Acting
Johnny Mack Brown
An All-American halfback while attending the University of Alabama, Johnny Mack Brown chose the silver screen over the green grass of the football field when he graduated. Signed to a contract with MGM in 1926, Brown debuted in Slide, Kelly, Slide (1927) with William Haines in a film about - baseball. This was followed by The Bugle Call (1927), which starred the fading Jackie Coogan. In 1928 he appeared in the last Norma Shearer silent film, A Lady of Chance (1928). After that, he worked with Greta Garbo, Marion Davies and Mary Pickford. His muscular good looks only carried him so far in films, however, and by 1930 he had yet to find his place. At MGM Clark Gable was taking the roles that Brown was up for, so he went into a western for director King Vidor, Billy the Kid (1930). While Vidor did not want him for the part to begin with, the picture was successful; however, Brown's career at MGM soon ended. By 1933 he was still making westerns, but they were for low-rung studios like Mascot. More westerns at even lower-rung Supreme Pictures followed, as well as serials like Wild West Days (1937) at Universal. In 1943 Brown took his boots over to Monogram Pictures, where he made over 60 westerns. He started off as "Nevada Jack McKenzie" in the Rough Riders series, but the name soon changed to Johnny. As with most of the early cowboy stars, he was a hero to millions of young children and consistently among the top ten money-makers in westerns from 1942-50. The bubble burst, though, just as it did for Allan Lane, in 1953, as the days of the "B" western came to an end.
Filmography
Golden Saddles, Silver Spurs
Film · 2000
Mae West and the Men Who Knew Her
Film · 1994
Legends of the West
Film · 1992
Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch
Film · 1976
It's Showtime
Film · 1976
Apache Uprising
Film · 1965
The Bounty Killer
Film · 1965
Requiem for a Gunfighter
Film · 1965
Perry Mason
Series · 1957
Official Detective
Series · 1957
The Marshal's Daughter
Film · 1953
Dead Man's Trail
Film · 1952
Canyon Ambush
Film · 1952
Man from the Black Hills
Film · 1952
Texas City
Film · 1952
This Is Your Life
Series · 1952
Texas Lawmen
Film · 1951
Oklahoma Justice
Film · 1951
Blazing Bullets
Film · 1951
Whistling Hills
Film · 1951
Man from Sonora
Film · 1951
Colorado Ambush
Film · 1951
Montana Desperado
Film · 1951
Short Grass
Film · 1950
Six Gun Mesa
Film · 1950
Over the Border
Film · 1950
Outlaw Gold
Film · 1950
Law of the Panhandle
Film · 1950
West of Wyoming
Film · 1950
Stampede
Film · 1949
West of El Dorado
Film · 1949
Law of the West
Film · 1949
Range Justice
Film · 1949
Trails End
Film · 1949
Western Renegades
Film · 1949
Overland Trails
Film · 1948
Triggerman
Film · 1948
Crossed Trails
Film · 1948
Back Trail
Film · 1948
The Fighting Ranger
Film · 1948
Frontier Agent
Film · 1948
Gunning for Justice
Film · 1948
Hidden Danger
Film · 1948
The Sheriff of Medicine Bow
Film · 1948
Prairie Express
Film · 1947
Valley of Fear
Film · 1947
Flashing Guns
Film · 1947
Gun Talk
Film · 1947
Raiders of the South
Film · 1947
Trailing Danger
Film · 1947
Code of the Saddle
Film · 1947
Land of the Lawless
Film · 1947
The Law Comes to Gunsight
Film · 1947
The Gentleman from Texas
Film · 1946
Shadows on the Range
Film · 1946
Trigger Fingers
Film · 1946
Border Bandits
Film · 1946
Silver Range
Film · 1946
Under Arizona Skies
Film · 1946
Drifting Along
Film · 1946
The Haunted Mine
Film · 1946
The Navajo Trail
Film · 1945
Stranger from Santa Fe
Film · 1945
The Lost Trail
Film · 1945
Gun Smoke
Film · 1945
Forever Yours
Film · 1945
Flame of the West
Film · 1945
Frontier Feud
Film · 1945
Partners of the Trail
Film · 1944
Law Men
Film · 1944
Ghost Guns
Film · 1944
Land of the Outlaws
Film · 1944
Law of the Valley
Film · 1944
Raiders of the Border
Film · 1944
Range Law
Film · 1944
West of the Rio Grande
Film · 1944
The Texas Kid
Film · 1943
Tenting Tonight on the Old Camp Ground
Film · 1943
The Lone Star Trail
Film · 1943
Raiders of San Joaquin
Film · 1943
Cheyenne Roundup
Film · 1943
Outlaws of Stampede Pass
Film · 1943
Six Gun Gospel
Film · 1943
The Stranger From Pecos
Film · 1943
The Ghost Rider
Film · 1943
Crazy House
Film · 1943
Stagecoach Buckaroo
Film · 1942
The Silver Bullet
Film · 1942
Ride 'Em Cowboy
Film · 1942
Deep in the Heart of Texas
Film · 1942
Little Joe, the Wrangler
Film · 1942
The Old Chisholm Trail
Film · 1942
Boss of Hangtown Mesa
Film · 1942
Rawhide Rangers
Film · 1941
Law of the Range
Film · 1941
Man from Montana
Film · 1941
The Masked Rider
Film · 1941
Arizona Cyclone
Film · 1941
Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
Film · 1941
Fighting Bill Fargo
Film · 1941
Pony Post
Film · 1940
Son of Roaring Dan
Film · 1940
Ragtime Cowboy Joe
Film · 1940
West of Carson City
Film · 1940
Riders of Pasco Basin
Film · 1940
Boss of Bullion City
Film · 1940
Bad Man from Red Butte
Film · 1940
Law and Order
Film · 1940
The Oregon Trail
Film · 1939
Chip of the Flying U
Film · 1939
Land of Liberty
Film · 1939
Oklahoma Frontier
Film · 1939
Desperate Trails
Film · 1939
Flaming Frontiers
Film · 1938
Born to the West
Film · 1937
Wells Fargo
Film · 1937
Lawless Land
Film · 1937
Bar-Z Bad Men
Film · 1937
Guns in the Dark
Film · 1937
A Lawman Is Born
Film · 1937
Boothill Brigade
Film · 1937
The Gambling Terror
Film · 1937
Wild West Days
Film · 1937
Trail of Vengeance
Film · 1937
Hell Town
Film · 1937
The Crooked Trail
Film · 1936
Desert Phantom
Film · 1936
Rogue of the Range
Film · 1936
Valley of the Lawless
Film · 1936
Undercover Man
Film · 1936
Everyman's Law
Film · 1936
Between Men
Film · 1935
The Courageous Avenger
Film · 1935
Branded a Coward
Film · 1935
Rustlers of Red Dog
Film · 1935
Starlit Days at the Lido
Film · 1935
Against the Law
Film · 1934
Belle of the Nineties
Film · 1934
Cross Streets
Film · 1934
St. Louis Woman
Film · 1934
Star Night at the Cocoanut Grove
Film · 1934
Three on a Honeymoon
Film · 1934
Marrying Widows
Film · 1934
Fighting With Kit Carson
Film · 1933
Female
Film · 1933
The Vanishing Frontier
Film · 1933
Son of a Sailor
Film · 1933
Saturday's Millions
Film · 1933
Flames
Film · 1932
Malay Nights
Film · 1932
70,000 Witnesses
Film · 1932
The Secret Six
Film · 1931
The Last Flight
Film · 1931
The Great Meadow
Film · 1931
Hollywood Halfbacks
Film · 1931
Lasca of the Rio Grande
Film · 1931
Montana Moon
Film · 1930
Billy the Kid
Film · 1930
Undertow
Film · 1930
Coquette
Film · 1929
The Single Standard
Film · 1929
The Valiant
Film · 1929
Hurricane
Film · 1929
Jazz Heaven
Film · 1929
Our Dancing Daughters
Film · 1928
Soft Living
Film · 1928
A Lady of Chance
Film · 1928
The Divine Woman
Film · 1928
A Woman of Affairs
Film · 1928
Annapolis
Film · 1928
The Play Girl
Film · 1928
Square Crooks
Film · 1928
After Midnight
Film · 1927
Mockery
Film · 1927
Slide, Kelly, Slide
Film · 1927
The Fair Co-Ed
Film · 1927
The Bugle Call
Film · 1927