En route from his native New Zealand to the U.K., handsome, dark-haired John Batten enjoyed a stopover in San Francisco where a friend persuaded him to try Hollywood. Signed by Cecil B. DeMille, Batten played a miniscule bit in The Ten Commandments (1923) and had supporting roles in Backstage (1927), The Godless Girl (1929), and The Chorus Kid (1930), after which he finally continued his journey. He became a star, albeit briefly, in such British films as the old-fashioned Under the Greenwood Tree (1929), the English language version of Lillian Harvey's The Love Waltz (aka Liebeswaltzer [1930]), and the disaster epic Men Like These (aka Trapped in a Submarine [1931]). He continued to balance stage and screen work.
| Title | Year | Editors' Rating | User Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
For Those in Peril
Actor |
1944 | |||
|
The Church Mouse
Actor |
1934 | |||
|
As Good as New
Actor |
1933 | |||
|
Call Me Mame
Actor |
1933 | |||
|
High Finance
Actor |
1933 | |||
|
The Wonderful Story
Actor |
1932 | |||
|
Trapped in a Submarine
Actor |
1931 | |||
|
Greenwood Tree
Actor |
1930 | |||
|
The Great Game
Actor |
1930 | |||
|
The Love Waltz
Actor |
1930 | |||
|
Under the Greenwood Tree
Actor |
1929 | |||
|
Chorus Kid
Actor |
1928 | |||
|
The Battle of the Sexes
Actor |
1928 |