Known for Acting
Brother of actor Arthur Shields, with whom he performed in several films, most notably John Ford's The Quiet Man (1952). One of the very few character actors ever to achieve star status. Fitzgerald was the only player ever nominated for the Academy Award for both Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor in the same year for the same role. The recognition was for Going My Way (1944). After he received this double nomination, the Academy immediately changed their rules to prevent this from happening again, rules which have remained unchanged to this day. One of Hollywood's finest character actors and most accomplished scene stealers, Barry Fitzgerald was born William Joseph Shields in 1888 in Dublin, Ireland. Educated to enter the banking business, the diminutive Irishman with the irresistible brogue was bitten by the acting bug in the 1920s and joined Dublin's world-famous Abbey Players. He subsequently starred in the Abbey Theatre production of Sean O'Casey's Juno And The Paycock, a role that he recreated in his film debut for director Alfred Hitchcock in 1930. He was coaxed to the U.S. in 1935 by John Ford to appear in Ford's film adaptation of another O'Casey masterpiece, The Plough and the Stars (1936). Fitzgerald took up residence in Hollywood and went on to give outstanding performances in such films as The Long Voyage Home (1940), How Green Was My Valley (1941), None But the Lonely Heart (1944), And Then There Were None (1945), Two Years Before the Mast (1946) and what is probably the role for which he is most fondly remembered, The Quiet Man (1952). He won the Academy Award For Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of gruff, aging Father Fitzgibbon in Going My Way (1944). He was also nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for the same role and was the only actor to ever be so honored. Barry Fitzgerald died in his beloved Dublin in 1961.
Born
March 9, 1888
Died
January 14, 1961 (age 72)
Birthplace
Dublin, Ireland
Filmography
47 films, 6 shows


Bing Crosby: Rediscovered
2014 · 1h 33m · US
Bing Crosby was, without a doubt, the most popular and influential multi-media star of the first half of the twentieth century, pulling audiences in with his intimate, laid-back voice and innate charm. Narrated by Stanley Tucci and directed by Robert Trachtenberg, this film explores the life and legend of this iconic performer, revealing a personality far more complex than the image the public had only thought they'd known.


Cradle of Genius
1960 · 25m · IE
Longtime playwrights and performers of the Abbey Theatre share colourful reminiscences of the national institution founded by W.B. Yeats and Lady Gregory in 1904. Oscar Nominee: Best Documentary Short
Broth of a Boy
Broth of a Boy
1959 · 1h 17m · IE
An Irish codger, 110, wants a piece of the action for doing a British producer's TV show.


Rooney
1958 · 1h 28m · UK
The life of James Ignatius Rooney, a Dublin rubbish collector during the week and a Gaelic sportsman at the weekends.


The Catered Affair
1956 · 1h 34m · US
An Irish cabby in the Bronx watches his wife go overboard planning their daughter's wedding.


Santa Claus and the Tenth Avenue Kid
1955 · 26m · US
While working as a department store 'Santa Claus', a paroled convict tries to help a troubled boy.


Happy Ever After
1954 · 1h 28m · UK
The whole village mourns when General O'Leary, owner of a hunting estate in South Ireland, is killed in an accident. His nephew, Jasper O'Leary, takes over the state and soon has aroused the displeasure of all, with the exception of Serena McGluskey, as much a schemer as he is a cad. Led by Thady O'Heggarty, the villagers plot to drive Jasper away. They use the occasion of "O'Leary Night", when the ghost of the first O'Leary walks the halls, to create general chaos.


The Quiet Man
1952 · 2h 9m · US
An American man returns to the village of his birth in Ireland, where he finds love and conflict.


Ha da venì... don Calogero!
1952 · 1h 34m · IT
A good-natured priest inherits a large sum of money from a former student at his elementary school and must decide wisely on how to use it best.


Silver City
1951 · 1h 31m · US
Having masterminded the hold up of his company office, a mining engineer is barred from the industry. He then sets up shop as an assayer, scheming to acquire a rich silver mine lease from its operators.


Union Station
1950 · 1h 21m · US
Police catch a break when suspected kidnappers are spotted on a train heading towards Union Station. Police, train station security and a witness try to piece together the crime and get back the blind daughter of a rich business man.


The Story of Seabiscuit
1949 · 1h 33m · US
Horse trainer Shawn O'Hara and his lovely niece, Margaret, come to America to escape the memory of an accident involving Margaret's brother, Danny. Working with thoroughbreds in Kentucky, Shawn takes a liking to a yearling named Seabiscuit, and fights to convince the horse's owner that the tiny horse with big knees will become a top-notch racehorse. Meanwhile, Margaret begins a tentative relationship with jockey Ted Knowles, but is haunted by her brother's death in a steeplechase spill. Written by Ray Hamel


Top o' the Morning
1949 · 1h 40m · US
A singing insurance investigator comes to Ireland to recover the stolen Blarney Stone...and romance the local policeman's daughter.


Miss Tatlock's Millions
1948 · 1h 41m · US
After the accidental death of an idiot heir, a stunt man is hired to impersonate him while the family gathers to determine the dispersment of the estate of Miss Tatlock's millions.


The Sainted Sisters
1948 · 1h 29m · US
Two female con artists from New York City, fleeing the law with money from their latest scam, hide out in a small town in Maine, near the Canadian border. However, this small town's residents aren't quite as unsophisticated as the girls think they are.


The Naked City
1948 · 1h 36m · US
After a former model is drowned in her bathtub, Detective James Halloran and Lieutenant Dan Muldoon attempt to piece together her murder.


Variety Girl
1947 · 1h 33m · US
Dozens of star and character-actor cameos and a message about the Variety Club (a show-business charity) are woven into a framework about two hopeful young ladies who come to Hollywood, exchange identities, and cause comic confusion (with slapstick interludes) throughout the Paramount studio.


Welcome Stranger
1947 · 1h 47m · US
Crusty Dr. McRory of Fallbridge, Maine, hires his temporary replacement sight unseen. Alas, he and young, singing Doctor Jim Pearson don't hit it off; but once Pearson meets teacher Trudy Mason, he is delighted to stay. The locals, taking their cue from McRory, cold-shoulder Pearson, especially Trudy's stuffy fiancé. But then, guess who needs an emergency appendectomy?


Easy Come, Easy Go
1947 · 1h 17m · US
Comedy about an Irish father, who enjoys betting on horses, who keeps interfering with his daughter's romance with a serviceman.


California
1947 · 1h 37m · US
"Wicked" Lily Bishop joins a wagon train to California, led by Michael Fabian and Johnny Trumbo, but news of the Gold Rush scatters the train. When Johnny and Michael finally arrive, Lily is rich from her saloon and storekeeper (former slaver) Pharaoh Coffin is bleeding the miners dry. But worse troubles are ahead: California is inching toward statehood, and certain people want to make it their private empire.


Two Years Before the Mast
1946 · 1h 38m · US
In 1834, Charles Stewart (Alan Ladd), the spoiled, dissolute son of a shipping magnate, is shanghaied aboard the Pilgrim, one of his father's own ships. He embarks upon a long, hellish sea voyage under the tyrannical rule of Captain Francis Thompson (Howard Da Silva), assisted by his first mate, Amazeen (William Bendix). One of his crewmates is Richard Henry Dana Jr. (Brian Donlevy).


The Stork Club
1945 · 1h 30m · US
After aspiring singer Judy Peabody rescues the elderly J.B. Bates from drowning, she assumes that the disheveled man is a vagrant and goes back to her job checking hats at New York City's famed Stork Club. But Bates is actually a grateful millionaire who becomes Judy's anonymous benefactor, and before long the working girl is swathed in minks and diamonds, much to the dismay of her suspicious beau.


And Then There Were None
1945 · 1h 38m · US
Ten strangers are summoned to a remote island and while they are waiting for the mysterious host to appear, a recording levels serious accusations at each of the guests. Soon they start being murdered, one by one. As the survivors try to keep their wits, they reach a disturbing conclusion: one of them must be the killer.


Duffy's Tavern
1945 · 1h 37m · US
The staff of a record factory drown their sorrows at Duffy's Tavern, while the company owner faces threats of bankruptcy.


Incendiary Blonde
1945 · 1h 53m · US
Paramount's highly-fictionalized 1945 musical biography of Texas Guinan, the Roaring '20s New York nightclub owner and celebrity with alleged underworld connections who famously greeted her customers with the phrase, "Hello, suckers!"


None But the Lonely Heart
1944 · 1h 53m · US
When an itinerant reluctantly returns home to help his sickly mother run her shop, they're both tempted to turn to crime to help make ends meet.


I Love a Soldier
1944 · 1h 46m · US
During World War II in San Francisco, Eve Morgan and her single girlfriends spend their days welding ships and their nights dancing with soldiers and sailors shipping out that night. Eve is determined to avoid any romantic entanglements until the war is over she refuses to spend her days and nights worrying about getting bad news about a man she has fallen for. But she doesn't count on meeting a soldier who is determined to change her mind.


Going My Way
1944 · 2h 6m · US
Youthful Father Chuck O'Malley led a colorful life of sports, song, and romance before joining the Roman Catholic clergy. After being appointed to a run-down New York parish, O'Malley's worldly knowledge helps him connect with a gang of boys looking for direction, eventually winning over the aging, conventional Parish priest.


Corvette K-225
1943 · 1h 38m · US
The story of a Canadian WWII naval vessel, with a dramatic subplot concerning her first captain.


Two Tickets to London
1943 · 1h 18m · US
Accused of helping an enemy submarine, a man escapes and joins a beautiful girl in trying to find the real traitors.


The Amazing Mrs. Holliday
1943 · 1h 36m · US
A missionary tries to outwit the U.S. government and smuggle Chinese orphans into the country.


Tarzan's Secret Treasure
1941 · 1h 21m · US
A scientific expedition happens to discover that gold exists on Tarzan's escarpment. The villainous Medford and Vandermeer kidnap Jane and Boy to extort from Tarzan the location of the gold.


How Green Was My Valley
1941 · 1h 58m · US
Huw Morgan, the academically inclined youngest son in a proud family of Welsh coal miners, witnesses the tumultuous events of his young life during a period of rapid social change. At the dawn of the 20th-century, a miners' strike divides the Morgans: the sons demand improvements, and the father doesn't want to rock the boat.


The Sea Wolf
1941 · 1h 40m · US
Shipwrecked fugitives try to escape a brutal sea captain who's losing his mind.


San Francisco Docks
1940 · 1h 6m · US
Longshoreman Johnny Barnes is in love with Kitty Tracy, barmaid at her father's waterfront saloon, and he beats up Cassidy, a crooked politician who has been annoying her. Cassidy is murdered that night and Johnny is jailed for the crime. Kitty, her father Andy Tracy, and waterfront-priest Father Cameron believe Johnny is innocent but all evidence points to his guilt.


The Long Voyage Home
1940 · 1h 45m · US
The crew of the merchant ship Glencairn hope to survive a transatlantic crossing during World War II. Adapted from four Eugene O'Neill one-act plays.


Full Confession
1939 · 1h 18m · US
A Catholic priest must convince a man to step forward to save the wrong person from being sent to the electric chair.


The Saint Strikes Back
1939 · 1h 4m · US
Suave private detective Simon "The Saint" Templar arrives in San Francisco and meets Val, a woman whose police inspector father killed himself after being accused of corruption and dismissed from the force. Convinced of the man's innocence, Templar takes it upon himself to vindicate the memory of Val's father. To do so he must take on the city's most dangerous criminal gang, while also battling hostile members of the police department.


Pacific Liner
1939 · 1h 16m · US
The S. S. Arcturus sails from Shanghai to San Francisco, and Dr. Jim Craig takes the post of ship's physician in order to be near Ann Grayson, the ship's nurse. Chief Engineer 'Crusher" McKay also has his eyes on Ann, and this brings an immediate conflict between the two men. When an epidemic breaks out below decks, Craig tells McKay the engine-and-fire rooms must be put under quarantine, but all of Craig's efforts to keep the disease from spreading are opposed by McKay.


The Dawn Patrol
1938 · 1h 43m · US
In 1915 France, Major Brand commands the 39th Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps. The young airmen go up in bullet-riddled "crates" and the casualty rate is appalling, but Brand can't make the "brass hats" at headquarters see reason. Insubordinate air ace Captain Courtney is another thorn in Brand's side...but finds the smile wiped from his face when he rises to command the squadron himself. Everyone keeps a stiff upper lip.


Marie Antoinette
1938 · 2h 29m · US
The young Austrian princess Marie Antoinette is arranged to marry Louis XVI, future king of France, in a politically advantageous marriage for the rival countries. The opulent Marie indulges in various whims and flirtations. When Louis XV passes and Louis XVI ascends the French throne, his queen's extravagant lifestyle earns the hatred of the French people, who despise her Austrian heritage.


Four Men and a Prayer
1938 · 1h 25m · US
The sons of a disgraced British officer try to clear his name.


Bringing Up Baby
1938 · 1h 42m · US
David Huxley is waiting to get a bone he needs for his museum collection. Through a series of strange circumstances, he meets Susan Vance, and the duo have a series of misadventures which include a leopard called Baby.


Ebb Tide
1937 · 1h 34m
In 1890, two British expatriates, Robert Herrick and Huish, and German Captain Jakob Thorbecke, are commissioned to sail a Yankee schooner called The Golden State , whose captain and crew have died of smallpox. From Tehua in the South Seas to Australia, they are to deliver a cargo of champagne. Thorbecke decides to head for Peru, however, so he can sell the merchandise and pocket the money. While sailing, Faith Wishart, daughter of the deceased captain, comes out of her hiding place on board and, by briefly holding Thorbecke at gunpoint, demands he make the delivery.


The Plough and the Stars
1936 · 1h 7m · US
A husband clashes with his wife over his membership to the Irish citizen army during the Easter rebellion.


Guests of The Nation
1935 · 49m · IE
During the Irish War of Independence in 1921, a pair of IRA soldiers are ordered to guard two British prisoners, but face a dilemma when they bond with their captives.


Juno and the Paycock
1930 · 1h 34m · UK
In the slums of Dublin during the Irish Civil War, the Boyle family’s fragile stability collapses after news of an unexpected inheritance lures them into a false sense of prosperity. Captain Boyle, a boastful idler, squanders their meager resources, while his wife Juno holds the household together. When the fortune proves illusory, the family faces ruin, betrayal, and tragedy.