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