Barnett Parker

Barnett Parker

Born: September 10, 1886
Died: August 5, 1941
in Batley, Yorkshire, England, UK
Within the British colony of expatriate actors in Hollywood during the 1930's, Barnett Parker, born 11 September 1886, in Batley, Yorkshire, England, was among the most stereotypical. Harrowgate College-educated, straight-backed, balding and well-intoned, Parker caricatured a multitude of unctuous, stiff-upper-lip butlers, man-servants or waiters, though his performances could, at times, verge on the brink of being camp. When driven to frustration his characters commonly resorted to incoherent twitter or wild gesticulation.

Parker was trained under Marie Tempest and George Alexander in England. He first acted on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre as Wilfred Tavish in Arthur Wing Pinero's "The "Mind the Paint" Girl" in 1912. He was well served with further roles in hit plays like "Hobson's Choice" (1915), "Artists and Models" (1924) and "The Red Robe" (1928). He was at first prone to reject film offers, professing to favor acting on stage. Nonetheless, the celluloid medium eventually beckoned, enticing him to sign with the East Coast-based studio Thanhouser in 1915. He worked in films during the daytime (while treading the boards at night) and quickly landed a plum role as a weak socialite, rescuing Gladys Hulette in Prudence, the Pirate (1916). He was seldom thereafter afforded the opportunity for heroic acts. During the 1930's, he was primarily in demand for small roles as dandified or 'silly ass' Britishers, giving value for money in films like Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), Personal Property (1937), Live, Love and Learn (1937) and Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937). Looking rather older than his years, Barnett Parker died at the Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles after multiple heart attacks on August 5, 1941.

Movies for Barnett Parker...

Walt Disney's Fables - Vol.6
Title: Walt Disney's Fables - Vol.6
Character: The Dragon (voice) (archive sound)
Released: May 31, 2004
Type: Movie
Two classic animated shorts from the Disney studios. In 'The Reluctant Dragon' (1941), a young boy and a famous dragon fighter team up to teach a docile dragon the art of being a force to be reckoned with. In 'Mickey and the Beanstalk' (1947), Mickey Mouse, Goofy and Donald Duck confront the fearsome Willie the Giant to try to retrieve the magical singing harp to Happy Valley.
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The Big Parade of Comedy
Title: The Big Parade of Comedy
Character: Arthur Trevelyan in 'Personal Property' (arch. foot.) (uncred.)
Released: September 2, 1964
Type: Movie
Film clips highlight the funniest scenes and brightest comic stars in MGM's history.
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New Wine
Title: New Wine
Character: The Duke
Released: September 10, 1941
Type: Movie
The romantic story of Franz Schubert 's fight for recognition of his music. The 1941 Reinhold Schunzel biographical musical composer melodrama.
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Kisses for Breakfast
Title: Kisses for Breakfast
Character: Phillips
Released: July 5, 1941
Type: Movie
A newlywed develops amnesia and can't remember his wife.
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The Reluctant Dragon
Title: The Reluctant Dragon
Character: Dragon (segment "The Reluctant Dragon") (voice)
Released: June 19, 1941
Type: Movie
Humorist Robert Benchley attempts to find Walt Disney to ask him to adapt a short story about a gentle dragon who would rather recite poetry than be ferocious. Along the way, he is given a tour of Walt Disney Studios, and learns about the animation process.
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A Man Betrayed
Title: A Man Betrayed
Character: George
Released: March 7, 1941
Type: Movie
Bucolic lawyer John Wayne takes on big-city corruption in A Man Betrayed. He sets out to prove that an above-suspicion politician (Edward Ellis) is actually a crook. The price of integrity is sweet in this instance, since Wayne happens to be in love with the politician's daughter (Frances Dee).
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Tall, Dark and Handsome
Title: Tall, Dark and Handsome
Character: Quentin
Released: January 24, 1941
Type: Movie
Robin Hoodish gangster in 1929 Chicago is an object of affection, kind to New York hood and bad to a bad crook.
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Love Thy Neighbor
Title: Love Thy Neighbor
Character: George - Fred's Chauffeur
Released: December 27, 1940
Type: Movie
Capitalizing on the famous radio 'feud' between comedians Jack Benny and Fred Allen. The two stars play versions of themselves, constantly at each other's throats due to real and imagined slights.
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One Night in the Tropics
Title: One Night in the Tropics
Character: Thompson, Steve's Butler (uncredited)
Released: November 15, 1940
Type: Movie
Jim "Lucky" Moore, an insurance salesman, comes up with a novel policy for his friend, Steve: a 'love insurance policy', that will pay out $1-million if Steve does not marry his fiancée, Cynthia. The upcoming marriage is jeopardized by Steve's ex-girlfriend, Mickey, and Cynthia's disapproving Aunt Kitty. The policy is underwritten by a nightclub owner, Roscoe, who sends two enforcers - Abbott and Costello - to ensure that the wedding occurs as planned.
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Hullabaloo
Title: Hullabaloo
Character: Samuel Stephens
Released: October 25, 1940
Type: Movie
A radio actor faces trouble when a science-fiction story causes the audience to panic.
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La Conga Nights
Title: La Conga Nights
Character: Hammond
Released: May 31, 1940
Type: Movie
In this comedy, actor Hugh Herbert plays six different roles. Only one of the roles is a man. The story centers around a dizzy music lover, who has grown rich through real estate deals. Also figuring in the story are a cab driver/performer, and a down-on-her-luck, aspiring singer. They meet when she hails his cab as she skips out on her former boarding house because she cannot pay rent.
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He Married His Wife
Title: He Married His Wife
Character: Huggins
Released: January 19, 1940
Type: Movie
Race horse owner pays so much attention to business he winds up divorced from his wife. His alimony payments are so steep he plots with his lawyer to get her married off.
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At the Circus
Title: At the Circus
Character: Whitcomb
Released: October 20, 1939
Type: Movie
Jeff Wilson, the owner of a small circus, owes his partner Carter $10,000. Before Jeff can pay, Carter's accomplices steal the money so he can take over the circus. Antonio Pirelli and Punchy, who work at the circus, together with lawyer Loophole try to find the thief and get the money back.
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Babes in Arms
Title: Babes in Arms
Character: William
Released: October 10, 1939
Type: Movie
Mickey Moran, son of two vaudeville veterans, decides to put up his own vaudeville show with his girlfriend Patsy Barton. But child actress Rosalie wants to make a comeback and replace Patsy both professionally and as Mickey's girl.
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Hotel for Women
Title: Hotel for Women
Character: Photographer
Released: August 3, 1939
Type: Movie
Guests at a women's residence club help a jilted small-town girl turn to modelling.
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She Married a Cop
Title: She Married a Cop
Character: Bekins, the Butler
Released: July 11, 1939
Type: Movie
This comedy is set in New York and centers upon a singing Irish cop who causes quite a sensation among two producers when he sings at the annual Policeman's Ball. For a long time, they have been looking for a voice for their new cartoon feature, "Paddy the Pig," and the cop is just perfect. The policeman is tickled pink at the prospect of being a star and begins telling all his friends about his good fortune (he has no idea what they plan to do with his voice). Eventually he ends up marrying one of the producers, who still hasn't told him the truth. Suddenly the night of the big premiere finally arrives and all of the policeman's old friends and colleagues are there. As it begins, the policeman is appalled and humiliated to see that he has been mocked and has become a laughing stock. He immediately spurns his new wife and goes back to the police force. Time passes, and fortunately, the two reunite and settle their differences.
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The Girl Downstairs
Title: The Girl Downstairs
Character: Hugo
Released: December 23, 1938
Type: Movie
A wealthy playboy surreptitiously romances a scullery maid to gain access to her mistress with whom he is in love, but doesn't count on the maid falling in love with him.
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Listen, Darling
Title: Listen, Darling
Character: Abercrombie
Released: October 21, 1938
Type: Movie
To stop Pinkie's widowed, struggling mother Dottie from marrying a well-off older man they know she doesn't love, teenager Pinkie and her best friend Buzz kidnap her in the family travel trailer to live a carefree life on the open road. They then get the idea to find Dottie a financially secure husband whom both she and Pinkie would like.
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Marie Antoinette
Title: Marie Antoinette
Character: Prince de Rohan
Released: August 26, 1938
Type: Movie
The young Austrian princess Marie Antoinette is arranged to marry Louis XVI, future king of France, in a politically advantageous marriage for the rival countries. The opulent Marie indulges in various whims and flirtations. When Louis XV passes and Louis XVI ascends the French throne, his queen's extravagant lifestyle earns the hatred of the French people, who despise her Austrian heritage.
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Hold That Kiss
Title: Hold That Kiss
Character: Maurice
Released: May 13, 1938
Type: Movie
Two young people meet at a wedding and begin dating, each thinking the other is extremely wealthy. Comedy.
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Sally, Irene and Mary
Title: Sally, Irene and Mary
Character: Oscar
Released: March 4, 1938
Type: Movie
Manicurists Sally, Irene and Mary hope to be Broadway entertainers. When Mary inherits an old ferry boat, they turn it into a successful supper club.
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Love Is a Headache
Title: Love Is a Headache
Character: Hotchkiss, Carlotta's Butler
Released: January 14, 1938
Type: Movie
A press agent for a Broadway actress whose career is going downhill, attempts to get her some publicity by having her adopt two orphans, without her knowledge.
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Navy Blue and Gold
Title: Navy Blue and Gold
Character: Graves
Released: November 19, 1937
Type: Movie
Three Navy Cadets become friends, support each other and struggle to survive the rigorous training.
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Live, Love and Learn
Title: Live, Love and Learn
Character: Alfredo
Released: October 29, 1937
Type: Movie
A starving, uncompromising artist and an heiress fall in love on first sight and immediately get married. She loves his outrageous behaviour, his strange room-mate and the best apartment poverty can buy.
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Double Wedding
Title: Double Wedding
Character: Mr. Flint, Margit's Bookkeeper
Released: October 15, 1937
Type: Movie
A bohemian free spirit helps meek Waldo win back his fiancée and falls in love with her over-controlling sister in the process.
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Wake Up and Live
Title: Wake Up and Live
Character: Foster
Released: August 23, 1937
Type: Movie
Satire on radio, built around the supposed feud between bandleader Ben Bernie and journalist Walter Winchell.
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Broadway Melody of 1938
Title: Broadway Melody of 1938
Character: Jerry Jason
Released: August 20, 1937
Type: Movie
Steve Raleight wants to produce a show on Broadway. He finds a backer, Herman Whipple and a leading lady, Sally Lee. But Caroline Whipple forces Steve to use a known star, not a newcomer. Sally purchases a horse, she used to train when her parents had a farm before the depression and with to ex-vaudevillians, Sonny Ledford and Peter Trott she trains it to win a race, providing the money Steve needs for his show.
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The Emperor's Candlesticks
Title: The Emperor's Candlesticks
Character: Albert, Stephan's Butler
Released: July 2, 1937
Type: Movie
Spies on opposite sides fall in love in pre-revolutionary Russia.
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Married Before Breakfast
Title: Married Before Breakfast
Character: Tweed
Released: June 18, 1937
Type: Movie
A madcap inventor tries to market a razor-less shaving cream.
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Personal Property
Title: Personal Property
Character: Arthur Trevelyan
Released: March 19, 1937
Type: Movie
Raymond Dabney returns to his family after trouble with the law. He convinces the sheriff to give him a job watching the house and furniture of widow Crystal Wetherby without knowing she is engaged to his brother.
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Ready, Willing and Able
Title: Ready, Willing and Able
Character: Waiter
Released: March 6, 1937
Type: Movie
Two starving songwriters will only get funding if they get British actress Jane Clarke to star in their show.
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Espionage
Title: Espionage
Character: Bill Cordell
Released: February 26, 1937
Type: Movie
Two reporters pose as man and wife in order to get the goods on a munitions supplier and the rumours of war in Europe.
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The Last of Mrs. Cheyney
Title: The Last of Mrs. Cheyney
Character: Purser
Released: February 19, 1937
Type: Movie
A chic American jewel thief falls in love with one of her marks, an English lord.
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Dangerous Number
Title: Dangerous Number
Character: Minehardi
Released: January 22, 1937
Type: Movie
Hank Medhill, artificial silk manufacturer, has returned to the U.S. from Japan to learn that his former girlfriend, Eleanor Breen is about to marry. Hank convinces Eleanor to leave the groom-to-be and marry him. Shortly after the marriage, they discover that they have nothing in common. They separate. Hank decides to pick any name from the phone book and date them. That date results in a wild and frightful night for Hank, thanks to Eleanor's clever plan.
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We Who Are About to Die
Title: We Who Are About to Die
Character: John Barkley
Released: January 8, 1937
Type: Movie
John Thompson is kidnapped by mobsters after quitting his job. Then he is arrested, tried, and sentenced to death for murders they committed. A suspicious detective thinks he is innocent and works to save his life.
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A Girl's Best Years
Title: A Girl's Best Years
Character: Primrose
Released: December 25, 1936
Type: Movie
A woman reporter is hired by an author-songwriter to help him avoid additional breach-of-promise suits.
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Born to Dance
Title: Born to Dance
Character: Floorwalker
Released: November 27, 1936
Type: Movie
On leave, a sailor falls in love with a young lady aspiring to become a Broadway dancer, but their relationship is jeopardized by an established Broadway star, who is also enamored by him.
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The General Died at Dawn
Title: The General Died at Dawn
Character: Dining Car Man (uncredited)
Released: November 17, 1936
Type: Movie
China, 1930s, during the ravaging civil war. General Pen entrusts O'Hara, an intrepid American adventurer, with the mission of providing a large sum of money to Mr. Wu with the task of buying weapons in Shanghai to help end General Yang's tyranny that keeps an entire province under his ruthless iron boot.
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Libeled Lady
Title: Libeled Lady
Character: Butler (uncredited)
Released: October 9, 1936
Type: Movie
When a major newspaper accuses wealthy socialite Connie Allenbury of being a home-wrecker, and she files a multi-million-dollar libel lawsuit, the publication's frazzled head editor, Warren Haggerty, must find a way to turn the tables on her. Soon Haggerty's harried fiancée, Gladys Benton, and his dashing friend Bill Chandler are in on a scheme that aims to discredit Connie, with amusing and unexpected results.
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The President's Mystery
Title: The President's Mystery
Character: Roger
Released: September 28, 1936
Type: Movie
The screenplay for this mystery is based upon a story suggested to Liberty Magazine by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It is the tale of a prominent lawyer who shocks his snooty friends, family and colleagues by abruptly abandoning his successful practice and his wife to find true happiness. He soon falls in love with another woman and continues to keep a low profile until he learns that his first wife stands accused of murdering him
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Roaming Lady
Title: Roaming Lady
Character: Waters
Released: May 2, 1936
Type: Movie
Joyce Reid, a wealthy young debutante, stows away on a cargo ship to China, carrying as passengers her dashing aviator sweetheart, Dan Bailey and and her munitions-producing father, E. J. Reid and an assortment of the usual south-seas characters along with some Asians with varying agendas. The cargo included a shipment of bombs and machine guns. She soon finds herself being held hostage and they will free her only if Dan agrees to pilot a bombing plane for some Chinese bandits.
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Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
Title: Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
Character: Butler (uncredited)
Released: April 9, 1936
Type: Movie
Longfellow Deeds lives in a small town, leading a small town kind of life. When a relative dies and leaves Deeds a fortune, Longfellow moves to the big city where he becomes an instant target for everyone. Deeds outwits them all until Babe Bennett comes along. When small-town boy meets big-city girl anything can, and does, happen.
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The Misleading Lady
Title: The Misleading Lady
Character: Steve
Released: December 20, 1920
Type: Movie
Jack Craigen, an engineer who has just finished a construction job in South Africa, returns to New York. There, at the home of his Uncle Cannell, he meets stage-struck society girl Helen Steele and her playwright fiancé Tracey. Scheming to win the lead in their new production, The Siren , Helen wagers Cannell and Tracey that she can vamp Jack--a notorious woman-hater--and have him propose to her in a week.
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Prudence the Pirate
Title: Prudence the Pirate
Character: John Astorbilt
Released: October 21, 1916
Type: Movie
To her aunt's dismay, Prudence isn't interested in society life. She'd rather listen to the butler's tall tales of being a pirate. Nixed from a boat trip, she rents a schooner, recruits a crew and raises the jolly roger.
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The Traffic Cop
Title: The Traffic Cop
Character: Book Agent
Released: April 8, 1916
Type: Movie
During his daily duties, Casey the Cop rescues a woman who's soon his sweetheart. Later, she learns from her banker uncle that her inheritance has been stolen, and he's accusing Casey's own cashier brother. Casey is on the case.
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The Flight of the Duchess
Title: The Flight of the Duchess
Character: The Duke
Released: March 11, 1916
Type: Movie
Based on Browning's poem, a widowed Duchess raises a son that decides to abandon modern ways and act like it's the medieval days. When he wishes to marry, a young woman is found and plays along believing it's all a joke.