Gertrude Maud Barnes (25 March 1903 - 27 July 1998), known professionally as Binnie Barnes, was an English actress whose career in films spanned from 1923 to 1973. She was known as a leading lady in films such as The Private Life of Henry VIII, The Last of the Mohicans, and In Old California.
Barnes was born in Islington, London, the daughter of Rosa Enoyce and George Barnes, a policeman; 16 children were in her family. Before moving to Hollywood to become an actress, Barnes worked a series of jobs, such as chorus girl, nurse, and dance hostess.
Barnes began her acting career in films in 1923, appearing in a short film made by Lee De Forest in his Phonofilm sound-on-film process. Her film career continued in Great Britain, most notably in The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933) as Katherine Howard, Henry's fifth wife. Barnes' main qualm in accepting roles as an actress was that she not play submissive roles. Barnes once remarked, "One picture is just like another to me, as long as I don't have to be a sweet woman".
After she married Mike Frankovich, she moved to Europe with Frankovich and appeared in several films he produced there, including Decameron Nights with Louis Jourdan and Malaga with Maureen O'Hara and Macdonald Carey. Later, her career continued in Hollywood, until 1973, when she appeared in the comedy 40 Carats, her last acting role.
Barnes's first husband was London art dealer Samuel Joseph. Her second marriage was to film producer Mike Frankovich, and later she was a naturalised United States citizen. The couple adopted three children. Barnes was an avid swimmer. In 1936, she saved a drowning guest at William Wyler's pool.
Binnie Barnes died on 27 July 1998 of natural causes, aged 95, in Beverly Hills. She was interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale.
Phonofilm (1923)
A Night in Montmartre (1931) as Therese
Love Lies (1931) as Junetta
Doctor Josser K.C. (1931) as Rosa Wopp
Murder at Covent Garden (1932) as Girl
The Innocents of Chicago (1932) as Peg Guinan
Partners Please (1932 short) as Billie
Strip! Strip! Hooray!!! (1932 short) as Spanish Lady
Down Our Street (1932) as Tessie Bernstein
The Last Coupon (1932) as Mrs. Meredith
Old Spanish Customers (1932) as Carmen
Taxi to Paradise (1933 short) as Joan Melhuish
Counsel's Opinion (1933) as Leslie
Heads We Go (1933) as Lil Pickering
The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933) as Katherine Howard, the 5th Wife
The Silver Spoon (1933) as Lady Perivale
Their Night Out (1933) as Lola
Nine Forty-Five (1934) as Ruth Jordan
No Escape (1934) as Myra Fengler
The Lady Is Willing (1934) as Helene Dupont
One Exciting Adventure (1934) as Rena Sorel
Gift of Gab (1934) as Maid
The Private Life of Don Juan (1934) as Rosita, a Maid Pure and Simple
Forbidden Territory (1934) as Valerie Petrovna
There's Always Tomorrow (1934) as Alice Vail
Diamond Jim (1935) as Lillian Russell
Rendezvous (1935) as Olivia Kerloff
La Fiesta de Santa Barbara (1935, Short) as Herself
Sutter's Gold (1936) as Countess Elizabeth Bartoffski
Small Town Girl (1936) as Priscilla Hyde
The Last of the Mohicans (1936) as Alice Munro
The Magnificent Brute (1936) as Della Lane
Three Smart Girls (1936) as Donna Lyons
Breezing Home (1937) as Henrietta Fairfax
Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937) as Caroline Whipple
Out of the Blue (1937) as Rosa
The Divorce of Lady X (1938) as Lady Mere
The First Hundred Years (1938) as Claudia Weston
The Adventures of Marco Polo (1938) as Nazama
Holiday (1938) as Mrs. Laura Cram
Three Blind Mice (1938) as Miriam Harrington
Always Goodbye (1938) as Harriet Martin
Tropic Holiday (1938) as Marilyn Joyce
Gateway (1938) as Mrs. Fay Sims
Thanks for Everything (1938) as Kay Swift
The Three Musketeers (1939) as Milady De Winter
Wife, Husband and Friend (1939) as Cecil Carver
Man About Town (1939) as Lady Arlington
Frontier Marshal (1939) as Jerry
Day-Time Wife (1939) as Blanche
'Til We Meet Again (1940) as Comtesse de Bresac
This Thing Called Love (1940) as Charlotte Campbell
Angels with Broken Wings (1941) as Sybil Barton
Tight Shoes (1941) as Sybil Ash
The Great Awakening (1941, aka New Wine) as Countess Marie Duvarre
Three Girls About Town (1941) as Faith Banner
Skylark (1941) as Myrtle Vantine
Call Out the Marines (1942) as Violet 'Vi' Hall
In Old California (1942) as Lacey Miller
I Married an Angel (1942) as Peggy
The Man from Down Under (1943) as Aggie Dawlins
Up in Mabel's Room (1944) as Alicia Larchmont
The Hour Before the Dawn (1944) as May Heatherton
Barbary Coast Gent (1944) as Lil Damish
It's in the Bag! (1945) as Eve Floogle
The Spanish Main (1945) as Anne Bonney
Getting Gertie's Garter (1945) as Barbara
The Time of Their Lives (1946) as Mildred Dean
If Winter Comes (1947) as Natalie Bagshaw
The Dude Goes West (1948) as Kiki Kelly
My Own True Love (1948) as Geraldine
The Pirates of Capri (1949, aka The Masked Pirate) as Queen Maria Carolina
Fugitive Lady (1950) as Esther Clementi
Shadow of the Eagle (1950) as Catherine, Empress of Russia
Decameron Nights (1953) as Contessa di Firenze / Nerina the Chambermaid / The Old Witch
Malaga (1954) as Frisco
The Trouble with Angels (1966) as Sister Celestine
Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows (1968) as Sister Celestine
40 Carats (1973) as Maud Ericson