J. Farrell MacDonald
Known For: Acting
Gender: Male
Date of Birth: June 5, 1875
Day of Death: August 2, 1952 (77 years old)
Place of Birth: Waterbury, Connecticut, USA
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.
1997
1951
1950
1949
1948
Actor Doc Cooper
Panhandle
Actor Bailiff (uncredited)
The Walls of Jericho
Actor Pops Murphy (uncredited)
Fury at Furnace Creek
Actor Bill Baggs
Whispering Smith
Actor Doc Benson
Belle Starr's Daughter
Actor Cop (uncredited)
Sitting Pretty
Actor Police Sergeant (uncredited)
If You Knew Susie
Actor Sheriff Cap Weatherby
Shep Comes Home
Actor Apartment House Manager (uncredited)
Trouble Preferred
1947
1946
1945
1944
1943
1942
Actor Officer O'Donnell (uncredited)
The Palm Beach Story
Actor Dr. Neville (from Churchtown)
Captains of the Clouds
Actor Police Lt. 'Pete' Peterson
The Living Ghost
Actor Capt. Mitchell
Bowery at Midnight
Actor Port Captain
Reap the Wild Wind
Actor Police Captain
Phantom Killer
Actor Gen. Rosewater
Private Snuffy Smith
Actor Police Sergeant Haggerty
One Thrilling Night
Actor Henry Hathaway
Wild Bill Hickok Rides
Actor Cop
The McGuerins from Brooklyn
1941
1940
Actor Jim Hadley
The Last Alarm
Actor Insp. Tim Ryan
I Take This Oath
Actor Jeff Chapman
Stagecoach War
Actor Dr. Billar
Untamed
Actor Bill Stillwell
Light of Western Stars
Actor Dave
Dark Command
Actor Cappy
Knights of the Range
Actor Nevada Jim
Pony Express Days
Actor Sheiff Potts
Friendly Neighbors
Actor Sheriff Jim Austin
Prairie Law
1939
Actor Joe, Police Sergeant (uncredited)
Full Confession
Actor Judge
Zenobia
Actor Captain of the Falcon
Conspiracy
Actor Pat O'Hannegan
Susannah of the Mounties
Actor Craig Dolan
The Lone Ranger Rides Again
Actor Doorman (uncredited)
East Side of Heaven
Actor Police Chief (uncredited)
They Shall Have Music
Actor Capt. Hansen (uncredited)
Coast Guard
Actor Captain
The Housekeeper's Daughter
Actor Wild Bill Coburn
The Gentleman from Arizona
Actor Sheriff J.J. Willoughby
Mickey the Kid
1938
Actor Warden
Barefoot Boy
Actor Colonel Forbes
Come On, Rangers
Actor CWO 'Sails' Quincannon
Submarine Patrol
Actor Dr. Thompson
White Banners
Actor Chief Reardon
Gang Bullets
Actor Father Patrick Ryan
The Crowd Roars
Actor Officer
There Goes My Heart
Actor Mayor Jim Hopkins
My Old Kentucky Home
Actor William Barton (Detective Agency Head)
The Last Express
Actor Capt. Ryan
Numbered Woman
Actor 'Pop' Corrigan
Little Orphan Annie
Actor Charlie Wheeler
State Police
Actor Coach Pearson
Extortion
1937
Actor Policeman
Topper
Actor Sgt. O'Hara
The Hit Parade
Actor Bill 'One-Punch' Fagin
Flying Fists
Actor Proprietor
Slave Ship
Actor 'Doc' Howe
My Dear Miss Aldrich
Actor Calvin Williams
County Fair
Actor Captain of Ship
Maid of Salem
Actor Joe Holland
The Game That Kills
Actor Pop
Slim
Actor Andrew MacKinley
Roaring Timber
Actor Irish Laborer (uncredited)
Parnell
Actor Buck Saunders
Courage of the West
Actor Major Rogers
The Great Barrier
Actor Irish Laborer
Parnell
1936
1935
Actor Trinidad Dorn
Stormy
Actor Prison Warden (uncredited)
The Whole Town's Talking
Actor Umpire
Swellhead
Actor Applejack
The Healer
Actor Harry Cromwell
Danger Ahead
Actor Inspector Sullivan
Shadows of the Orient
Actor Capt. O'Brien
Waterfront Lady
Actor Murphy
Romance in Manhattan
Actor Captain--Harbor Patrol
The Best Man Wins
Actor Judge Hale
Hitch Hike Lady
Actor Mr. Keefer
Let 'em Have It
Actor Hobo
Our Little Girl
Actor The Cop
Maybe It's Love
Actor Inspector
Northern Frontier
Actor Sheriff
Square Shooter
Actor Inspector Doremus
Star of Midnight
Actor Hallohan
Front Page Woman
Actor Capt. Jackson
The Irish in Us
Actor Marshal Andy Jordan
The Arizonian
Actor Coach Parker
Fighting Youth
1934
1933
Actor Waco
The Vanishing Frontier
Actor Henry 'Hank' Davis
The Working Man
Actor Mulligan
The Power and the Glory
Actor Shuster
I Loved a Woman
Actor Patrick Shamus 'Pat' O'Connell
Peg o' My Heart
Actor Police Capt. Ed Kyne
Murder on the Campus
Actor Prison Warden
Laughing at Life
Actor Grady
Myrt and Marge
Actor John Burke
Under Secret Orders
Actor J.C. Stillman
The Iron Master
Actor Himself
How to Break 90 #6: Fine Points
1932
Actor Jerry O'Day
This Sporting Age
Actor 'Dickie' Collins
No Man of Her Own
Actor Hogan
Steady Company
Actor Captain Ryan
The Thirteenth Guest
Actor D.J. 'Smokey' Nolan
The Phantom Express
Actor Pop Evans
Under Eighteen
Actor Adam Naab
Heritage of the Desert
Actor Detective Martin
Hotel Continental
Actor Treadway
Scandal for Sale
Actor Sommers
Discarded Lovers
Actor Tom O'Hara
Hearts of Humanity
Actor Chief Scott
The Pride of the Legion
Actor George Holman
Probation
Actor Prison Warden Randolph
Men Are Such Fools
Actor Mr. Martin
The Racing Strain
Actor Mr. Davis
Week-End Marriage
Actor Pop Riley
Me and My Gal
Actor John Adams
Madame Racketeer
Actor Jim Baker
The Hurricane Express
Actor Police Sgt. J.B. Antrim (uncredited)
The Strange Love of Molly Louvain
Actor State Coach
70,000 Witnesses
1931
Actor Det. Sgt. Tom Polhaus
The Maltese Falcon
Actor Policeman
The Stolen Jools
Actor Ben Murdock
The Easiest Way
Actor Big Bill
The Squaw Man
Actor Dan Lewis
The Millionaire
Actor MacGuire
Sporting Blood
Actor Peg-Leg
Other Men's Women
Actor Jeff Cameron
The Painted Desert
Actor Timson, the butler
The Brat
Actor Rev. Stump
Too Young to Marry
Actor
How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 9: 'The Driver'
Actor Buzzard
Woman Hungry
Actor Scout
Stranger in Town
Actor The Coach
The Spirit of Notre Dame
Actor Pop Stewart
Touchdown!
