Johnny Mack Brown (1904-1974) Film Actor

John Mack Brown (billed throughout his career as John, Johnnie, and Johnny Mack Brown) gained renown as a college football player during the mid-1920s. After university he moved almost immediately into the beginnings of a stellar career in silent films. Young, handsome, and personable, he co-starred with the major actresses of MGM Studios. His weak acting in sound films, however, ended his career with the studio. Several years after leaving MGM, he became established as a star of B Westerns, which brought him lasting fame and appreciation from fans of the genre.

Early Career with MGM

Brown came into films by way of college football. He was a star halfback at the University of Alabama during the 1923 through 1925 seasons, leading them to a Rose Bowl win on January 1, 1926. The handsome young athlete met character actor George Fawcett, who was in Alabama making a movie. Fawcett developed a friendship with Brown and suggested that he take a screen test. Producers at MGM saw potential and offered him a contract.

In April, 1927, Brown debuted with a small part in Slide, Kelly, Slide, starring William Haines. After a few more small roles, he was cast as Marion Davies' love interest in her amusing sports comedy The Fair Co-Ed (1927). His most notable year at MGM was 1928: in January, he appeared with Greta Garbo in The Divine Woman (a lost film); in September with Joan Crawford in Our Dancing Daughters; in December with Norma Shearer in Lady of Chance, and with Garbo once again in Woman of Affairs. The personable and handsome young actor complimented his beautiful co-stars, and audience response was positive.

Sound Films with MGM

In 1929, Brown made only one film at MGM, appearing with Garbo in the silent The Single Standard. His other four films were loan-outs to other studios for minor parts, except for his talkie debut as Mary Pickford's love interest in Coquette.

After a year making talkies for other studios, Brown returned to MGM and acted in several film during 1930-31 that were his opportunity to secure his status as a leading man. In Montana Moon, Brown plays a westerner who tames Joan Crawford's jazz baby easterner. Audience response was tepid. Brown's next film, King Vidor's Billy the Kid, represented his best chance for a box office success. MGM approved the project on condition that Vidor cast Brown as Billy and Wallace Berry as Pat Garrett. The film, an expensive production, was shot in an early widescreen process known as Realife. Brown, who holds his own against a scene-stealing Beery, handles the action scenes with ease, and delicately romances heroine Kay Johnson, makes a satisfactory Billy the Kid, but box office was mediocre. The Great Meadow, co-starring Eleanor Boardman, is poorly scripted and stolidly acted, and was another box-office dud. The Secret Six, Brown's final MGM film, was a winner, but he did not benefit. His character is killed before the conclusion and one of his co-stars, the rapidly rising Clark Gable, received more studio and public attention.

Most damaging of all to Brown's prospects was an unreleased fifth film, Complete Surrender, co-starring Joan Crawford. Poorly recieved by preview audiences, the script was altered and the film, now called Laughing Sinners, was reshot with Clark Gable in Brown's original role.

Despite a star build-up provided by MGM, overall audience response to Brown was weak, and he was dropped by the studio.

Freelancing

After separating from MGM, Brown was not offered a contract by another studio. He freelanced and accepted parts as they were offered. His first role was a substantial part in William Dieterle's The Last Flight (1931), one of the most interesting films of the early 1930s. He had supporting roles with Joe E. Brown at Warner Bros. and Mae West at Paramount. He starred in films made by Poverty Row studios such as Chadwick Pictures and Mascot Pictures. For Mascot he made a serial, Fighting with Kit Carson (1933). He made his second serial, Rustlers of Red Dog (1935), for Universal.

In 1935, Brown signed with Supreme Pictures and made sixteen low-budget Westerns. Another period of freelancing followed these films. During this period, he made a couple of serials, co-starred with John Wayne in Born to the West (1937), and appeared briefly in the Joel McCrae vehicle Wells Fargo (1937).

Star of B Westerns

Brown's career settled into a permanent form in 1939 when he signed a contract with Universal to make a series of low-budget B Westerns. John Forest Fuzzy Knight was Brown's comic sidekick for most of these films, with Tex Ritter added to the group in 1942-43. Joseph H. Lewis, soon to work with bigger budgets and better scripts (such as Gun Crazy), directed several of Brown's Universal Westerns. Robert Mitchum, playing a bad guy in one of his early roles, has a rousing barroom slugfest with Brown in The Lone Star Trail (1943). By 1943 Brown had made four serials and 28 Westerns with Universal, however the studio soon decreased its output of B Westerns and did not renew Brown's contract.

Fortunately for Brown, Monogram Pictures needed a new cowboy star to replace Tim McCoy (who had gone into military service) and Buck Jones (who had died in a tragic fire), and from 1943 to 1952, he starred in 66 low-budget Westerns for the studio. He teamed up with film veteran Raymond Hatton, who had been the McCoy and Jones' sidekick.

In addition to his B pictures, Brown also made several higher budget films. He starred in Flame of the West (1945), a special Monogram production with relatively high production values and longer running time than the studios normal fare. The film co-stars Douglass Dumbrille, a more important and polished actor than the typical actor of a series western. Brown also played a supporting role to star Rod Cameron in two Allied Artists features, Stampede (1949) and Short Grass (1950). Allied Artist was a Monogram affiliated company and produced the studio's better-quality films.

Later Career

Production of mass-produced low-budget Westerns by Poverty Row studios was ending in the early 1950s as Brown was completing his contract with Monogram. Nearing fifty, with his active film career at an end, Brown made only a few appearances in film and on television. He is a poker player in the bizarre, Ken Murray-produced film The Marshal's Daughter (1953). He acted in one episode each of three TV series, Official Detective (1957), Perry Mason (1958) and Tales of Wells Fargo (1958).

In 1965, Brown appeared in three final films featuring other veteran Western actors including Richard Arlen, Buster Crabbe, Tim McCoy, and Don Barry. Requiem for a Gunfighter and Bounty Killer were produced by Alex Gordon, closing out ten years of low-budget independent production. A. C. Lyles Productions, turning out numerous low-budget Westerns for Paramount Studios, cast Brown in a small role in Apache Uprising.

Personal Life

Born in the small town of Dothan, Alabama, the second in a family of nine children, Brown enjoyed a happy and stable childhood. After graduation from high school (where he was voted handsomest boy in his junior and senior years), he attended the University of Alabama. During his three years as a halfback on the football team he was known as the Dothan Antelope. He scored two touchdowns in Alabama's win over favored Washington in the 1926 Rose Bowl.

In 1926, Brown graduated from Alabama, married his college sweetheart, Cornelia Foster, and signed a contract with MGM. In early 1927, the young couple moved to California. They had four children, all born in Beverly Hills. Their family life was socially active, but relatively conservative and uneventful. Brown enjoyed playing tennis, dancing, and hunting.

During his early years in film, the athletic Brown played in the polo games organized at the Pacific Palisades ranch of actor and humorist Will Rogers. Jeanette MacDonald, a family friend, was a frequent visitor at their home. Brown and Connie were members of the wedding party at the marriage of MacDonald and Gene Raymond in June, 1937.

Brown's achievements on the football field were honored with induction into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1957, and the State of Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1969.

Johnny Mack Brown died November 14, 1974, of heart failure, at the Motion Picture and Television Hospital in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California. He was 70 years old.

Career Consideration

Brown's career started at the highest level in Hollywood. After a few preparatory roles, he was cast as the co-star of some of MGM's most important actresses. Although lacking acting experience, he quickly mastered the acting techniques used in silent films. Tall, handsome, and rather sensitive looking, he was a good type for a silent film leading man.

The advent of talking pictures required new acting techniques. Most importantly, actors had to project his thoughts and personality through spoken techniques. During 1930-31, the two years after the advent of the sound era, MGM gave Brown the opportunity to improve his acting skills and to develop audience support. It did not happen. The talkies revealed his southern accent and rather soft and vulnerable gentlemanly manner. He lacked the urban accents and forcefulness of Clark Gable, or the sophisticated, worldly tones and demeanor of Robert Montgomery. His acting was stiff, he emoted weakly, and although he was young and handsome, he did not project a lot sex appeal. MGM gave him a build-up as a westerner, however Montana Moon and The Great Meadow are dull films, poorly directed with slow story development, stiff acting, and stilted dialogue. Billy the Kid is a better film, and Brown's acting is more dynamic and genuine under King Vidor's direction. However, the public was not interested in large-scale Westerns in 1930, and the film was only moderately successful. When the studio paired him with Joan Crawford in an urban setting the result was unsatisfactory, and MGM gave up on him.

During his years of freelancing Brown's appearance matured. His looks hardened, his voice deepened, and he gained weight. These changes eliminated the rather soft and vulnerable demeanor of his youth and produced a good-looking, resolute hero of B Westerns. The characterizations and dialogue of low-budget Westerns did not require a great deal of acting ability. The Western star needed to look good in cowboy outfits, speak clearly, ride a horse confidently, and fist fight realistically. Brown excelled in all these areas. He practiced gun handling, had a fast draw and could spin a gun expertly. His horseback riding was excellent, and he was terrific at realistic fist-fighting. As a result, Johnny Mack Brown spent 17 years in the genre and was always a fan favorite.