Skip to main content
Johnny Mack Brown

Johnny Mack Brown

Actor · 1904 – 1974 · Dothan, Alabama, USA

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.

Movies23

  • Movie6.0

    Ride 'Em Cowboy

    1941 · 29 votes

  • Movie5.5

    Wells Fargo

    1937 · 15 votes

  • Movie4.9

    Born to the West

    1937 · 26 votes

  • Movie8.0

    Marrying Widows

    1934 · 1 votes

  • Movie8.0

    Triggerman

    1948 · 1 votes

  • Movie7.0

    Flashing Guns

    1947 · 1 votes

  • Movie6.1

    Belle of the Nineties

    1934 · 15 votes

  • Movie7.0

    Border Bandits

    1946 · 2 votes

  • Movie7.0

    Forever Yours

    1945 · 1 votes

  • Movie8.5
  • Movie9.0

    Malay Nights

    1932 · 1 votes

  • Movie5.4

    Lawless Land

    1937 · 5 votes

  • Movie8.0

    Desert Phantom

    1936 · 1 votes

  • Movie7.5

    Colorado Ambush

    1951 · 2 votes

  • Movie9.0

    Oklahoma Justice

    1951 · 1 votes

  • Movie7.5

    It's Showtime

    1976 · 2 votes

  • Movie6.0

    The Bounty Killer

    1965 · 12 votes

  • Movie6.4

    Apache Uprising

    1965 · 15 votes

  • Movie6.0

    Short Grass

    1950 · 3 votes

  • Movie5.6

    The Secret Six

    1931 · 17 votes

  • Movie6.0

    The Lone Star Trail

    1943 · 3 votes

  • Movie6.0

    Cross Streets

    1934 · 5 votes

  • Movie6.0

Series3

  • TV7.7

    Perry Mason

    1957 · 139 votes

  • TV6.5

    This Is Your Life

    1952 · 13 votes

  • TV7.5

    Official Detective

    1957 · 2 votes