Justus D. Barnes

Born: 1862-10-02

Justus D. Barnes (October 2, 1862 – February 6, 1946), named George Barnes in some sources, was an American stage and film actor. He is best known for his role in the 1903 silent short The Great Train Robbery, which the American Film Institute and many film historians and critics recognize as the production that first established the Western genre, setting a new "narrative standard" in the motion picture industry. Barnes was born in Little Falls, New York. He was a veteran stage actor before he made his screen debut in 1903 in The Great Train Robbery. In that film's memorable ending, Barnes points his pistol at the camera and slowly fires all six shots at the viewer. The Great Train Robbery became one of the most successful and best known commercial films of the early silent era. In July 1908, Barnes was hired as an actor in the stock company of the Edison Manufacturing Company, the film production company owned by Thomas Edison. In 1910, he signed on with the Thanhouser Company in New Rochelle, New York. Between 1910 and 1917, Justus appeared in more than seventy films for the Thanhouser, usually in the role of a villain. He played Ham Peggotty in David Copperfield, the earliest known film adaption of the 1850 novel by Charles Dickens. He also played supporting roles in Nicholas Nickleby (1912), Aurora Floyd (1912), and A Dog of Flanders (1914). In 1917, he was released from the Thanhouser Company due to the company's financial issues. Barnes made his final onscreen appearance for the Edison Studio in Cy Whittaker's Ward, in 1917. After retiring from acting, Barnes moved to Weedsport, New York, where he worked as a milkman. He later owned a cigar store. Barnes died on February 6, 1946, in Weedsport at the age of 83. He is buried in Weedsport Rural Cemetery, in Weedsport, New York.


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The Great Train Robbery

as Bandit Who Fires at Camera (uncredited)
Released: 1903-12-07

After the train station clerk is assaulted and left bound and gagged, then the departing train...

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David Copperfield

as Ham Peggotty (in part one)
Released: 1911-10-17

Thanhouser Company three-reel silent film based on Charles Dickens’s story of an English lad's...

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Nicholas Nickleby

as Uncle Ralph
Released: 1912-03-18

With The Old Curiosity Shop and David Copperfield, both released in 1911, and Nicholas Nickleby...

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It Happened to Adele

as Vincent's Uncle
Released: 1917-07-05

Adele has grown up in a tenement, but she longs for greater things. She gets her chance at the...

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From the River's Depths

as William Hewins - Dorothy's Father
Released: 1915-09-05

A murder victim's spirit takes revenge on the man who killed him.

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When the Studio Burned

as Director
Released: 1913-02-03

A recreation of the Thanhouser Studio fire of 13 January 1913, it includes the rescue of a small...

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Star of Bethlehem

as Mage Gaspar
Released: 1912-12-24

Following a bright wandering star, three magi from the East travel to Bethlehem of Judea to meet...

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The Portrait of Lady Anne

as Lady Anne's Father in 1770
Released: 1912-07-23

The ghost of a selfish, inconsiderate woman must make up for her past transgressions by making...

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Uncle's Namesakes

as uncredited
Released: 1913-12-11

An American family in need of some money decides to pull a little innocent scam on a wealthy...

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The Marvelous Marathoner

as Ewing Webster
Released: 1915-08-15

An energetic and vivacious Falstaff comedy with good pacing combining physical comedy (without...

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The Farmer's Daughters

as Father
Released: 1913-09-27

Unable to find help to work his farm, a farmer gets a bright idea--he advertises that any man...

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Cousins

as Father on Farm
Released: 1912-07-28

One little girl lived in the country. She was a model child, everybody admitted it, but it...

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Joseph in the Land of Egypt

as uncredited
Released: 1914-02-01

Film realization of the Biblical story of Joseph, played here by future director James Cruze.

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Cy Whittaker's Ward

as Simmons
Released: 1917-10-22

Returning to the village of Bayport after twenty-two years, retired sea captain Cyrus Whittaker...

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