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.
174 movies · 3 shows
Golden Saddles, Silver Spurs
2000·10.0
Mae West and the Men Who Knew Her
1994·0.0
Legends of the West
1992·0.0
Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch
1976·8.5
It's Showtime
1976·7.5
Apache Uprising
1965·6.4
The Bounty Killer
1965·6.0
Requiem for a Gunfighter
1965·7.5
The Marshal's Daughter
1953·4.3
Canyon Ambush
1952·6.5
Dead Man's Trail
1952·7.0
Man from the Black Hills
1952·9.0
Texas City
1952·6.5
Texas Lawmen
1951·7.0
Whistling Hills
1951·7.0
Oklahoma Justice
1951·9.0
Montana Desperado
1951·7.0
Blazing Bullets
1951·9.0
Man from Sonora
1951·9.0
Colorado Ambush
1951·7.5
Short Grass
1950·6.5
Outlaw Gold
1950·10.0
Law of the Panhandle
1950·0.0
Six Gun Mesa
1950·9.5
Over the Border
1950·8.0
West of Wyoming
1950·6.5
Western Renegades
1949·6.5
Range Justice
1949·7.0
West of El Dorado
1949·10.0
Stampede
1949·6.3
Trails End
1949·10.0
Law of the West
1949·7.0
Hidden Danger
1948·7.0
Gunning for Justice
1948·10.0
The Sheriff of Medicine Bow
1948·7.0
The Fighting Ranger
1948·9.0
Back Trail
1948·8.0
Triggerman
1948·8.0
Frontier Agent
1948·8.0
Crossed Trails
1948·7.0
Overland Trails
1948·9.0
Gun Talk
1947·8.0
Prairie Express
1947·0.0
Valley of Fear
1947·8.0
Flashing Guns
1947·7.0
Code of the Saddle
1947·7.0
Trailing Danger
1947·9.0
The Law Comes to Gunsight
1947·6.7
Land of the Lawless
1947·7.0
Raiders of the South
1947·6.5
Silver Range
1946·10.0
Shadows on the Range
1946·10.0
Trigger Fingers
1946·6.5
The Gentleman from Texas
1946·6.0
Under Arizona Skies
1946·10.0
The Haunted Mine
1946·10.0
Drifting Along
1946·10.0
Border Bandits
1946·7.0
Frontier Feud
1945·7.0
The Lost Trail
1945·7.0
Flame of the West
1945·7.0
Stranger from Santa Fe
1945·8.5
Gun Smoke
1945·5.4
Forever Yours
1945·7.0
The Navajo Trail
1945·10.0
Ghost Guns
1944·6.1
Law of the Valley
1944·6.0
Land of the Outlaws
1944·7.0
West of the Rio Grande
1944·9.0
Range Law
1944·9.0
Partners of the Trail
1944·5.0
Law Men
1944·5.4
Raiders of the Border
1944·10.0
The Texas Kid
1943·5.8
Outlaws of Stampede Pass
1943·7.0
Crazy House
1943·6.0
The Lone Star Trail
1943·6.0
Six Gun Gospel
1943·5.3
The Stranger From Pecos
1943·7.0
Raiders of San Joaquin
1943·7.0
Cheyenne Roundup
1943·7.0
The Ghost Rider
1943·8.0
Tenting Tonight on the Old Camp Ground
1943·9.0
The Old Chisholm Trail
1942·7.7
Little Joe, the Wrangler
1942·7.5
Deep in the Heart of Texas
1942·7.5
Boss of Hangtown Mesa
1942·10.0
The Silver Bullet
1942·6.0
Stagecoach Buckaroo
1942·7.5
Fighting Bill Fargo
1941·7.0
Ride 'Em Cowboy
1941·6.0
Arizona Cyclone
1941·7.0
The Masked Rider
1941·7.2
Man from Montana
1941·10.0
Rawhide Rangers
1941·6.7
Law of the Range
1941·6.5
Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
1941·6.5
Pony Post
1940·8.0
Law and Order
1940·8.0
Ragtime Cowboy Joe
1940·9.0
Son of Roaring Dan
1940·8.0
Bad Man from Red Butte
1940·5.8
Riders of Pasco Basin
1940·5.5
Boss of Bullion City
1940·6.0
West of Carson City
1940·5.5
Chip of the Flying U
1939·7.5
Oklahoma Frontier
1939·6.0
Desperate Trails
1939·5.7
The Oregon Trail
1939·7.5
Land of Liberty
1939·9.0
Flaming Frontiers
1938·5.1
Wells Fargo
1937·5.5
Born to the West
1937·4.8
Hell Town
1937·0.0
Boothill Brigade
1937·5.8
Wild West Days
1937·8.0
A Lawman Is Born
1937·4.5
Guns in the Dark
1937·7.0
Bar-Z Bad Men
1937·4.4
Lawless Land
1937·5.4
Trail of Vengeance
1937·9.0
The Gambling Terror
1937·6.0
Undercover Man
1936·7.0
The Crooked Trail
1936·5.7
Everyman's Law
1936·8.0
Rogue of the Range
1936·5.0
Desert Phantom
1936·8.0
Valley of the Lawless
1936·7.5
The Courageous Avenger
1935·5.0
Between Men
1935·6.3
Starlit Days at the Lido
1935·5.7
Branded a Coward
1935·6.0
Rustlers of Red Dog
1935·8.5
Star Night at the Cocoanut Grove
1934·6.0
Against the Law
1934·5.3
Belle of the Nineties
1934·6.1
Cross Streets
1934·6.0
Marrying Widows
1934·8.0
St. Louis Woman
1934·6.0
Three on a Honeymoon
1934·7.0
Son of a Sailor
1933·6.0
Female
1933·6.3
Saturday's Millions
1933·7.0
Fighting With Kit Carson
1933·6.5
The Vanishing Frontier
1933·8.0
Malay Nights
1932·9.0
70,000 Witnesses
1932·5.7
Flames
1932·4.3
Hollywood Halfbacks
1931·9.0
Lasca of the Rio Grande
1931·10.0
The Last Flight
1931·6.5
The Secret Six
1931·5.6
The Great Meadow
1931·6.0
Billy the Kid
1930·4.7
Montana Moon
1930·4.7
Undertow
1930·6.5
Jazz Heaven
1929·5.9
Hurricane
1929·6.5
The Single Standard
1929·5.9
The Valiant
1929·6.1
Coquette
1929·5.9
A Woman of Affairs
1928·6.5
A Lady of Chance
1928·6.5
Annapolis
1928·5.5
Our Dancing Daughters
1928·6.3
The Play Girl
1928·9.0
Square Crooks
1928·8.0
Soft Living
1928·9.0
The Divine Woman
1928·7.2
The Fair Co-Ed
1927·6.7
After Midnight
1927·8.5
Mockery
1927·6.9
The Bugle Call
1927·10.0
Slide, Kelly, Slide
1927·8.0