Barton MacLane

Acting · 1.6 popularity

Age

123

Movies

153

Born: December 25, 1902 – January 1, 1969
From: Columbia, South Carolina, USA

Biography

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.

Works

153 films

The Maltese Falcon

19417.7

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

19488.0

The Crime Doctor’s Strangest Case

19435.2

Pocketful of Miracles

19617.3

Western Union

19416.0

The Glenn Miller Story

19547.0

High Sierra

19417.1

Drums in the Deep South

19515.3

The Rounders

19655.5

Sea of Lost Ships

19537.0

'G' Men

19356.6

Tarzan and the Amazons

19456.3

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

19416.5

Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye

19506.8

The Prince and the Pauper

19376.8

You Only Live Once

19377.1

All Through the Night

19426.7

His Woman

19314.3

Buffalo Stampede

19334.1

Three Violent People

19565.9

Best of the Badmen

19516.5

The Cocoanuts

19296.5

The Walking Dead

19366.3

The Geisha Boy

19586.3

Backlash

19566.5

It's Showtime

19767.5

Breakdowns of 1936

1936

Town Tamer

19656.8

You and Me

19386.6

Bugles in the Afternoon

19525.4

Treasure of Ruby Hills

19555.0

Manpower

19416.5

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage

19837.0

Buckskin

19685.5

Bullets or Ballots

19366.6

Tarzan and the Huntress

19475.7

Naughty-Cal

19329.0

Silver River

19486.2

Thunderbirds

19526.0

Jail Busters

19556.7

The Silver Star

19555.5

The Half-Breed

19527.0

Let's Dance

19506.1

Law of the Lawless

19646.5

Gold Is Where You Find It

19387.0

The Spanish Main

19456.4

The Mummy's Ghost

19445.6

Gunfighters of Abilene

19605.3

Rails Into Laramie

19546.5

Hell's Outpost

19545.5

Tillie and Gus

19337.8

Relentless

19486.4

Red Light

19495.9

Wine, Women and Horses

19375.3

Black Fury

19356.3

The Big Street

19425.8

Arizona Bushwhackers

19684.3

Breakdowns of 1937

19376.0

I Found Stella Parish

19357.3

Torchy Gets Her Man

19385.9

Bombardier

19435.7

Come Live with Me

19416.8

Unknown Island

19485.2

Rookie Fireman

19507.5

Kansas Pacific

19535.0

The Dude Goes West

19485.9

Hell's Crossroads

19575.6

Torchy Blane in Chinatown

19396.8

Jaguar

19567.5

Gangs of Chicago

19405.8

The Walls of Jericho

19485.6

Foxfire

19556.7

Bogart: The Untold Story

1997

Breakdowns of 1939

19396.5

Stand Up and Fight

19396.0

Man of the Forest

19336.3

Cheyenne

19477.0

Frisco Kid

19357.0

Cow Country

19534.6

Highways by Night

19427.3

Girl on the Run

19587.0

Sierra Stranger

19575.0

Melody Ranch

19406.2

God's Country and the Woman

19375.2

A Dream Comes True

19356.3

Ceiling Zero

19365.9

Torchy Runs for Mayor

19395.9

Gentle Annie

19445.7

Dr. Socrates

19356.6

The Bandit Queen

19504.4

Men Without Souls

19406.7

The Adventurous Blonde

19375.3

The Case of the Curious Bride

19356.0

Cry of the Werewolf

19444.8

Fly Away Baby

19376.3

Page Miss Glory

19356.7

San Quentin

19376.6

Scared Stiff

19454.7

Smart Blonde

19376.4

All of Me

19347.0

Prison Break

19386.1

Mysterious Intruder

19465.9

Go Into Your Dance

19357.2

Naked In The Sun

19577.4

Wetbacks

19565.9

The Case of the Lucky Legs

19356.0

Last of the Desperados

19557.5

Jubilee Trail

19545.2

Mutiny in the Big House

19395.3

San Quentin

19466.3

Marine Raiders

19446.8

The Man Is Armed

19565.2

Man of Iron

19357.0

The Last Round-up

19348.0

To the Last Man

19335.9

Jailbreak

19366.7

Angel in Exile

19485.5

Bengal Tiger

19364.8

Blondes at Work

19386.3

Stranded

19356.0

Let's Dance

19338.0

Secret Command

19446.6

Frontier Gun

19586.8

Girl in the Woods

195810.0

The Secret Seven

194010.0

Jack Slade

19537.0

Noose for a Gunman

19606.0

The Storm

19387.0

Big Town Czar

19397.0

Song of Texas

19436.3

Barnacle Bill

19417.8

Wild Geese Calling

19416.5

Born Reckless

19375.4

Naked Gun

19566.4

Times Square Playboy

19364.8

Captain Scarface

19534.8

Ever Since Eve

19375.8

The Quarterback

19266.5

Draegerman Courage

19377.3

Hit the Road

19417.0

Nabonga

19444.4

Jungle Flight

19475.9

Crimes Square

1931

Santa Fe Uprising

19467.0

The Kid Comes Back

19386.5

Man of Courage

19435.6

The Underdog

19438.0

I Was a Convict

19396.5

Lone Cowboy

19334.0

Politics

1930

Big Executive

19337.0

The Acid Test

1932

The Gigolo Racket

1931