Justus D. Barnes
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.
The Great Train Robbery
as Bandit Who Fires at Camera (uncredited)After the train station clerk is assaulted and left bound and gagged, then the departing train...
Movie pageNicholas Nickleby
as Uncle RalphWith The Old Curiosity Shop and David Copperfield, both released in 1911, and Nicholas Nickleby...
Movie pageIt Happened to Adele
as Vincent's UncleAdele has grown up in a tenement, but she longs for greater things. She gets her chance at the...
Movie pageDavid Copperfield
as Ham Peggotty (in part one)Thanhouser Company three-reel silent film based on Charles Dickens’s story of an English lad's...
Movie pageJoseph in the Land of Egypt
as uncreditedFilm realization of the Biblical story of Joseph, played here by future director James Cruze.
Movie pageThe Portrait of Lady Anne
as Lady Anne's Father in 1770The ghost of a selfish, inconsiderate woman must make up for her past transgressions by making...
Movie pageThe Marvelous Marathoner
as Ewing WebsterAn energetic and vivacious Falstaff comedy with good pacing combining physical comedy (without...
Movie pageStar of Bethlehem
as Mage GasparFollowing a bright wandering star, three magi from the East travel to Bethlehem of Judea to meet...
Movie pageWhen the Studio Burned
as DirectorA recreation of the Thanhouser Studio fire of 13 January 1913, it includes the rescue of a small...
Movie pageThe Farmer's Daughters
as FatherUnable to find help to work his farm, a farmer gets a bright idea--he advertises that any man...
Movie pageFrom the River's Depths
as William Hewins - Dorothy's FatherA murder victim's spirit takes revenge on the man who killed him.
Movie pageUncle's Namesakes
as uncreditedAn American family in need of some money decides to pull a little innocent scam on a wealthy...
Movie pageCousins
as Father on FarmOne little girl lived in the country. She was a model child, everybody admitted it, but it...
Movie pageCy Whittaker's Ward
as SimmonsReturning to the village of Bayport after twenty-two years, retired sea captain Cyrus Whittaker...
Movie page