
Barton MacLane
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.
Acting (148 movies)

Pocketful of Miracles
1961

The Maltese Falcon
1941

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
1941

Foxfire
1955

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
1948

The Secret Seven
1940

Manpower
1941

Nabonga
1944

The Rounders
1965

Come Live with Me
1941

Red Light
1949

The Walking Dead
1936

High Sierra
1941

Bullets or Ballots
1936

Cry of the Werewolf
1944

The Mummy's Ghost
1944

Scared Stiff
1945

Mysterious Intruder
1946

The Prince and the Pauper
1937

All Through the Night
1942

Western Union
1941

Backlash
1956

The Geisha Boy
1958

You and Me
1938

The Glenn Miller Story
1954

The Cocoanuts
1929

Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
1950

Kansas Pacific
1953

San Quentin
1937

Tarzan and the Huntress
1947

You Only Live Once
1937

Secret Command
1944

The Man Is Armed
1956

Man of Courage
1943

Tarzan and the Amazons
1945

Times Square Playboy
1936

San Quentin
1946

Lone Cowboy
1933

The Crime Doctor’s Strangest Case
1943

Ceiling Zero
1936

Black Fury
1935

Bugles in the Afternoon
1952

The Spanish Main
1945

The Big Street
1942

Smart Blonde
1937

Highways by Night
1942

Wetbacks
1956

Drums in the Deep South
1951

God's Country and the Woman
1937

Best of the Badmen
1951

The Walls of Jericho
1948

Tillie and Gus
1933

Gunfighters of Abilene
1960

Song of Texas
1943

The Case of the Lucky Legs
1935

Stand Up and Fight
1939

Buffalo Stampede
1933

Frisco Kid
1935

Unknown Island
1948

Blondes at Work
1938

Men Without Souls
1940

To the Last Man
1933

Man of the Forest
1933

Hell's Crossroads
1957

Angel in Exile
1948

Girl on the Run
1958

Naked Gun
1956

Fly Away Baby
1937

The Adventurous Blonde
1937

Torchy Gets Her Man
1938

Torchy Blane in Chinatown
1939

Torchy Runs for Mayor
1939

Arizona Bushwhackers
1968

Buckskin
1968

Barnacle Bill
1941

Wine, Women and Horses
1937

Stranded
1935

The Half-Breed
1952

Page Miss Glory
1935

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
1983

Treasure of Ruby Hills
1955

Relentless
1948

Cheyenne
1947

Noose for a Gunman
1960

Law of the Lawless
1964

Jail Busters
1955

Melody Ranch
1940

Rails Into Laramie
1954

Naked In The Sun
1957

Go Into Your Dance
1935

Jack Slade
1953

Marine Raiders
1944

Dr. Socrates
1935

Jungle Flight
1947

The Underdog
1943

Born Reckless
1937

The Bandit Queen
1950

Captain Scarface
1953

Prison Break
1938

The Last Round-up
1934
| Title | Year | Job | 
|---|---|---|
| Man of Courage | 1943 | Screenplay |