Robert Barrat pursued a stage career on Broadway from 1918 to 1932. He
did sample a scant three silent movies starting in 1915, but returned
to stage work. Barrat had a distinguished enough visage but also a well
knit physique that would foretell a busy career in films with many
featured character roles which he turned to in 1932. He therefore
portrayed lawyers, business owners, and officials of all sorts, as well
as, detectives, hardened sailors, and various desperate characters.
Barrat had a deep guttural voice which he could roll around in his
mouth to pitch out some unique variations. Such was his Wolverstone in
Unter Piratenflagge (1935), and his Lord Morton with a brogue in Maria von Schottland (1936). Barrat was a
dedicated physical fitness devotee and showed off a still manly form as
Chingachgook in Der letzte Mohikaner (1936).
Barrat was probably grateful to slow down a bit after 1936, for up to
then he was much in demand with an average of twenty films a year. As
it was he continued with a usual ten films per year to 1940. He did
several movies with James Cagney in the 1930s, and they became good friends.
Cagney described his friend as having "a solid forearm the size of the
average man's thigh." Barrat continued a rich and varied character role
career through the 1940s and early 1950s. The roles were more of the
dignified variety-fatherly figures, a few Indian chiefs and military
men - and several generals. He had the non-speaking role of General
Douglas MacArthur-his hawk of a nose needing little enhancement (he was
shot from side angles and distance) - in Schnellboote vor Bataan (1945). By 1954 he turned to
TV playhouse roles off and on until 1964. He loved challenging himself
with doing accents and certainly succeeded in this and in turning out
memorable roles in over 150 films.
