Personal Info
Birth date
1905-06-16 (120 Years)
Day of death
1956-08-24
Gender
Male
Known for
Acting
Place of birth
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Also known as
Alfredo Carlos Birabén
Barry Norton
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Barry Norton (born Alfredo Carlos Birabén; June 16, 1905 – August 24, 1956) was an Argentinian-American actor. He appeared in over 90 films, starting in silent films from 1925 until his death in 1956. He is perhaps best known for his role as Juan Harker in Universal Pictures' Spanish-language version of Drácula in 1931, the English language role of Jonathan Harker originated by David Manners. Arriving in Hollywood in the 1920s, Norton first appeared as an extra in The Black Pirate (1926) but was soon cast in Fox Films' The Lily that same year. His big break came when he was given the role of Pvt. "Mother's Boy" Lewisohn in What Price Glory?, which turned out to be a huge commercial success. He landed substantial roles in Legion of the Condemned and 4 Devils (both 1928), which were also very successful. His acting was well received by audiences and critics at the time, and during the silent era he avoided being typecast as a Latin lover. One theater owner in Golden City, Montana said, "[Norton] has as yet to show me a bad performance. There's a boy that is a 'natural'." In the early 1930s, Norton could still get leading roles in major films. Major Hollywood studios started producing alternate-language versions of their prestige productions, and he became one of dozens of Latino actors needed. Drácula was one of these films, but Norton also appeared in Spanish-language versions of Paramount on Parade (1930), The Benson Murder Case (1930), and The Criminal Code (1931). In a few cases, he appeared in both versions of a film. Examples include Storm Over the Andes (Spanish version: Alas sobre El Chaco), The Sea Fiend (El diablo del Mar), and Captain Calamity (El capitan Tormenta), the latter film reuniting him with Lupita Tovar, his romantic interest from Dracula. In addition to roles in Spanish-territory films, he had roles in numerous major films, usually playing sophisticated Europeans. With the decline in Spanish-language film production in Los Angeles, Norton's opportunities for leading roles became less and less frequent. Though he had a pleasing voice, his Argentine accent seemed incongruous with his appearance. According to some sources, he never mastered English very well. In 1933, he secured what would be his last important role, playing Jean Parker's Spanish fiancé in Frank Capra's Lady for a Day (1933). Although he would continue to work for another 15 years, Norton's last credited screen role would be Should Husbands Work? (1939). For the rest of his career, Norton continued to reside in Los Angeles and obtain small roles in films. Many films he appeared in are now considered to be classics.
Filmography
Four Star Playhouse
6.333
Overview:
Four Star Playhouse is an American television anthology series that ran from 1952 to 1956, sponsored in its first bi-weekly season by The Singer Company; Bristol-Myers became an alternate sponsor when it became a weekly series in the fall of 1953. The original premise was that Charles Boyer, Ida Lupino, David Niven, and Dick Powell would take turns starring in episodes. However, several other performers took the lead from time to time, including Ronald Colman and Joan Fontaine. Blake Edwards was among the writers and directors who contributed to the series. Edwards created the recurring character of illegal gambling house operator Willie Dante for Dick Powell to play on this series. The character was later revamped and spun off in his own series starring Howard Duff, then-husband of Lupino. The pilot for Meet McGraw, starring Frank Lovejoy, aired here, as did another episode in which Lovejoy recreated his role of Chicago newspaper reporter Randy Stone, from the radio drama Nightbeat.Casablanca
8.2
Overview:
In Casablanca, Morocco in December 1941, a cynical American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications.White Christmas
7.183
Overview:
Two talented song-and-dance men team up after the war to become one of the hottest acts in show business. In time they befriend and become romantically involved with the beautiful Haynes sisters who comprise a sister act.Strangers on a Train
7.664
Overview:
Having met on a train, a smooth-talking psychotic socialite shares his theory on how two complete strangers can get away with murder to an amateur tennis player — a theory he plans to test out.A Star Is Born
7.121
Overview:
A movie star helps a young singer-actress find fame, even as age and alcoholism send his own career into a downward spiral.To Catch a Thief
7.28
Overview:
An ex-thief is accused of enacting a new crime spree, so to clear his name he sets off to catch the new thief, who’s imitating his signature style.Around the World in Eighty Days
6.648
Overview:
Based on the famous book by Jules Verne the movie follows Phileas Fogg on his journey around the world. Which has to be completed within 80 days, a very short period for those days.The Black Pirate
6.663
Overview:
A nobleman vows to avenge the death of his father by the hands of pirates. To this end, he infiltrates the pirate band; Acting in character, he single-handedly captures a merchant vessel, but things are complicated when he finds that there is a beautiful young woman of royal blood aboard.Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
7.829
Overview:
A married farmer falls under the spell of a slatternly woman from the city, who tries to convince him to drown his wife.How to Marry a Millionaire
6.8
Overview:
Three women set out to find eligible millionaires to marry, but find true love in the process.Camille
7.007
Overview:
Life in 1847 Paris is as spirited as champagne and as unforgiving as the gray morning after. In gambling dens and lavish soirees, men of means exert their wills and women turned courtesans exult in pleasure. One such woman is Marguerite Gautier, who begins a sumptuous romance with Armand Duval.The Caine Mutiny
7.174
Overview:
When a US Naval captain shows signs of mental instability that jeopardize his ship, the first officer relieves him of command and faces court martial for mutiny.Easter Parade
7
Overview:
On the day before Easter in 1911, Don Hewes is crushed when his dancing partner (and object of affection) Nadine Hale refuses to start a new contract with him. To prove Nadine's not important to him, Don acquires innocent new protege Hannah Brown, vowing to make her a star in time for next year's Easter parade.Monsieur Verdoux
7.695
Overview:
The film is about an unemployed banker, Henri Verdoux, and his sociopathic methods of attaining income. While being both loyal and competent in his work, Verdoux has been laid-off. To make money for his wife and child, he marries wealthy widows and then murders them. His crime spree eventually works against him when two particular widows break his normal routine.Captain Calamity
2.5
Overview:
A South Seas skipper fights off thieves and pirates who are after a lost treasure.Imitation of Life
7
Overview:
A struggling widow and her daughter take in a black housekeeper and her fair-skinned daughter. The two women start a successful business but face familial, identity, and racial issues along the way.Written on the Wind
6.942
Overview:
Mitch Wayne is a geologist working for the Hadleys, an oil-rich Texas family. While the patriarch, Jasper, works hard to establish the family business, his irresponsible son, Kyle, is an alcoholic playboy, and his daughter, Marylee, is the town tramp. Mitch harbors a secret love for Kyle's unsatisfied wife, Lucy -- a fact that leaves him exposed when the jealous Marylee accuses him of murder.Murder at Glen Athol
6.5
Overview:
A famous detective is invited to a swanky party at an elegant mansion, but before the night is over he finds himself involved with gangsters, blackmail and murdeHellzapoppin'
7.139
Overview:
Olsen and Johnson, a pair of stage comedians, try to turn their play into a movie and bring together a young couple in love, while breaking the fourth wall every step of the way.The Lady Eve
7.24
Overview:
It's no accident when wealthy Charles falls for Jean. Jean is a con artist with her sights set on Charles' fortune. Matters complicate when Jean starts falling for her mark. When Charles suspects Jean is a gold digger, he dumps her. Jean, fixated on revenge and still pining for the millionaire, devises a plan to get back in Charles' life. With love and payback on her mind, she re-introduces herself to Charles, this time as an aristocrat named Lady Eve Sidwich.Ziegfeld Girl
6.5
Overview:
Discovery by Flo Ziegfeld changes a girl's life but not necessarily for the better, as three beautiful women find out when they join the spectacle on Broadway: Susan, the singer who must leave behind her ageing vaudevillian father; vulnerable Sheila, the working girl pursued both by a millionaire and by her loyal boyfriend from Flatbush; and the mysterious European beauty Sandra, whose concert violinist husband cannot endure the thought of their escaping from poverty by promenading her glamor in skimpy costumes.Lady for a Day
7
Overview:
Never-wed, poor, rough around the edges Apple Annie has always written to her daughter, Louise, in Spain that she is married and a member of New York's high society. Upon receiving unexpected word from Louise (who hasn't seen Annie since infancy) that she is en route to America with her new fiancé and his father, a count, so the three of them can meet her, Annie panics, despairing that her beloved daughter will be destroyed by the deception.An Innocent Affair
3.75
Overview:
Vincent Doane is in the precarious position of trying to close an advertising account with his rich ex-fiancée. Unfortunately she is more interested in him than in business. Vincent's wife Paula gets suspicious and finally decides to do some flirting of her own to make him jealous. Unknown to her, she chooses cigarette tychoon Claude Kimball. In fact, Kimball hits it off well with both of the Doanes. The question is whether or not their marriage can survive all the shenanigans.Mission to Moscow
5.306
Overview:
Ambassador Joseph Davies is sent by FDR to Russia to learn about the Soviet system and returns to the US as an advocate of socialism.Christmas in Connecticut
6.9
Overview:
While recovering in a hospital, war hero Jefferson Jones grows familiar with the "Diary of a Housewife" column written by Elizabeth Lane. Jeff's nurse arranges with Elizabeth's publisher, Alexander Yardley, for Jeff to spend the holiday at Elizabeth's bucolic Connecticut farm with her husband and child. But the column is a sham, so Elizabeth and her editor, Dudley Beecham, in fear of losing their jobs, hasten to set up the single, childless and entirely nondomestic Elizabeth on a country farm.The Great Ziegfeld
6.269
Overview:
At the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, sideshow barker Florenz Ziegfeld turns the tables on his more-successful neighbor Billings, and also steals his girlfriend. This pattern repeats throughout their lives, as Ziegfeld makes and loses many fortunes putting on ever-bigger, more spectacular showsAbove Suspicion
6.5
Overview:
Two newlyweds spy on the Nazis for the British Secret Service during their honeymoon in Europe.The Big Clock
7.286
Overview:
Stroud, a crime magazine's crusading editor has to post-pone a vacation with his wife, again, when a glamorous blonde is murdered and he is assigned by his publishing boss Janoth to find the killer. As the investigation proceeds to its conclusion, Stroud must try to disrupt his ordinarily brilliant investigative team as they increasingly build evidence (albeit wrong) that he is the killer.Dance, Girl, Dance
6.4
Overview:
Judy O'Brien is an aspiring ballerina in a dance troupe. Also in the company is Bubbles, a brash mantrap who leaves the struggling troupe for a career in burlesque. When the company disbands, Bubbles gives Judy a thankless job as her stooge. The two eventually clash when both fall for the same man.Acting
2002The Bronze Screen: 100 Years of the Latino Image in American Cinema as Unknown
1956Around the World in Eighty Days as Extra (uncredited)
1956Written on the Wind as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
1956Serenade as Party Guest (uncredited)
1956Slightly Scarlet as Unknown
1955The Square Jungle as Unknown
1955It's Always Fair Weather as Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
1955To Catch a Thief as Frenchman (uncredited)
1954White Christmas as Carousel Club Diner (uncredited)
1954A Star Is Born as Benefit Attendee (uncredited)
1954The Caine Mutiny as Ship's Officer (uncredited)
1954Lucky Me as Diner / Party Guest (uncredited)
1953How to Marry a Millionaire as Plane Passenger (uncredited)
1953Small Town Girl as Party Guest
1953Trouble Along the Way as Party Guest
1953The Jazz Singer as Nightclub Patron
1952Four Star Playhouse (1 Episode) as Man in Audience / Backstage Guest (uncredited)
1952The Merry Widow as Club Patron (uncredited)
1952Pat and Mike as Golf Spectator (uncredited)
1952Young Man with Ideas as Lawyer at Seminar (uncredited)
1952Something to Live For as Man in Tweeds (uncredited)
1952Room for One More as Boy Scout Ceremony Attendee (uncredited)
1951Strangers on a Train as Tennis Match Spectator (uncredited)
1951The Strange Door as Unknown
1951Hollywood Story as Christmas Parade Spectator (uncredited)
1951Pier 23 as Waiter (uncredited)
1951On the Riviera as Party Guest (uncredited)
1950Mister 880 as Restaurant Diner (uncredited)
1950Born to Be Bad as Charity Ball Guest (uncredited)
1950Rocketship X-M as Reporter (uncredited)
1950Young Man with a Horn as Man at Train Station / Café Guest (uncredited)
1950No Man of Her Own as Country Club Patron (uncredited)
1949East Side, West Side as Del Rio Club Patron (uncredited)
1949Johnny Allegro as Unknown
1948An Innocent Affair as Rocket Roof Patron (uncredited)
1948Easter Parade as Diner at Rooftop Show (uncredited)
1948The Big Clock as Man at Van Barth's (uncredited)
1947Monsieur Verdoux as Garden Party Guest (uncredited)
1947Variety Girl as Plane Passenger (uncredited)
1947Twilight on the Rio Grande as Rurale
1946Devil Monster as Robert Jackson
1946Without Reservations as Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
1945Christmas in Connecticut as Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
1944Maisie Goes to Reno as Nightclub Patron (Uncredited)
1943Above Suspicion as German Cafe Patron (Uncredited)
1943Mission to Moscow as Ball Guest (uncredited)
1943Keeper of the Flame as Unknown
1943Casablanca as Gambler at Rick's (uncredited)
1942You Were Never Lovelier as One of Maria's Suitors (uncredited)
1942The Big Street as Nightclub Patron (Uncredited)
1942The Falcon Takes Over as Nightclub Patron (Uncredited)
1942Blue, White, and Perfect as Man at Ship Dock (uncredited)
1941Hellzapoppin' as Party Guest (uncredited)
1941The Mexican Spitfire's Baby as Nightclub Patron
1941Niagara Falls as Hotel Guest (uncredited)
1941Hold That Ghost as Club Patron (uncredited)
1941Tom, Dick and Harry as Bowler (uncredited)
1941Ziegfeld Girl as Palm Beach Casino Patron (uncredited)
1941The Lady Eve as Passenger on Ship (uncredited)
1940Mexican Spitfire Out West as Hotel Guest
1940Christmas in July as Co-Worker in Office (uncredited)
1940Down Argentine Way as Racetrack Spectator (uncredited)
1940Dance, Girl, Dance as Dissaproving Theatre Patron (uncredited)
1939Should Husbands Work? as Ronald McDonald
1939Second Fiddle as Nightclub Patron
1939Angel of Mercy as President Garfield's Secretary (uncredited)
1938The Buccaneer as Villere
1937I'll Take Romance as Juan
1937Rich Relations as Don Blair
1936Camille as Emile (uncredited)
1936Captain Calamity as Carr
1936The Sea Fiend as Robert Jackson
1936The Great Ziegfeld as Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
1936Murder at Glen Athol as Tom Randel
1935The Devil of the Sea as Roberto
1935Woman Wanted as Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
1935Storm Over the Andes as Diaz
1934Caravan as Young Officer at Beer Garden (Uncredited)
1934Imitation of Life as Young Man Proposing Toast (uncredited)
1934Grand Canary as Robert Tranter
1934The World Moves On as Jacques Girard (1924)
1934Let’s Be Ritzy as Rogers
1934Unknown Blonde as Bob Parker
1933Only Yesterday as Jerry (Uncredited)
1933Lady for a Day as Carlos
1933Cocktail Hour as Philippe
1933Luxury Liner as Prince Vladimir Gleboff
1931Dishonored as Young Lieutenant - Firing Squad
1931Drácula as Juan Harker
1930East is West as Billy Benson
1930Curmudgeon as Unknown
1930Bold Love as Unknown
1929The Exalted Flapper as Prince Boris of Dacia
1928Sins of the Fathers as Tom Spengler
1928The Red Dance as Rasputin's Assassin (uncredited)
1928Mother Knows Best as Boy
19284 Devils as Adolf
1928Fleetwing as Jaafor
1928The Legion of the Condemned as Byron Dashwood
1927The Wizard as Reginald Van Lear
1927Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans as Ballroom Dancer / Kissing Couple (uncredited)
1927A Man About Town as Amos, a Centerville Clerk
1927The Heart of Salome as Henri Bezanne
1927Ankles Preferred as Jimmy
1926The Canyon of Light as Ricardo Deane
1926What Price Glory as Pvt. Kenneth 'Mother's Boy' Lewisohn
1926The Lily as Max de Maigny
1926The Black Pirate as Youth (uncredited)