J. Farrell MacDonald
Acting
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia John Farrell MacDonald (June 6, 1875 – August 2, 1952) was an American character actor and director. He played supporting roles and occasional leads. He appeared in over 325 films over a 41-year career from 1911 to 1951, and directed forty-four silent films from 1912 to 1917. MacDonald was the principal director of L. Frank Baum's Oz Film Manufacturing Company, and he can frequently be seen in the films of Frank Capra, Preston Sturges and, especially, John Ford. Early in his career, MacDonald was a singer in minstrel shows, and he toured the United States extensively for two years with stage productions. He made his first silent film in 1911, a dramatic short entitled The Scarlett Letter made by Carl Laemmle's Independent Moving Pictures Company (IMP), the forerunner of Universal Pictures,. He continued to act in numerous films each year from that time on, and by 1912 he was directing them as well. The first film he directed was The Worth of a Man, another dramatic short, again for IMP, and he was to direct 43 more films until his last in 1917, Over the Fence, which he co-directed with Harold Lloyd. MacDonald had crossed paths with Lloyd several years earlier, when Lloyd was an extra and MacDonald had given him much-needed work – and he did the same with Hal Roach, both of whom appearing in small roles in The Patchwork Girl of Oz, which MacDonald directed in 1914. When Roach set up his own studio, with Lloyd as his principal attraction, he hired MacDonald to direct. By 1918, MacDonald, who was to become one of the most beloved character men in Hollywood, had given up directing and was acting full-time, predominantly in Westerns and Irish comedies. He first worked under director John Ford in 1919's A Fight for Love. In all, Ford would use MacDonald on twenty-five films between 1919 and 1950. With a voice that matched his personality, MacDonald made the transition to sound films easily, with no noticeable drop in his acting output – if anything, it went up. In 1931, for instance, MacDonald appeared in 14 films – among them the first version of The Maltese Falcon, in which he played "Detective Tom Polhaus" – and in 22 of them in 1932. Although he played laborers, policemen, military men and priests, among many other characters, his roles were usually a cut above a "bit part". His characters usually had names, and he was most often credited for his performances. A highlight of this period was his performance as the hobo "Mr. Tramp" in Our Little Girl with Shirley Temple (1935). In the 1940s, MacDonald was part of Preston Sturges' unofficial "stock company" of character actors, appearing in seven films written and directed by Sturges. MacDonald appeared in Sullivan's Travels, The Palm Beach Story, The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, The Great Moment, The Sin of Harold Diddlebock, Unfaithfully Yours and The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend, Sturges' last American film. Earlier, MacDonald had also appeared in The Power and the Glory, which Sturges wrote. His work on Sturges' films was generally uncredited. He was notable in 1946 in John Ford's My Darling Clementine in which he played "Mac," the bartender in the town saloon. MacDonald also had uncredited roles in It's a Wonderful Life and Here Comes The Groom.
Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down the Line
Self (archive footage)
Superman and the Mole Men
Pop Shannon
Here Comes the Groom
Husband on Airplane (uncredited)
Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell
Mr. Kroeger
Woman on the Run
Cap, the Retired Ferryboat Captain
Hostile Country
Mr. Lane (uncredited)
The Daltons' Women
Alvin
Dakota Lil
Ellis
When Willie Comes Marching Home
Gilby - Pharmacist (uncredited)
The Dalton Gang
Judge Price
You're My Everything
Doorman (uncredited)
Streets of San Francisco
Pop Lockhart
Trouble Preferred
Apartment House Manager (uncredited)
Whispering Smith
Bill Baggs
Shep Comes Home
Sheriff Cap Weatherby
The Walls of Jericho
Bailiff (uncredited)
Belle Starr's Daughter
Doc Benson
Fury at Furnace Creek
Pops Murphy (uncredited)
Sitting Pretty
Cop (uncredited)
Panhandle
Doc Cooper
If You Knew Susie
Police Sergeant (uncredited)
Thunder in the Valley
McPherson - Innkeeper
Christmas Eve
Policeman (uncredited)
The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer
Mac, Bailiff (uncredited)
Keeper of the Bees
Postmaster
Web of Danger
Scotty MacKronish - Bus Driver
The Sin of Harold Diddlebock
Desk Sergeant (uncredited)
It's a Wonderful Life
Man Whose Grandfather Planted Tree (uncredited)
Goodbye, Weeds
Gardener
My Darling Clementine
Mac the barman
Smoky
Jim, the Cook
Joe Palooka, Champ
Long-Count Bowman
Pillow of Death
Fallen Angel
Bank Guard (uncredited)
Johnny Angel
Capt. Angel
Circumstantial Evidence
Jury Foreman
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Mr. Carney The Junkman (uncredited)
Hangover Square
Street Vendor (uncredited)
Greenwich Village
O'Shea, policeman
The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
Sheriff (uncredited)
The Great Moment
The Priest
Texas Masquerade
John Martindale
True to Life
Man (uncredited)
Tiger Fangs
Geoffrey MacCardle
The Ape Man
Captain O'Brien
Harrigan's Kid
Frank (uncredited)
The McGuerins from Brooklyn
Cop
Bowery at Midnight
Capt. Mitchell
Phantom Killer
Police Captain
The Palm Beach Story
Officer O'Donnell (uncredited)
The Living Ghost
Police Lt. 'Pete' Peterson
One Thrilling Night
Police Sergeant Haggerty
Reap the Wild Wind
Port Captain
Captains of the Clouds
Dr. Neville
Wild Bill Hickok Rides
Henry Hathaway
Private Snuffy Smith
Gen. Rosewater
Law of the Timber
Adams
Riders of the Timberline
Jim Kerrigan
Broadway Limited
Mulcahey
The Great Lie
Dr. Ferguson
In Old Cheyenne
Tim Casey
Meet John Doe
'Sourpuss'
Friendly Neighbors
Sheiff Potts
Untamed
Dr. Billar
Pony Express Days
Nevada Jim
Stagecoach War
Jeff Chapman
The Last Alarm
Jim Hadley
Prairie Law
Sheriff Jim Austin
I Take This Oath
Insp. Tim Ryan
The Light of Western Stars
Bill Stillwell
Dark Command
Dave
Knights of the Range
Cappy
The Gentleman from Arizona
Wild Bill Coburn
The Housekeeper's Daughter
Captain
Full Confession
Joe, Police Sergeant (uncredited)
They Shall Have Music
Police Chief (uncredited)
Coast Guard
Capt. Hansen (uncredited)
Conspiracy
Captain of the Falcon
Mickey the Kid
Sheriff J.J. Willoughby
Susannah of the Mounties
Pat O'Hannegan
Zenobia
Judge
East Side of Heaven
Doorman (uncredited)
The Lone Ranger Rides Again
Craig Dolan
Little Orphan Annie
'Pop' Corrigan
Submarine Patrol
CWO 'Sails' Quincannon
Come On, Rangers
Colonel Forbes
Gang Bullets
Chief Reardon
The Last Express
William Barton (Detective Agency Head)
There Goes My Heart
Officer
The Crowd Roars
Father Patrick Ryan
Barefoot Boy
Warden
White Banners
Dr. Thompson
Numbered Woman
Capt. Mike Ryan
Extortion
Coach Pearson
State Police
Charlie Wheeler
My Old Kentucky Home
Mayor Jim Hopkins
Courage of the West
Buck Saunders
County Fair
Calvin Williams
The Game That Kills
Joe Holland
My Dear Miss Aldrich
'Doc' Howe
Topper
Policeman
Roaring Timber
Andrew MacKinley
Flying Fists
Bill 'One-Punch' Fagin
Slim
Pop
Slave Ship
Proprietor
Parnell
Irish Laborer
Parnell
Irish Laborer (uncredited)
The Hit Parade
Sgt. O'Hara
Maid of Salem
Captain of Ship
The Great Barrier
Major Rogers
Mysterious Crossing
Police Chief Bullock
Show Boat
Windy MacLaine
Florida Special
Harrigan
Exclusive Story
Michael Devlin
Riffraff
'Brains'
Hitch Hike Lady
Judge Hale
Fighting Youth
Coach Parker
Stormy
Trinidad Dorn
Waterfront Lady
Capt. O'Brien
Danger Ahead
Harry Cromwell
The Irish in Us
Capt. Jackson
Front Page Woman
Hallohan
Shadows of the Orient
Inspector Sullivan
The Arizonian
Marshal Andy Jordan
The Healer
Applejack
Let 'em Have It
Mr. Keefer
Swellhead
Umpire
Star of Midnight
Inspector Doremus
The Whole Town's Talking
Prison Warden (uncredited)
Northern Frontier
Inspector
Square Shooter
Sheriff
The Best Man Wins
Captain--Harbor Patrol
Maybe It's Love
The Cop
Romance in Manhattan
Murphy
Our Little Girl
Hobo
Beggar's Holiday
Pop Malloy
Once to Every Woman
Flannigan
The Crime Doctor
Kemp
The Crosby Case
The Doorman--Mike Costello
Man of Two Worlds
Michael
Murder on the Campus
Police Capt. Ed Kyne
Under Secret Orders
John Burke
Myrt and Marge
Grady
The Power and the Glory
Mulligan
I Loved a Woman
Shuster
How to Break 90 #6: Fine Points
Himself
Laughing at Life
Prison Warden
Peg o' My Heart
Patrick Shamus 'Pat' O'Connell
The Working Man
Henry 'Hank' Davis
The Vanishing Frontier
Waco
The Iron Master
J.C. Stillman
No Man of Her Own
"Dickie" Collins
The Racing Strain
Mr. Martin
Me and My Gal
Pop Riley
Men Are Such Fools
Prison Warden Randolph
The Pride of the Legion
Chief Scott
Heritage of the Desert
Adam Naab
This Sporting Age
Jerry O'Day
70,000 Witnesses
State Coach
Hearts of Humanity
Tom O'Hara
The Phantom Express
D.J. 'Smokey' Nolan
The Thirteenth Guest
Captain Ryan
The Hurricane Express
Jim Baker
Madame Racketeer
John Adams
Week-End Marriage
Mr. Davis
The Strange Love of Molly Louvain
Police Sgt. J.B. Antrim (uncredited)
Scandal for Sale
Treadway
Probation
George Holman
Steady Company
Hogan
Hotel Continental
Detective Martin
Discarded Lovers
Sommers
Under Eighteen
Pop Evans
Touchdown!
Pop Stewart
The Spirit of Notre Dame
The Coach
The Brat
Timson, the butler
How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 9: 'The Driver'
Sporting Blood
MacGuire
Stranger in Town
Scout
The Squaw Man
Big Bill
The Maltese Falcon
Det. Sgt. Tom Polhaus
Too Young to Marry
Rev. Stump
The Millionaire
Dan Lewis
Woman Hungry
Buzzard
The Stolen Jools
Policeman
The Easiest Way
Ben Murdock
The Painted Desert
Jeff Cameron
Other Men's Women
Peg-Leg
The Truth About Youth
Colonel Graham
River's End
O'Toole
The Girl of the Golden West
Sonora Slim
Song o' My Heart
Rafferty
Men without Women
Costello
South Sea Rose
Hackett
The Painted Angel
Pa Hudler
Happy Days
Train Conductor
Masquerade
Joe Hickey
Masked Emotions
Will Whitten
Strong Boy
Angus McGregor
In Old Arizona
Stage Passenger (uncredited)
Riley the Cop
James 'Aloysius' Riley
4 Devils
The Clown
None But the Brave
John Craig
Abie's Irish Rose
Patrick Murphy
Bringing Up Father
Jiggs
The Cohens and the Kellys in Paris
Patrick Kelly
Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
The Photographer
East Side, West Side
Pug Malone
Paid to Love
Peter Roberts
Cradle Snatchers
George Martin
Ankles Preferred
McGuire
Bertha the Sewing Machine Girl
Sloan
The Country Beyond
Sgt. Cassidy
The Family Upstairs
Joe Heller
3 Bad Men
Mike Costigan
The Last Frontier
Wild Bill Hickok
A Trip to Chinatown
Benjamin Strong
The Shamrock Handicap
Con O'Shea
The Dixie Merchant
Jean Paul Fippany
The First Year
Mr. Barstow
The Fighting Heart
Jerry
Thank You
Andy
The Iron Horse
Corporal Casey
Kentucky Pride
Donavan
The Lucky Horseshoe
Mack
Lightnin'
Lemuel Townsend
Let Women Alone
Commodore John Gordon
Those Who Dare
The Brass Bowl
Hickey
Gerald Cranston's Lady
Rennie
The Signal Tower
Pete
Western Luck
'Chuck' Campbell
Mademoiselle Midnight
Duc de Moing (Prologue)
The Storm Daughter
Con Mullaney
Fashionable Fakers
Pat O'Donnell
The Age of Desire
Dan Reagan
Drifting
Murphy
Racing Hearts
Silas Martin
Quicksands
Col. Patterson
While Paris Sleeps
The Young Rajah
Amhad Beg - Prime Minister
Manslaughter
(uncredited)
The Ghost Breaker
Sam Marcum
The Bonded Woman
Captain Gaskell
Over the Border
Peter Galbraith
Tracks
Jack Bess
The Bachelor Daddy
Joe Pelton
Come on Over
Michael Morahan
Sky High
Jim Frazer (as J. Farrel MacDonald)
Trailin'
Joseph Piotto
Riding with Death
Sheriff Pat Garrity
Action
Mormon Peters
The Wallop
Neuces River
Desperate Youth
The Freeze-Out
Bobtail McGuire
Hitchin' Posts
Joe Alabam (as J. Farrell McDonald)
The Path She Chose
Father
Bullet Proof
Jim Boone
Marked Men
Tom Placer McGraw
This Hero Stuff
Softnose Smith
The Outcasts of Poker Flat
A Sporting Chance
Luther Ripley aka Kennedy
Trixie from Broadway
Slim Hayes
Riders of Vengeance
Buell
A Fight For Love
The Priest
Molly of the Follies
Swannick
Roped
Butler
Fair Enough
Chief of Police Morgan
$5,000 Reward
Norcross
Rags
Paul Ferguson (as Joseph Farrell MacDonald)
The Calling of Louis Mona
A Timely Repentance
Louis Nordell
'Tween Two Loves
Farmer Howard
The Lighthouse Keeper
The Lighthouse Keeper
The Scarlet Letter
The Dream
Secondary Role (uncredited)
The Time-Lock Safe
Office Worker