John Farrell MacDonald Movies
J. Farrell MacDonald was one of the most beloved and prolific character actors in Hollywood history. A former minstrel singer, MacDonald toured the U.S. in stage productions for nearly two decades before he ever set foot in Tinseltown. He made his earliest film appearances in 1911 with Carl Laemmle's IMP company (the forerunner of Universal); within two years he was a firmly established lead actor and director. While functioning in the latter capacity with L. Frank Baum's Oz Film Company, MacDonald gave much-needed work to up-and-coming extras Hal Roach and Harold Lloyd. When Roach set up his own production company in 1915 with Lloyd as his star, he signed MacDonald as director (both Roach and Lloyd would hire their one-time employer as character actor well into the sound era). In the 1920's, MacDonald had returned to acting full time, appearing extensively in westerns and Irish-flavored comedies. A particular favorite of director John Ford, he was prominently featured in such Ford silents as The Iron Horse (1924), The Bad Man (1926) and Riley the Cop (1927, as Riley). He also showed up as Kelly in some of Universal's culture-clash "Cohens and Kellys" comedies. With a voice that matched his personality perfectly, MacDonald was busier than ever in the early-talkie era, usually playing such workaday roles as cops and railroad engineers; in 1932 alone, he showed up in 18 films! Even when his footage was limited, he was always given a moment or two to shine, as witness his emotional curtain speech in Shirley Temple's Our Little Girl. He kept up his workload into the 1940s, often popping up in the films of John Ford and Preston Sturges. His later roles often went unbilled, but he gave his all no matter how fleeting the assignment. One of his choicest roles of the 1940s was as the Dodge City barkeep in Ford's My Darling Clementine (1946). J. Farrell MacDonald continued working right up to his death in 1952; one of his last assignments was a continuing character on the Gene Autry-produced TV series Range Rider. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1914
Disappointed with the meager box-office returns from such earlier films as Patchwork Girl of Oz and His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz, the financial backers of L. Frank Baum's Oz Film Company demanded that Baum temporarily abandon the family trade and concentrate on an "adult" story. The producer/author grudgingly obliged with The Last Egyptian, an ornate costume drama based on a novel pseudonymously written by Baum. Summoned to his grandmother's deathbed, the last descendant of a royal Egyptian family is informed that his heritage has been blighted by his own father, a caddish English aristocrat who raped the hero's mother. In the manner of his ancestors, the young Egyptian exacts a terrible vengeance upon the Englishman, then willingly gives up his own life to the Gods. The Last Egyptian was successful enough to permit L. Frank Baum to return to the realm of children's fantasies without interference from the "money men." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1914
Author L. Frank Baum adapts his own original story for the silver screen in this fantasy adventure directed by J. Darrell MacDonald. A young girl named Fluff is bestowed a magical robe that was woven by fairies, and has the power to grant its owner a single wish. Soon thereafter, Fluff and her brother Bud are selected as the new King and Princess of Noland. As they contend with a queen from a neighboring land, a portly army of Rolly Rogues descends on Noland in search of soup. Meanwhile, King Bud and Princess Fluff's runaway donkey rounds up all of his animal friends to seek revenge against the woodland bandits who tried to abduct him. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1914
Patchwork Girl of Oz is one of a handful of extant productions from author L. Frank Baum's short-lived Oz Film Manufacturing Company. It was also the company's first release, and as such was carefully designed to entreat audiences into demanding additional "Oz" pictures. Patrick Couderc, who played the Tin Man in the later Baum productions, is here cast in female drag as the Patchwork Girl, brought to life by charlatan Dr. Pipt (Raymond Russell). Captured and by Ozma, queen of Oz (Jessie Mae Walsh, the Patchwork Girl helps the Queen release her subjects from an evil spell which has turned them all into stone (a plot device redeployed nearly seven decades later in Return to Oz. Mildred Harris, later the wife of Charlie Chaplin, appears briefly as Dorothy, while future comedy star Harold Lloyd can be briefly spotted as an extra. Patchwork Girl of Oz was released by Paramount Pictures. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1915
The relationship between a plucky daughter and her brutish father is dissected in this classic Mary Pickford drama set in a mining community. Pickford plays "Rags," a pretty but wild girl who defends her alcoholic father (J. Farrell MacDonald), a disgraced bank cashier, no matter how he mistreats her. Enter a handsome engineer (Marshall Neilan), whose family had once fired Rag's father for theft. Rags falls in love but realizes that marriage is a hopeless proposition considering her lowly place in society. But when she learns that her father plans to rob the newcomer, Rags betrays him to the sheriff, and he is shot in the ensuing battle. Before he expires, however, the old man writes to his former employer to take care of Rags. She journeys East, becomes a proper lady, and can soon plan a future with the handsome engineer. Written for the screen by Frances Marion and Pickford herself, Rags was based on a novel by Edith Barnard Delano, whose Hulda from Holland was filmed by Pickford the following year. According to her own account, it was seeing her name in lights on Broadway advertising Rags that persuaded Mary Pickford to re-negotiate her contract with Famous Players-Lasky (Paramount). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1919
Bret Harte's story gets an unusual adaptation in the hands of director John Ford (in the days when he was known as Jack Ford) and western star Harry Carey. Carey takes a break from his usual "Harry Carey" role to play a man in love with a much younger woman (Gloria Hope). He is convinced however, that the much younger Billy Gentry (Cullen Landis) has a better chance at winning her. The older man picks up a copy of Harte's The Outcasts of Poker Flat and the story unfurls: Lonely gentleman gambler John Oakhurst (Carey) adopts a young boy, not knowing that when Tommy grows up (to be played by Landis) that they will be vying for the same girl (Hope again). After many adventures, John decides to sacrifice himself in order for the young people to be happy together. After Oakhurst's death, the film cuts back to the man finishing the last of the book. He puts it down with the comment (in titles), "The feller in the book was a durn fool," and goes to the girl he loves who, it turns out, was his all along. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1919
Captain November Jones (William Russell) returns to his home in the West after fighting in the Great War and earning three medals for valor. But he's put off by the unstinting hero worship he receives, and when some swindlers try to ruin his reputation by branding him a coward, he is rather happy about it. The only problem is that Nedra Joseph (Winifred Westover), a pretty girl from the East, arrives in town and she doesn't go in for a man with a yellow streak. So Jones has to fight his way into winning back his courageous reputation, an effort that culminates in his saving Nedra's father (J. Barney Sherry) from kidnappers. After that, Jones is a hero in Nedra's eyes -- and, unfortunately, in everyone else's, too. This action-packed picture was directed by the then-up-and-coming Henry King. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1919
This heartwarming Harry Carey Western was based on the story Three Godfathers by Peter B. Kyne, which appeared in the Saturday Evening Post. Harry is in jail on a train robbery charge, along with his two pals Tom Gibbons (Joe Harris) and Tony Garcia (Ted Brooks). They break out of jail and go their separate ways until they meet up once again in a mining camp. Harry has met and fallen in love with Ruby Merrill (Winifred Westover), a decent girl who is forced to waitress at a dance hall due to unfortunate circumstances. Harry wants to lead an honest life, but his friends are plotting to rob a bank, and since they saved his life, he feels duty-bound to help them. After the robbery, the trio escape to the desert, where they come upon a wagon containing a woman giving birth. As she dies, she hands the newborn infant over to the men, begging them to bring up her daughter to be as good a person as they are. In the ensuing sandstorms, Gibbons and Garcia perish, but Harry makes it back to town with the baby. Ruth is waiting for him, but so is Sheriff Cushing (Charles Lemoyne). When Cushing finds out that the infant is his niece, he pardons Harry. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1919
Margarita Fisher -- who'd dropped the "c" in her last name as part of the "de-Germanization" policies of WWI -- played the title role in the Pathe five-reeler Molly of the Follies. Heroine Molly Malone (Fisher) is a sideshow dancer at a carnival where the star attraction is underwater acrobat Joe Holmquist (Jack Mower), aka "The Human Submarine." Molly falls in love with Joe, only to find herself in competition with her own mother, fortune teller Kate Malone (Lulu Warrenton). The story's finale had a decidedly Houdiniesque quality, with hero Joe nearly coming to grief while trying to extricate himself from a water tank. Molly of the Follies was evocatively lensed on location at Coney Island by the always fascinating Edward Sloman -- and, like most of Sloman's silent efforts, the film has apparently vanished without a trace. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1919
John Stonehouse (William Russell) checks into a hotel, intending to commit suicide. But instead he winds up helping a girl, Gilberte Bonheur (Fritzi Brunette), out of a jam. He finds her bending over a man who she has apparently killed, and since he's about to kill himself anyway, he offers to assume the blame. Throw a valuable emerald into the works, and the fact that the dead man suddenly comes back to life, and Stonehouse -- not to mention the audience -- becomes thoroughly befuddled by it all. Everything clears up, however, when Gilberte gives him a theater ticket -- it turns out that everything he went through was the plot to a stage play, enacted in real life by the actors. The critics roasted the play, saying it wasn't true to life, and this was their proof that the situations really could happen. Gilberte retires from acting when Stonehouse proposes. Henry King directed this picture with a light touch that enhanced its comedic bent. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1919
Ranch owner Cheynne Harry (Harry Carey) winds up romancing Easterner Aileen Judson-Brown (Neva Gerber) because of an advertisement run by his friends as a joke. Harry and Aileen fall in love, though, and he goes to New York to marry her. But her mother (Molly McConnell) sees Harry only as a meal ticket. She's a society woman who has lost her money and she has no use for this Westerner. She wishes to see her daughter divorce him so she can rake in the alimony. The couple have a baby, but one day Aileen's mother spirits it away and tells Harry that it is dead. In addition, she tells him that Aileen doesn't love him anymore. He goes back to his ranch in misery, and the mother tells Aileen that Harry has grown tired of her. However, the butler (J. Farrell McDonald), who sympathizes with the couple, wires Harry to come back. He does, escorted by his cowboys and finds the baby and discovers that his wife still does love him. So the scheming mother is thwarted, and Harry, Aileen and the baby leave her behind when they go to live on Harry's ranch. The director of this film, Jack Ford, became better known as John Ford a few years later; at this point in his career, he was busy directing most of Harry Carey's films. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1919
In this tale of the Canadian Northwest, Harry Carey plays Cheyenne Harry, who is on the lam after getting tangled up with some cattle rustlers. He hides out at an Indian camp, where he encounters a lovely young Native-American maiden (Neola May). But along comes half-breed whiskey runner Black Michael (Joe Harris). He kills another Indian in a fit of jealousy over the girl, and tries to pin the crime on Cheyenne Harry. Harry just barely escapes the Canadian Mounted Police and lands at a store of the Hudson Bay Company. Black Michael has arrived there and is making moves on the manager's daughter, Kate (Neva Gerber). But Kate finds Harry much more to her liking, so Michael kidnaps her. Harry follows, and a brutal fight erupts between the two men. Ultimately, Michael falls off the cliff, but before he meets his demise, he confesses to the murder he accused Harry of doing. The film ends with Kate and Harry together. Since this picture was one of John Ford's early directorial efforts, there's lots of action to be had, along with Carey's usual brand of affable humor. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1919
Legendary director John Ford began his long, eventful screen career helming Harry Carey westerns for Universal. He got that job courtesy of big brother Francis Ford, but the youngster quickly established himself as the Ford to watch. He was not quite there yet, but Riders of Vengeance was a harbinger of things to come. Carey witnesses his family murdered by a gang of outlaws and tracks down each of every one of the gun men. Along the way, he finds time to save Seena Owen from an Indian attack, much to the chagrin of the girl's fiancee, the local sheriff Joseph Harris. Leading lady Seena Owen (née Signe Auen) had previously played the Princess Beloved in D.W. Griffith's masterpiece, Intolerance.The Danish-American actress was the sister of screenwriter Lilie Hayward (Aloma of the South Seas, etc.) ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1920
Following the Civil War, Southerner Jefferson Todd (Frank Mayo) finds himself broke, so he becomes a river boat gambler. One of his fellow card players is Colonel Brereton (Mark Fenton), who bets four horses -- the last of his possessions -- and loses. As a result, he commits suicide and Todd is left to explain things to the Colonel's daughter, Ophelia (Beatrice Burnham). But his wicked brother-in-law, Raoul Castiga (Jason Harris) has already tried to turn Ophelia against Todd. Eventually Ophelia sees Castiga as the scoundrel he really is and he and Todd wind up in a duel. Castiga shoots before the count is over, but Todd is uninjured. Todd and Ophelia decide to stake claims in the West, as does Castiga. On the night after the land rush, Todd and Castiga battle it out once again and this time Castiga falls into a pool and drowns. Is it any surprise that this manly picture was an early directorial effort by John Ford? ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1920
This melodrama, made in 1920 but not released until 1923, was based on a novel, The Glory of Love, by "Pan." Henri Santados (Lon Chaney), a sculptor in the Latin Quarter of Paris, is in love with his model, Bebe Larvache (Mildred Manning). Bebe, however, has met and fallen in love with a young American tourist, Dennis O'Keefe (John Gilbert). But O'Keefe's wealthy father (Harden Kirtland) does not approve of the match and he convinces her to end the relationship. Meanwhile, the jealous Santados wants to get rid of O'Keefe and has enlisted the help of Father Marionette (Jack F. MacDonald), the owner of a wax museum called "The Chamber of Horrors." After one last intoxicating night during Mardi Gras, Bebe puts herself in a compromising position with Santados, knowing she will be found by her lover. After finding them together, O'Keefe is kidnapped and taken to the wax museum where he is horribly tortured. Santados hands the phone over to Bebe and gleefully invites her to listen to her lover's pain. But O'Keefe is rescued at the last minute and he and Bebe are reunited. This time, his father gives the pair his blessings. Chaney would be better cast in the one other film he shot with Gilbert, 1924's He Who Gets Slapped. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lon Chaney, Mildred Manning, (more)
- 1920
In this tale, Virginia Clerson (Anne Cornwall) is a girl of the tenements. Her father (J. Farrell McDonald) is a drunk, her brother a liar, and her sister (Claire Anderson) seeks a life of glamour and ease. But Virginia wants something different, so she strikes out on her own and finds work in a millinery factory. She works hard, and eventually she gains the attention of her boss, Parker (Edward Coxen), both in business and in love. Meanwhile, her sister has sunk even lower on the social scale and is now a scrubwoman. Virginia saves her from her wretched life, and the sister, in turn, saves Virginia when their brother comes around and tries to make trouble. This picture was Anne Cornwall's first starring vehicle. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1921
A stranger (Harry Carey) comes to the Western town of Broken Buckle, but discovers that the gambling hall there is crooked. He decides to open up an honest one of his own, but town school teacher Zoe Whipple (Helen Ferguson) wants him to do something more positive with himself. Denver Red, the proprietor of the already existing hall (Charles LeMoyne) has his own reasons for halting the stranger. But Carey persists, and the day comes when he opens his new establishment -- only it's not a gambling hall at all, but a library and school. In a gunfight, the stranger sends Denver Red packing, and wins Zoe's love. This was a rather tame entry for star Carey and director John Ford. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1921
Director John Ford based this silent western on The Girl He Left Behind by Eugene Manlove Rhodes, turning it into a fine vehicle for the veteran Harry Carey as a prospector who strikes it rich but loses his girl in the process. The husband-to-be is Carey's best friend, William A. Steele, a candidate to the office of sheriff. A nasty villain (C. E. Anderson) frames the young man in a murder, but Carey unravels the plot and clears his friend. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1921
A strong supporting cast that included blond flapper Betty Francisco, veteran supporting player J. Farrell McDonald and smooth-looking action leading man Jack Mower elevated Riding with Death above the average Buck Jones western. Texas Ranger Steve Dorsey (Jones) searches for the villain who murdered his partner Val Nelson (Mower). The killer, it turns out, is Dorsey's romantic rival, sheriff Pat Garrity (McDonald). The crooked lawman ships Dorsey off to jail, but our hero manages to get word to the Rangers, who ride to the rescue. The trade-paper Motion Picture News took Jones to task for changing his first name from plain "Buck" to "Charles" in this film but lauded him for "executing a 'Mix' or two by doubling for himself in stunts." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1921
With this picture, Western star Hoot Gibson graduated to full-length features. He plays Sandy Brouke, one of three prospectors who wind up buying a ranch from Molly Casey (Clara Horton), whose father has been killed. But some bandits believe that there must be gold on the property and manipulate circumstances to ship Molly off to an Eastern school and wrestle ownership away from Brouke and his pals. The battle is on, and by the end of the last reel, gold really is found on the property, the villains are vanquished and Brouke wins the heart of Molly. The directing reveals the fine hand of John Ford, whose brother Francis Ford had a co-starring role. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1921
This romance of the post-Civil War days begins in the old West. When her father (Louis Willoughby) is killed by a claim jumper, Rosemary Merridew (Gladys Walton) leaves California and goes back home to Alabama. She stays with her uncle (also played by Willoughby), but she is mistreated by his wife (Muriel Godfrey Turner) and stepdaughter, Pauline (Hazel Howell). Pauline wants a chance at this year's "catch," Dr. Tom Dowling (Harold Miller) so Rosemary is shunted aside. But Dowling catches sight of her anyway. With the help of Aunt Clorindy (Lucy Harris), Rosemary's old "mammy," the two get together in spite of all the efforts to keep them apart. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1921
Max Brand's 1920 novel became a rousing Tom Mix Western less than a year later. A complicated story of love and revenge, Trailin' opens with rivals William Drew (Jay Morley) and John Bard (Cecil Van Auker) battling for the love of Joan (Carol Holloway), the daughter of notorious outlaw Blotto (J. Farrell McDonald). Joan favors Drew, and they marry and have a child. Still jealous, Bard steals the infant boy and leaves for the East, changing his name to John Woodbury along the way. Many years go by and Woodbury (now Bert Sprotte) has become the wealthy and respected "father" of young Anthony (Tom Mix). A vengeful Drew (now James Gordon) suddenly reappears and Bard/Woodbury is killed in a duel. Returning to his roots in Idaho, Anthony finally learns of his true heritage and settles down to marry a local waitress, Sally Fortune (Eva Novak). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1922
Having played a sheik, it only made sense to cast Rudolph Valentino -- whose first name was still being spelled Rodolph -- as an Indian rajah. At least, that's how Paramount saw things, and that's really the only excuse for the creation of this drama. The Judds, Caleb (Spottiswoode Aitken) and Sarah (Fanny Midgley), find a pair of Hindus on their doorstep one stormy night. They are holding a baby and a note from Caleb's brother, Joshua (Charles Ogle), informs them that he is heir to a throne and that they should take care of him. The Judds do so, naming the boy (Pat Moore) Amos. Amos grows up (to be played by Valentino) and except for his dark good looks, becomes a typical all-American college boy at Harvard. He's on the rowing team, loves to ride horses, has a sweetheart in Molly Cabot (Wanda Hawley) -- and oh yes, and he has visions. He sees himself in danger, and he is right -- the throne has been usurped and the Judds are compelled to tell him his true identity, as his people are demanding him. The day before his wedding to Molly, he leaves for India to once again become his people's leader. But all is not lost for his girl -- he has another vision and knows they will reunite. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rudolph Valentino, Wanda Hawley, (more)
- 1922
This jumbled light comedy was one of the last pictures featuring silent matinee idol Wallace Reid -- after being given morphine for an injury in 1919, Reid became a drug addict and he died a few months after this film's release. When the penniless Maria Theresa (Lila Lee) hears of a treasure hidden in a deserted castle, she decides to track it down. With the help of her cousin, the Duke D'Alva (Arthur Carewe), Maria goes to New York, where the papers which reveal the treasure's location sit in a museum. She meets handsome Warren Jarvis (Reid), who has gotten involved in a feud in his native Kentucky and is trying to escape. He and Maria join forces when they discover that the castle is haunted, and they sail to Spain. It doesn't take Jarvis long to figure out that the Duke is responsible for the phony ghosts that haunt the castle, and he forces him to confess. Although Jarvis and Maria end up treasure-less, they do find romance together. Rotund Walter Hiers does a blackface turn as Rusty Snow, Jarvis' valet -- a gag which modern audiences would find highly offensive, but which amused filmgoers of the day. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wallace Reid, Lila Lee, (more)
- 1922
Angela Gaskill (Betty Compson) travels to the South Seas to help sailor John Somers (John Bowers) kick his addition to alcohol. The two are marooned on a desert island after her sober father Captain Gaskill (J. Farrell MacDonald) wrecks the boat, but the drunken sailor has the wherewithal to save everyone from maritime disaster. John takes to the bottle again when he is wrongly accused of stealing. Angela, inexplicably left with several changes of clothes during their island isolation, tries to get John to give up the sauce and repay the loan he took out to purchase his small schooner. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Betty Compson, John Bowers, (more)
