry Lane
Secret Command
Red Kelly
Marine Raiders
Sgt. Maguire
The Mummy's Ghost
Inspector Walgreen
Nabonga
Carl Hurst
The Crime Doctor’s Strangest Case
Detective Rief
The Underdog
John Tate
Song of Texas
Jim Calvert
Bombardier
Archie Dixon
Man of Courage
John Wallace
Highways by Night
Leo Bronson
The Big Street
Case Ables
All Through the Night
Marty Callahan
The Maltese Falcon
Lt. of Detectives Dundy
Wild Geese Calling
Pirate Kelly
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Sam Higgins
Manpower
Smiley Quinn
Hit the Road
James J. Ryan
Barnacle Bill
John Kelly
Western Union
Jack Slade
Come Live with Me
Barney Grogan
High Sierra
Jake Kranmer
Melody Ranch
Mark Wildhack
The Secret Seven
Sam O'Donnell
Men Without Souls
Blackie Drew
Gangs of Chicago
Jim Ramsey
Breakdowns of 1939
Self
Mutiny in the Big House
Red Manson
Torchy Runs for Mayor
Steve McBride
Big Town Czar
Phil Daley
I Was a Convict
Ace King
Torchy Blane in Chinatown
Det. Lt. Steve 'Mac' McBride
Stand Up and Fight
Crowder
Torchy Gets Her Man
Detective Steve McBride
The Storm
Captain Cogswell
Prison Break
Joaquin Shannon
You and Me
Mickey
The Kid Comes Back
Gunner Malone
Gold Is Where You Find It
Slag Martin
Blondes at Work
Lt. Steve McBride
Breakdowns of 1937
Self
The Adventurous Blonde
Det. Lt. Steve McBride
Wine, Women and Horses
Jim Turner
Ever Since Eve
Al McCoy
Born Reckless
Jim Barnes
Fly Away Baby
Steve McBride
San Quentin
Lt. Druggin
Draegerman Courage
Andrew Beaupre
The Prince and the Pauper
John Canty
You Only Live Once
Stephen Whitney
God's Country and the Woman
Bullhead
Smart Blonde
Steve McBride
Breakdowns of 1936
Self
Jailbreak
Detective Captain Rourke
Bengal Tiger
Cliff Ballenger
Bullets or Ballots
Al Kruger
Times Square Playboy
Casey (Vic's Butler/Trainer)
The Walking Dead
Loder
Ceiling Zero
Al Stone
A Dream Comes True
Himself (uncredited)
Man of Iron
Chris Bennett
Frisco Kid
Spider Burke
I Found Stella Parish
Clifton Jeffords
Dr. Socrates
Red Bastian
The Case of the Lucky Legs
Bisonette
Page Miss Glory
Blackie
Stranded
Sharkey
Black Fury
McGee
'G' Men
Collins
Go Into Your Dance
Duke Hutchinson
The Case of the Curious Bride
Detective Lucas
The Last Round-up
Charley Benson
All of Me
First Cop (uncredited)
Lone Cowboy
Policeman Baxter
Big Executive
Harry the Guide
Tillie and Gus
Commissioner McLennan
To the Last Man
Neil Stanley
Man of the Forest
Mulvey
Let's Dance
Buffalo Stampede
Henchman Pruitt
The Acid Test
Naughty-Cal
Sailor
His Woman
Crewman
The Gigolo Racket
Cafe Customer
Crimes Square
Detective with Handcuffs
Politics
The Cocoanuts
Bather
The Quarterback
Football Player (uncredited)