Barton MacLane

Barton MacLane

Birth : 1902-12-25, Columbia, South Carolina, USA

Death : 1969-01-01

History

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.

Profile

Barton MacLane

Movies

Miss
A narrative feature made from a collage of clips from various films around the world.
Bogart: The Untold Story
Self (archive footage)
Stephen H. Bogart narrates the rise to fame of his father, Humphrey Bogart through the use of film clips, written material and interviews of friends and co-workers.
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Himself (archive footage)
Out-takes (mostly from Warner Bros.), promotional shorts, movie premieres, public service pleas, wardrobe tests, documentary material, and archival footage make up this star-studded voyeuristic look at the Golden age of Hollywood during the 30s, 40, and 50.
It's Showtime
Self (archive footage)
A collection of film clips profiling animal actors.
Buckskin
Dr. H. 'Doc' Raymond
A Montana marshal fights a land baron out to parch homesteaders with a spite dam.
Arizona Bushwhackers
Sheriff Grover
During the Civil War, a Confederate spy takes a job as marshal of a small western town as a cover for his espionage activities. However, he soon finds out that a local businessman is selling weapons to a band of rampaging Indians.
Town Tamer
James Fell
A gunfighter is hired to clean up a wild frontier town, but there are forces afoot who want to keep the town as wide-open as it is. Lyle Bettger, Bruce Cabot and Richard Jaeckel co-star as the lawless bad guys in this Western based on a novel by Frank Gruber.
The Rounders
Tanner
Ben (Glenn Ford) and Marion (Henry Fonda) are two cowboys who make a meager living breaking wild horses. Their frequent employer Jim (Chill Wills), who always gets the better of them, talks them into taking a nondescript horse in lieu of some of their wages. Ben finds that the horse is un-rideable, he comes up with the idea of taking it to a rodeo and betting other cowhands they cannot ride it.
Law of the Lawless
Big Tom Stone
A former gunfighter, now a circuit court judge, faces his father's killer in a small post-Civil War Kansas town.
Pocketful of Miracles
Police Commissioner
Boozy, brassy Apple Annie, a beggar with a basket of apples, is as much a part of downtown New York as old Broadway itself. Bootlegger Dave the Dude is a sucker for her apples -- he thinks they bring him luck. But Dave and girlfriend Queenie Martin need a lot more than luck when it turns out that Annie is in a jam and only they can help: Annie's daughter Louise, who has lived all her life in a Spanish convent, is coming to America with a Count and his son. The count's son wants to marry Louise, who thinks her mother is part of New York society. It's up to Dave and Queenie and their cronies to turn Annie into a lady and convince the Count and his son that they are hobnobbing with New York's elite.
Noose for a Gunman
Carl Avery
Case Britton, gunslinger and wanted man, comes to town to meet his bride-to-be, stop a stagecoach robbery, and get even with the man who killed his brother.
Gunfighters of Abilene
Seth
A gunman receives a request for help from his brother, but arrives too late to save him from the lawless rancher who wanted him dead.
The Geisha Boy
Major Ridgley
Gilbert Wooley is a second-rate magician who is sent to entertain the troops in the pacific. During his time in Japan he becomes attached to a little orphan boy.
Frontier Gun
Simon Crayle
Small-town sheriff discovers that gun-fighting is the only way to clean up the town.
Girl on the Run
Francis J. Brannigan
A Hollywood private eye (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) seeks a singer being stalked by a hired killer.
Girl in the Woods
Big Jim
Lumbering tale of lumbermen challenging the ownership of valuable woodlands.
Naked In The Sun
Wilson
In the 1830s a Florida slave trader captures the wife of Chief Osceola, setting off a war between the Seminoles and the U.S. Army.
Sierra Stranger
Lem Gotch
A prospector becomes a small town outcast after he rescues a man about to be lynched.
Hell's Crossroads
Clyde O'Connell
An imprisoned gunfighter must scatter to elude the authorities. Outlaws Bob Ford (Robert Vaughn) and Vic Rodell (Stephen McNally) are nabbed, but the governor offers them amnesty in exchange for their help in bringing Jesse and his brother Frank (Douglas Kennedy) to justice. Peggie Castle and Barton MacLane also star in this tale of the Old West's most famous traitor.
Three Violent People
Yates
A rancher, his shady bride and his one-armed brother fight amid carpetbaggers in Texas.
Naked Gun
Joe Barnum
Don Pablo Salazar steals a fortune in jewels from an Indian tribe and an Aztec medicine man puts a curse on the jewels until they are returned. Years later, an American insurance man promises to deliver the Salazar fortune to the rightful heir...
The Man Is Armed
Det. Lt. Dan Coster
Crime drama in which a man unknowingly helps a gang pull off a big heist. The gang discovers that the man is more trouble than he is worth and as a result, things don't go as smoothly as planned.
Wetbacks
Karl Shanks
Former Coastguardsmen Jim Benson is about to lose his boat when a couple approaches him for a fishing charter. Jim departs just ahead of the Sherrif with drunken Shanks, and his companion Sally (Gates). Shanks takes off into a small Mexican village after a fight with Jim, stranding both Sally and him with no money. Two local men hear of Jim's plight, and offer him money to smuggle a batch of illegal aliens, called Wetbacks, into the U.S. He agrees but is blackmailed into continuing to run the smuggling operation. Afraid, Jim decides to make a run for it, but someone close to him reveals themselves as a US Immigration agent and asks him to assist them in shutting down the smugglers for good.
Backlash
Sergeant George Lake
Jim Slater's father (whom he never knew) died in the Apache ambush at Gila Valley, and Jim is searching for the one survivor, who supposedly went for help but disappeared with a lot of gold. In the process, he gets several people gunning for him, and he keeps meeting liberated woman Karyl Orton, who may be on a similar mission. Renewed Apache hostilities and an impending range war provide complications.
Jaguar
Steve Bailey
Oil explorers suspect a South American jungle boy (Sabu) of murder.
Last of the Desperados
Mosby, Gang Leader
After killing Billy the Kid, Sheriff Pat Garrett is relentlessly dogged by members of the Kid's gang.
Jail Busters
Captain Jenkins
Slip and Sach (Bowery Boys) go to prison to help a reporter with a story.
Foxfire
Mr. Mablett
A part-Indian mining engineer looks for gold in an Arizona ghost town with his socialite bride.
The Silver Star
Henry 'Tiny' Longtree
A third generation deputy sheriff doubts whether or not he has the guts for the job that killed both his father and grandfather. His doubts are re-enforced when three vicious gunmen arrive in town. From the original 35mm widescreen negative.
Treasure Of Ruby Hills
Chalk Reynolds
Ranchers battle one another over water rights. Western.
Hell's Outpost
Sheriff Olson
A returning Korean War vet becomes embroiled in a fight over possession of a tungsten mine.
Jubilee Trail
Deacon Bartlett
A wild-west trader and his New York wife head out for the California by wagon train. The trader is killed enroute, and his wife finds herself with child. She continues on hoping to find a man and a home.
Rails Into Laramie
Lee Graham
A federal agent arrives in Laramie to try to find out who is behind the efforts to stop the construction of a new railroad track.
The Glenn Miller Story
General Arnold
A vibrant tribute to one of America's legendary bandleaders, charting Glenn Miller's rise from obscurity and poverty to fame and wealth in the early 1940s.
Jack Slade
Jules Reni
A young boy witnesses his father murdered by bandits and grows into adulthood vowing revenge.
Sea of Lost Ships
Capt. Jack Matthews
The son of a deceased Coast Guard hero is raised by a Coast Guard NCO, who also has a son the same age. When they get older both are accepted into the Coast Guard Academy, but the hero's son winds up being thrown out, bringing disgrace to his adopted family.
Captain Scarface
Captain Scarface
A group of communist spies plan to blow up an essential commercial artery, the Panama Canal. To this end, they have kidnapped a nuclear scientist and are traveling by steamship to the coast of South America. Luckily for western civilization, the hard-nosed ship's captain, played by Barton MacLane, has other ideas.
Cow Country
Marvin Parker
A hired hand gets caught between a noble rancher and ruthless land grabbers.
Kansas Pacific
Cal Bruce
Just before the Civil War (but after the South has seceded), Southern saboteurs try to prevent railroad construction from crossing Kansas to the frontier; army captain Nelson is sent out to oppose them. As the tracks push westward, Nelson must contend with increasingly violent sabotage, while trying to romance the foreman's pretty daughter Barbara.
Thunderbirds
Sgt. Durkee
An Oklahoma National Guard unit, comprised mainly of Native Americans, is called up for duty at the start of World War II.
The Half-Breed
Marshal Cassidy
An Apache of mixed blood tries to make peace between Indians and whites.
Bugles in the Afternoon
Capt. Myles Moylan
Old enemies stationed together at an Army post vie for the same woman.
Drums in the Deep South
Sgt. Mac McCardle
Two old friends find themselves on opposite sides during the Civil War in a desperate battle atop an impregnable mountain.
Best of the Badmen
Joad
After the North defeats the South, Union Maj. Jeff Clanton heads to Missouri to provide the Confederacy's Quantrill's Raiders a chance to claim allegiance to the Union, thereby clearing their wanted status. But standing in Clanton's way are the corrupt lawmen Joad and Fowler, who would rather keep the men outlaws to collect the reward on their heads. After Joad and Fowler frame Clanton for murder, he manages to escape, becoming an outlaw himself.
The Bandit Queen
Sheriff Jim Harden
Zara Montalve, half Spanish and half America, returns to her native California in time to see her parents murdered for their hacienda and gold by Sheriff Jim Harding and his gang. Posing as Lola Belmont, an American visiting from Detroit, teams up with Joaquin Murietta, posing as Carlos Del Rio, to form a Robin-Hood type band that takes vengeance on the gang and restores stolen gold to its rightful owners, aided by militia leader Dan Hinsdale.
Let's Dance
Larry Channock
Years after the death of her husband, Kitty McNeil takes her son and flees from the home of her wealthy and controlling mother-in-law. Alone and jobless in New York, she runs into an old flame, her USO partner Donald Elwood, who agrees to help her fight for custody of the child.
Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
Lieutenant John Reece
Ralph Cotter, a ruthless criminal, escapes violently from a farm prison. Then, he seduces a dead inmate’s sister, gets back quickly into the crime business, faces corrupt local cops who run the city’s underworld and meets a powerful tycoon’s whimsical daughter.
Red Light
Detective Strecker
Nick Cherney, in prison for embezzling from Torno Freight Co., sees a chance to get back at Johnny Torno through his young priest brother Jess. He pays fellow prisoner Rocky, who gets out a week before Nick, to murder Jess... who, dying, tells revenge-minded Johnny that he'd written a clue "in the Bible." Frustrated, Johnny obsessively searches for the missing Gideon Bible from Jess's hotel room.
The Walls of Jericho
Rufus J. "Gotch" McCurdy
In a small town in Kansas, a county attorney in an unhappy marriage falls in love with another woman.
Angel in Exile
Max Giorgio
An ex-convict on his way to make his fortune in a gold mine in Arizona has his trip interrupted when the residents of a small Mexican village believe him to be a sacred religious figure.
Unknown Island
Capt. Tarnowski
Adventure-seeker Ted Osborne has convinced his finacee Carole to finance his expedition to an uncharted South Pacific island supposedly populated with dinosaurs...
Relentless
Tex Brandow
A man wrongly accused of murder tracks the true culprit across the desert.
The Dude Goes West
Texas Jack Barton
Daniel Bone is aiming for success. A Brooklyn gunsmith by trade, he figures the place to be is where the guns are. So off he goes into the West and becomes the foe of the notorious Pecos Kid, the captive of Paiutes, the target in a saloon showdown, and the lone source of the whereabouts of a fabulous gold strike.
Silver River
'Banjo' Sweeney
Unjustly booted out of the cavalry, Mike McComb strikes out for Nevada, and deciding never to be used again, ruthlessly works his way up to becoming one of the most powerful silver magnates in the west. His empire begins to fall apart as the other mining combines rise against him and his stubbornness loses him the support of his wife and old friends.
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Pat McCormick
Fred C. Dobbs and Bob Curtin, both down on their luck in Tampico, Mexico in 1925, meet up with a grizzled prospector named Howard and decide to join with him in search of gold in the wilds of central Mexico. Through enormous difficulties, they eventually succeed in finding gold, but bandits, the elements, and most especially greed threaten to turn their success into disaster.
Jungle Flight
Case Hagin
Kelly Jordan and Andy Melton are former AAF fliers operating a cargo service over the South American mountain ranges in order to get enough money to return to Texas and buy a commercial line.
Cheyenne
Webb Yancey
Slick gambler James Wylie (Dennis Morgan) is apprehended by the law and given the option to forgo a prison sentence if he poses as a bandit. His mission is to uncover the identity of the Poet, a notorious outlaw who has been holding up bank-owned stagecoaches and leaving verses at the crime scenes to taunt the authorities. James finds time to woo the Poet's lovely wife, Ann (Jane Wyman), who initially cold-shoulders him. But, as a romance develops, they partner up to find the robber.
Tarzan and the Huntress
Paul Weir
A shortage of zoo animals after World War II brings beautiful animal trainer Tanya, her financial backer and her cruel trail boss to the jungle. After negotiating a quota with the native king, they take more animals than allowed. Tarzan intervenes.
San Quentin
Nick Taylor
An ex-con sets up a program to straighten out hard-core prisoners. Things don't go as planned.
Santa Fe Uprising
Crawford
The Duchess, the aunt of Red Ryder, comes to town to protect her property. Crawford, a town big-shot behind an outlaw gang, tries to prevent her from reaching her destination, but the attack is thwarted by Red. The latter is made town marshal, and when he gets too close to the truth and is making it too hot for the Crawford faction, Crawford has his henchman Luke kidnap Red's Indian friend Little Beaver.
Mysterious Intruder
Detective Taggart
A private detective is hired to find a young heiress but finds himself accused of murder.
The Spanish Main
Capt. Benjamin Black
Laurent van Horn is the leader of a band of Dutch refugees on a ship seeking freedom in the Carolinas, when the ship is wrecked on the coast of Cartagene. governed by Don Juan Alvardo, Spainish ruler. Alvarado has Laurent thrown in prison, but the latter escapes, and five-years later is a pirate leader. He poses as the navigator on a ship in which Contessa Francesca, daughter of a Mexican noble, is traveling on her way to marry Alvarado, whom she has never seen. Laurent's pirates capture the ship and Francesa, in order to save another ship, gives her hand-in-marriage to Laurent, who sails her to the pirate hideout. This irks the jealous Anne Bonney and,also, Captain Benjamin Black, who was already irked, anyway. They overpower Laurent and send Francesa to Alvarado, and then Mario du Billar, trusted right-hand man, makes a deal to deliver Laurent to Alvarado also.
Scared Stiff
George 'Deacon' Markham
A meek reporter happens upon a murder, an escaped gangster and a stolen jade chess set.
Tarzan and the Amazons
Ballister
A group of archaeologists asks Tarzan to help them find an ancient city in a hidden valley of women. He refuses, but Boy is tricked into doing the job. The queen of the women asks Tarzan to help them.
Gentle Annie
Sheriff Tatum
The Goss family live on a farm they call the dust bowl where the wind blows during the day and the coyotes howl at night. When the train is robbed, everyone thinks that Cotton and Violet were the ones that did the job, but no one has any proof. US Marshal Lloyd Richland comes into town in disguise to find the truth and he finds that the sheriff is corrupt and that the Goss family is gosh darn nice. They take in Richland and a stranded woman named Mary without any questions. Cotton believes that Sheriff Tatum shot their pa in the back, and the sheriff is now trying to plug the boys. Richland is looking for the train robbers, and at the same time is keeping an eye on Tatum and the lovely young Mary.
Cry of the Werewolf
Lt. Barry Lane
A young gypsy girl turns into a wolf to destroy her enemies.
Secret Command
Red Kelly
Secret Command features Pat O'Brien as a onetime foreign correspondent in the wartime employ of the FBI. Under an assumed name, O'BRIEN goes to work at a shipyard, intending to keep both eyes open for potential saboteurs. To maintain the cover, O'BRIEN is given a "wife" (Carole Landis) and two children. When O'BRIEN's brother Chester Morris shows up, he can't comprehend the charade and nearly spills the beans to the Nazi spies O'BRIEN hopes to trap. Based on the short story The Saboteurs by John and Ward Hawkins, Secret Command offers a graying but still feisty Pat O'Brien doing what he does best.
Marine Raiders
Sgt. Maguire
A Marine major (Pat O'Brien) looks out for his captain (Robert Ryan) on Guadalcanal and in Australia.
The Mummy's Ghost
Inspector Walgreen
An Egyptian high priest travels to America to reclaim the bodies of ancient Egyptian princess Ananka and her living guardian mummy Kharis. Learning that Ananka's spirit has been reincarnated into another body, he kidnaps a young woman of Egyptian descent with a mysterious resemblance to the princess. However, the high priest's greedy desires cause him to lose control of the mummy...
Nabonga
Carl Hurst
When a treasure hunter seeks a downed airplane in the jungles of Africa, he encounters one of the passenger's young daughter, now fully grown, and with a gorilla protector.
The Crime Doctor’s Strangest Case
Detective Rief
The Crime Doctor gets involved in the case of the poisoning of a wealthy industrialist.
The Underdog
John Tate
During WWII, a strong-willed 12-year-old boy tries to steer his vocationally and maritally confused father straight, at the same time striving to keep his honor while the gang in his new neighborhood bully him.
Song of Texas
Jim Calvert
A man of no worth brags to his daughter back East that he is rich and owns a big ranch. When she decides to pay a visit to her father, Roy and his buddies agree to pretend that the poor man is the owner of the ranch.
Bombardier
Archie Dixon
A documentary/drama about the training of bombardiers during WWII. Major Chick Davis proves to the U.S. Army the superiority of high altitude precision bombing, and establishes a school for bombardiers. Training is followed in semi-documentary style, with personal dramas in subplots. The climax is a spectacular, if somewhat jingoistic, battle sequence.
Man of Courage
John Wallace
A crusading district attorney tries to stop a local mob boss who has connections in high places.
Man of Courage
Story
A crusading district attorney tries to stop a local mob boss who has connections in high places.
Man of Courage
Screenplay
A crusading district attorney tries to stop a local mob boss who has connections in high places.
Highways by Night
Leo Bronson
A young millionaire (Richard Carlson) joins the real world and meets a maid (Jane Randolph) and mobsters.
The Big Street
Case Ables
Meek busboy Little Pinks is in love with an extremely selfish showgirl who despises and uses him.
All Through the Night
Marty Callahan
Broadway gamblers stumble across a plan by Nazi saboteurs to blow up an American battleship.
The Maltese Falcon
Det. Lt. Dundy
A private detective takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a beautiful liar, and their quest for a priceless statuette.
Wild Geese Calling
Pirate Kelly
In the 1890s lumberjack John leaves Seattle for Alaska to look for gold. After he marries dancehall girl Sally, he finds she used to be in love with his best friend Blackie.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Sam Higgins
Dr. Jekyll believes good and evil exist in everyone and creates a potion that allows his evil side, Mr. Hyde, to come to the fore. He faces horrible consequences when he lets his dark side run amok.
Manpower
Smiley Quinn
Hank McHenry and Johnny Marshall work as power company linesmen. Hank is injured in an accident and subsequently promoted to foreman of the gang. Tensions start to show in the road crew as rivalry between Hank and Johnny increases.
Hit the Road
James J. Ryan
Kids look to get revenge when their fathers are all killed in a mob war.
Barnacle Bill
John Kelly
A fishing boat captain searches for romance in hopes of improving his financial picture.
Western Union
Jack Slade
When Edward Creighton leads the construction of the Western Union to unite East with West, he hires a Western reformed outlaw and a tenderfoot Eastern surveyor.
Come Live with Me
Barney Grogan
Seeking US citizenship, a Viennese refugee arranges a marriage of convenience with a struggling writer.
High Sierra
Jake Kranmer
Given a pardon from jail, Roy Earle gets back into the swing of things as he robs a swanky resort.
Melody Ranch
Mark Wildhack
His Arizona hometown of Torpedo invites Gene back to be the honorary sheriff of the Frontier Days Celebration.
The Secret Seven
Sam O'Donnell
Scientists assembled to prove their methods are effective in criminal investigation try to solve a series of murders.
Men Without Souls
Blackie Drew
A prison chaplain (John Litel) rescues a young convict (Glenn Ford) on a misguided mission of revenge.
Gangs of Chicago
Jim Ramsey
A criminal uses his knowledge of the law for his not-very-legal purposes, betraying friends along the way.
Breakdowns of 1939
Himself
Flubs and bloopers that occurred ont the set of some of the major Warner Bros. pictures of 1939.
Mutiny in the Big House
Red Manson
A young man forges a check in order to help his mother, but is caught and sentenced to 14 years in prison...
Torchy Runs for Mayor
Steve McBride
Torchy conducts a one woman campaign against a corrupt mayor and crime boss, and when the reform candidate is murdered, she takes up the banner.
Big Town Czar
Phil Daley
When gangster Phil Daley gets rid of his chief Paul Burgess he has everything that money can buy, except the respect of his parents and his sweetheart Susan Warren. His younger brother Danny quits college and forces Phil to make him part of the gang. The overly-ambitious Danny fixes a prize-fight on which rival gang-leader Mike Luger loses heavily and, thinking that Phil has double-crossed him, sends gunmen out to kill Phil. They kill Danny instead and the frightened Phil flees to a country hideout. His chief lieutenant, Sid Travis, sets a trap for Phil when he returns.
I Was a Convict
Ace King
In this crime drama a wealthy business tycoon serves a sentence for tax fraud. While there he becomes good friends with his cellmates and after they are all released, the magnate appoints them both as executives in his company.
Torchy Blane in Chinatown
Det. Lt. Steve 'Mac' McBride
Torchy Blane joins her police-detective fiance to solve a series of murders involving a set of Chinese grave tablets taken and sold to a collector and death-threats written in Chinese characters.
Stand Up and Fight
Crowder
A southern aristocrat clashes with a driver transporting stolen slaves to freedom.
Torchy Gets Her Man
Detective Steve McBride
A notorious counterfeiter passes himself off as a Secret Service agent to Steve and gets him to unwittingly help him bilk the racetrack out of tens of thousands.
The Storm
Captain Cogswell
A passenger ship unexpectedly runs into a typhoon.
Prison Break
Joaquin Shannon
Story of a tuna fisherman who has been wrongfully convicted of a murder he did not commit. His exemplary behavior in prison ensures that he is up for early parole. He realizes, however, that his movements will be limited, and he will be unable to join and wed his beloved. The only solution is to escape and hunt down the real killer, himself.
You and Me
Mickey
Mr. Morris, the owner of a large metropolitan department store, gives jobs to paroled ex-convicts in an effort to help them reform and go straight. Among his 'employed-prison-graduates' are Helen Roberts and Joe Dennis, working as sales clerks. Joe is in love with Helen and asks her to marry him, but she is forbidden to marry as she is still on parole, but she says yes and they are married. In spite of their poverty-level life, their marriage is a happy one until Joe discovers she has lied about her past, in order to marry him. Disillusioned, he leaves, goes back to his old gang and plans to rob the department store.
The Kid Comes Back
Gunner Malone
A ring veteran turns a Texas tenderfoot into a winning fighter.
Gold Is Where You Find It
Slag Martin
Colonel Ferris, a wealthy farmer in northern California, is strongly opposed to hydraulic mining, a new method developed during the gold rush of the 1870's, which is flooding the area's prosperous farmlands. Despite Ferris' political stance, Jared Whitney, a mining engineer from the East, becomes friends with the colonel's son Lance and falls in love with his daughter Serena. Family tensions deepen when the colonel's brother Ralph gives up farming to go to San Francisco to work for his wife Rosanna's father, Harrison McCooey, a leader in the mining venture. When Lance follows Ralph, the colonel, focusing his anger on Jared, forbids him to see Serena.
Blondes at Work
Lt. Steve McBride
When a rival newspaper publisher complains to his captain about possible collusion between himself and reporter Torchy Blane on scooping her rivals in crime news reporting, Det. Lt. Steve McBride determines to thwart her efforts to get inside information - and she determines to go on getting it, by whatever means necessary.
The Adventurous Blonde
Det. Lt. Steve McBride
The third of nine Torchy Blane movies. Angry that police detective Steve McBride (Barton MacLane) is giving preferential treatment to his reporter-fiancée, Torchy Blane (Glenda Farrell), reporters from a rival newspaper plan a fake murder with the idea that Torchy's paper will print the story and look foolish. The tables are turned when the fake murder turns out to be the genuine article.
Wine, Women and Horses
Jim Turner
An ex-gambler hooks up with an old flame after his old habit resurfaces and drives off his wife.
Ever Since Eve
Al McCoy
Madge Winton (Marion Davies), a beautiful secretary, makes herself look homely in order to avoid advances by lecherous bosses. When her new employer, writer Freddy Matthews (Robert Montgomery), accidentally sees her without her disguise, she has to pretend to be her roommate Sadie.
Born Reckless
Jim Barnes
Racketeer Jim Barnes is trying to force the independent taxicab-drivers to join his "protection service" at the cost of five bucks a day. Champion race-car driver, Bob Kane, joins with his friends Lee and "Dad" Martin in a fight for the street rights of a big city.
Fly Away Baby
Steve McBride
Torchy Blane solves a murder and smuggling case during a round-the-world flight.
San Quentin
Lt. Druggin
Ex-Army officer Jameson takes a job a prison guard at San Quentin. Joe, the brother of his new girlfriend May, is sentenced to the prison for robbery. When Jameson tries to separate lawbreakers from hardened criminals, badguy Hansen tries to stir up trouble by telling Joe about Jameson's interest in his sister.
Draegerman Courage
Andrew Beaupre
After a mine cave in, the rescue crew risks their lives to search for two trapped miners.
The Prince and the Pauper
John Canty
Two boys – the prince Edward and the pauper Tom – are born on the same day. Years later, when young teenage Tom sneaks into the palace garden, he meets the prince. They change clothes with one another before the guards discover them and throw out the prince thinking he's the urchin. No one believes them when they try to tell the truth about which is which. Soon after, the old king dies and the prince will inherit the throne.
Breakdowns of 1937
Himself
Warner Brothers bloopers of 1937.
You Only Live Once
Stephen Whitney
Based partially on the story of Bonnie and Clyde, Eddie Taylor is an ex-convict who cannot get a break after being released from prison. When he is framed for murder, Taylor is forced to flee with his wife Joan Graham and baby. While escaping prison after being sentenced to death, Taylor becomes a real murderer, condemning himself and Joan to a life of crime and death on the road.
God's Country and the Woman
Bullhead
Hard-nosed Jefferson Russett runs a logging company; his brother, Steve, is the prodigal son. Steve becomes stranded on the competition's property and slowly learns the business and of his brother's dirty tricks.
Smart Blonde
Steve McBride
Ambitious reporter Torchy Blane guides her policeman boyfriend to correctly pinpoint who shot the man she was interviewing.
Breakdowns of 1936
Himself
Time marches on.
Jailbreak
Detective Captain Rourke
A reporter gets himself sent to prison so he can solve a murder behind bars.
Bengal Tiger
Cliff Ballenger
After causing his friend's death, an animal trainer marries the man's daughter to atone.
Bullets or Ballots
Al Kruger
After Police Captain Dan McLaren becomes police commissioner, former detective Johnny Blake publicly punches him, convincing rackets boss Al Kruger that Blake is sincere in his effort to join the mob. "Bugs" Fenner, meanwhile, is certain that Blake is a police agent.
Times Square Playboy
Casey (Vic's Butler/Trainer)
A stock broker's small-town best friend thinks the bride-to-be and her family are gold-diggers so he does everything he can to prevent the wedding.
The Walking Dead
Loder
Down-on-his-luck John Ellman is framed for a judge's murder. After he's convicted and sentenced to death, witnesses come forth and prove his innocence. But it was too late for a stay to be granted and Ellman is executed. A doctor uses an experimental procedure to restore him to life, though the full outcome is other than expected.
Ceiling Zero
Al Stone
War veteran pilots Dizzy Davis, Texas Clark and Jake Lee are working in an airline. Dizzy is fooling with one of the younger pilot's girl-friend and due to this he changes flights with Texas.
A Dream Comes True
Himself (uncredited)
A promotional short to hype the production of A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935).
Man of Iron
Chris Bennett
A construction company foreman's life changes--not necessarily for the better--when he is promoted to an executive position.
Frisco Kid
Spider Burke
After a roustabout sailor avoids being shanghaied in 1850s San Francisco, his audacity helps him rise to a position of power in the vice industry of the infamous Barbary Coast.
I Found Stella Parish
Clifton Jeffords
A blackmailer preys on an actress who is trying to protect her daughter from her past.
Dr. Socrates
Red Bastian
Dr. Socrates gave up his brilliant career as surgeon in a prominent hospital because his betrothed died under his knife. He is now a struggling doctor in a small town that has a gangster's hideout.
The Case of the Lucky Legs
Bisonette
A con man who stages phony "lucky legs" beauty contests and leaves town with the money is found with a surgical knife in his heart by Mason.
Page Miss Glory
Blackie
A country girl goes to the city and gets a job in a posh hotel, and winds up becoming an instant celebrity thanks to an ambitious photographer.
Stranded
Sharkey
A Traveler's Aid worker who delights in solving people's problems gets mixed up with gangsters.
Black Fury
McGee
A simple Pennsylvania coal miner is drawn into the violent conflict between union workers and management.
'G' Men
Collins
James “Brick” Davis, a struggling attorney, owes his education to a mobster, but always has refused to get involved with the underworld. When a friend of his is gunned down by a notorious criminal, Brick decides to abandon the exercise of the law and join the Department of Justice to capture the murderer.
Go Into Your Dance
Duke Hutchinson
An irresponsible Broadway star gets mixed up with gambling and gangsters.
The Case of the Curious Bride
Detective Lucas
After giving the District Attorney another stinging defeat, Perry plans to take a vacation in China. That is, he was, until Rhoda, his old flame, meets him at a restaurant. It seems that her husband Moxley, who had been allegedly dead for four years, is alive and demanding money as she has married into wealth. The case escalates when the police find the body of Moxley and charge her with the murder.
The Last Round-up
Charley Benson
Randolph Scott plays Jim Cleve, one of several volunteers keeping the US-Mexican border safe on behalf of American settlers. Ostensibly the hero, Cleve is actually out-heroed by the film's nominal villain, outlaw leader Jack Kells (Monte Blue). It is Kells who brings about the story's happy ending, sacrificing his own life to ensure the blissful future of young lovers Cleve and Joan Randall (Barbara Fritchie).
All of Me
First Cop (uncredited)
A professor tires of the direction his life is going and wants to move west, but his girlfriend doesn't understand why he is so dissatisfied.
Lone Cowboy
Policeman Baxter
Big Executive
Harry the Guide
Big Executive
Tillie and Gus
Commissioner McLennan
Tillie and Augustus Winterbottom are thought to be missionaries when they arrive to find Phineas Pratt trying cheat the Sheridans out of her father's inheritance, including a ferry franchise and a boat. The only way to keep the franchise is to win a race against Pratt's boat.
To the Last Man
Neil Stanley
In Kentucky just after the Civil War, the Hayden-Colby feud leads to Jed Colby being sent to prison for 15 years for murder. The Haydens head for Nevada and when Colby gets out of prison he heads there also seeking revenge. The head of the Hayden family tries to avoid more killing but the inevitable showdown has to occur, complicated by Lynn Hayden and Ellen Colby's plans to marry.
Man of the Forest
Mulvey
Beasley, who is after Gayner's land, plans to kidnap his daughter. But Dale overhears their plan and kidnaps her himself. When Gayner arrives to retrieve his daughter, Beasley kills him and makes the Sheriff arrest Dale for the murder.
Let's Dance
Sailor George and his pals visit the Roseland Dance Hall, where funny things happen between conversations with dizzy hostess Gracie.
The Thundering Herd
Henchman Pruitt
A buffalo hunter tries to stop a thief and his minions from stealing hides.
The Acid Test
George Shelton asks Tom Howard to help him impress his girl as a he-man. Howard is to insult him, and then Shelton comes up and punches out Howard. The gag works, so Howard tries to use the same gag, recruiting Donald MacBride as his foil.
His Woman
Crewman
Tough Caribbean freighter Captain Sam Whelan engages Sally Clark, a tramp masquerading as a missionary's daughter, to care for an abandoned baby on board his ship. En route to New York, ships mate Gatson sexually attacks her. The Captain knocks Gatson overboard in an ensuing scuffle. A romance developing between the Captain and Miss Clark is put to the test in New York after an assault investigation uncovers the girl's questionable past.
The Gigolo Racket
Cafe Customer
As a publicity stunt, a musical comedy star announces her engagement to a young man she believes is a gigolo, with whom she eventually falls in love.
Crimes Square
Detective with Handcuffs
When a crook decides to go straight, his jealous cast off moll exposes him to the police.
Politics
An ambitious campaign manager makes friends, influences people and welcomes his long-lost mother to Ellis Island.
The Cocoanuts
During the Florida land boom, the Marx Brothers run a hotel, auction off some land and thwart a jewel robbery.
The Quarterback
Football Player (uncredited)
Elmer Stone, quarterback of the 1899 Colton College football team vows to remain a student until Colton beats its biggest rival, State University. Twenty-seven years later, Elmer is still in school and is a classmate of his son, Jack. Other than driving a milk wagon in his spare time, Jack is also the quarterback of the football team. A matter of his eligibility comes up but he is cleared and goes out to do-or-die for Colton against State University. Maybe they will win The Big Game, and Jack's father can get a life...and a job.