J. Farrell MacDonald

Biography

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 sev…

Movies & TV Shows

1. It's a Wonderful Life (1946) — Man Whose Grandfather Planted Tree (uncredited)
2. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) — The Photographer
3. My Darling Clementine (1946) — Mac the barman
4. Meet John Doe (1941) — 'Sourpuss'
5. The Palm Beach Story (1942) — Officer O'Donnell (uncredited)
6. Topper (1937) — Policeman
7. The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947) — Mac (uncredited)
8. Fallen Angel (1945) — Bank Guard (uncredited)
9. The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944) — Sheriff (uncredited)
10. Woman on the Run (1950) — Cap, the Retired Ferryboat Captain
11. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945) — Mr. Carney The Junkman (uncredited)
12. Superman and the Mole Men (1951) — Pop Shannon
13. The Iron Horse (1925) — Corporal Casey
14. Hangover Square (1945) — Street Vendor (uncredited)
15. Reap the Wild Wind (1942) — Port Captain
16. Dark Command (1940) — Dave
17. The Whole Town's Talking (1935) — Prison Warden (uncredited)
18. The Maltese Falcon (1931) — Det. Sgt. Tom Polhaus
19. The Great Lie (1941) — Dr. Ferguson
20. Sitting Pretty (1948) — Cop (uncredited)
21. Show Boat (1936) — Windy MacLaine
22. 3 Bad Men (1926) — Mike Costigan
23. The Ape Man (1943) — Captain O'Brien
24. Me and My Gal (1932) — Pop Riley
25. In Old Arizona (1928) — Stage Passenger (uncredited)
26. Bowery at Midnight (1942) — Capt. Mitchell
27. The Sin of Harold Diddlebock (1947) — Desk Sergeant (uncredited)
28. Captains of the Clouds (1942) — Dr. Neville
29. The Stolen Jools (1931) — Policeman
30. Johnny Angel (1945) — Capt. Angel
31. Star of Midnight (1935) — Inspector Doremus
32. Other Men's Women (1931) — Peg-Leg
33. Whispering Smith (1948) — Bill Baggs
34. No Man of Her Own (1932) — "Dickie" Collins
35. Pillow of Death (1945)
36. The Great Moment (1944) — The Priest
37. The Living Ghost (1942) — Police Lt. 'Pete' Peterson
38. The Thirteenth Guest (1932) — Captain Ryan
39. The Painted Desert (1931) — Jeff Cameron
40. Here Comes the Groom (1951) — Husband on Airplane (uncredited)

Directed

1. His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz (1914) — Director
2. The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1914) — Director
3. The Magic Cloak of Oz (1914) — Director
4. Over the Fence (1917) — Director
5. Rory o' the Bogs (1913) — Director
6. Samson (1914) — Director
7. The Backslider (1914) — Director
8. Lonesome Luke, Social Gangster (1915) — Director