Pups is Pups

What a fun evening we had last night.  During the Hal Roach marathon on Turner Classic Movies, I had stuck Pups is Pups (1930) on my DVR.  I thought that an Our Gang short about puppies would appeal to my wife who is a dog lover, and perhaps to our dog, Sadie, who sometimes glances at the TV.  I was right!!!  A friend was over, who is also a dog lover, and the three of us (four, including Sadie) laughed so much that we had to roll the movie back several times to catch some dialog.  Well, Sadie didn't laugh much.

This two-reeler was released in 1930 and was the first of that season.  It starred Bobby 'Wheezer' Huchins (1925 - 1945), Allen 'Farina' Hoskins (1920 - 1980), Jackie Cooper (b. 1922), Norman 'Chubby' Chaney (1914 - 1936), Dorothy ' Little Echo' DeBorba (1925 - 2010), and others.  As soon as I saw the first scene, I remembered the movie, even though it has been years since I had seen it last.

As the story starts, the gang is playing in their makeshift playground, which was probably a work area on the Roach Studio lot.  Five year old Dorothy comes out in a clean dress with her hair in lovely curls and heads straight for the mud puddle to jump in.  This was a running joke in a 20 minute film that was much more complex than you would think possible in such a short amount of time.  When I met Dorothy many years later at a Sons of the Desert banquet, she recanted her recollection of that movie for us!  Sadly we lost Dorothy in June last year at 85 years old.

There are two stories at work in Pups is Pups.  Wheezer has five puppies that he trained to come at the sound of a bell.  The rest of the gang are readying their pets to take them to a fancy dog and pet show in the city, where Farina has secured a job as a page (including a uniform with brass buttons).

We follow Wheezer who has let his puppies get away.  They are attracted to every bell they hear...an ambulance, an ice cream cart, a train crossing, whatever...and Wheezer can't keep up.  Meanwhile, the gang arrives at the pet show where they are not allowed in.  They sneak in anyway and wreak havoc, as you can imagine.

Wheezer is eventually reunited with his puppies in a scene that actually brought tears to my eyes!  He looks like he was genuinely attached to those little guys.  Of course he was only about five years old so that is not beyond a reasonable assumption.  And the gang is back at their play area, as Dorothy takes a final plunge in the puddle.

I decided to look up Pups is Pups in one of my books.  I bought Our Gang, The Life and Times of the Little Rascals many years ago.  It was written by Leonard Maltin and Richard Bann in 1977.  Even my books are getting old!

I had the pleasure of meeting Dick Bann in the 1980s, and he autographed my book.  It is interesting to note that this book, a paperback edition, has the price of $5.95 on the back.  You can't buy a paperback of this quality and content for anywhere near that as of this writing!  The 1984 printing of the book (with the red cover) is still available, and the newest version from 1992 is called The Little Rascals, The Life and Times of Our Gang.  If you love Hal Roach's Rascals as I do, it should be in your collection.  The film descriptions and biographies, as well as the well researched insight by the authors, make this a 'must have' book.

In the book, it is mentioned that Pups is Pups was the first Our Gang comedy to have a full musical score.  The music of Leroy Shield and Marvin Hatley has become synonymous with many Hal Roach comedies, including Laurel and Hardy and Charley Chase films, and is instantly recognizable.

There is even mention in the book of something that struck me as quite progressive for the early depression years.  In the Our Gang comedies, we see children of several races, all playing together with total disregard for the color of their skin.  Maltin and Bann go into some detail in the book about this, including comments from Farina Hoskins to back them up.

Pups is Pups appears to be available on some Our Gang DVD collections, and it is usually better to have a collection than just one film from a series.  A word of warning, shy away from any colorized versions.  Adding color does absolutely nothing for these movies.  It should be against the law, actually.

Sunday, February 20, 2011 update:  I received the comment below from Richard Bann on Facebook yesterday.  Thanks again, Dick, for your knowledge and willingness to share.

If you are a member of Facebook, check out Dick's 'Notes' page for a very interesting piece on The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), as mentioned below.  (And buy his books!!!)

Richard W. Bann -

"Very nice, Allen, thanks.  Vivendi is now re-releasing the Our Gang DVDs, a few at a time, until they are all for sale as individual DVDs.  Not a boxed set this time.  They are re-mastering the titles where they mistakenly worked from 16mm Blackhawk release prints....Whenever I drive to Paramount, I go right by the church where they filmed the closing scenes for PUPS IS PUPS...If you read the program notes for TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE which I posted on FB yesterday (written for that other Hefner) there is a pretty good story about Bad-Brained Bobby Blake, still making all the wrong kind of news."

A Comedy Tonight!

According to IMDb there were 2,074 comedies released in 1958.  We won't cover them all today.  When you look at the complete list, you realize that TV shows are included.  In fact, that number is not accurate at all.  Listings #3 through #42 are individual episodes of "Leave it to Beaver."  As far as theatrical movies, #1 is Gigi, and the next movie is #50, Indiscreet.  Then you go to "Father Knows Best" up through #88!

I was thinking about No Time for Sergeants from that year.  Sergeants came in at title #456, but there were only eleven movies listed before it.  I guess people were infatuated with television by 1958, but that doesn't excuse IMDb for allowing their computer system to create a misleading list.  There should be a way to filter out the TV shows.

Back to the movie.  I won't bore you with 'Permanent Latrine Orderly' Andy Griffith stories, but it was his second motion picture.  And it was Don Knotts' very first movie, the start of a lifelong friendship between the two.

Nick Adams (1931 - 1968) was well into his acting career and this was just two years before his successful TV series, "The Rebel" as Johnny Yuma.  In 1965 he was in three low-budget horror flix: Frankenstein Conquers the World; Die, Monster, Die; and Invasion of the Astro-Monster.  Sadly, Adams died in 1968 after an accidental drug overdose.

Next we see Murray Hamilton (1923 - 1986) who is a veteran actor with parts in The Hustler (1961), The Graduate (1967) , Jaws (1975) and almost 150 other titles.

Myron McCormick (1908 - 1962) played the drill sergeant.  He was a delight.  He only made about a dozen feature movies, but he is also seen in The Hustler as Paul Newman's mentor/agent.  Look for him on TV, but he was better known as a stage actor.

Here's a name for you.  Malcom Atterbury (1907 - 1992).  Another veteran actor who appeared here as a bus driver.  Don't miss him in two of Alfred Hitchcock's best, North by Northwest (1959) and The Birds (1963), plus a host of television shows. 

We also see Will Hutchens (b. 1930) as a pilot, better known as Sugarfoot on the TV series of the same name.  And Dub Taylor (1907 - 1994), another well known character actor.

Way down on the cast list we find Jamie Farr (b. 1934) in an uncredited role.  It was his fifth movie and he was still acting under his real name, Jameel Farah. 

Now, go watch No Time for Sergeants again.  I know it's been a while since you've seen it.  And watch for all the wonderful Bit Actors who make this a great comedy.

Esther Williams

When thinking of Wonderful, Wet Women, only one name comes to mind for most classic movie fans, Esther Williams (b. 1921), America's Mermaid.  She only made 23 features, but they are mostly memorable, and she worked with some big stars.

Back in the 1970s, during a vacation in Florida, we went to Busch Gardens and saw the Florida shaped swimming pool that she used for a film.  I just picked up a set of her films at Costco, and I am fixing to have an Aqua Esther Weekend.

Her first feature was Andy Hardy's Double Life in 1942 with Mickey Rooney.  It was not an 'Aqua Musical' as her later films were known, but it did show her talent, and more roles followed.

Bathing Beauty in 1944 was her first swim on screen, co-starring with Red Skelton (1913 - 1997).  Esther only made a few films each year, from 1942 to 1955, when the wet screen seemed to wain in popularity.  After that, she was in a few dramas and TV shows, and was featured in That's Entertainment III in 1994.

Her documentaries are as entertaining as her movies.  I have probably seen "Esther Williams at Cypress Gardens" made for TV in 1960, and I would certainly like to see "The Esther Williams Aqua Spectacle" from 1956.

Esther was the star of her films, although she may not have had the biggest part.  In Neptune's Daughter (1949), also with Skelton, she shared the screen with Ricardo Montalban (1920 - 2009), Keenan Wynn (1916 - 1986), Xavier Cugat (1900 - 1990) and Mel Blanc (1908 - 1989).  That's a tough group to act with, but I think only Montalban could swim!  Maybe that makes the rest of the cast Bit Actors.

Williams only made two films with her long time husband, Fernando Lamas (1915 - 1982).  The first was in 1953, Dangerous When Wet.  Then, in 1963 they were both in Williams' final movie, Magic Fountain, which was filmed in Spanish for that market. 

An interesting film at the end of the Aqua Musical era was Jupiter's Darling (1955).  This was a historical/aqua musical, starring Howard Keel (1919 - 2004) as Hannibal and George Sanders (1906 - 1972) as Fabius.  My guess is that it is less than factual.  Especially the underwater ballet with statues that come to life.

Pick up some Esther Williams films and have your own Aqua Esther Weekend.  Load your hair up with Vaseline to keep it styled underwater, and stick to the Aqua Musicals.  You'll have a memorable time with the Best of Esther.  And don't forget to watch for the Bit Actors.

Let's Make Love

1960 was just two years before Marilyn Monroe (1926 - 1962) died.  It was the year she made Let's Make Love.  This was not one of her best works, especially after just making hits like Bus Stop (1956) and Some Like it Hot (1959).

The movie starred Yves Montand (1921 - 1991) as a billionaire who is mistaken for an actor in a review that includes Monroe as the singer.  The supporting roles are played by Tony Randall (1920 - 2004) and Wilfred Hyde-White (1903 - 1991).

The credits are amazing.  Directed by George Cukor and with a screen play written in part by Arthur Miller (Monroe's husband), there were cameos by Milton Berle, Bing Crosby and Gene Kelly.  I am not sure why I didn't like this movie more than I did.

It was noted in some reviews on IMDb that it was not particularly favored by Monroe or Montand.  A small part as the male singer was played by Frankie Vaughan (1928 - 1999) who only appeared in seven movies.  He was so put off by the experience that he gave up acting.

Vaughan wasn't very good, in my opinion.  He was trying too hard to be Frank Sinatra, but his singing was less than impressive.  He apparently went on to be a headliner in London and Vegas, and he was knighted by the queen a few years later.

I didn't even see any chemistry between Monroe and Montand.  In the movie, Montand was supposed to be smitten with Monroe, and eventually Monroe came around.  What is interesting is that the two, though both were married at the time, did have an affair during the filming.  Maybe they were trying too hard to hide their feelings.

Of course, the best part is looking at the Bit Parts.  Former Stooge Joe Besser (1907 - 1988) plays a comedy writer.  We even see Leonard Breman (1915 - 1986) in a small part as a waiter.  Make sure you check out my earlier posts on Breman.

Let's Make Love is not really a bad movie.  It is a romantic comedy that is a little dated due to the style of 1960.  I think 1960 was a transition between the war years including the boom just after the war, and the free love era that was yet to come.  Movies made in that middle period are a mix of styles, so they didn't easily fit.

Marilyn Monroe is really the standout in this film, turning in a very good, believable performance.  For the fact that this was her second to last film, a year before The Misfits with Clark Gable, it is worthy of viewing.  By this time in her life she must have been troubled, but she still could act and sing.

No Bits Today! But Some Good Links.

I just noticed that my Laurel and Hardy post from a few weeks ago has been selected for reposting on the Movies Unlimited blog, MovieFanFare.  This is my third re-post to their site.  I'm glad they like my writing style.

I have found MovieFanFare to be a great read, filled with other enjoyable stuff like polls and little games.  They currently have a still picture from City Slickers (1991), and you are supposed to add a caption, plus you get to vote for your favorite actor who was nominated but never won a Best Actor Oscar.

Another Blog that is very informative and well written comes from my friend and frequent commenter, The Lady Eve.  She is a movie lover and it is obvious in her Blog.  The topics she chooses are varied and always interesting, and her interviews let you get into the mind of her subjects.

It is wonderful to have these resources to add to your knowledge of how and why movies are made.  The insight provided can only increase your enjoyment of what you see on the screen, large or small.

Make sure you check out the Classic Movie Blog Association as well.  Eve and I are both members, and the variety of subjects found there is amazing.  Scroll down the right side of the CMBA page to link to all of the most recent posts from the members.

Watch for the CMBA Blogathon coming in the spring when most members will post about a movie made in 1939.  Sounds like fun!  That was one of the very best years for classic movies.  Now, how about a classic Bit Actor in a 1939 movie?!?!

George Chandler

I think I should mention George Chandler (1898 - 1985) here, in my blog of Bit Actors.  I have a problem calling him a Bit Actor, though.  He has 444 titles listed on IMDb, so he must have been a star.  No matter.

Everyone who is a baby boomer remembers him as Uncle Petrie in the television series, "Lassie" from the 1950s.  He was much more than that.

Chandler started performing in vaudeville, and then in 1928 moved to silent films.  It is rather odd that there isn't much written about him on IMDb or Wikipedia.  TCM has a short biography.  He appears in The Virginian (1929) starring Gary Cooper, but most of his films before that were shorts. 

In 1933 he plays W. C. Fields' son in The Fatal Glass of Beer.  Fields was only five years older than Chandler.  There are six films with Chandler and Dick Powell, starting with Blessed Event (1932) and Footlight Parade the next year. 

Chandler made an interesting movie in 1936 called The Country Doctor.  He wasn't the doctor, he played a character called Greasy.  It was a story about a small town doctor who delivers quintuplets, and they filmed the Dionne Quintuplets (b. 1934) for the part.  As a child, my family had 16mm home movies that my grandfather filmed, and somehow we came across some old Pathe newsreels in our collection.  A news item about the Quints was in one of them.  I wish I still had those films!

The list of stars Chandler worked with must be incredible.  Ten films with Spencer Tracy, five with Jimmy Stewart, six with Henry Fonda, six with Una Merkel and also with Claire Trevor, and he made 23 films with his friend, director William Wellman (1896 - 1975).  The list is much longer, but I can't search through all of his work!

1939 was a good year to look at.

   Blondie Meets the Boss

   Calling Dr. Kildare

   Young Mr. Lincoln

   Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation
   Beau Geste
   Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

He worked with Charlie Chan and Mr. Moto, but most of his parts were very small.  He was the photographer or the sleazy reporter.  He was the next door neighbor, the elevator operator or the bartender.  His soft voice played well as a friendly character, but he had a look that could be turned on to make you think he was up to something. 

By the 1950s he was also working in TV teleplays and series'.  In 1954 he was in The High and the Mighty with John Wayne, one of five films with The Duke.

In addition to "Lassie," Chandler was a regular on "Waterfront" and "The Adventures of Kit Carson."  In the 1960s he had his own series called "Ichabod and Me" that only lasted one season.  In the 1970s we see him in "Alias Smith and Jones" once again in bit parts.  In 1978 he appears as a DMV clerk in Every Which Way but Loose starring Clint Eastwood.

George Chandler's final film he plays an elderly man in The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again (1979).  Fitting as he was 81 years old.  Us baby boomers will miss you, Unlce Petrie!  You are a star in every Bit Part you had.

Final Analysis

Final Analysis (1992) is a murder mystery starring Richard Gere, Kim Bassinger and Uma Thurman.  It is made in the style of Alfred Hitchcock, and it is a good movie, but it doesn't quite make the mark. 

Gere is a psychiatrist treating Thurman, and she asks him to talk with her sister, played by Bassinger.  To make a long story short, and hopefully not give away the plot, Bassinger's husband, a gangster, is murdered.  Bassinger is charged with the crime and Gere gets pulled into the action.

My blog is not about plots, stories or stars, so let's get to the important stuff.  Bassinger's husband is played by Eric Roberts (b. 1956) and he is superb.  I wouldn't mess with this gangster!  Roberts has close to 200 titles on IMDb, starting on TV in the 1970s.  He has worked with stars as different as Shelley Winters, Sylvester Stallone and Cheech Marin.  He has eight projects in the works for release this year, and he plays Vance Abrams on television's "The Young and the Restless."

The detective who has to sort out the story is played by Keith David (b. 1956) and he is also perfectly cast.  Stern and serious, he gets the job done...eventually, and with help from Gere.  David has 190 titles listed, so he is no stranger to acting.  His first movie credit came in John Carpenter's The Thing (1982), starring Kurt Russell.  He also appeared in Platoon in 1986, The Quick and the Dead (1995), Volcano (1997), There's Something About Mary (1998), and was a pastor on "ER" for two years.  David has nine productions in the works for this year.

The rest of the cast is almost invisible.  The only other characters that are important are played by Paul Guilfoyle (b. 1949) and Robert Harper (b. 1951).  Guilfoyle, the defense attorney, has 97 titles and Harper as a witness for the defense, has 60.  Both, once again, pull off their part very well, but without becoming etched in your memory.  Nonetheless, they are important bit parts to the story.

Lastly, Harris Yulin (b. 1937) plays the prosecuting attorney.  There is a name you probably don't know, but you will remember him when you see his face or hear his voice.  A veteran of 113 titles, including everything from playing Wyatt Earp in Doc (1971) to a guest spot on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine."  He has also played Barabbas, George 'Machine Gun' Kelly, J. Edgar Hoover and Leonardo da Vinci. 

I would say, if you have never seen a Hitchcock film, Final Analysis would be a very good film.  If you are familiar with Hitch, it is still a good movie to watch some evening.

Casino Royale (The second one)

I saw Casino Royale (1967) when it first came out, once again at the Keswick Theatre in Glenside, PA.  I don't think I have seen it in full since that time, when I was just 17 years old.  I recently purchased it because the DVD also includes "Casino Royale" from the TV series "Climax!" and I have never seen that one.  (I still haven't, but I will get around to it!)

Ian Fleming wrote the novel in 1953, introducing James Bond to the world.  The rights to the novel were bought by CBS for $1,000 and the "Climax!" offering was presented the next year starring Barry Nelson (1917 - 2007) as the very first James Bond.

In 1955 Fleming sold the film rights for $6,000 to producers Michael Garrison and Gregory Ratoff, and they had a few failed attempts to sell the idea.  The rights eventually came to Columbia Pictures and it was decided that a satire would be the best way to produce a money maker.

The 1967 release of Casino Royale is somewhat less than true to the novel.  Actually, it is a lot less than true.  This movie is, in my opinion, one of the best satires made in the 1960s, and belongs on the shelf with movies like Barbarella (1968).  They are a statement of the times and the changing mores of the sixties, and I would suggest that they may have inspired Mel Brooks to make Blazing Saddles in 1974.  Casino Royale is not a bad film, as some have said in other reviews, it is simply not a typical James Bond film.  That's why they call it satire.

The cast is nothing short of amazing.  As I try not to focus on the main stars in my blog, they will speak for themselves.  Orson Welles is ominous as Le Chiffre, Peter Sellers has a few wonderful (probably ad libbed) moments, Woody Allen is Woody Allen, and David Niven is as suave as I have ever seen him.  Need I mention Ursula Andress and Deborah Kerr?

The film is also filled with incredibly beautiful women, dressed (or rather almost dressed) in sixties style.  As my wife pointed out, the use of these girls is just a bit on the sexist side, but consider the era.  It was obviosly made as a movie for men.  We see Joanna Pettet (b. 1942) as Bond's daughter, Barbara Bouchet (b. 1943) as Miss Moneypenny, and a young Jacqueline Bisset (b. 1944) in her fourth film role.  All in their twenties, and they all went on to successful acting careers.

The cameo appearances speak for themselves, but I think I may have to watch it again, as I missed Charles Boyer and Richard Burton!  It is impossible to miss George Raft who shoots himself with a trick gun, and Peter O'Toole who is "the finest man who ever breathed."

Here are some cast members that you may not know.  David Prowse (b. 1935) has a walk-on as the Frankenstein monster.  This was his first film.  Prowse went on to fame playing the screen part of Darth Vader, the man with James Earl Jones' voice in Star Wars.

This was also Anjelica Huston's (b. 1951) first film, but we only see her hands.  Of course, she is John Huston's daughter and the elder Huston appears in the movie as M, and directed some scenes.  Finally, Charlie Chaplin's daughter, Geraldine Chaplin (b. 1944) is unrecognizable as one of the Keystone Kops in a very quick clip.

If you thought Casino Royale was a bad movie, please see it again.  Keep in mind that it is a treasure of the sixties, not a James Bond film.  And don't try to follow the story...that is almost impossible.  A closer story to the original novel was made with Daniel Craig, in his first Bond appearance, in 2006.  I believe the story has also increased in value since 1955.  In 1999 MGM paid $10,000,000 for the rights.

My Fair Lady

My Fair Lady (1964) is a classic musical, and one of the best.  I was lucky enough to see it at Radio City Music Hall in New York when it was released, on 70mm film with six track RCA sound.  That is the way to see a movie!

As everyone knows, the play My Fair Lady (1956) was made into the movie, and they are the musical remake of Pygmalion (1938, the film starring Leslie Howard), which is adapted from the 1912 George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950) play by the same name.  In fact, Shaw worked on the screenplay for the 1938 film.

Music is by Lerner and Loewe, and it doesn't get much better than that.  A great many of the songs went on to become hits by artists like Nat King Cole and others.  And as everyone knows, Marni Nixon (b. 1930) dubbed the signing voice of Eliza Doolittle due to the good, but untrained voice of Hepburn.  It is curious that Nixon did not receive screen credit, but I am sure she was well paid.

I don't need to go into the stars of My Fair Lady.  Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison, Wilfred Hyde-White and Stanley Holloway are easy to remember.  Enough has been said of the movie and their parts in it. 

Let's just take a quick look at a few of the smaller parts.  This was a big movie with a big cast, many of whom are just extras.  I just noticed that Grady Sutton (1906 - 1995) was one of those extras.  Grady has a huge filmography with 230 titles, including W. C. Fields' The Bank Dick (1940) where he played Og Oggilby.  Fields said it sounded like a bubble in a bathtub.

Alan Napier (1903 - 1988) was a gentleman who escorted Eliza to the queen at the ball.  Napier is most famous as the television butler, Alfred, to Adam West's "Batman."  Napier's career of 145 titles spans more than 50 years.

Some other wonderful names include stunt man Clyde Howdy (1919 - 1969) and Queenie Leonard (1905 - 2002).  I know nothing about those two, but they had great names. 

Betty Blythe (1893 - 1972) is also an extra.  Her career of 158 titles started in 1916, and My Fair Lady was her last film.  You can see Blythe in such great movies at Anna Karenina (1935) and Topper (1937). 

Lastly I want to mention Theodore Bikel (b. 1924) who played Zoltan Karpathy, the Count who tried to figure out where Eliza came from and got it all wrong.  Bikel is a wonderful character actor with 152 titles on IMDb, starting in 1949.  His third film was The African Queen in 1951.  You can also see him in The Enemy Below (1957) and he did a lot of TV work starting in the 1960s.  His versatile voice and command of dialects is impressive.

My Fair Lady, directed by George Cukor (1899 - 1983), is a classic and should be in every collection.

J. Farrell MacDonald

Here's a name that you may not know, but most likely you have seen him in several classic films.  J. Farrell MacDonald (1875 - 1952) worked in 327 movies from 1911 to 1951, and he also directed 43 silent films.

MacDonald was a favorite of John Ford and also Frank Capra.  Good company to be in.  He made about 25 films with Ford as director or writer, including some 18 silents when he was still being billed as Jack Ford.  He worked in three Capra films.

In his silent films, he worked with some of the greats such as Mary Pickford, Tom Mix and Harold Lloyd.  MacDonald successfully made the transition to talkies through the evolutionary period of 1927 to 1928.  The early sound films had music and sound effects played on a record during the movie, with hit or miss synchronization. 

Just a few years after sound was invented, or at least added to film with some success, he was cast as a detective in The Maltese Falcon (1931).  This is, of course, the earlier, pre-Hayes Code version, long before Humphrey Bogart played Sam Spade in 1941.  Ricardo Cortex (1900 - 1977) had that honor, and we also see film greats Una Merkel (1903 - 1986) and Thelma Todd (1906 - 1935) in it.

MacDonald also worked in three Spencer Tracy films in the 1930s.  Me and My Gal (1932), The Power and the Glory (1933) and Riffraff (1936).  He is in two of the Shirley Temple films in her earlier years and one of her last films, The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer in 1947.

I hesitate to say any of his films were better than others.  Back in the 1930s and 1940s, movies were turned out at a phenomenal rate because it was inexpensive entertainment and the demand was so high.  Character actors like J. Farrell MacDonald were in needed, hence the reason he made so many films.  They can't be all great, and the certainly aren't all bad.

In 1940 he is in Dark Command with another great cast.  John Wayne, Claire Trevor, Roy Rogers, Gabby Hayes, Walter Pidgeon and Marjorie Main.  Over the years he made seven films with William 'Hopalong Cassidy' Boyd, and four with The Duke.

Meet John Doe (1941) and It's a Wonderful Life (1946) were two of his Capra films.  He played the man whose grandfather planted the tree in Wonderful Life.  It was a role that you didn't think about twice, but he played it well, and I bet you remember it.

The last movie he made where he received screen credit was Superman and the Mole People in 1951, starring George Reeves (1914 - 1959).  I suppose there were a few films where MacDonald had top billing, but he mostly used his talent to make the stars look good.  That's what a Bit Actor does best.