John Merton

Highest Rated: 100% The Big Heat (1953)

Lowest Rated: 40% Along Came Jones (1945)

Birthday: Feb 18, 1901

Birthplace: Washington, USA

Born John Myrtland LaVarre, John Merton has appeared on Broadway as "Myrtland LaVarre" in the Theatre Guild's hit production of Karel Capek's R.U.R. (1922). More theater work followed and he was spotted in the background of several silent films, including as a fireman in W.C. Fields' It's the Old Army Game (1926). But the handsome, slightly frosty-looking actor found his rightful place in B-Westerns and serials. He would appear in a total of 170 films, turning up as an assortment of blackguards. Usually a bit more sophisticated than the average "dog heavy," Merton could nevertheless rough it with the best of 'em, a talent he passed on to his equally tough-looking son, Lane Bradford. Father and son appeared in six films together, including 1947's Jack Armstrong. (Another son played supporting roles on television in the '50s under the moniker of Robert La Varre.) Retiring after a bit in Cecil B. DeMille's gigantic The Ten Commandments (1956), Merton died of a heart attack at the age of 58.

Highest Rated Movies

Filmography

MOVIES

RATING	TITLE	CREDIT	BOX OFFICE	YEAR
86%	The Ten Commandments	Architect's Assistant	—	1956
No Score Yet	Son of Sinbad	Guard	—	1955
100%	The Big Heat	Man	—	1953
50%	The Greatest Show on Earth	Chuck	—	1952
No Score Yet	Trail Guide	Dale	—	1952
No Score Yet	The Old West	Actor	—	1952
No Score Yet	Gold Raiders	Clete	—	1951
No Score Yet	I Shot Billy the Kid	Ollinger	—	1950
63%	Samson and Delilah	Assistant tax collector	—	1949
No Score Yet	Outlaw Country	Marshal Clark	—	1949
100%	Thieves' Highway	State Highway Policeman	—	1949
No Score Yet	Radar Patrol vs. Spy King	Baroda	—	1949
No Score Yet	A Southern Yankee	Horseman	—	1948
No Score Yet	Jack Armstrong: The All-American Boy	Gregory Pierce	—	1947
No Score Yet	Cheyenne Takes Over	McCord	—	1947
86%	Unconquered	Corporal	—	1947
No Score Yet	I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now	President Theodore Roosevelt	—	1947
No Score Yet	Border Bandits	Henchman Spike	—	1946
90%	Gilda	Policeman	—	1946
40%	Along Came Jones	Card Player	—	1945
No Score Yet	Gentle Annie	Engineer	—	1945
No Score Yet	Brenda Starr, Reporter	Schultz	—	1945
No Score Yet	Wild Horse Phantom	Actor	—	1944
No Score Yet	Girl Rush	Scully	—	1944
No Score Yet	Kismet	Mansur's Aide	—	1944
No Score Yet	Mystery Man	Bill	—	1944
No Score Yet	Texas Masquerade	Jeff	—	1944
No Score Yet	Devil Riders	Jim Higgins	—	1943
No Score Yet	Destroyer	Chief Quartermaster	—	1943
No Score Yet	The Law Rides Again	Henchman Spike	—	1943
No Score Yet	Sagebrush Law	Burl Mason	—	1943
No Score Yet	Land of Hunted Men	Pelham	—	1943
No Score Yet	The Kid Rides Again	Actor	—	1943
No Score Yet	Hitler's Children	Actor	—	1943
No Score Yet	Black Market Rustlers	Parry	—	1943
No Score Yet	Boothill Bandits	Brand Bolton	—	1942
No Score Yet	Prairie Pals	Ed Blair	—	1942
67%	Invisible Agent	German Soldier	—	1942
No Score Yet	Law and Order	Turtle	—	1942
No Score Yet	Along the Sundown Trail	Jake Phillips	—	1942
No Score Yet	White Eagle	Romino	—	1941
No Score Yet	The Gunman from Bodie	Actor	—	1941
No Score Yet	Under Fiesta Stars	Henchman Tommick	—	1941
No Score Yet	Billy the Kid in Texas	Flash	—	1940
100%	The Dark Command	Cantrell Man	—	1940
No Score Yet	Drums of Fu Manchu	Loki	—	1940
100%	Northwest Passage	Lt. Dunbar	—	1940
No Score Yet	Billy the Kid's Gun Justice	Actor	—	1940
No Score Yet	Melody Ranch	Wildhack Warner	—	1940
No Score Yet	The Lone Ranger	Kester	—	1940
No Score Yet	The Great Commandment	Under officer	—	1939
No Score Yet	Renegade Trail	Traynor	—	1939
No Score Yet	Three Texas Steers	Mike Abbott	—	1939
83%	Union Pacific	Laborer	—	1939
No Score Yet	Rough Riders' Round-up	Border Patrolman Messenger	—	1939
No Score Yet	In Old Montana	Ed Brandt	—	1939
No Score Yet	Code of the Fearless	Actor	—	1939
No Score Yet	Flaming Lead	Chicago Club Manager (uncredited)	—	1939
No Score Yet	Gang Bullets	Red	—	1938
No Score Yet	Gunsmoke Trail	Actor	—	1938
No Score Yet	Phantom Ranger	Bud	—	1938
No Score Yet	Female Fugitive	Mort	—	1938
No Score Yet	Shopworn Angel	Speaker	—	1938
No Score Yet	Colorado Kid	Court Clerk	—	1938
No Score Yet	Dick Tracy Returns	Champ	—	1938
No Score Yet	Roaring Six Guns	'Mileaway' Roberts	—	1937
No Score Yet	Slaves in Bondage	Nick Costello	—	1937
No Score Yet	Galloping Dynamite	Reed	—	1937
No Score Yet	The Law Commands	Clark	—	1937
No Score Yet	Gunsmoke Ranch	Clem Jurgins	—	1937
No Score Yet	Headline Crasher	Scarlotti	—	1937
No Score Yet	Valley of Terror	Actor	—	1937
No Score Yet	The Firefly	French Officer	—	1937
No Score Yet	Arizona Gunfighter	Farley	—	1937
No Score Yet	Two Gun Troubadour	Bill Barton	—	1937
No Score Yet	The Rangers Step In	Martin	—	1937
No Score Yet	The Gun Ranger	Kemper	—	1937
No Score Yet	Fury Below	Emil	—	1936
No Score Yet	The Three Mesquiteers	Bull	—	1936
No Score Yet	Aces and Eights	Gambler	—	1936
No Score Yet	Bar 20 Rides Again	Carp	—	1936
No Score Yet	Crooked Trail	Harve Tarlton	—	1936
No Score Yet	The Lion's Den	Single-Shot Smith	—	1936
No Score Yet	Call of the Prairie	Arizona	—	1936
No Score Yet	The Eagle's Brood	Ed	—	1935
No Score Yet	Hopalong Cassidy Enters	Party Guest	—	1935
100%	Sons of the Desert	Sons of the Desert Coterie	—	1933
No Score Yet	Running Wild	Cop	—	1927
No Score Yet	It's the Old Army Game	Fireman	—	1926

TV

RATING	TITLE	CREDIT	YEAR
No Score Yet	The Adventures of Superman 1952-1958	Foley	1953
No Score Yet	The Three Stooges 1934-1959	Actor	1953

Quotes from John Merton's Characters

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On Dvd & Streaming

John Merton

Highest Rated Movies

Filmography

MOVIES

TV

Quotes from John Merton's Characters