Robert Barrat
Encyclopedia
Robert Harriot Barrat (10 July 1889 – 7 January 1970) was an American stage, motion picture, and television character actor.
and went into films, acting in some one-hundred fifty films over four decades Hollywood career and appeared in seven pictures with James Cagney
during the 1930s. Two of his most noted roles were as the murder victim Archer Coe in Michael Curtiz's The Kennel Murder Case
(1933) and as the treacherous Major Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy
in the 1937 Warner Bros.
Academy Award winning film, The Life of Emile Zola
. He also played Ingrid Bergman
's father in Joan of Arc
(1948), though his role was so brief that when an edited version of the film was released in 1950, Barrat's role had actually been eliminated. (The film has since been restored to its full length.)
He played several other historical characters as well, among them Davy Crockett
in Man of Conquest, Zachary Taylor
in Distant Drums
, Abraham Lincoln
in Trailin' West, Cornelius Van Horne in Canadian Pacific
and General Douglas MacArthur
in American Guerrilla in the Philippines
. He was also seen as the Native American Chief Chingachgook, in the 1936 film version of The Last of the Mohicans
. By 1954, he turned to TV playhouse roles, off and on until 1964.
He was buried at Green Hill Cemetery in Martinsburg, West Virginia
.
Career
Born in New York, Barrat's theatrical debut was in a stock company in Springfield, Massachusetts. He later acted on BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
and went into films, acting in some one-hundred fifty films over four decades Hollywood career and appeared in seven pictures with James Cagney
James Cagney
James Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American actor, first on stage, then in film, where he had his greatest impact. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys." In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth...
during the 1930s. Two of his most noted roles were as the murder victim Archer Coe in Michael Curtiz's The Kennel Murder Case
The Kennel Murder Case
The Kennel Murder Case is a 1933 murder mystery novel written by S. S. Van Dine with fictional detective Philo Vance investigating a complex locked room mystery.-Plot summary:...
(1933) and as the treacherous Major Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy
Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy
Charles Marie Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy was a commissioned officer in the French armed forces during the second half of the 19th century who has gained notoriety as a spy for the German Empire and the actual perpetrator of the act of treason for which Captain Alfred Dreyfus was wrongfully accused...
in the 1937 Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
Academy Award winning film, The Life of Emile Zola
The Life of Emile Zola
The Life of Emile Zola is a 1937 American biographical film about French author Émile Zola. Set in the mid through late 19th century, it depicts his friendship with noted painter Paul Cézanne, and his rise to fame through his prolific writing, with particular focus on his involvement in the Dreyfus...
. He also played Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films. She won three Academy Awards, two Emmy Awards, and the Tony Award for Best Actress. She is ranked as the fourth greatest female star of American cinema of all time by the American Film Institute...
's father in Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc (1948 film)
Joan of Arc is a 1948 Technicolor film directed by Victor Fleming; starring Ingrid Bergman as the French religious icon and war heroine. It was produced by Walter Wanger. It is based on Maxwell Anderson's successful Broadway play Joan of Lorraine, which also starred Bergman, and was adapted for the...
(1948), though his role was so brief that when an edited version of the film was released in 1950, Barrat's role had actually been eliminated. (The film has since been restored to its full length.)
He played several other historical characters as well, among them Davy Crockett
Davy Crockett
David "Davy" Crockett was a celebrated 19th century American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier and politician. He is commonly referred to in popular culture by the epithet "King of the Wild Frontier". He represented Tennessee in the U.S...
in Man of Conquest, Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor was the 12th President of the United States and an American military leader. Initially uninterested in politics, Taylor nonetheless ran as a Whig in the 1848 presidential election, defeating Lewis Cass...
in Distant Drums
Distant Drums
Distant Drums is a 1951 film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Gary Cooper. It is set during the Second Seminole War in the 1840s, with Cooper playing an Army captain who destroys a fort held by the Seminole Indians then retreats into the Everglades while under chase.The actual location of the...
, Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
in Trailin' West, Cornelius Van Horne in Canadian Pacific
Canadian Pacific (film)
Canadian Pacific is a 1949 historical Western, directed by Edwin L. Martin and starring Randolph Scott and Jane Wyatt. Filmed in Cinecolor on location in the Canadian Rockies, it spins a fanciful account of the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway....
and General Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...
in American Guerrilla in the Philippines
American Guerrilla in the Philippines
American Guerrilla in the Philippines is a 1950 war film starring Tyrone Power as a U.S. Navy ensign stranded by the Japanese occupation of the Philippines in World War II...
. He was also seen as the Native American Chief Chingachgook, in the 1936 film version of The Last of the Mohicans
The Last of the Mohicans
The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757 is a historical novel by James Fenimore Cooper, first published in February 1826. It is the second book of the Leatherstocking Tales pentalogy and the best known...
. By 1954, he turned to TV playhouse roles, off and on until 1964.
He was buried at Green Hill Cemetery in Martinsburg, West Virginia
Martinsburg, West Virginia
Martinsburg is a city in the Eastern Panhandle region of West Virginia, United States. The city's population was 14,972 at the 2000 census; according to a 2009 Census Bureau estimate, Martinsburg's population was 17,117, making it the largest city in the Eastern Panhandle and the eighth largest...
.
Partial filmography
- Picture SnatcherPicture SnatcherPicture Snatcher is a 1933 Pre-Code drama film starring James Cagney as a gangster who decides to quit to pursue his dream.-Plot:After getting out of prison, Danny Kean shocks the gang he leads by quitting. He wants his first stint in jail to be his last, and he has always dreamed of becoming a...
(1933) - Lilly TurnerLilly TurnerLilly Turner is a 1933 melodrama about a woman who marries a bigamist, then a drunk, and falls in love with another man, all while working at a carnival...
(1933) - Heroes for SaleHeroes for SaleHeroes for Sale is a Depression-era film directed by William Wellman, starring Richard Barthelmess, Aline MacMahon, and Loretta Young, and released by Warner Bros. A veteran of World War I, Thomas Holmes, struggles to make his way in civilian life in almost every way imaginable...
(1933) - Baby FaceBaby Face (film)Baby Face is a 1933 American dramatic film directed by Alfred E. Green, and starring Barbara Stanwyck and George Brent. Based on a story by Darryl F. Zanuck , this sexually-charged, Pre-Code Hollywood film is about an attractive young woman who uses sex to advance her social and financial status...
(1933) - Secret of the Blue RoomSecret of the Blue RoomSecret of the Blue Room is a 1933 murder mystery film starring Lionel Atwill, Gloria Stuart, and Paul Lukas. It is based on the German film Geheimnis des Blauen Zimmers. A woman's suitor challenges his two rivals to each spend a night in a room in which several murders occurred years before at 1...
(1933) - Captured!Captured!Captured! is a 1933 film about World War I prisoners of war in a German camp. It stars Leslie Howard and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and was based on the short story "Fellow Prisoners" by Sir Philip Gibbs.-Plot:...
(1933) - Wild Boys of the RoadWild Boys of the Road (1933 film)Wild Boys of the Road is a black-and-white, Depression-era American film telling the story of several teens forced into becoming hobos. The film was directed by William Wellman from a screenplay by Earl Baldwin based on the story "Desperate Youth" by Daniel Ahern...
(1933) - The Kennel Murder CaseThe Kennel Murder Case (film)The Kennel Murder Case is a 1933 American film directed by Michael Curtiz starring William Powell as Philo Vance, reprising the role for Warner Brothers after appearing as Vance in three films for Paramount.-Plot:...
(1933) - Wonder BarWonder BarWonder Bar is a 1934 pre-code movie adaptation of a Broadway musical of the same name directed by Lloyd Bacon with musical numbers created by Busby Berkeley...
(1934) - ((The Dragon Murder Case)) (1934), played Rudolph Stam
- Gambling LadyGambling LadyGambling Lady is a 1934 American dramatic film directed by Archie Mayo, and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Joel McCrea.-Plot:Mike Lee raises his daughter Lady Lee to be as honest a gambler as he is. When he gets too much in debt to the underworld syndicate headed by Jim Fallin, he commits suicide...
(1934) - Upper WorldUpper World (film)Upper World is a 1934 drama film starring Warren William as a married railroad tycoon whose friendship with a showgirl, played by Ginger Rogers, leads to blackmail and murder.-Cast:*Warren William as Alexander Stream*Mary Astor as Mrs. Hettie Stream...
(1934) - Fog Over FriscoFog Over FriscoFog Over Frisco is a 1934 American drama film directed by William Dieterle. The screenplay by Robert N. Lee and Eugene Solow was based on the short story The Five Fragments by George Dyer.-Plot:...
(1934) - Here Comes the NavyHere Comes the NavyHere Comes the Navy is a 1934 American romantic comedy film starring James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, Gloria Stuart, and Frank McHugh. The movie was written by Earl Baldwin and Ben Markson, and directed by Lloyd Bacon....
(1934) - HousewifeHousewife (film)Housewife is a 1934 American drama film directed by Alfred E. Green. The screenplay by Manuel Seff and Lillie Hayward is based on a story by Hayward and Robert Lord.-Plot:...
(1934) - The Murder ManThe Murder ManThe Murder Man is a 1935 crime-drama film starring Spencer Tracy, Virginia Bruce, and Lionel Atwill, and directed by Tim Whelan. It was Tracy's first film in what would be a twenty-year career with MGM. Tracy plays an investigative reporter who specializes in murder cases...
(1935) - Special Agent (1935)
- Captain Blood (1935)
- The Trail of the Lonesome PineThe Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1936 film)The Trail of the Lonesome Pine is a 1936 romance film based on the novel of the same name. It was directed by Henry Hathaway. It was the second full length feature film to be shot in three-strip Technicolor and the first in color to be shot outdoors, with the approval of the Technicolor Corporation...
(1936) - Mary of ScotlandMary of Scotland (film)Mary of Scotland is a 1936 RKO film starring Katharine Hepburn as the 16th century ruler, Mary, Queen of Scots. Directed by John Ford, it is an adaptation of the 1933 Maxwell Anderson play by Dudley Nichols. The play starred Helen Hayes as Mary...
(1936) - 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) - The Charge of the Light BrigadeThe Charge of the Light Brigade (1936 film)The Charge of the Light Brigade is a 1936 historical film made by Warner Bros. It was directed by Michael Curtiz and produced by Samuel Bischoff, with Hal B. Wallis as executive producer, from a screenplay by Michael Jacoby and Rowland Leigh, from a story by Michael Jacoby based on the poem The...
(1936) - The Life of Emile ZolaThe Life of Emile ZolaThe Life of Emile Zola is a 1937 American biographical film about French author Émile Zola. Set in the mid through late 19th century, it depicts his friendship with noted painter Paul Cézanne, and his rise to fame through his prolific writing, with particular focus on his involvement in the Dreyfus...
(1937) - ConfessionConfession (film)Confession is a 1937 drama film starring Kay Francis, Ian Hunter, Basil Rathbone and Jane Bryan. It was directed by Joe May and is a remake of the German film Mazurka starring Pola Negri....
(1937) - Love Is on the AirLove Is on the AirLove is on the Air is a 1937 film directed by Nick Grinde. The film stars Ronald Reagan, Eddie Acuff, supported by Robert Barrat, Raymond Hatton, and Willard Parker. This was Reagan's screen debut....
(1937) - The Bad Man of BrimstoneThe Bad Man of BrimstoneThe Bad Man of Brimstone is a 1937 Western film starring Wallace Beery and Virginia Bruce, and directed by J. Walter Ruben. Beery's brother Noah Beery, Sr...
(1937) - The BuccaneerThe Buccaneer (1938 film)The Buccaneer is a 1938 American adventure film made by Paramount Pictures based on Jean Lafitte and the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812. It was produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille from a screenplay by Harold Lamb, Edwin Justus Mayer and C. Gardner Sullivan adapted by Jeanie...
(1938) - The TexansThe TexansThe Texans is a 1938 film made by Paramount Pictures, directed by James P. Hogan, and starring by Joan Bennett, Randolph Scott. The screenplay was written by William Wister Haines, Bertram Millhauser and Paul Sloane and is based on the story North of '36 by Emerson Hough.Most of the exterior scenes...
(1938) - Breaking the IceBreaking the Ice (1938 film)Breaking the Ice is a 1938 American film directed by Edward F. Cline. A young Mennonite boy runs away from home to earn money for his widowed mother.-Plot:...
(1938) - Shadows Over ShanghaiShadows Over Shanghai- Cast :*James Dunn as Johnny McGinty*Ralph Morgan as Howard Barclay*Lynda Grey as Irene Roma*Robert Barrat as Igor Sargoza*Paul Sutton as Fuji Yokahama*Edward Woods as Peter Roma*Edwin Mordant as Dr...
(1938) - Charlie Chan in HonoluluCharlie Chan in HonoluluCharlie Chan in Honolulu is a 1938 American film directed by H. Bruce Humberstone, starring Sidney Toler as the fictional Chinese-American detective Charlie Chan...
(1938) - Union PacificUnion Pacific (film)Union Pacific is a 1939 American dramatic western film directed by Cecil B. DeMille, and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Joel McCrea. Based on the novel Trouble Shooter by Western fiction author Ernest Haycox, the film is about the building of the railroad across the American West.-Plot:The 1862...
(1939) - Man of ConquestMan of ConquestMan of Conquest is a 1939 Western film directed by George Nichols Jr.. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Score, Best Sound and Best Art Direction .-Cast:* Richard Dix - Sam Houston...
(1939) - Allegheny UprisingAllegheny UprisingAllegheny Uprising is a 1939 film produced by RKO Pictures, starring Claire Trevor and John Wayne as pioneers of early American expansion in south central Pennsylvania. Clad in buckskin and a coonskin cap , Wayne plays real-life James Smith, an American coping with British rule in colonial America...
(1939) - The Man from DakotaThe Man from DakotaThe Man from Dakota is a 1940 film directed by Leslie Fenton and starring Wallace Beery. The movie was adapted by Laurence Stallings from the novel by MacKinlay Kantor.-Cast:*Wallace Beery as Bar Barstow*John Howard as Oliver Clark...
(1940) - Captain CautionCaptain CautionCaptain Caution is a 1940 American adventure film directed by Richard Wallace. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Sound Recording .-Cast:* Victor Mature as Daniel 'Dan' Marvin* Louise Platt as Corunna Dorman...
(1940) - Northwest Passage (1940)
- Go West (1940)
- Parachute BattalionParachute BattalionParachute Battalion is a 1941 film starring Robert Preston and Nancy Kelly. The supporting cast includes Edmond O'Brien, Harry Carey, and Buddy Ebsen, and the movie was directed by Leslie Goodwins.-Production:...
(1941) - American Empire (1942)
- They Came to Blow Up AmericaThey Came to Blow Up AmericaThey Came to Blow Up America is a 1943 American war film drama based on Operation Pastorius, directed by Edward Ludwig. It stars George Sanders, Anna Sten and Ward Bond.-Plot:...
(1943) - The Adventures of Mark Twain (1944)
- DakotaDakota (film)Dakota is a 1945 Western film directed by Joseph Kane and starring John Wayne.-Cast:* John Wayne - John Devlin* Vera Ralston - Sandy Poli * Walter Brennan - Capt. Bounce of the Riverbird* Ward Bond - Jim Bender* Mike Mazurki - Bigtree Collins...
(1945) - They Were ExpendableThey Were ExpendableThey Were Expendable is a 1945 American war film directed by John Ford and starring Robert Montgomery and John Wayne. The film is based on the book by William L. White, relating the story of the exploits of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three, a PT boat unit defending the Philippines against Japanese...
(1945) - San AntonioSan Antonio (film)San Antonio is a 1945 western Technicolor film starring Errol Flynn and Alexis Smith. The movie was written by W. R. Burnett and Alan Le May, and directed by David Butler as well as uncredited Robert Florey and Raoul Walsh....
(1945) - Road to UtopiaRoad to UtopiaRoad to Utopia, filmed in 1943 but not released until 1946, is the fourth film of the "Road to …" series starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope.-Plot:After the credits we see Sal and Chester Hooton, an old married couple...
(1946) - The Sea of GrassThe Sea of Grass (film)The Sea of Grass is a 1947 western-drama film. It was directed by Elia Kazan and based on the novel of the same name by Conrad Richter. The movie stars Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy and Melvyn Douglas....
(1947) - Road to RioRoad to RioRoad to Rio is a 1947 comedy film, directed by Norman Z. McLeod and starring Bing Crosby as Scat Sweeney, Bob Hope as "Hot Lips" Barton, and Dorothy Lamour as Lucia Maria de Andrade. It was the fifth of the "Road to …" series.-Plot:...
(1947) - I Love TroubleI Love Trouble (1948 film)I Love Trouble is a film noir written by Roy Huggins from his first novel The Double Take, directed by S. Sylvan Simon, and starring Franchot Tone as Stuart Bailey. The character of Stuart Baily was later portrayed by Efrem Zimbalist, Jr...
(1948) - Canadian PacificCanadian Pacific (film)Canadian Pacific is a 1949 historical Western, directed by Edwin L. Martin and starring Randolph Scott and Jane Wyatt. Filmed in Cinecolor on location in the Canadian Rockies, it spins a fanciful account of the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway....
(1949) - Davy Crockett, Indian Scout (1950) - James Lone Eagle
- American Guerrilla in the PhilippinesAmerican Guerrilla in the PhilippinesAmerican Guerrilla in the Philippines is a 1950 war film starring Tyrone Power as a U.S. Navy ensign stranded by the Japanese occupation of the Philippines in World War II...
(1950) - Flight to MarsFlight to Mars (film)Flight to Mars is a Cinecolor science fiction film, written for the screen by Arthur Strawn, produced by Walter Mirisch for Monogram Pictures and directed by Lesley Selander. The film has some similarities to the Russian silent film Aelita...
(1951) - Distant DrumsDistant DrumsDistant Drums is a 1951 film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Gary Cooper. It is set during the Second Seminole War in the 1840s, with Cooper playing an Army captain who destroys a fort held by the Seminole Indians then retreats into the Everglades while under chase.The actual location of the...
(1951) - Denver and Rio GrandeDenver and Rio Grande (film)Denver and Rio Grande is a western film, directed by Byron Haskin and released by Paramount Pictures in 1952.The film is a dramatization of the building of the Denver and Rio Grande railway, which was chartered in 1870. It was filmed on location on the actual railway near Durango, Colorado...
(1952)