# 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 both the Western and action genres, setting a new "narrative standard" in the motion picture industry. Kim Newman says it is "probably the first Western film with a storyline".

## Career

Barnes was born in Little Falls, New York. His father was an immigrant from Scotland, while his mother was born in 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.

## Later years and death

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.

## Tributes

Barnes appears on a postage stamp issued in 1988 to honor The Great Train Robbery.

## Selected filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1903 | The Great Train Robbery | Bandit who fires at camera | Uncredited |
| 1910 | Young Lord Stanley | The girl's father | Alternative title: His Only Son |
| 1911 | The Declaration of Independence | Samuel Adams | |
| 1911 | David Copperfield | Ham Peggotty | |
| 1912 | On Probation | The Rich Old Widower | |
| 1912 | Nicholas Nickleby | Nicholas' Uncle Ralph | |
| 1912 | The Baby Bride | The Minister | |
| 1912 | When Mandy Came to Town | The Father | |
| 1912 | The Portrait of Lady Anne | Lady Anne's Father in 1770 | |
| 1912 | Cousins | Father on Farm | |
| 1912 | The Voice of Conscience | Doctor | Credited as Justice Barnes |
| 1912 | Aurora Floyd | Aurora's father | |
| 1912 | The Star of Bethlehem | Gaspar, a Magi | |
| 1912 | With the Mounted Police | Mounted Policeman | |
| 1913 | When the Studio Burned | Director | |
| 1913 | While Mrs. McFadden Looked Out | Mr. McFadden | |
| 1913 | For Another's Sin | Bank Examiner | |
| 1913 | A Victim of Circumstances | The Father | |
| 1913 | When Darkness Came | The Senior Partner | |
| 1913 | The Farmer's Daughters | Father | |
| 1913 | He Couldn't Lose | Green, a lawyer | |
| 1913 | A Beauty Parlor Graduate | Uncle Bill | |
| 1913 | An Amateur Animal Trainer | Belle's father | |
| 1914 | Joseph in the Land of Egypt | Undetermined role | |
| 1914 | Percy's First Holiday | Undetermined role | Uncredited |
| 1914 | A Leak in the Foreign Office | Abdool – Trevor's Afghan companion | |
| 1914 | A Can of Baked Beans | Mr. Morton | |
| 1914 | Their Best Friend | Jack's Father | |
| 1914 | Cardinal Richelieu's Ward | Huguet | Credited as Justus Barnes |
| 1914 | A Debut in the Secret Service | Abdul | |
| 1914 | The Infant Heart Snatcher | The Judge | |
| 1914 | The Mohammedan's Conspiracy | Abdul | |
| 1914 | A Dog of Flanders | The Rich Miller | Lost film |
| 1914 | From the Shadows | Stage Manager | Alternative title: Out of the Shadows |
| 1914 | His Enemy | John Baird | |
| 1914 | The Harlow Handicap | George Carnes | |
| 1914 | Arty, the Artist | Mr. Miles – May's Father | |
| 1914 | Gold | The Village Bully | |
| 1914 | The Mettle of a Man | John Ross | |
| 1914 | The Harvest of Regrets | Mr. Sheldon | |
| 1914 | The Diamond of Disaster | The Bandit | |
| 1914 | Lucy's Elopement | Ezra Jenkins | |
| 1915 | The Home of Silence | Ralph's father | |
| 1915 | Helen Intervenes | Store Manager | |
| 1915 | The Smuggled Diamond | Chief of the Secret Service | |
| 1915 | The Adventure of Florence | Mr. Clark – Florence's Father | |
| 1915 | The Final Reckoning | Judge Granger | |
| 1915 | Bianca Forgets | Bianca's father | |
| 1915 | Love and Money | The American Suitor's Father | |
| 1915 | The Heart of the Princess Marsari | Paul's Wealthy Uncle | |
| 1915 | God's Witness | Judge | Lost film |
| 1915 | Bud Blossom | Bud's grandfather | |
| 1915 | The Country Girl | The Squire, her Guardian | |
| 1915 | Old Jane of the Gaiety | Choreographer | |
| 1915 | His Two Patients | The Blacksmith | |
| 1915 | The Marvelous Marathoner | Ewing Webster | |
| 1915 | Snapshots | Henry Spear – Editor | |
| 1915 | From the River's Depths | William Hewins – Dorothy's Father | Alternative title: A Call from the Dead |
| 1915 | Weary Walker's Woes | Lawyer | |
| 1915 | Mr Meeson's Will | Mr. Meeson | |
| 1916 | Outwitted | The Contractor | |
| 1916 | Fear | Jasper | |
| 1916 | Arabella's Prince | The Prince | |
| 1917 | Her Life and His | Political Boss | |
| 1917 | Hinton's Double | Detective Denton | |
| 1917 | The Candy Girl | Officer Quinn | |
| 1917 | An Amateur Orphan | Dave's Father | Credited as Justus Barnes |
| 1917 | It Happened to Adele | Vincent's Uncle | |
| 1917 | Cy Whittaker's Ward | Simmons | Credited as J.D. Barnes |