James Burke
Photoplayd Industry Rating
Not enough rated films yet to compute a weighted score.
Roles are weighted by involvement: director 1.0, screenwriter 0.7, lead 0.8, supporting 0.4, crew 0.1.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia James Burke (September 24, 1886 – May 23, 1968) was an American film and television actor born in New York City. He made his stage debut in New York around 1912 and went to Hollywood in 1933. He made over 200 film appearances during his career, which ranged from 1932 to 1964; he was more often than not cast as a cop, usually a none-too-bright one, most notably as Sgt. Velie in Columbia's Ellery Queen mysteries in the early 1940s. He appeared in The Maltese Falcon, At the Circus, Lone Star, and many others. One of his best roles was as Charles Ruggles' rowdy rancher pal in Ruggles of Red Gap. In the early 1950s, Burke appeared with Tom Conway in the ABC detective drama series then called Inspector Mark Saber -- Homicide Detective, later renamed, reformatted, and switched to NBC under the title Saber of London. From 1960-1961, Burke appeared in the role of Zeke Bonner in seven episodes of the ABC western television series Stagecoach West, starring Wayne Rogers, Robert Bray, and Richard Eyer. Burke suffered from a heart condition, which took his life at the age of eighty-one.
Known for
Credits
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
as Luke
It Happened One Night (1934)
as Detective (uncredited)
Nightmare Alley (1947)
as Rural Marshal (uncredited)
Treasure Island (1934)
as Pirate of the Spanish Main
June Bride (1948)
as Luke Potter
You Can't Take It with You (1938)
as Chief Detective (uncredited)
The Unholy Wife (1957)
as Sheriff Tom Watling
Call of the Wild (1935)
as Ole
Casanova Brown (1944)
as O'Leary (uncredited)
Denver and Rio Grande (1952)
as Sheriff Ed Johnson
At the Circus (1939)
as John Carter
Dixie (1943)
as Riverboat Captain (uncredited)
Down to Earth (1947)
as Detective Kelly
Body and Soul (1947)
as Arnold (uncredited)
Anchors Aweigh (1945)
as Studio Cop
Red, Hot and Blue (1949)
as Doorman (uncredited)
His Kind of Woman (1951)
as Barkeeper in Nogales (uncredited)
Song of the Thin Man (1947)
as Policeman Callahan (uncredited)
Queen Christina (1934)
as Blacksmith - 4th Rabble Rouser (uncredited)
Dodge City (1939)
as Cattle Auctioneer (uncredited)
Two Years Before the Mast (1946)
as Carrick
Shady Lady (1945)
as Crane
All Through the Night (1942)
as Police Lt. Forbes
We're Not Married! (1952)
as Willie's Sergeant (uncredited)
Six of a Kind (1934)
as Detective (uncredited)
A Lady's Profession (1933)
as Mulroy
Alias Jesse James (1959)
as Charlie (uncredited)
The Case of the Missing Man (1935)
as Police Sergeant Rorty
The Big Clock (1948)
as O'Brien
The Scarlet Empress (1934)
Actor
Little Miss Marker (1934)
as Detective Reardon (uncredited)
So Red the Rose (1935)
as Major Rushton
The Kennel Murder Case (1933)
as Policeman Who Lets Dog Out (uncredited)
Dead End (1937)
as Mulligan
Sisters Under the Skin (1934)
as Conroy
Song and Dance Man (1936)
as Lt. Mike Boyle
Within the Law (1939)
as 'Red'
The Virginian (1946)
as Andy Jones (uncredited)
The Mad Miss Manton (1938)
as Sullivan
A Night to Remember (1942)
as Pat Murphy (uncredited)
Copper Canyon (1950)
as Jeb Bassett
Beau Geste (1939)
as Lieutenant Dufour
Let's Dance (1950)
as George (uncredited)
The Farmer Takes a Wife (1935)
as Man Hauling Rifles and Bullets
Twentieth Century (1934)
as Sheriff (uncredited)
A Very Honorable Guy (1934)
as Sergeant
Bowery Bombshell (1946)
as Detective O'Malley
College Humor (1933)
as Cromwell Dexter
The Merry Frinks (1934)
as 3rd Expressman (uncredited)
The Last Outpost (1951)
as Stagecoach driver (uncredited)
Pot o' Gold (1941)
as Lt. Grady
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? (1975)
as Self (archive footage)
Lone Star (1952)
as Luther Kilgore
Opened by Mistake (1940)
as Police Sergeant Wilkins
Buck Benny Rides Again (1940)
as Taxi Driver
Ruggles of Red Gap (1935)
as Jeff Tuttle
Here Comes the Groom (1951)
as O'Neill, Policeman
California (1947)
as Pokey
Warpath (1951)
as Oldtimer
To the Last Man (1933)
as Kentucky Sheriff (uncredited)
The Dawn Patrol (1938)
as Flaherty - Motorcycle Driver
Bombshell (1933)
as First Immigration Officer (uncredited)
The Horn Blows at Midnight (1945)
as Policeman (uncredited)
Toughest Man in Arizona (1952)
Actor
The Way of All Flesh (1940)
as Frisco
Fast and Furious (1939)
as Clancy
Sadie McKee (1934)
as Motorcycle Cop (uncredited)
Life Begins with Love (1937)
as Darby McGraw
Dinky (1935)
as Truck Driver
Lady Killer (1933)
as Panhandler (uncredited)
The Girl in 419 (1933)
as Detective Jackson
Philo Vance's Gamble (1947)
as Lt. Burke
The Cisco Kid and the Lady (1939)
as Pop Saunders
High, Wide and Handsome (1937)
as Stackpole
Joy of Living (1938)
as Mac
On Borrowed Time (1939)
as Sheriff Burlingame
Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise (1940)
as Wilkie, house detective
Alias Nick Beal (1949)
as Bum
Rhythm on the Range (1936)
as Wabash
The Saint Takes Over (1940)
as Patrolman Mike
Reaching for the Sun (1941)
as Norm
The Bowery (1933)
as Recruiting Sergeant (uncredited)
The Saint Strikes Back (1939)
as Headquarters Police Officer
The Gas House Kids in Hollywood (1947)
as Police Lt. Burke
Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery (1941)
as Sergeant Velie
Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943)
as Bill, Intern Guard (uncredited)
3 Men in White (1944)
as First Policeman (uncredited)
Easy Come, Easy Go (1947)
as Harry Weston
Torch Singer (1933)
as Taxi Driver
Champagne Waltz (1937)
as Mr. Scribner
Ellery Queen and the Murder Ring (1941)
as Sgt. Velie
The Leathernecks Have Landed (1936)
as Corrigan
Raton Pass (1951)
as Hank
My Favorite Blonde (1942)
as Union Secretary
The Golden Fleecing (1940)
as Sibley
The Family Next Door (1939)
as Policeman
Klondike Annie (1936)
Actor
Mississippi (1935)
as Skeptical Passenger in Pilot House (uncredited)
Music Is Magic (1935)
as Mickey (uncredited)
Forgotten Faces (1936)
as Sgt. Johnny Donovan / Harry's friend
A Close Call for Ellery Queen (1942)
as Sgt. Velie
Million Dollar Baby (1941)
as Callahan
Dancing Feet (1936)
as Phil Moore
The Affairs of Annabel (1938)
as Muldoon
After the Dance (1935)
as Police Lieutenant
No Time for Comedy (1940)
as Police Sergeant (uncredited)
Men with Wings (1938)
as J.A. Nolan
Gambling Lady (1934)
as Detective Making Raid (uncredited)
Love Time (1934)
as Emperor Francis I
Lucky Me (1954)
as Mahoney
Great Guy (1936)
as Patrick James Aloysius 'Pat' Haley
Beyond Glory (1948)
as Jim, the Bartender (uncredited)
Public Pigeon No. 1 (1957)
as Harrigan
How DOooo You Do (1945)
as Detective
Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime (1941)
as Sgt. Velie
Ellery Queen, Master Detective (1940)
as Sgt. Velle
Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven (1948)
as Cop (uncredited)
Double Alibi (1940)
as Police Captain Orr
It Happened in Flatbush (1942)
as Umpire Shaunnessy
Coronado (1935)
as Slug Moran
Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone (1950)
as The Train Conductor
Such Women Are Dangerous (1934)
as Detective
Young Widow (1946)
as Motorcycle Cop (Uncredited)
The Perfect Specimen (1937)
as Constable Snodgrass
A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen (1942)
as Sgt. Velie
Friends of Mr. Sweeney (1934)
as Policeman Arresting Wynn
Riding High (1943)
as Pete
Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen (1942)
as Police Sergeant Velie
Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935)
as Patrolman
No Place for a Lady (1943)
as Police Substation Chief Moriarty
Frisco Waterfront (1935)
as Corrigan
Laughing at Trouble (1936)
as Bill Norton
Night Wind (1948)
as Sheriff Hamilton
I'm from Missouri (1939)
as Walt Bliss
Little Nellie Kelly (1940)
as Sergeant McGowan
All of Me (1934)
as Welfare Island Guard (uncredited)
The Mystery Man (1935)
as Managing Editor Marvin
I Love a Bandleader (1945)
as Charles Gibley
Here Comes Cookie (1935)
as Broken-Nose Reilly
Broadway Gondolier (1935)
as Uncle Andy
36 Hours to Kill (1936)
as Doyle - Process Server
The Affair of Susan (1935)
as Hogan
Can This Be Dixie? (1936)
as Sheriff N.B.F. Rider
Sudden Money (1939)
as McPherson
Face in the Sky (1933)
as Cop (uncredited)
Ticket to a Crime (1934)
as Detective Lt. John Aloysius McGinnis
Welcome Home (1935)
as Michael Shaughnessy
Wharf Angel (1934)
as Brooklyn Jack
Little Orphan Annie (1938)
as Mike Moriarty
Flight Into Nowhere (1938)
as Ike Matthews
The Timber Trail (1948)
as Jed Baker
Make a Million (1935)
as Pete
Army Surgeon (1942)
as Brooklyn
City Limits (1934)
as King, a Hobo
Shamrock Hill (1949)
as Michael Rogan
Lady by Choice (1934)
as Brannigan
Hot Money (1935)
as Police Sgt. Burke
The Hollywood Handicap (1932)
Actor