Binnie Barnes
Encyclopedia
Gertrude Maud "Binnie" Barnes (25 May 1903 – 27 July 1998) was an English-American actress. She was born in Islington
to a Jewish father and an Italian
mother and was brought up Jewish, although she converted to Catholicism later in life.
She began her acting career in films in 1923, appearing in a short film made by Lee De Forest
in his Phonofilm
sound-on-film process. Her film career continued in Great Britain, most notably in The Private Life of Henry VIII
(1933) as Katherine Howard, Henry's misfortunate fifth wife. Later her career continued in Hollywood, until 1973, when she appeared in the comedy 40 Carats
, her last acting role.
, a Roman Catholic, for whom she converted and became a Catholic, and later a naturalized United States citizen. The couple adopted three children.
, in 1998, survived by her three children, including production manager, Mike Frankovich, Jr. and producer Peter Frankovich. She was interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale
.
Islington
Islington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
to a Jewish father and an Italian
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
mother and was brought up Jewish, although she converted to Catholicism later in life.
She began her acting career in films in 1923, appearing in a short film made by Lee De Forest
Lee De Forest
Lee De Forest was an American inventor with over 180 patents to his credit. De Forest invented the Audion, a vacuum tube that takes relatively weak electrical signals and amplifies them. De Forest is one of the fathers of the "electronic age", as the Audion helped to usher in the widespread use...
in his Phonofilm
Phonofilm
In 1919, Lee De Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patent on a sound-on-film process, DeForest Phonofilm, which recorded sound directly onto film as parallel lines. These parallel lines photographically recorded electrical waveforms from a microphone, which were translated back...
sound-on-film process. Her film career continued in Great Britain, most notably in The Private Life of Henry VIII
The Private Life of Henry VIII
The Private Life of Henry VIII is a 1933 film about Henry VIII, King of England. It was written by Lajos Biró and Arthur Wimperis, and directed by Sir Alexander Korda.Charles Laughton won the 1933 Academy Award as Best Actor for his performance as Henry...
(1933) as Katherine Howard, Henry's misfortunate fifth wife. Later her career continued in Hollywood, until 1973, when she appeared in the comedy 40 Carats
40 Carats (film)
Forty Carats is a 1973 American film directed by Milton Katselas, based on the play by Jay Presson Allen. The screenplay was written by Leonard Gershe and directed by Milton Katselas. The cast include Liv Ullman, Edward Albert, Gene Kelly, Binnie Barnes, Deborah Raffin, Nancy Walker, and Natalie...
, her last acting role.
Family
She was married, secondly, to film producer Mike FrankovichMike Frankovich
Mitchell John “M.J.” Frankovich was an American film producerFrankovich was born in Bisbee, Arizona. He played football for UCLA and was inducted into UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame in 1986...
, a Roman Catholic, for whom she converted and became a Catholic, and later a naturalized United States citizen. The couple adopted three children.
Death
She died of natural causes, aged 95, in Beverly Hills, CaliforniaBeverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
, in 1998, survived by her three children, including production manager, Mike Frankovich, Jr. and producer Peter Frankovich. She was interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale
Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale
Forest Lawn Memorial Park is a privately owned cemetery in Glendale, California. It is the original location of Forest Lawn, a chain of cemeteries in Southern California. The land was formerly part of Providencia Ranch.-History:...
.
Partial filmography
- Down Our StreetDown Our Street (1932 film)-Plot:This drama, set during the Depression, sees the character Charlie Stubbs trying to escape his poverty by becoming a criminal. When this course of action fails he cleans up his act and becomes a cab driver for the woman he loves, Annie Collins...
(1932) - Murder at Covent GardenMurder at Covent GardenMurder at Covent Garden is a 1932 British crime film directed by Leslie S. Hiscott and starring Dennis Neilson-Terry, Anne Grey, George Curzon and Walter Fitzgerald...
(1932) - Counsel's OpinionCounsel's OpinionCounsel's Opinion is a 1933 British romantic comedy film starring Henry Kendall and Binnie Barnes. It was one of three films directed in Britain in the early 1930s by Canadian-American Allan Dwan and was an early production from Alexander Korda's London Films...
(1933) - The Private Life of Henry VIIIThe Private Life of Henry VIIIThe Private Life of Henry VIII is a 1933 film about Henry VIII, King of England. It was written by Lajos Biró and Arthur Wimperis, and directed by Sir Alexander Korda.Charles Laughton won the 1933 Academy Award as Best Actor for his performance as Henry...
(1933) - The Silver SpoonThe Silver SpoonThe Silver Spoon is a 1934 British comedy crime film directed by George King and starring Ian Hunter, Garry Marsh and Cecil Parker. A homeless man admits to a murder he didn't commit in order to protect a woman. The Silver Spoon is classed by the British Film Institute as a lost film.-Cast:* Ian...
(1934) - The Private Life of Don JuanThe Private Life of Don JuanThe Private Life of Don Juan is a 1934 British comedy-drama film about the life of an aging Don Juan, based on the 1920 play L'homme à la Rose by Henry Bataille. The movie stars Douglas Fairbanks and Merle Oberon.-Plot:...
(1934) - Diamond JimDiamond JimDiamond Jim is a 1935 biographical film based on the published biography Diamond Jim Brady by Parker Morell. It follows the life of legendary entrepreneur James Buchanan Brady, including his romance with entertainer Lillian Russell, and stars Edward Arnold, Jean Arthur, Cesar Romero and Binnie...
(1935) - RendezvousRendezvous (1935 film)Rendezvous is a 1935 spy film set in World War I, starring William Powell as an American cryptologist who tangles with German spies. The film was based on The American Black Chamber, the controversial memoirs of Herbert Yardley, founder and head of MI8....
(1935) - La Fiesta de Santa BarbaraLa Fiesta de Santa BarbaraLa Fiesta de Santa Barbara is a 1935 short comedy film directed by Louis Lewyn. It was nominated for an Academy Award in 1936 for Best Short Subject...
(1935) - The Last of the MohicansThe Last of the Mohicans (1936 film)The Last of the Mohicans is a 1936 adventure film adaptation of James Fenimore Cooper's novel of the same name starring Randolph Scott, Binnie Barnes, Henry Wilcoxon and Bruce Cabot....
(1936) - Three Smart GirlsThree Smart GirlsThree Smart Girls is a 1936 musical comedy film. The Craig sisters, played by Barbara Read, Nan Grey and Deanna Durbin in her first feature film role, travel to New York City to prevent their father from remarrying....
(1936) - Small Town GirlSmall Town Girl (1936 film)Small Town Girl is a film starring Janet Gaynor, Robert Taylor, and James Stewart. The romantic comedy was directed by William A. Wellman.Based on a novel by Ben Ames Williams, the film went through many changes before it reached the screen...
(1936) - Broadway Melody of 1938Broadway Melody of 1938Broadway Melody of 1938 is a 1937 musical film, produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and directed by Roy Del Ruth. The film is essentially a backstage musical revue, featuring high-budget sets and cinematography in the MGM musical tradition...
(1938) - The Divorce of Lady XThe Divorce of Lady XThe Divorce of Lady X is a 1938 British romantic comedy film made by London Films and distributed by United Artists. It was directed by Tim Whelan and produced by Alexander Korda from a screenplay by Ian Dalrymple and Arthur Wimperis, adapted by Lajos Biró from the play Counsel's Opinion by Gilbert...
(1938) - The Adventures of Marco PoloThe Adventures of Marco PoloThe Adventures of Marco Polo is a 1938 drama-adventure genre film, and one of the most elaborate and costly of Samuel Goldwyn's productions.-Plot:...
(1938) - Tropic HolidayTropic HolidayTropic Holiday is a 1938 American musical film directed by Theodore Reed and starring Bob Burns, Dorothy Lamour and Ray Milland.The film was nominated for the Academy Award's Best Original Score.-Cast:* Bob Burns as Breck Jones...
(1938) - The Three MusketeersThe Three Musketeers (1939 film)The Three Musketeers is a 1939 musical comedy film adaptation of Alexandre Dumas, père's novel of the same name. Don Ameche stars as D'Artagnan, with the Ritz Brothers as his cowardly helpers.-Cast:*Don Ameche as D'Artagnan...
(1939) - Wife, Husband and FriendWife, Husband and FriendWife, Husband and Friend is a 1939 comedy film starring Loretta Young, Warner Baxter and Binnie Barnes in the three title roles.The film, directed by Gregory Ratoff from a script by Nunnally Johnson, tells the story of a contractor and his wife, and how their musical ambitions result in marital...
(1939) - Man About TownMan About Town (1939 film)Man About Town is a 1939 musical comedy film starring Jack Benny and Dorothy Lamour. A producer tries to get his leading lady take him seriously romantically by pursuing other women.-Cast:*Jack Benny as Bob Temple*Dorothy Lamour as Diana Wilson...
(1939) - Frontier MarshalFrontier Marshal (1939 film)Frontier Marshal is a 1939 western film starring Randolph Scott as Wyatt Earp. It is the second film produced by Sol M. Wurtzel based on Stuart N. Lake's highly fictionalized account of Earp, Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal. An earlier version was Wurtzel's Frontier Marshal, filmed in 1934...
(1939) - 'Til We Meet Again'Til We Meet Again'Til We Meet Again is a 1940 romance film starring Merle Oberon and George Brent as two doomed, star-crossed lovers. It is a remake of the 1932 film One Way Passage and itself was remade into the 1954 Mexican 3-D film El valor de vivir.-Plot:...
(1940) - Skylark (1941)
- In Old CaliforniaIn Old California (1942 film)In Old California is a 1942 film starring John Wayne as a Boston pharmacist who relocates to Sacramento during the Gold Rush. The movie was directed by William C. McGann.-Cast:* John Wayne ... Tom Craig* Binnie Barnes ... Lacey Miller...
(1942) - The Man from Down UnderThe Man from Down UnderThe Man from Down Under is a 1943 drama film starring Charles Laughton as a man who raises two war orphans.-Plot:After the end of World War I, Australian soldier Jocko Wilson admires the spirit of a destitute Belgian orphan who fights a larger boy. He feeds the child, whom he names "Nipper", and...
(1943) - Barbary Coast GentBarbary Coast GentBarbary Coast Gent is a 1944 film set in 1880s San Francisco's Barbary Coast and Nevada starring Wallace Beery. The movie was directed by Roy Del Ruth and features Beery's brother Noah Beery, Sr., John Carradine, and Chill Wills.-Cast:...
(1944) - It's in the BagIt's in the Bag"It's in the Bag" can refer to:* It's in the Bag, a pricing game played on the American television show The Price Is Right* It's in the Bag , the long-running New Zealand game show* L'affaire est dans le sac, a 1932 French film...
(1945) - The Spanish MainThe Spanish MainThe Spanish Main is an adventure film starring Paul Henreid, Maureen O'Hara, Walter Slezak and Binnie Barnes, and directed by Frank Borzage. It was RKO's first all-Technicolor film since Becky Sharp ten years before....
(1945) - The Time of Their LivesThe Time of Their LivesThe Time of Their Lives is a 1946 American film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello.As in the previous Abbott and Costello film, Little Giant, the duo plays separate characters instead of partners, due to tensions between them that led to their splitting up for a while in 1945. The film...
(1946) - If Winter ComesIf Winter ComesIf Winter Comes is a 1947 drama film released by MGM. The movie was directed by Victor Saville, based on the novel by A.S.M. Hutchinson. The film tells the story of an English textbook writer who takes in a pregnant girl...
(1947) - Decameron NightsDecameron NightsDecameron Nights is a 1953 anthology film based on three tales from The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio, specifically the ninth and tenth tales of the second day and the ninth tale of the third...
(1953) - MalagaMalaga (film)Malaga is a 1954 British film starring Maureen O'Hara as a former O.S.S. James Bond type secret agent and Macdonald Carey as a smuggler. It was directed by Richard Sale on location in Malaga and set in the international city of Tangiers...
(1954) - The Trouble with Angels (1966)
- Where Angels Go, Trouble FollowsWhere Angels Go, Trouble FollowsWhere Angels Go, Trouble Follows is a movie comedy starring Rosalind Russell and Stella Stevens. The film is a sequel to The Trouble with Angels and was written by Blanche Hanalis from a story by Jane Trahey, and directed by James Neilson....
(1969) - 40 Carats40 Carats (film)Forty Carats is a 1973 American film directed by Milton Katselas, based on the play by Jay Presson Allen. The screenplay was written by Leonard Gershe and directed by Milton Katselas. The cast include Liv Ullman, Edward Albert, Gene Kelly, Binnie Barnes, Deborah Raffin, Nancy Walker, and Natalie...
(1973)