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.
Acted in
Golden Saddles, Silver Spurs
2000
as (archive footage)
Mae West and the Men Who Knew Her
1994
as Self (archive footage)
Legends of the West
1992
as Billy the Kid in 'Billy the Kid'
Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch
1976
as (archive footage)
It's Showtime
1976
as Self (archive footage)
Apache Uprising
1965
as Sheriff Ben Hall
The Bounty Killer
1965
as Sheriff Green
Requiem for a Gunfighter
1965
as Enkoff
Perry Mason
1957
as Warner Griffith
Official Detective
1957
The Marshal's Daughter
1953
as Johnny Mack Brown - Poker-Game Player
Canyon Ambush
1952
as Johnny Mack Brown
This Is Your Life
1952
as Self
Dead Man's Trail
1952
as Johnny Mack Brown
Man from the Black Hills
1952
as Johnny Mack Brown
Texas City
1952
as Johnny Mack Brown
Texas Lawmen
1951
as Marshal Johnny Mack Brown
Whistling Hills
1951
as Johnny Mack Brown
Oklahoma Justice
1951
as Johnny Mack Brown
Montana Desperado
1951
as Johnny Mack Brown
Blazing Bullets
1951
as Johnny Mack Brown
Man from Sonora
1951
as Johnny Mack Brown
Colorado Ambush
1951
as Johnny Mack Brown
Short Grass
1950
as Sheriff Ord Keown
Outlaw Gold
1950
as Johnny Mack Brown
Law of the Panhandle
1950
as U.S. Marshal Johnny Mack Brown
Six Gun Mesa
1950
as Johnny Mack Brown
Over the Border
1950
as Johnny Mack Brown
West of Wyoming
1950
as Johnny Mack Brown
Western Renegades
1949
as Johnny Mack Brown
Range Justice
1949
as Johnny Mack Brown
West of El Dorado
1949
as Johnny Mack
Stampede
1949
as Sheriff Aaron Ball
Trails End
1949
as Johnny Mack
Law of the West
1949
as Federal Agent Johnny Mack
Hidden Danger
1948
as Johnny Mack
Gunning for Justice
1948
as Johnny Mack
The Sheriff of Medicine Bow
1948
as Johnny Mack Brown
The Fighting Ranger
1948
as Johnny Brown
Back Trail
1948
as Johnny Mack
Triggerman
1948
as Johnny Mack Brown
Frontier Agent
1948
as Johnny Mack Brown
Crossed Trails
1948
as Johnny Mack
Overland Trails
1948
as Johnny Murdock
Gun Talk
1947
as Johnny McVey
Prairie Express
1947
as Johnny Hudson
Valley of Fear
1947
as Johnny Williams
Flashing Guns
1947
as Johnny Mack
Code of the Saddle
1947
as John Macklin
Trailing Danger
1947
as Johnny
The Law Comes to Gunsight
1947
as Johnny Mackey
Land of the Lawless
1947
as Johnny Mack
Raiders of the South
1947
as Captain Brownell posing Johnny Langdon
Silver Range
1946
as Johnny Bronton
Shadows on the Range
1946
as Steve Mason posing as Steve Saunders
Trigger Fingers
1946
as Sam Hurricane Benton
The Gentleman from Texas
1946
as Johnny Macklin
Under Arizona Skies
1946
as Dusty Smith
The Haunted Mine
1946
as Nevada Jack McKenzie
Drifting Along
1946
as Steve Garner
Border Bandits
1946
as Marshal Nevada
Frontier Feud
1945
as Marshal Nevada Jack McKenzie
The Lost Trail
1945
as Marshal 'Nevada Jack' McKenzie
Flame of the West
1945
as Dr. John Poore
Stranger from Santa Fe
1945
as U.S. Marshal Nevada McKenzie, posing as Roy Ferris
Gun Smoke
1945
as Marshal Nevada Jack McKenzie
Forever Yours
1945
as Maj. Tex O'Connor
The Navajo Trail
1945
as Marshal Nevada McKenzie
Ghost Guns
1944
as Marshal Nevada McKenzie
Law of the Valley
1944
as Marshal Nevada McKenzie
Land of the Outlaws
1944
as Marshal Nevada McKenzie
West of the Rio Grande
1944
as U.S. Marshal Nevada McKenzie
Range Law
1944
as U. S. Marshal Nevada McKenzie
Partners of the Trail
1944
as Jack McKenzie
Law Men
1944
as U.S. Marshal Nevada Jack McKenzie
Raiders of the Border
1944
as Nevada Jack McKenzie
The Texas Kid
1943
as Jack McKenzie
Outlaws of Stampede Pass
1943
as Marshal Nevada Jack McKenzie
Crazy House
1943
as Johnny Mack Brown
The Lone Star Trail
1943
as Blaze Barker
Six Gun Gospel
1943
as Marshal Jack McKenzie
The Stranger From Pecos
1943
as Nevada Jack McKenzie
Raiders of San Joaquin
1943
as Rocky Morgan aka The Black Rider
Cheyenne Roundup
1943
as Buck Brandon & Gils Brandon
The Ghost Rider
1943
as Nevada Jack McKenzie
Tenting Tonight on the Old Camp Ground
1943
as Wade Benson
The Old Chisholm Trail
1942
as Dusty Gardner
Little Joe, the Wrangler
1942
as Neal Wallace
Deep in the Heart of Texas
1942
as Jim Mallory
Boss of Hangtown Mesa
1942
as Steve Collins
The Silver Bullet
1942
as Silver Jim Donovan
Stagecoach Buckaroo
1942
as Steve Hardin
Ride 'Em Cowboy
1942
as Alabam' Brewster
Fighting Bill Fargo
1941
as Bill Fargo
Arizona Cyclone
1941
as Tom Baxter
The Masked Rider
1941
as Larry Prescott
Man from Montana
1941
as Sheriff Bob Dawson
Rawhide Rangers
1941
as Brand Calhoun
Law of the Range
1941
as Steve Howard
Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
1941
as Joe Henderson
Pony Post
1940
as Cal Sheridan
Law and Order
1940
as Bill Ralston
Ragtime Cowboy Joe
1940
as Steve Logan
Son of Roaring Dan
1940
as Jim Reardon (Posing as Horace McPhail)
Bad Man from Red Butte
1940
as Gils Brady / Buck Halliday
Riders of Pasco Basin
1940
as Lee Jamison
Boss of Bullion City
1940
as Tom Bryant
West of Carson City
1940
as Jim Bannister
Chip of the Flying U
1939
as 'Chip' Bennett
Oklahoma Frontier
1939
as Jeff McLeod
Desperate Trails
1939
as Steve Hayden
The Oregon Trail
1939
as Jeff Scott
Land of Liberty
1939
as Billy the Kid (edited from 'Billy the Kid')
Flaming Frontiers
1938
as Tex Houston
Wells Fargo
1937
as Talbot Carter
Born to the West
1937
as Tom Fillmore
Boothill Brigade
1937
as Lon Cardigan
Wild West Days
1937
as Kentucky Wade
A Lawman Is Born
1937
as Tom Mitchell
Guns in the Dark
1937
as Johnny Darrel
Bar-Z Bad Men
1937
as Jim Waters
Lawless Land
1937
as Ranger Jeff Hayden
Trail of Vengeance
1937
as Dude Ramsay
The Gambling Terror
1937
as Jeff Hayes
Undercover Man
1936
as Steve McLain
The Crooked Trail
1936
as Jim Blake
Everyman's Law
1936
as Johnny- aka The Dog Town Kid
Rogue of the Range
1936
as Dan Doran
Desert Phantom
1936
as Billy Donovan
Valley of the Lawless
1936
as Bruce Reynolds
The Courageous Avenger
1935
as Kirk Baxter
Between Men
1935
as Johnny Wellington Jr.
Starlit Days at the Lido
1935
as Self
Branded a Coward
1935
as Johnny Hume
Rustlers of Red Dog
1935
as Jack Wood
Star Night at the Cocoanut Grove
1934
as Self
Against the Law
1934
as Steve Wayne
Belle of the Nineties
1934
as Brooks Clayburn
Cross Streets
1934
as Adam Blythe
St. Louis Woman
1934
as Jim Warren
Three on a Honeymoon
1934
as Chuck Wells
Son of a Sailor
1933
as 'Duke'
Female
1933
as George P. Cooper
Saturday's Millions
1933
as Alan Barry
Fighting With Kit Carson
1933
as Kit Carson
The Vanishing Frontier
1933
as Kirby Tornell
Malay Nights
1932
as Jim Wilson
70,000 Witnesses
1932
as Wally Clark
Flames
1932
as Charlie
Hollywood Halfbacks
1931
The Last Flight
1931
as Bill Talbot
The Secret Six
1931
as Hank Rogers
The Great Meadow
1931
as Berk Jarvis (as John Mack Brown)
Billy the Kid
1930
as Billy the Kid
Montana Moon
1930
as Larry
Undertow
1930
as Paul Whalen
Jazz Heaven
1929
as Barry Holmes
Hurricane
1929
as Dan
The Single Standard
1929
as Tommy Hewlett
The Valiant
1929
as Robert Ward
Coquette
1929
as Michael Jeffery
A Woman of Affairs
1928
as David Furness
A Lady of Chance
1928
as Steve Crandall
Annapolis
1928
as Bill
Our Dancing Daughters
1928
as Ben Blaine
The Play Girl
1928
as Bradley Lane
Soft Living
1928
as Stockney Webb
The Divine Woman
1928
as Jean Lery
The Fair Co-Ed
1927
as Bob
After Midnight
1927
as Party Boy (uncredited)
Mockery
1927
as Russian Officer (uncredited)
The Bugle Call
1927
as Bit (uncredited)
Slide, Kelly, Slide
1927
as Johnny Mack Brown