J. Farrell MacDonald
Known for Acting · 275 credits
- Born
- 1875-06-05
- Died
- 1952-08-02
- Place of birth
- Waterbury, Connecticut, USA
- Also known as
- Joseph Farrell MacDonald · John Farrell MacDonald · Farrell Macdonald · J. Farrell McDonald · J.F. McDonald
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 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.
Known For
Movies (275)
It's a Wonderful Life
1946
as Man Whose Grandfather Planted Tree (uncredited)
Goodbye, Weeds
1946
as Gardener
Slim
1937
as Pop
Zenobia
1939
as Judge
Action
1921
as Mormon Peters
Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
1927
as The Photographer
My Darling Clementine
1946
as Mac the barman
Parnell
1937
as Irish Laborer (uncredited)
Reap the Wild Wind
1942
as Port Captain
Fallen Angel
1945
as Bank Guard (uncredited)
Greenwich Village
1944
as O'Shea, policeman
Desperate Youth
1921
Rags
1915
as Paul Ferguson (as Joseph Farrell MacDonald)
Roped
1919
as Butler
Flying Fists
1937
as Bill 'One-Punch' Fagin
Heritage of the Desert
1932
as Adam Naab
Drifting
1923
as Murphy
Western Luck
1924
as 'Chuck' Campbell
Fashionable Fakers
1923
as Pat O'Donnell
Masked Emotions
1929
as Will Whitten
The Millionaire
1931
as Dan Lewis
Superman and the Mole Men
1951
as Pop Shannon
Meet John Doe
1941
as 'Sourpuss'
Ankles Preferred
1927
as McGuire
3 Bad Men
1926
as Mike Costigan
The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer
1947
as Mac (uncredited)
The Crime Doctor
1934
as Kemp
Woman on the Run
1950
as Cap, the Retired Ferryboat Captain
Dark Command
1940
as Dave
Thunder in the Valley
1947
as McPherson - Innkeeper
Front Page Woman
1935
as Hallohan
Topper
1937
as Policeman
Other Men's Women
1931
as Peg-Leg
The Palm Beach Story
1942
as Officer O'Donnell (uncredited)
Swellhead
1935
as Umpire
Wild Bill Hickok Rides
1942
as Henry Hathaway
Sitting Pretty
1948
as Cop (uncredited)
The Whole Town's Talking
1935
as Prison Warden (uncredited)
A Sporting Chance
1919
as Luther Ripley aka Kennedy
The Walls of Jericho
1948
as Bailiff (uncredited)
Whispering Smith
1948
as Bill Baggs
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
1945
as Mr. Carney The Junkman (uncredited)
The Ghost Breaker
1922
as Sam Marcum
Susannah of the Mounties
1939
as Pat O'Hannegan
Captains of the Clouds
1942
as Dr. Neville
The Great Lie
1941
as Dr. Ferguson
Me and My Gal
1932
as Pop Riley
The Stolen Jools
1931
as Policeman
Abie's Irish Rose
1928
as Patrick Murphy
Show Boat
1936
as Windy MacLaine
The Hurricane Express
1932
as Jim Baker
Hangover Square
1945
as Street Vendor (uncredited)
Under Eighteen
1932
as Pop Evans
Happy Days
1929
as Train Conductor
In Old Arizona
1928
as Stage Passenger (uncredited)
Pillow of Death
1945
The Working Man
1933
as Henry 'Hank' Davis
The Maltese Falcon
1931
as Det. Sgt. Tom Polhaus
Star of Midnight
1935
as Inspector Doremus
The Lucky Horseshoe
1925
as Mack
The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
1944
as Sheriff (uncredited)
Riders of Vengeance
1919
as Buell
When Willie Comes Marching Home
1950
as Gilby - Pharmacist (uncredited)
Men Are Such Fools
1932
as Prison Warden Randolph
Circumstantial Evidence
1945
as Jury Foreman
The Iron Horse
1925
as Corporal Casey
Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down the Line
1997
as Self (archive footage)
Gerald Cranston's Lady
1924
as Rennie
The Freeze-Out
1921
as Bobtail McGuire
Shep Comes Home
1948
as Sheriff Cap Weatherby
No Man of Her Own
1932
as "Dickie" Collins
Tracks
1922
as Jack Bess
Laughing at Life
1933
as Prison Warden
There Goes My Heart
1938
as Officer
I Take This Oath
1940
as Insp. Tim Ryan
The Sin of Harold Diddlebock
1947
as Desk Sergeant (uncredited)
Slave Ship
1937
as Proprietor
Fury at Furnace Creek
1948
as Pops Murphy (uncredited)
Here Comes the Groom
1951
as Husband on Airplane (uncredited)
Bowery at Midnight
1942
as Capt. Mitchell
Courage of the West
1937
as Buck Saunders
Come on Over
1922
as Michael Morahan
The Family Upstairs
1926
as Joe Heller
The Great Barrier
1937
as Major Rogers
The Painted Desert
1931
as Jeff Cameron
Men Without Women
1930
as Costello
Numbered Woman
1938
as Capt. Mike Ryan
The Painted Angel
1929
as Pa Hudler
The Storm Daughter
1924
as Con Mullaney
They Shall Have Music
1939
as Police Chief (uncredited)
Come On, Rangers
1938
as Colonel Forbes
Trixie from Broadway
1919
as Slim Hayes
Maid of Salem
1937
as Captain of Ship
I Loved a Woman
1933
as Shuster
The Spirit of Notre Dame
1931
as The Coach
The Light of Western Stars
1940
as Bill Stillwell
The Great Moment
1944
as The Priest
Submarine Patrol
1938
as CWO 'Sails' Quincannon
Our Little Girl
1935
as Mr. Tramp
Riffraff
1936
as 'Brains'
One Thrilling Night
1942
as Police Sergeant Haggerty
Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell
1951
as Mr. Kroeger
The Thirteenth Guest
1932
as Captain Ryan
East Side, West Side
1927
as Pug Malone
The Squaw Man
1931
as Big Bill
My Dear Miss Aldrich
1937
as 'Doc' Howe
Manslaughter
1922
as (uncredited)
Texas Masquerade
1944
as John Martindale
The Crowd Roars
1938
as Father Patrick Ryan
The Irish in Us
1935
as Capt. Jackson
The Dalton Gang
1949
as Judge Price
Streets of San Francisco
1949
as Pop Lockhart
Scandal for Sale
1932
as Treadway
Panhandle
1948
as Doc Cooper
True to Life
1943
as Man (uncredited)
Peg o' My Heart
1933
as Patrick Shamus 'Pat' O'Connell
In Old Cheyenne
1941
as Tim Casey
You're My Everything
1949
as Doorman (uncredited)
Waterfront Lady
1935
as Capt. O'Brien
This Sporting Age
1932
as Jerry O'Day
About J. Farrell MacDonald
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… With 275 credits spanning from 1910 to 1997, J. Farrell MacDonald has appeared in 275 films and 0 TV shows.
Fans searching for J. Farrell MacDonald movies, J. Farrell MacDonald filmography, or the latest projects starring J. Farrell MacDonald can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular J. Farrell MacDonald Movies
- It's a Wonderful Life (1946) — as Man Whose Grandfather Planted Tree (uncredited)
- Goodbye, Weeds (1946) — as Gardener
- Slim (1937) — as Pop
- Zenobia (1939) — as Judge
- Action (1921) — as Mormon Peters
Where to Watch J. Farrell MacDonald Films
Most J. Farrell MacDonald movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring J. Farrell MacDonald, check our movies catalogue and browse page.