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.
275 movies
Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down the Line
1997·7.7
Superman and the Mole Men
1951·5.4
Here Comes the Groom
1951·5.4
Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell
1951·7.2
Woman on the Run
1950·6.8
Hostile Country
1950·4.3
The Daltons' Women
1950·4.5
When Willie Comes Marching Home
1950·6.9
Dakota Lil
1950·5.4
The Dalton Gang
1949·5.3
You're My Everything
1949·4.8
Streets of San Francisco
1949·9.0
Trouble Preferred
1948·6.0
Whispering Smith
1948·6.7
Shep Comes Home
1948·6.5
The Walls of Jericho
1948·5.6
Belle Starr's Daughter
1948·5.1
Fury at Furnace Creek
1948·6.3
Sitting Pretty
1948·7.1
Panhandle
1948·5.8
If You Knew Susie
1948·7.3
Thunder in the Valley
1947·8.3
Christmas Eve
1947·5.4
The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer
1947·6.9
Keeper of the Bees
1947·10.0
Web of Danger
1947·5.5
The Sin of Harold Diddlebock
1947·6.4
It's a Wonderful Life
1946·8.3
Goodbye, Weeds
1946·0.0
My Darling Clementine
1946·7.5
Smoky
1946·5.7
Joe Palooka, Champ
1946·8.0
Pillow of Death
1945·6.7
Fallen Angel
1945·6.6
Johnny Angel
1945·6.0
Circumstantial Evidence
1945·5.2
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
1945·7.5
Hangover Square
1945·7.0
Greenwich Village
1944·6.7
The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
1944·6.9
The Great Moment
1944·5.8
Texas Masquerade
1944·6.5
True to Life
1943·8.0
Tiger Fangs
1943·7.0
The Ape Man
1943·4.4
Harrigan's Kid
1943·7.0
The McGuerins from Brooklyn
1942·6.7
Bowery at Midnight
1942·5.1
Phantom Killer
1942·5.3
The Palm Beach Story
1942·7.0
The Living Ghost
1942·4.3
One Thrilling Night
1942·5.4
Reap the Wild Wind
1942·6.4
Captains of the Clouds
1942·6.4
Wild Bill Hickok Rides
1942·5.5
Private Snuffy Smith
1942·4.3
Law of the Timber
1941·7.0
Riders of the Timberline
1941·4.5
Broadway Limited
1941·5.0
The Great Lie
1941·7.0
In Old Cheyenne
1941·4.6
Meet John Doe
1941·7.3
Friendly Neighbors
1940·8.0
Untamed
1940·5.0
Pony Express Days
1940·6.3
Stagecoach War
1940·6.0
The Last Alarm
1940·4.5
Prairie Law
1940·7.0
I Take This Oath
1940·5.8
The Light of Western Stars
1940·5.0
Dark Command
1940·6.4
Knights of the Range
1940·7.0
The Gentleman from Arizona
1939·10.0
The Housekeeper's Daughter
1939·4.6
Full Confession
1939·5.6
They Shall Have Music
1939·6.5
Coast Guard
1939·6.0
Conspiracy
1939·6.7
Mickey the Kid
1939·9.0
Susannah of the Mounties
1939·6.5
Zenobia
1939·5.0
East Side of Heaven
1939·7.4
The Lone Ranger Rides Again
1939·7.3
Little Orphan Annie
1938·8.0
Submarine Patrol
1938·6.7
Come On, Rangers
1938·8.0
Gang Bullets
1938·5.9
The Last Express
1938·4.0
There Goes My Heart
1938·7.3
The Crowd Roars
1938·7.0
Barefoot Boy
1938·5.4
White Banners
1938·6.1
Numbered Woman
1938·7.0
Extortion
1938·7.0
State Police
1938·8.0
My Old Kentucky Home
1938·7.5
Courage of the West
1937·8.0
County Fair
1937·7.5
The Game That Kills
1937·6.3
My Dear Miss Aldrich
1937·6.3
Topper
1937·6.8
Roaring Timber
1937·6.0
Flying Fists
1937·6.0
Slim
1937·6.5
Slave Ship
1937·5.1
Parnell
1937·4.6
The Hit Parade
1937·6.3
Maid of Salem
1937·6.2
The Great Barrier
1937·7.5
Mysterious Crossing
1936·10.0
Show Boat
1936·6.7
Florida Special
1936·7.0
Exclusive Story
1936·7.2
Riffraff
1936·5.4
Hitch Hike Lady
1935·7.8
Fighting Youth
1935·7.7
Stormy
1935·7.0
Waterfront Lady
1935·5.3
Danger Ahead
1935·5.0
The Irish in Us
1935·7.5
Front Page Woman
1935·5.9
Shadows of the Orient
1935·6.0
The Arizonian
1935·8.0
The Healer
1935·6.2
Our Little Girl
1935·5.2
Let 'em Have It
1935·7.6
Swellhead
1935·10.0
Star of Midnight
1935·5.9
The Whole Town's Talking
1935·6.9
Northern Frontier
1935·8.0
Square Shooter
1935·6.2
The Best Man Wins
1935·6.6
Maybe It's Love
1935·7.0
Romance in Manhattan
1934·7.8
Beggar's Holiday
1934·9.0
Once to Every Woman
1934·6.1
The Crime Doctor
1934·3.8
The Crosby Case
1934·5.0
Man of Two Worlds
1934·6.5
Murder on the Campus
1933·5.5
Under Secret Orders
1933·10.0
Myrt and Marge
1933·4.1
The Power and the Glory
1933·5.9
I Loved a Woman
1933·4.8
How to Break 90 #6: Fine Points
1933·6.5
Laughing at Life
1933·7.3
Peg o' My Heart
1933·5.0
The Working Man
1933·6.5
The Vanishing Frontier
1933·8.0
The Iron Master
1933·7.0
No Man of Her Own
1932·6.6
The Racing Strain
1932·10.0
Me and My Gal
1932·6.4
Men Are Such Fools
1932·7.0
The Pride of the Legion
1932·7.0
Heritage of the Desert
1932·5.7
This Sporting Age
1932·8.0
70,000 Witnesses
1932·5.7
Hearts of Humanity
1932·4.8
The Phantom Express
1932·5.0
The Thirteenth Guest
1932·5.2
The Hurricane Express
1932·5.4
Madame Racketeer
1932·5.3
Week-End Marriage
1932·5.5
The Strange Love of Molly Louvain
1932·6.1
Scandal for Sale
1932·8.5
Probation
1932·6.3
Steady Company
1932·10.0
Hotel Continental
1932·8.0
Discarded Lovers
1932·4.9
Under Eighteen
1932·6.3
Touchdown!
1931·8.0
The Spirit of Notre Dame
1931·7.3
The Brat
1931·5.4
How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 9: 'The Driver'
1931·7.5
Sporting Blood
1931·5.4
Stranger in Town
1931·5.0
The Squaw Man
1931·5.4
The Maltese Falcon
1931·6.4
Too Young to Marry
1931·8.0
The Millionaire
1931·7.9
The Stolen Jools
1931·5.6
Woman Hungry
1931·10.0
The Easiest Way
1931·5.4
The Painted Desert
1931·5.2
Other Men's Women
1931·5.7
The Truth About Youth
1930·6.2
River's End
1930·6.4
The Girl of the Golden West
1930·10.0
Song o' My Heart
1930·4.8
Men Without Women
1930·6.4
South Sea Rose
1929·10.0
The Painted Angel
1929·10.0
Happy Days
1929·6.3
Masquerade
1929·10.0
Masked Emotions
1929·8.0
Strong Boy
1929·6.0
In Old Arizona
1928·5.4
Riley the Cop
1928·5.7
4 Devils
1928·7.6
None But the Brave
1928·10.0
Abie's Irish Rose
1928·10.0
Bringing Up Father
1928·5.0
The Cohens and the Kellys in Paris
1928·8.0
Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
1927·7.8
East Side, West Side
1927·7.2
Paid to Love
1927·6.5
Cradle Snatchers
1927·3.8
Ankles Preferred
1927·8.0
Bertha the Sewing Machine Girl
1926·9.0
The Country Beyond
1926·10.0
The Family Upstairs
1926·8.0
3 Bad Men
1926·6.9
The Last Frontier
1926·9.0
A Trip to Chinatown
1926·10.0
The Shamrock Handicap
1926·5.4
The Dixie Merchant
1926·7.0
The First Year
1926·8.0
The Fighting Heart
1925·6.0
Thank You
1925·4.8
The Iron Horse
1925·6.7
Kentucky Pride
1925·6.2
The Lucky Horseshoe
1925·8.0
Lightnin'
1925·6.6
Let Women Alone
1925·8.0
Those Who Dare
1924·8.0
The Brass Bowl
1924·10.0
Gerald Cranston's Lady
1924·9.0
The Signal Tower
1924·5.8
Western Luck
1924·7.0
Mademoiselle Midnight
1924·5.7
The Storm Daughter
1924·9.0
Fashionable Fakers
1923·9.0
The Age of Desire
1923·10.0
Drifting
1923·7.0
Racing Hearts
1923·8.0
Quicksands
1923·7.0
While Paris Sleeps
1923·10.0
The Young Rajah
1922·7.7
Manslaughter
1922·5.5
The Ghost Breaker
1922·10.0
The Bonded Woman
1922·4.8
Over the Border
1922·10.0
Tracks
1922·8.0
The Bachelor Daddy
1922·8.0
Come on Over
1922·9.0
Sky High
1922·5.6
Trailin'
1921·5.7
Riding with Death
1921·9.0
Action
1921·6.3
The Wallop
1921·6.5
Desperate Youth
1921·8.0
The Freeze-Out
1921·7.0
Hitchin' Posts
1920·6.3
The Path She Chose
1920·7.0
Bullet Proof
1920·9.0
Marked Men
1919·6.5
This Hero Stuff
1919·9.0
The Outcasts of Poker Flat
1919·6.0
A Sporting Chance
1919·6.0
Trixie from Broadway
1919·7.0
Riders of Vengeance
1919·6.5
A Fight For Love
1919·6.0
Molly of the Follies
1919·8.0
Roped
1919·7.0
Fair Enough
1918·9.0
$5,000 Reward
1918·0.0
Rags
1915·7.5
The Calling of Louis Mona
1913·8.0
A Timely Repentance
1912·7.0
'Tween Two Loves
1911·0.0
The Lighthouse Keeper
1911·0.0
The Scarlet Letter
1911·1.0
The Dream
1911·5.5
The Time-Lock Safe
1910·0.0