Acting

John Batten

Born 1903-04-03 · Rotorua, North Island, New Zealand

Acting credits

The Battle of the Sexes poster
5.3

Gum-chewing frizzy-haired golddigger Marie Skinner cooks up a scheme with her lover Babe Winsor, a jazz hound, to fleece a portly middle-aged real estate tycoon, William Judson. Marie moves into Judson's apartment building and contrives to meet and seduce him, plying him with compliments, music, swoons, décolletage, and batted eyes. When his loyal wife (and their two children) see him out catting with Marie at a night club, mom's devastated and confronts him. He moves out. Babe wants Marie to sell Judson worthless bonds. Will mom commit suicide? Will sis shoot the floozy? Will pops figure out he's being a fool?

The Battle of the Sexes

1928

For Those in Peril poster
6.1

A WWII flyer fails to join the RAF so he joins the Air - Sea Rescue instead. His boat is out in all conditions picking up downed pilots and taking them to safety.

For Those in Peril

1944

High Finance poster
9.0

Self-made businessman Sir Grant Rayburn is obsessed with making money to the exclusion of all else. He shows little interest in his daughter Jill and is irritated when she falls in love with, and wishes to marry, a young man named Tom. Sir Grant does not believe Tom is a suitable match for Jill as he does not come from a moneyed background. He suspects that Tom is a chancer with an eye on access to Jill's money....

High Finance

1933

Under the Greenwood Tree poster
7.0

A girl organist is blamed for ousting the village choir.

Under the Greenwood Tree

1929

The Church Mouse poster
5.8

When a meek secretary goes to work for her new boss, she becomes a sophisticated lady.

The Church Mouse

1934

The Wonderful Story poster
7.0

A paralysed farmer watches his brother fall in love with the woman he intended to marry.

The Wonderful Story

1932

Men Like These poster
6.5

A British submarine on patrol is accidentally rammed by a merchant ship, that tears a big hole in in sub which sinks trapping the crew.

Men Like These

1932

The Love Waltz poster
8.5

Originally Liebeswalzer, this German operetta was the third talkie vehicle for the effervescent Lillian Harvey. The plot is a typical Graustarkian affair, with Princess Eva (Harvey) preparing to marry a duke whom she's never met. Getting cold feet, the duke ducks the wedding, persuading a handsome young commoner named Bobby (Willy Fritsch) to take his place. The wedding goes on as planned, with Eva never suspecting that her new hubby is a ringer. Eventually, the false duke confesses everything, leading to all sorts of intrigue before a happy ending can be realized. Love Waltz was simultaneously filmed in an English-language version, which posed no problem for the British-born Harvey but caused a few uncomfortable moments for her Teutonic co-stars (eventually, Willy Fritsch was replaced by John Batton, who'd played a bit role in the German version).

The Love Waltz

1930

Loose Ends poster
9.0

'A woman reporter is blackmailed for knowledge of freed suspect's involvement in a murder.' (British Film Institute)

Loose Ends

1930

No artwork available
9.0

Call Me Mame is a 1933 British comedy film directed by John Daumery and starring Ethel Irving, John Batten and Dorothy Bartlam. It was made at Teddington Studios as a quota quickie.

Call Me Mame

1933

The Chorus Kid poster
7.0

Having been in show biz since infancy, Broadway chorus girl Beatrice regrets her lack of formal education, so when she unexpectedly falls heir to a huge sum of money, Beatrice decides to make up for lost time.

The Chorus Kid

1928

The Great Game poster
7.0

Set in Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge football ground and featuring appearances from many real-life players from the day, this is the first film to feature football as its central theme and is recognisably modern and authentic. It deals with the day to day dramas, conflicts and love interests of players and managers in the run-up to the Cup Final.

The Great Game

1930

No artwork available
10.0

A woman, disappointed in love, becomes increasingly cynical and attempts to marry a wealthy man.

As Good as New

1933