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.
Known for
Perry Mason
Senator Harriman Baylor
Perry Mason
Sheriff Eugene Norris
Perry Mason
Harold Minter
Perry Mason
Archer Osmond
Cheyenne
The Munsters
I Dream of Jeannie
General Peterson
Gunsmoke
Herkimer Crawford
Gunsmoke
Willard Kerner
Four Star Playhouse
Milo
Four Star Playhouse
Capt. Webber
Black Saddle
General Fowler
Town Tamer
James Fell
Cow Country
Marvin Parker
Foxfire
Jim Mablett
Red Light
Detective Strecker
Bombardier
Archie Dixon
Unknown Island
Capt. Tarnowski
Arizona Bushwhackers
Sheriff Grover
Jungle Flight
Case Hagin
The Monkees
Sierra Stranger
Lem Gotch
His Woman
Crewman
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
Jack Slade
Jules Reni
Fly Away Baby
Steve McBride
77 Sunset Strip
Song of Texas
Jim Calvert
Studio 57
Lone Cowboy
Policeman Baxter
Politics
Tightrope
Hell's Crossroads
Clyde O'Connell
Black Fury
McGee
Outlaws
Marshal Frank Caine
Telephone Time
Mysterious Intruder
Detective Taggart
'G' Men
Collins
The Dude Goes West
Texas Jack Barton
Girl in the Woods
Big Jim
Jail Busters
Captain Jenkins
Wetbacks
Karl Shanks
Wire Service
Gen. Bailey
It's Showtime
Self (archive footage)
Hell's Outpost
Sheriff Olson
Men Without Souls
Blackie Drew
Prison Break
Joaquin Shannon
I Found Stella Parish
Clifton Jeffords
Buffalo Stampede
Henchman Pruitt
Hondo
Lux Video Theatre
Steve
Lux Video Theatre
Marvin Platt
Big Executive
Harry the Guide
Bugles in the Afternoon
Capt. Myles Moylan
Law of the Lawless
Big Tom Stone
Stranded
Sharkey
Thunderbirds
Sgt. Durkee
Girl on the Run
Francis J. Brannigan
Frisco Kid
Spider Burke
Draegerman Courage
Andrew Beaupre
The Half-Breed
Marshal Cassidy
Bullets or Ballots
Al Kruger
Gentle Annie
Sheriff Tatum
The Maltese Falcon
Lt. of Detectives Dundy
Relentless
Tex Brandow
Breakdowns of 1936
Self
Gunfighters of Abilene
Seth
The Wonderful World of Disney
Rawls Kettrick
You and Me
Mickey
Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
Lieutenant John Reece
The Geisha Boy
Major Ridgley
The Adventurous Blonde
Det. Lt. Steve McBride
Breakdowns of 1939
Self
Treasure of Ruby Hills
Chalk Reynolds
Manpower
Smiley Quinn
Man of the Forest
Mulvey
Let's Dance
Larry Channock
Cheyenne
Webb Yancey
The Whistler
Breakdowns of 1937
Self
The Bandit Queen
Sheriff Jim Harden
Torchy Gets Her Man
Detective Steve McBride
I Was a Convict
Ace King
Best of the Badmen
Joad
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Pat McCormick
Drums in the Deep South
Sgt. Mac McCardle
Jaguar
Steve Bailey
Santa Fe Uprising
Crawford
Ceiling Zero
Al Stone
Western Union
Jack Slade
Sea of Lost Ships
Capt. Jack Matthews
Naked In The Sun
Wilson
Pocketful of Miracles
Police Commissioner
Silver River
'Banjo' Sweeney
Backlash
Sergeant George Lake
Come Live with Me
Barney Grogan
Cry of the Werewolf
Lt. Barry Lane
High Sierra
Jake Kranmer
Highways by Night
Leo Bronson
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Sam Higgins
Buckskin
Dr. H. 'Doc' Raymond
The Underdog
John Tate
Jubilee Trail
Deacon Bartlett
All Through the Night
Marty Callahan
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Chief Brooks
The Glenn Miller Story
General Arnold
The Cocoanuts
Bather
Tillie and Gus
Commissioner McLennan
The Silver Star
Henry 'Tiny' Longtree
The Storm
Captain Cogswell
The Rounders
Tanner
Rails Into Laramie
Lee Graham
Three Violent People
Yates
The Big Street
Case Ables
You Only Live Once
Stephen Whitney
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Spanish Main
Capt. Benjamin Black
Let's Dance
Tarzan and the Huntress
Paul Weir
A Dream Comes True
Himself (uncredited)
The Walking Dead
Loder
San Quentin
Lt. Druggin
Tarzan and the Amazons
Ballister
The Mummy's Ghost
Inspector Walgreen
The Prince and the Pauper
John Canty
Born Reckless
Jim Barnes
San Quentin
Nick Taylor
Naked Gun
Joe Barnum
Kansas Pacific
Cal Bruce
The Man Is Armed
Det. Lt. Dan Coster
Jailbreak
Detective Captain Rourke
Ever Since Eve
Al McCoy
The Walls of Jericho
Rufus J. "Gotch" McCurdy
Torchy Runs for Mayor
Steve McBride
Big Town Czar
Phil Daley
Bogart: The Untold Story
Self (archive footage)
God's Country and the Woman
Bullhead
Wild Geese Calling
Pirate Kelly
All of Me
First Cop (uncredited)
Melody Ranch
Mark Wildhack
The Crime Doctor’s Strangest Case
Detective Rief
To the Last Man
Neil Stanley
Wine, Women and Horses
Jim Turner
Smart Blonde
Steve McBride
Page Miss Glory
Blackie
Captain Scarface
Captain Scarface
Stand Up and Fight
Crowder
Angel in Exile
Max Giorgio
Gold Is Where You Find It
Slag Martin
Man of Iron
Chris Bennett
Naughty-Cal
Sailor
Secret Command
Red Kelly
Nabonga
Carl Hurst
The Case of the Curious Bride
Detective Lucas
Blondes at Work
Lt. Steve McBride
Frontier Gun
Simon Crayle
Man of Courage
John Wallace
Go Into Your Dance
Duke Hutchinson
Noose for a Gunman
Carl Avery
Torchy Blane in Chinatown
Det. Lt. Steve 'Mac' McBride
The Kid Comes Back
Gunner Malone
The Case of the Lucky Legs
Bisonette
Dr. Socrates
Red Bastian
The Secret Seven
Sam O'Donnell
Scared Stiff
George 'Deacon' Markham
Last of the Desperados
Mosby, Gang Leader
Mutiny in the Big House
Red Manson
The Last Round-up
Charley Benson
Barnacle Bill
John Kelly
Crimes Square
Detective with Handcuffs
The Quarterback
Football Player (uncredited)
Marine Raiders
Sgt. Maguire
Hit the Road
James J. Ryan
Gangs of Chicago
Jim Ramsey
The Acid Test
The Gigolo Racket
Cafe Customer
Times Square Playboy
Casey (Vic's Butler/Trainer)
Bengal Tiger
Cliff Ballenger