Mona Barrie
Encyclopedia
Mona Barrie was an English born actress in American theatre
and motion pictures.
, she was educated in Australia
and made her professional debut as a ballet dancer in Sydney
at the age of sixteen. This led to a solo act in musical comedies. In 1933 she emigrated to New York
, was given a test for films and this led to signing with Fox Film Corporation and making her film debut in the 1934 film Sleepers East using the stage name
Mona Barrie. While her lack of a glamorous beauty resulted in her generally being cast in important but secondary roles, during a film career spanning almost twenty years she appeared in more than fifty motion pictures. For her contribution to the industry, Mona Barrie has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
at 6140 Hollywood Blvd.
Barrie co-starred in 1942's Dawn on the Great Divide
, the last film Buck Jones
made before dying in the Cocoanut Grove fire
in Boston, Massachusetts.
A stage actress as well, Mona Barrie performed at various playhouses across the U.S. and debuted on Broadway
in 1937.
. Married to Canadian
Paul Macklin Bolton (1938–1964), they are buried together in the Knox United Church Cemetery in Agincourt, Ontario.
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
and motion pictures.
Career
Born Mona Barlee Smith in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, she was educated in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and made her professional debut as a ballet dancer in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
at the age of sixteen. This led to a solo act in musical comedies. In 1933 she emigrated to New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, was given a test for films and this led to signing with Fox Film Corporation and making her film debut in the 1934 film Sleepers East using the stage name
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
Mona Barrie. While her lack of a glamorous beauty resulted in her generally being cast in important but secondary roles, during a film career spanning almost twenty years she appeared in more than fifty motion pictures. For her contribution to the industry, Mona Barrie has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
at 6140 Hollywood Blvd.
Barrie co-starred in 1942's Dawn on the Great Divide
Dawn on the Great Divide
- Cast :*Buck Jones as Buck Roberts*Mona Barrie as Sadie Rand*Raymond Hatton as Sandy Hopkins*Robert Lowery as Terry Wallace*Rex Bell as Jack Carson*Maude Eburne as Sarah Harkins*Christine McIntyre as Mary Harkins, Sarah's Daughter*Betty Blythe as Mrs...
, the last film Buck Jones
Buck Jones
Buck Jones was an American motion picture star of the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, best known for his work starring in many popular western movies...
made before dying in the Cocoanut Grove fire
Cocoanut Grove fire
The Cocoanut Grove was Boston's premier nightclub during the post-Prohibition 1930s and 40s. On November 28, 1942, occurred the scene of what remains the deadliest nightclub fire, killing 492 people and injuring hundreds more...
in Boston, Massachusetts.
A stage actress as well, Mona Barrie performed at various playhouses across the U.S. and debuted on Broadway
Broadway 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...
in 1937.
Personal life
Mona Barrie died in 1964 in Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. Married to Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Paul Macklin Bolton (1938–1964), they are buried together in the Knox United Church Cemetery in Agincourt, Ontario.
Partial filmography
- Charlie Chan in LondonCharlie Chan in LondonCharlie Chan in London is a 1934 American mystery film directed by Eugene Forde. The film stars Warner Oland as Charlie Chan, with Drue Leyton....
(1934) - Unwelcome Stranger (1935)
- Mystery Woman (1935)
- King of BurlesqueKing of BurlesqueKing of Burlesque is a 1936 musical film about a former burlesque producer played by Warner Baxter who moves into a legitimate theatre does very well, until he marries a socialite...
(1936) - Love on the RunLove on the Run (1936 film)Love on the Run is a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer feature film starring Joan Crawford, Franchot Tone, and Clark Gable in a story about rival newspaper correspondents assigned to cover the marriage of a socialite. The screenplay by Gladys Hurlbut, John Lee Mahin and Manuel Seff was based upon the story by...
(1936) - A Message to GarciaA Message to Garcia (1936 film)A Message to Garcia is a 1936 movie starring Wallace Beery and Barbara Stanwyck, and directed by George Marshall. The supporting cast includes John Boles and Alan Hale, Sr.. The film is loosely based on an incident during the Spanish-American War. Dell Henderson plays William McKinley but with a...
(1936) - I Met Him in ParisI Met Him in ParisI Met Him in Paris is a 1937 film made by Paramount Pictures, directed by Wesley Ruggles, and starring Claudette Colbert, Melvyn Douglas, and Robert Young.-Cast:* Claudette Colbert as Kay Denham* Melvyn Douglas as George Potter...
(1937) - Say It in French (1938)
- Men are Such FoolsMen Are Such FoolsMen are Such Fools is a 1938 American romantic comedy film made by Warner Brothers, directed by Busby Berkeley — and starring Humphrey Bogart, Priscilla Lane, Wayne Morris, and Hugh Herbert. The story was based on a Saturday Evening Post Story by Faith Baldwin...
(1938) - I Take This WomanI Take This Woman (1940 film)I Take This Woman is a 1940 drama film starring Spencer Tracy and Hedy Lamarr.-Cast:*Spencer Tracy as Dr. Karl Decker*Hedy Lamarr as Georgi Gragore Decker*Verree Teasdale as Madame "Cesca" Marcesca*Kent Taylor as Phil Mayberry...
(1940) - Never Give a Sucker an Even BreakNever Give a Sucker an Even BreakNever Give a Sucker an Even Break is a 1941 Universal Pictures comedy film starring W.C. Fields. Fields also wrote the original story, under the pseudonym "Otis Criblecoblis". Fields plays himself, searching for a chance to promote a surreal screenplay he has written, whose several framed sequences...
(1941) - CairoCairo (film)Cairo is a 1942 musical comedy film made by MGM and Loew's, and directed by W. S. Van Dyke. The screenplay was written by John McClain, based on idea by Ladislas Fodor about a news reporter shipwrecked in a torpedo attack, who teams up with a Hollywood singer and her maid to foil Nazi spies. The...
(1942) - Dawn on the Great DivideDawn on the Great Divide- Cast :*Buck Jones as Buck Roberts*Mona Barrie as Sadie Rand*Raymond Hatton as Sandy Hopkins*Robert Lowery as Terry Wallace*Rex Bell as Jack Carson*Maude Eburne as Sarah Harkins*Christine McIntyre as Mary Harkins, Sarah's Daughter*Betty Blythe as Mrs...
(1942) - Just Before DawnJust Before Dawn (1946 film)Just Before Dawn is a 1946 American black-and-white crime/mystery film based on the radio drama Crime Doctor. The film is the seventh production of the series, written by Max Marcin and adapted to the screen by Eric Taylor and Aubrey Wisberg. It was directed by William Castle and starred Warner...
(1946) - Cass TimberlaneCass TimberlaneCass Timberlane is a novel written by Sinclair Lewis, published in 1945. It is Sinclair Lewis' nineteenth novel and one of his last.It was made into a romantic drama film starring Spencer Tracy and Lana Turner, directed by George Sidney, and released in 1947.Timberlane is a minor character in...
(1947) - My Dog Rusty (1948)
- The First TimeThe First Time (1952 film)The First Time is a 1952 film directed by Frank Tashlin. It stars Robert Cummings and Barbara Hale.-Cast:*Robert Cummings as Joe Bennett*Barbara Hale as Betsy Bennett*Bill Goodwin as Mel Gilbert*Jeff Donnell as Donna Gilbert...
(1952) - Strange Fascination (1952)
- Plunder of the SunPlunder of the SunPlunder of the Sun is a 1949 novel by David F. Dodge about a hunt for ancient Peruvian treasure. It was made into a 1953 movie of the same name starring Glenn Ford and relocated to Mexico.-Cast:*Glenn Ford as Al Colby*Diana Lynn as Julie Barnes...
(1953)