A titan in the field of low-budget movie-making, Australian-born stage actor J.P. McGowan enjoyed his first major success directing his wife Helen Holmes in the immensely popular and lucrative Hazards of Helen series, in which he also often played the villain. The McGowans left the producer, Kalem, after 30-odd installments to produce their own railroad series and serials under the Signal banner. The venture was reasonably successful until the distributor, Mutual, went out of business in 1919, after which the couple went into an immediate decline professionally and personally. On his own, McGowan spent the 1920s producing, directing, and acting in some of the cheapest professional films ever released, usually budgeting his little action melodramas for less money than MGM would spend on a newspaper add and economizing by incorporating plenty of stock footage that at least offered the illusion of grandeur. A character actor and bit part player in the 1930s, McGowan made his final screen appearance in John Ford's Stagecoach (1939).
| Title | Year | Editors' Rating | User Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Texas Cowboy
Actor, Director |
1942 | |||
|
Hunted Men
Actor |
1938 | |||
|
The Buccaneer
Actor |
1938 | |||
|
Where the West Begins
Director |
1938 | |||
| 1938 | ||||
|
Borderland
Actor |
1937 | |||
|
Empty Holsters
Actor |
1937 | |||
|
Fury and the Woman
Actor |
1937 | |||
|
Heart of the Rockies
Actor |
1937 | |||
|
Hit the Saddle
Actor |
1937 | |||
|
Prairie Thunder
Actor |
1937 | |||
|
Roaring Six Guns
Director |
1937 | |||
|
Rough Ridin' Rhythm
Actor, Director |
1937 | |||
|
Slave Ship
Actor |
1937 | |||
|
Vengeance
Screenwriter |
1937 | |||
|
Westbound Limited
Actor |
1937 | |||
|
Bar 20 Rides Again
Actor |
1936 | |||
|
Guns and Guitars
Actor |
1936 | |||
|
Jungle Jim [Serial]
Actor |
1936 | |||
|
Ride 'em Cowboy
Actor |
1936 | |||
|
Secret Patrol
Actor, Screenwriter |
1936 | |||
|
Silver Spurs
Actor |
1936 | |||
|
Stampede
Actor |
1936 | |||
| 1936 | ||||
|
The Three Mesquiteers
Actor |
1936 | |||
|
Border Brigands
Actor |
1935 | |||
|
Goin' to Town
Actor |
1935 | |||
|
Mississippi
Actor |
1935 | |||
|
Evelyn Prentice
Actor |
1934 | |||
|
Fighting Hero
Actor |
1934 | |||
|
Lawless Valley
Actor, Director |
1934 | |||
|
No More Women
Actor |
1934 | |||
|
Wagon Wheels
Actor |
1934 | |||
|
Deadwood Pass
Director |
1933 | |||
|
Drum Taps
Director |
1933 | |||
|
Somewhere in Sonora
Actor |
1933 | |||
|
The Lone Bandit
Director |
1933 | |||
|
The Outlaw Tamer
Actor, Director |
1933 | |||
|
War of the Range
Director |
1933 | |||
|
When a Man Rides Alone
Director |
1933 | |||
|
Human Targets
Director |
1932 | |||
|
Mark of the Spur
Director |
1932 | |||
|
Shot Gun Pass
Director |
1932 | |||
|
Tangled Fortunes
Director |
1932 | |||
|
The Hurricane Express
Director |
1932 | |||
|
The Hurricane Express [Serial]
Director |
1932 | |||
|
The Man from New Mexico
Director |
1932 | |||
|
The Scarlet Brand
Director |
1932 | |||
|
Headin' for Trouble
Director |
1931 | |||
|
Quick Trigger Lee
Director |
1931 | |||
|
Riders of the North
Director |
1931 | |||
|
Son of the Plains
Actor |
1931 | |||
|
The Cyclone Kid
Director |
1931 | |||
|
Under Texas Skies
Director |
1931 | |||
|
Beyond the Law
Director |
1930 | |||
|
Canyon Hawks
Director |
1930 | |||
|
Code of Honor
Director |
1930 | |||
|
Covered Wagon Trails
Actor, Director |
1930 | |||
|
Hunted Men
Director |
1930 | |||
|
Near the Rainbow's End
Director |
1930 | |||
|
O'Malley Rides Alone
Director |
1930 | |||
|
Parting of the Trails
Director |
1930 | |||
|
The Man from Nowhere
Director |
1930 | |||
|
The Oklahoma Sheriff
Director |
1930 | |||
|
Western Honor
Director |
1930 | |||
|
'neath Western Skies
Director |
1929 | |||
|
Bad Men's Money
Actor, Director, Screen Story |
1929 | |||
|
Below the Deadline
Director |
1929 | |||
|
Cowboy and the Outlaw
Actor, Director, Producer |
1929 | |||
|
Devil's Tower
Actor, Director |
1929 | |||
|
Headin' Westward
Actor, Director |
1929 | |||
|
Law of the Plains
Director |
1929 | |||
|
Man from Nevada
Director |
1929 | |||
|
Pioneers of the West
Actor, Director |
1929 | |||
|
Plunging Hoofs
Actor |
1929 | |||
|
Riders of the Rio Grande
Director |
1929 | |||
|
Riders of the Storm
Director, Screen Story |
1929 | |||
|
Senor Americano
Actor |
1929 | |||
|
The Fighting Terror
Actor, Director |
1929 | |||
|
The Invaders
Actor, Director |
1929 | |||
|
The Last Roundup
Actor, Director |
1929 | |||
|
The Lawless Legion
Actor |
1929 | |||
|
The Lone Horseman
Actor, Director |
1929 | |||
|
The Oklahoma Kid
Actor, Director, Producer |
1929 | |||
|
The Phantom Rider
Actor, Director |
1929 | |||
|
Arizona Days
Actor, Director |
1928 | |||
|
Black Ace
Actor |
1928 | |||
|
Code of the Scarlet
Actor |
1928 | |||
|
Devil Dogs
Actor |
1928 | |||
|
Dugan of the Dugouts
Actor, Screenwriter |
1928 | |||
|
Law of the Mounted
Actor, Director |
1928 | |||
|
Manhattan Cowboy
Director |
1928 | |||
|
On the Divide
Actor, Director |
1928 | |||
|
Ships of the Night
Actor |
1928 | |||
|
Silent Trail
Actor, Director |
1928 | |||
|
Texas Tommy
Director |
1928 | |||
|
The Old Code
Actor |
1928 | |||
|
Two Outlaws
Actor |
1928 | |||
|
West of Santa Fe
Actor, Director |
1928 | |||
|
Aflame in the Sky
Director |
1927 | |||
|
Arizona Nights
Actor |
1927 | |||
|
Gun Gospel
Actor |
1927 | |||
|
Red Signals
Actor, Director |
1927 | |||
|
Slaver
Actor |
1927 | |||
|
Tarzan and the Golden Lion
Director |
1927 | |||
|
The Lost Limited
Director |
1927 | |||
|
The Outlaw Dog
Director |
1927 | |||
|
Thunderbolt's Tracks
Director |
1927 | |||
|
When a Dog Loves
Director |
1927 | |||
|
Crossed Signals
Director |
1926 | |||
|
Danger Quest
Actor |
1926 | |||
|
Desperate Chance
Director |
1926 | |||
|
Perils of the Rail
Director, Producer |
1926 | |||
|
Red Blood
Director |
1926 | |||
|
Road Agent
Director |
1926 | |||
|
Senor Daredevil
Actor |
1926 | |||
|
The Canyon of Missing Men
Director, Producer |
1926 | |||
|
The Lost Express
Actor, Director |
1926 | |||
|
Bandit Tamer
Director |
1925 | |||
|
Barriers of the Law
Actor, Director, Producer |
1925 | |||
|
Billy the Kid
Director |
1925 | |||
|
Blood and Steel
Director |
1925 | |||
|
Border Intrigue
Actor, Director |
1925 | |||
|
Crack O'Dawn
Actor |
1925 | |||
|
Fear Fighter
Actor |
1925 | |||
|
Fighting Sheriff
Director |
1925 | |||
|
Gambling Fool
Director |
1925 | |||
|
Makers of Men
Actor |
1925 | |||
|
Outwitted
Actor, Director, Screenwriter |
1925 | |||
|
Baffled
Director |
1924 | |||
|
Crossed Trails
Director |
1924 | |||
|
Western Vengeance
Director |
1924 | |||
|
Whipping Boss
Director |
1924 | |||
|
One Million in Jewels
Director, Screenwriter |
1923 | |||
|
Stormy Seas
Actor, Director |
1923 | |||
|
Hills of Missing Men
Actor, Director, Producer, Screenwriter |
1922 | |||
|
Reckless Chances
Actor, Director, Screenwriter |
1922 | |||
|
Tiger True
Director |
1921 | |||
|
Elmo the Fearless
Actor |
1920 | |||
|
The Lost Express
Director, Producer, Screenwriter |
1917 | |||
|
Diamond Runners
Director |
1916 | |||
|
Judith of the Cumberlands
Director |
1916 | |||
|
Manager of the B&A
Director |
1916 | |||
|
The Lass of the Lumberlands
Director |
1916 | |||
|
The Girl and the Game
Director |
1915 | |||
| 1915 | ||||
| 1915 | ||||
|
The Hazards of Helen: The Pay Train
Director |
1915 | |||
| 1915 | ||||
|
The Voice in the Fog
Director |
1915 | |||
|
The Hazards of Helen [Serial]
Director |
1914 | |||
| 1912 |
