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.
Movie | Superman and the Mole-Men | Pop Shannon | 1951-11-23 |
Movie | Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell | Mr. Kroeger | 1951-08-01 |
Movie | Here Comes the Groom | Husband on Airplane | 1951-09-20 |
Movie | Dakota Lil | Ellis | 1950-02-17 |
Movie | The Daltons' Women | Alvin | 1950-02-25 |
Movie | When Willie Comes Marching Home | Gilby - Pharmacist (uncredited) | 1950-02-17 |
Movie | Hostile Country | Mr. Lane (uncredited) | 1950-03-24 |
Movie | Woman on the Run | Cap, the Retired Ferryboat Captain | 1950-11-10 |
Movie | You're My Everything | Doorman (uncredited) | 1949-07-22 |
Movie | Streets of San Francisco | Pop Lockhart | 1949-04-15 |
Movie | The Dalton Gang | Judge Price | 1949-10-20 |
Movie | Sitting Pretty | Cop (uncredited) | 1948-03-10 |
Movie | Panhandle | Doc Cooper | 1948-02-22 |
Movie | If You Knew Susie | Police Sergeant (uncredited) | 1948-02-07 |
Movie | Fury at Furnace Creek | Pops Murphy (uncredited) | 1948-04-30 |
Movie | The Walls of Jericho | Bailiff (uncredited) | 1948-11-22 |
Movie | Belle Starr's Daughter | Doc Benson | 1948-11-13 |
Movie | Whispering Smith | Bill Baggs | 1948-12-09 |
Movie | Trouble Preferred | Apartment House Manager (uncredited) | 1948-12-31 |
Movie | Web of Danger | Scotty MacKronish - Bus Driver | 1947-06-10 |
Movie | The Sin of Harold Diddlebock | Desk Sergeant (uncredited) | 1947-04-04 |
Movie | Keeper of the Bees | Postmaster | 1947-07-10 |
Movie | The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer | Mac, Bailiff (uncredited) | 1947-09-01 |
Movie | Christmas Eve | Policeman (uncredited) | 1947-10-31 |
Movie | Thunder in the Valley | McPherson - Innkeeper | 1947-11-01 |
Movie | Joe Palooka, Champ | Long-Count Bowman | 1946-05-26 |
Movie | Smoky | Jim, the Cook | 1946-06-26 |
Movie | My Darling Clementine | Mac the barman | 1946-10-17 |
Movie | It's a Wonderful Life | Man Whose Grandfather Planted Tree (uncredited) | 1946-12-20 |
Movie | Goodbye, Weeds | Gardener | 1946-10-30 |
Movie | Hangover Square | Street Vendor (uncredited) | 1945-02-07 |
Movie | Circumstantial Evidence | Jury Foreman | 1945-04-20 |
Movie | A Tree Grows in Brooklyn | Mr. Carney The Junkman (uncredited) | 1945-02-28 |
Movie | Johnny Angel | Capt. Angel | 1945-10-25 |
Movie | Fallen Angel | Bank Guard (uncredited) | 1945-11-15 |
Movie | Pillow of Death | 1945-12-14 | |
Movie | Texas Masquerade | John Martindale | 1944-02-08 |
Movie | Greenwich Village | O'Shea, policeman | 1944-09-27 |
Movie | The Great Moment | The Priest | 1944-07-18 |
Movie | Harrigan's Kid | Frank (uncredited) | 1943-03-01 |
Movie | The Ape Man | Captain O'Brien | 1943-03-05 |
Movie | Tiger Fangs | Geoffrey MacCardle | 1943-09-10 |
Movie | True to Life | Man (uncredited) | 1943-12-24 |
Movie | The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek | Sheriff (uncredited) | 1943-12-12 |
Movie | Reap the Wild Wind | Port Captain | 1942-03-26 |
Movie | Captains of the Clouds | Dr. Neville (from Churchtown) | 1942-02-12 |
Movie | Private Snuffy Smith | Gen. Rosewater | 1942-01-16 |
Movie | One Thrilling Night | Police Sergeant Haggerty | 1942-06-05 |
Movie | Wild Bill Hickok Rides | Henry Hathaway | 1942-01-31 |
Movie | The Living Ghost | Police Lt. 'Pete' Peterson | 1942-08-11 |
Movie | The McGuerins from Brooklyn | Cop | 1942-12-31 |
Movie | Bowery at Midnight | Capt. Mitchell | 1942-10-30 |
Movie | Phantom Killer | Police Captain | 1942-10-02 |
Movie | The Palm Beach Story | Officer O'Donnell (uncredited) | 1942-08-28 |
Movie | In Old Cheyenne | Tim Casey | 1941-04-04 |
Movie | The Great Lie | Dr. Ferguson | 1941-04-05 |
Movie | Meet John Doe | 'Sourpuss' | 1941-03-14 |
Movie | Law of the Timber | Adams | 1941-12-19 |
Movie | Broadway Limited | Mulcahey | 1941-06-13 |
Movie | Riders of the Timberline | Jim Kerrigan | 1941-09-17 |
Movie | Light of Western Stars | Bill Stillwell | 1940-04-17 |
Movie | Dark Command | Dave | 1940-04-15 |
Movie | Knights of the Range | Cappy | 1940-02-23 |
Movie | I Take This Oath | Insp. Tim Ryan | 1940-05-20 |
Movie | Prairie Law | Sheriff Jim Austin | 1940-06-14 |
Movie | Friendly Neighbors | Sheiff Potts | 1940-11-17 |
Movie | Pony Express Days | Nevada Jim | 1940-07-13 |
Movie | Untamed | Doctor Billar | 1940-07-24 |
Movie | Stagecoach War | Jeff Chapman | 1940-07-12 |
Movie | The Last Alarm | Jim Hadley | 1940-06-25 |
Movie | Susannah of the Mounties | Pat O'Hannegan | 1939-06-13 |
Movie | Zenobia | Judge | 1939-04-21 |
Movie | The Lone Ranger Rides Again | Craig Dolan | 1939-02-25 |
Movie | Mickey the Kid | Sheriff J.J. Willoughby | 1939-07-03 |
Movie | East Side of Heaven | Doorman (uncredited) | 1939-04-07 |
Movie | The Housekeeper's Daughter | Captain | 1939-10-26 |
Movie | The Gentleman from Arizona | Wild Bill Coburn | 1939-12-25 |
Movie | Conspiracy | Captain of the Falcon | 1939-08-01 |
Movie | Full Confession | Joe, Police Sergeant (uncredited) | 1939-09-08 |
Movie | Coast Guard | Capt. Hansen (uncredited) | 1939-08-04 |
Movie | They Shall Have Music | Police Chief (uncredited) | 1939-08-18 |
Movie | White Banners | Dr. Thompson | 1938-06-23 |
Movie | Numbered Woman | Capt. Ryan | 1938-05-22 |
Movie | The Crowd Roars | Father Patrick Ryan | 1938-08-06 |
Movie | My Old Kentucky Home | Mayor Jim Hopkins | 1938-02-09 |
Movie | State Police | Charlie Wheeler | 1938-03-18 |
Movie | Barefoot Boy | Warden | 1938-08-03 |
Movie | Submarine Patrol | CWO 'Sails' Quincannon | 1938-11-25 |
Movie | There Goes My Heart | Officer | 1938-10-14 |
Movie | Come On, Rangers | Colonel Forbes | 1938-11-21 |
Movie | Little Orphan Annie | 'Pop' Corrigan | 1938-12-02 |
Movie | The Last Express | William Barton (Detective Agency Head) | 1938-10-27 |
Movie | Gang Bullets | Chief Reardon | 1938-11-10 |
Movie | Slim | Pop | 1937-06-24 |
Movie | Slave Ship | Proprietor | 1937-06-16 |
Movie | Maid of Salem | Captain of Ship | 1937-02-12 |
Movie | Flying Fists | Bill 'One-Punch' Fagin | 1937-07-01 |
Movie | The Great Barrier | Major Rogers | 1937-01-02 |
Movie | The Hit Parade | Sgt. O'Hara | 1937-04-26 |
Movie | Parnell | Irish Laborer (uncredited) | 1937-06-04 |
Movie | County Fair | Calvin Williams | 1937-11-24 |
Movie | Courage of the West | Buck Saunders | 1937-12-01 |
Movie | Roaring Timber | Andrew MacKinley | 1937-07-03 |
Movie | The Game That Kills | Joe Holland | 1937-09-21 |
Movie | My Dear Miss Aldrich | 'Doc' Howe | 1937-09-17 |
Movie | Topper | Policeman | 1937-07-16 |
Movie | Shadows of the Orient | Inspector Sullivan | 1937-08-18 |
Movie | Exclusive Story | Michael Devlin | 1936-01-17 |
Movie | Riffraff | 'Brains' | 1936-01-03 |
Movie | Florida Special | Captain Timothy Harrigan | 1936-04-21 |
Movie | Show Boat | Windy MacLaine | 1936-05-17 |
Movie | Mysterious Crossing | Police Chief Bullock | 1936-12-27 |
Movie | Square Shooter | Sheriff | 1935-01-21 |
Movie | The Whole Town's Talking | Prison Warden (uncredited) | 1935-02-22 |
Movie | Star of Midnight | Inspector Doremus | 1935-04-19 |
Movie | Northern Frontier | Inspector | 1935-02-01 |
Movie | Maybe It's Love | The Cop | 1935-01-12 |
Movie | Our Little Girl | Hobo | 1935-01-01 |
Movie | Romance in Manhattan | Officer Murphy | 1935-01-11 |
Movie | The Best Man Wins | Captain--Harbor Patrol | 1935-01-14 |
Movie | The Irish in Us | Capt. Jackson | 1935-07-31 |
Movie | Waterfront Lady | Capt. O'Brien | 1935-10-04 |
Movie | Stormy | Trinidad Dorn | 1935-10-21 |
Movie | Let 'em Have It | Mr. Keefer | 1935-05-15 |
Movie | Danger Ahead | Harry Cromwell | 1935-08-01 |
Movie | Hitch Hike Lady | Judge Hale | 1935-12-28 |
Movie | The Healer | Applejack | 1935-06-14 |
Movie | The Arizonian | Marshal Andy Jordan | 1935-06-27 |
Movie | Front Page Woman | Hallohan | 1935-07-11 |
Movie | Man of Two Worlds | Michael | 1934-01-13 |
Movie | The Crosby Case | The Doorman--Mike Costello | 1934-03-05 |
Movie | The Crime Doctor | Kemp | 1934-03-14 |
Movie | Once to Every Woman | John Flannigan | 1934-03-24 |
Movie | Peg o' My Heart | Patrick Shamus 'Pat' O'Connell | 1933-05-26 |
Movie | The Working Man | Henry 'Hank' Davis | 1933-04-20 |
Movie | Laughing at Life | Prison Warden | 1933-07-12 |
Movie | The Iron Master | J.C. Stillman | 1933-02-04 |
Movie | I Loved a Woman | Shuster | 1933-09-23 |
Movie | Murder on the Campus | Police Capt. Ed Kyne | 1933-12-26 |
Movie | How to Break 90 #6: Fine Points | 1933-08-04 | |
Movie | Myrt and Marge | Grady | 1933-11-25 |
Movie | The Power and the Glory | Mulligan | 1933-10-06 |
Movie | Madame Racketeer | John Adams | 1932-07-23 |
Movie | The Strange Love of Molly Louvain | Police Sgt. J.B. Antrim (uncredited) | 1932-05-28 |
Movie | Week-End Marriage | Mr. Davis | 1932-06-18 |
Movie | Scandal for Sale | Treadway | 1932-04-01 |
Movie | Hotel Continental | Detective Martin | 1932-02-21 |
Movie | The Hurricane Express | Jim Baker | 1932-08-01 |
Movie | Under Eighteen | Pop Evans | 1932-01-02 |
Movie | Discarded Lovers | Sommers | 1932-01-03 |
Movie | Steady Company | Hogan | 1932-03-13 |
Movie | Probation | George Holman | 1932-03-15 |
Movie | 70,000 Witnesses | State Coach | 1932-09-09 |
Movie | Me and My Gal | Pop Riley | 1932-12-04 |
Movie | No Man of Her Own | 'Dickie' Collins | 1932-12-30 |
Movie | The Thirteenth Guest | Captain Ryan | 1932-08-09 |
Movie | Men Are Such Fools | Prison Warden Randolph | 1932-11-18 |
Movie | The Racing Strain | Mr. Martin | 1932-12-16 |
Movie | The Phantom Express | D.J. 'Smokey' Nolan | 1932-08-15 |
Movie | The Pride of the Legion | Chief Scott | 1932-10-17 |
Movie | Hearts of Humanity | Tom O'Hara | 1932-08-31 |
Movie | Heritage of the Desert | Adam Naab | 1932-09-30 |
Movie | The Stolen Jools | Policeman | 1931-04-04 |
Movie | The Millionaire | Dan Lewis | 1931-05-01 |
Movie | The Easiest Way | Ben Murdock | 1931-02-07 |
Movie | Other Men's Women | Peg-Leg | 1931-01-17 |
Movie | Too Young to Marry | Rev. Stump | 1931-05-03 |
Movie | The Painted Desert | Jeff Cameron | 1931-01-18 |
Movie | How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 9: 'The Driver' | 1931-08-18 | |
Movie | The Brat | Timson, the butler | 1931-08-23 |
Movie | The Spirit of Notre Dame | The Coach | 1931-10-13 |
Movie | The Maltese Falcon | Det. Sgt. Tom Polhaus | 1931-05-23 |
Movie | Sporting Blood | MacGuire | 1931-08-08 |
Movie | Stranger in Town | Scout | 1931-08-06 |
Movie | The Squaw Man | Big Bill | 1931-07-21 |
Movie | Song o' My Heart | Rafferty | 1930-03-11 |
Movie | Men Without Women | Costello | 1930-02-08 |
Movie | The Girl of the Golden West | Sonora Slim | 1930-10-12 |
Movie | River's End | O'Toole | 1930-11-01 |
Movie | The Truth About Youth | Colonel Graham | 1930-11-03 |
Movie | Strong Boy | Angus McGregor | 1929-03-03 |
Movie | Masked Emotions | Will Whitten | 1929-06-22 |
Movie | Masquerade | Joe Hickey | 1929-07-14 |
Movie | South Sea Rose | Hackett | 1929-12-09 |
Movie | Happy Days | Train Conductor | 1929-09-16 |
Movie | Abie's Irish Rose | Patrick Murphy | 1928-04-19 |
Movie | None But the Brave | John Craig | 1928-08-05 |
Movie | Bringing Up Father | Jiggs | 1928-03-18 |
Movie | 4 Devils | The Clown | 1928-10-03 |
Movie | In Old Arizona | Stage Passenger (uncredited) | 1928-12-25 |
Movie | Riley the Cop | James 'Aloysius' Riley | 1928-11-25 |
Movie | Cradle Snatchers | George Martin | 1927-05-28 |
Movie | Paid to Love | Peter Roberts | 1927-07-23 |
Movie | Ankles Preferred | McGuire | 1927-02-27 |
Movie | East Side, West Side | Pug Malone | 1927-10-09 |
Movie | Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans | The Photographer | 1927-11-04 |
Movie | The Shamrock Handicap | Con O'Shea | 1926-05-02 |
Movie | The First Year | Mr. Barstow | 1926-01-24 |
Movie | A Trip to Chinatown | Benjamin Strong | 1926-06-06 |
Movie | 3 Bad Men | Mike Costigan | 1926-08-28 |
Movie | Bertha the Sewing Machine Girl | Sloan | 1926-12-19 |
Movie | The Lucky Horseshoe | Mack | 1925-08-30 |
Movie | Kentucky Pride | Donavan | 1925-09-06 |
Movie | Lightnin' | Lemuel Townsend | 1925-08-23 |
Movie | Thank You | Andy | 1925-10-05 |
Movie | The Fighting Heart | Jerry | 1925-10-18 |
Movie | Mademoiselle Midnight | Duc de Moing (Prologue) | 1924-04-14 |
Movie | Western Luck | 'Chuck' Campbell | 1924-06-22 |
Movie | The Signal Tower | Pete | 1924-07-19 |
Movie | The Iron Horse | Corporal Casey | 1924-08-24 |
Movie | While Paris Sleeps | 1923-01-21 | |
Movie | Racing Hearts | Silas Martin | 1923-07-15 |
Movie | Drifting | Murphy | 1923-08-26 |
Movie | Sky High | Jim Frazer (as J. Farrel MacDonald) | 1922-01-15 |
Movie | Come on Over | Michael Morahan | 1922-03-11 |
Movie | The Ghost Breaker | Sam Marcum | 1922-09-10 |
Movie | The Young Rajah | Amhad Beg - Prime Minister | 1922-11-11 |
Movie | Manslaughter | (uncredited) | 1922-09-24 |
Movie | The Wallop | Neuces River | 1921-05-09 |
Movie | Trailin' | Joseph Piotto | 1921-12-11 |
Movie | Action | Mormon Peters | 1921-09-12 |
Movie | Bullet Proof | Jim Boone | 1920-05-03 |
Movie | Hitchin' Posts | Joe Alabam (as J. Farrell McDonald) | 1920-09-13 |
Movie | A Fight For Love | The Priest | 1919-03-24 |
Movie | Roped | Butler | 1919-01-03 |
Movie | Riders of Vengeance | Buell | 1919-06-09 |
Movie | Marked Men | Tom Placer McGraw | 1919-12-21 |
Movie | The Outcasts of Poker Flat | 1919-06-29 | |
Movie | A Sporting Chance | Luther Ripley aka Kennedy | 1919-06-28 |
Movie | Rags | Paul Ferguson (as Joseph Farrell MacDonald) | 1915-08-02 |
Movie | A Timely Repentance | Louis Nordell | 1912-03-11 |
Movie | The Dream | Secondary Role (uncredited) | 1911-01-23 |
Movie | 'Tween Two Loves | Farmer Howard | 1911-09-28 |
Movie | The Lighthouse Keeper | The Lighthouse Keeper | 1911-05-18 |