
Acting
Johnny Downs
Born — Died
1913-10-10 — 1994-06-06
Place of birth
Brooklyn, New York, USA
Known for
Acting
Credits
62 titles
Known for
6.5Racket Squad is an American TV crime drama series starring Reed Hadley as Captain John Braddock, a fictional detective working for the San Francisco, California Police Department. The show aired in syndication for a season before being picked up by CBS for three seasons. The series was filmed at Hal Roach Studios in Culver City, California, and was sponsored by cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris, hence there was a pack of the sponsor's brand on Braddock's desk at the beginning and end of the episode, as well as occasional scenes of him or other characters "lighting up".
Racket Squad
1951
6.3Ollie Dee and Stannie Dum try to borrow money from their employer, the toymaker, to pay off the mortgage on Mother Peep's shoe and keep it and Little Bo Peep from the clutches of the evil Barnaby. When that fails, they trick Barnaby, enraging him.
Babes in Toyland
1934
6.3Shy milkman Burleigh Sullivan accidentally knocks out drunken Speed McFarlane, a champion boxer who was flirting with Burleigh's sister. The newspapers get hold of the story and photographers even catch Burleigh knock out Speed again. Speed's crooked manager decides to turn Burleigh into a fighter. Burleigh doesn't realize that all of his opponents have been asked to take a dive. Thinking he really is a great fighter, Burleigh develops a swelled head which puts a crimp in his relationship with pretty nightclub singer Polly Pringle. He may finally get his comeuppance when he challenges Speed for the title.
The Kid from Brooklyn
1946
6.1In the weeks prior to the start of the Civil War, Confederate sympathizers hope to help their cause by inciting a Navajo war in the New Mexico Territory. Director Frederick de Cordova's 1953 western stars Audie Murphy, Robert Sterling, Joan Evans, Ray Collins, Dennis Weaver, Palmer Lee, Jack Kelly, James Best, Bob Steele and Ralph Moody.
Column South
1953
7.6John, an ambitious but undisciplined New York City office worker, meets and marries Mary. They start a family, struggle to cope with marital stress, financial setbacks, and tragedy, all while lost amid the anonymous, pitiless throngs of the big city.
The Crowd
1928
6.6Fictionalized biography of George Gershwin and his fight to bring serious music to Broadway.
Rhapsody in Blue
1945
Film credits
1950s · 3 titles
6.1In the weeks prior to the start of the Civil War, Confederate sympathizers hope to help their cause by inciting a Navajo war in the New Mexico Territory. Director Frederick de Cordova's 1953 western stars Audie Murphy, Robert Sterling, Joan Evans, Ray Collins, Dennis Weaver, Palmer Lee, Jack Kelly, James Best, Bob Steele and Ralph Moody.
Column South
1953
8.0A New Yorker inherits an old river boat and decides to turn it into a night club while falling in love with Sally Jane, the granddaughter of his worse enemy.
Cruisin' Down the River
1953
7.0In this remake of Gene Autry's 1942 "Call of the Canyon", Rex Allen, the newly-elected head of the cattleman's association, is driving the combined herds of the ranchers to the nearest railhead when he runs into trouble. Singing cowboy Rex Allen stars as a newly appointed leader of a cattleman's association who finds himself battling a greedy meat-packer (Robert Karnes) and his father (Robert Emmett Keane) for fair passage through the hills of Oklahoma.
Hills of Oklahoma
1950
1940s · 19 titles
6.3Shy milkman Burleigh Sullivan accidentally knocks out drunken Speed McFarlane, a champion boxer who was flirting with Burleigh's sister. The newspapers get hold of the story and photographers even catch Burleigh knock out Speed again. Speed's crooked manager decides to turn Burleigh into a fighter. Burleigh doesn't realize that all of his opponents have been asked to take a dive. Thinking he really is a great fighter, Burleigh develops a swelled head which puts a crimp in his relationship with pretty nightclub singer Polly Pringle. He may finally get his comeuppance when he challenges Speed for the title.
The Kid from Brooklyn
1946
6.6Fictionalized biography of George Gershwin and his fight to bring serious music to Broadway.
Rhapsody in Blue
1945
5.9Emilie has been hired to care for the four sons of wealthy Adam Stoddard and his wife, Molly. After Molly dies, Adam and the boys grow to depend on Emilie even more. At the same time, Emilie falls in love with Adam. The boys grow up, but Adam insists that Emilie stay on as part of the family. Her relationships with both the boys and Adam become strained after one son marries a gold-digging viper named Hester. Written by Daniel Bubbeo
Adam Had Four Sons
1941
3.4A mad scientist changes his simple-minded handyman into a werewolf in order to prove his supposedly crazy scientific theories - and exact revenge.
The Mad Monster
1942
4.3Fraternity brothers enter one of their own into a scholarship lottery after a women's college insults them. Though the Zeta boys are celebrated for their comedy drag revue, staying undercover as a woman at an all-girls' school wasn't part of the rehearsal!
All-American Co-Ed
1941
7.0A young woman who has been stricken with infantile paralysis gives up hope and is trying to "will herself" to die. A doctor who has been conducting experiments with patients with paralyzed nerves is convinced he can cure her.
Forever Yours
1945
7.0In I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby, Broderick Crawford plays a sentimental gangster who abducts songwriter Johnny Downs and forces him to write a love ballad. It is Crawford's hope that the song will reach out and touch his long-lost childhood sweetheart. I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby was based on James Edward Grant's short story Trouble in B Flat; echoes of the basic premise later resurfaced in the 1957 "A" picture The Girl Can't Help It.
I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby
1940
6.7Four youthful cadets are implicated in a series of murders, and must attempt to clear themselves of suspicion.
Adventures of the Flying Cadets
1943
5.1A newspaper columnist and host of his own national network radio program, interviewing more film personalities on his show than any other commentator, is searching for a story for a Sunday column carried by newspaper from coast to coast. Hanging out in Hollywood's famed Trocadero restaurant and night-spot, he gets his story when "Troc" owner and band-leader Eddie LeBaron, relates to him the sage of the famed screenland nitery. And hears plenty of music furnished by four of the top name-bands in the land, including that of Bob Chester, who formed his own swing band in 1935 after being top saxophonist with the bands of Ben Pollack and Ben Bernie. Singer Ida James and the Chester band led off with "Shoo Shoo Baby" in their screen debut.
Trocadero
1944
8.0A con man tries to sell phony stocks to unwary investors.
Slightly Tempted
1940
7.5Jane Frazee made her starring film debut in the Republic B-plus musical Melody and Moonlight. The plot is motivated by the show-biz aspirations of bellboy Danny O'Brien (Johnny Downs). With the help of a wealthy chiropodist (Jerry Colonna), O'Brien not only gets to star on a big-time radio show, but also sprinkles stardust upon his sweetheart Kay Barnett (Jane Frazee)-who, unbeknownst to everyone but the audience, is the daughter of the show's sponsor.
Melody and Moonlight
1940
6.5Farmer Tommy and his girl Jane come in from the country for a night at the Hollywood Trocadero. There, they meet Chuck, Hollywood's Number One press agent, and his Girl Friday, Daisie. Hearing of the hardships imposed down on the farm by the war-related labor shortage, Chuck offers the help of his clients, movie star Gilda Parker, heavyweight boxer Canvas, and Eddie Le Baron and his whole orchestra, to help harvest the crops.
Harvest Melody
1943
5.2The story takes place at a summer theater in the Berkshire Mountains, where heroine Joan Barry (Carol Bruce) is staging a Broadway-bound musical comedy. Only one problem: two guest stars are shot and killed on two successive evenings, right in front of the audience. Hoping to solve the mystery, detective William Demarest demands that everyone -- actors and theatergoers alike -- return the following weekend to restage the show. But with no major performer willing to assume the fatal guest-star slot, Joan is forced to hire the Three Jolly Jesters (Al, Harry and Jimmy Ritz), Manhattan washroom attendants with showbiz aspirations.
Behind the Eight Ball
1942
5.7Radio singer Joan Abbott, known as the "Crunchy-Wunchy Thrush", does not want to renew her contract with the cereal sponsor, as she wants to go to college. But her guardian, her Uncle Willie signs the contract in order to pay off his own debts. But this time Joan won't take no for an answer and enrolls under an assumed name. When Joan goes missing, the radio institutes a search for Joan via a publicity stunt.
Campus Rhythm
1943
7.0Henry Burrows, timid, white-collar worker for the firm of Rankin and Phillips, returns to his bachelor apartment to discover Joan Rankin, whom he does not know, hiding there. She feigns illness, Henry goes for a doctor and returns to find that a gangster has been murdered on his doorstep and the police think he is implicated. They inform him that the gangster's moll, Constance, has escaped. Henry thinks they are talking about Joan.
What a Man!
1944
5.8Freckles Winslow comes home from college and the sheriff accuses him of murder, gangsters put him on the spot, and his girl friend, Jane, falls in love with a confidence man.
Freckles Comes Home
1942
In this musical, a con man makes a good living by promoting bogus charity shows. He gets the communities all revved up and then skips town with all their money. But then he meets three earnest people wanting to garner financial support for an orphanage. This time the con man's loyal assistant finally catches on to the wicked scam and turns him in to the police. Meanwhile, the newly reformed assistant and one of the charity workers fall in loves.
Sing, Dance, Plenty Hot
1940
To make his fiancee jealous, Johnny has a friend masquerade as a girl.
Kiss and Wake Up
1942
6.3Noted writer Kenneth Bixby, in love with his witty secretary Anne Rogers, is on a book tour when he meets up with a former college fling with a loopy Danish girl which he barely remembers. She remembers him, very well.
Honeymoon for Three
1941
1930s · 20 titles
6.3Ollie Dee and Stannie Dum try to borrow money from their employer, the toymaker, to pay off the mortgage on Mother Peep's shoe and keep it and Little Bo Peep from the clutches of the evil Barnaby. When that fails, they trick Barnaby, enraging him.
Babes in Toyland
1934
6.4Pepe Le Moko is a notorious thief, who escaped from France. Since his escape, Moko has become a resident and leader of the immense Casbah of Algiers. French officials arrive insisting on Pepe's capture are met with unfazed local detectives, led by Inspector Slimane, who are biding their time. Meanwhile, Pepe meets the beautiful Gaby, which arouses the jealousy of Ines.
Algiers
1938
7.1A pregnant prison inmate shares her problems with the patients in a maternity ward.
A Child is Born
1939
6.0Bessie and Winston "Slug" Winters are married coaches whose mission is to whip their college football team into shape. Just in time, they discover a hillbilly farmhand and his sister. The hillbilly farmhand's ability to throw melons enables him to become their star passing ace.
Pigskin Parade
1936
6.7An egotistical politician believes he can win votes by turning a small college's hapless football squad into a championship team.
Hold That Co-ed
1938
5.7Notorious racketeer Joe Albany kills James Flowers when he discovers he is embezzling from the club they own. Joe escapes through a window and hails a taxi, but when he gets nervous at the sound of sirens, he jumps out. Hardware salesman Peter Harris accidentally hits Joe with his car, and unharmed, Joe seizes this opportunity to hide in Peter's car. Peter is so drunk that Joe is able to con him into believing that he is Charles Edwards, a fellow hardware man who was with him at a convention, and in the guise of friendship, accompanies Peter to his suburban home. The next morning, Joe gets antsy and wants to leave, but Peter's family, his wife Mary, young son Robert and daughter Jane all entreat him to stay.
Hunted Men
1938
7.0An elderly businessman thinking about aging and death takes time off to help teach a dead friend's children about life and business.
Everybody's Old Man
1936
7.8During the American Civil War, Valette Bedford waits patiently for her husband Duncan Bedford, to return home, praying that she will not become a widow.
So Red the Rose
1935
6.1Various Hollywood performers put on a pirate-themed variety show on Catalina Island, with a number of amiable stars in the audience.
Pirate Party on Catalina Isle
1935
5.7College students rally to save a struggling hotel from closing. Comedy.
College Holiday
1936
The title character is a resourceful young man who knows a whole little about a whole lot of things, and who concentrates by playing his saxophone. Clarence ingratiates himself with the wealthy and eccentric Wheeler family, though daughter Cora can't stand the boy.
Clarence
1937
8.0When a couple become parents for the first time, they discover grandmothers can be almost as demanding as a newborn.
The First Baby
1936
Four former actresses decide to restart their careers by opening up a nightclub.
Laugh It Off
1939
8.0Department store owner J. Elliott Dinwiddy has waited fifteen years for the perfect astrological moment to propose to his secretary, Myrtle Tweep. His astrological advisor, Dr. Wakefield, has told him that if he can unite a boy and a girl in true love before midnight, he can propose to Myrtle the following night. Fate then brings unemployed dancer Caroline Wilson into the music department of Dinwiddy's, where she meets handsome songwriter Terry Keith.
Turn Off the Moon
1937
6.8Julie Fresnel is a co-ed at Redgate University and her father, Dr. Henri Fresnel, is the new French professor. Julie attraction from the make students drops a bit when two of her admirers are found murdered. When an attempt on the life of a third one is made. Seth Dunlap, an instructor at the school, decides to turn detective and find the killer. Assisted by his sister, who is in love with the third student, Dunlap begins to follow the the small trail of clues left by the killer.
College Scandal
1935
7.0"Howdy" Nelson believes there is no such think as real love and that romance can be cooked up between any eligible persons (of the opposite sex.) He is so imbued with the idea that he has established a summer camp for that reason,and has written a play on the subject. The Yacht Club Boys visit the camp, misrepresenting themselves as Broadway producers, and the talented guest of the camp put on Nelson's play...which all ends up with a lot of marriage mating; Judy and Skipper, Betty Jane and Stanley and...Gwen and "Howdy,' the guy who was positive there was no such thing as true love.
Thrill of a Lifetime
1937
6.2After saving himself from hanging, Laramie Nelson saves Tracks Williams from the same fate. They then travel to Lindsay's ranch where they get jobs. There they run into Adams who they learn is planning to rustle Lindsay's horses.
The Arizona Raiders
1936
5.0Southern California's Hotel Coronado caters to and is frequented by members of the social upper-crust. Although she lives on the wrong side of the San Diego track, in a tent-city with her father. Otto, and ditzy sister, Violet, June Wray is a singer with the Eddy Duchin Orchestra appearing to the hotel. Johnny Marvin, an aspiring songwriter and the son of a wealthy automobile manufacturer, is staying at the hotel and, from they moment June and Johnny meet, they fall instantly in love. Trouble arises when Johnny's father objects to the romance, and complications and help arrive in the form of two Marine-hating sailors,Chuck Hornbostel and "Pinky" Falls, when Chuck marries June's ditzy sister.
Coronado
1935
10.0In a small town in the South, Jim Preston resents his stepfather, Judge Calhoun Davis, in spite of everything the judge has done to be a father him. "Cal" is the most respected man in town, and makes his judgements in court with authority and generosity.
The Virginia Judge
1935
Leroy's dance is an eccentric one performed to the tune "Dinah", played to a fast, jazzy beat, and his feet certainly keep up. More than that, while he is dancing, he looks like a John Held Jr. cartoon from the New Yorker, a young sheik who wears clothes in a manner than makes him look like he is posing languidly at an absurd angle, even while he is moving fast. There are a couple of cuts to focus on his feet, and he is very good.
The High School Hoofer
1931
1920s · 18 titles
7.6John, an ambitious but undisciplined New York City office worker, meets and marries Mary. They start a family, struggle to cope with marital stress, financial setbacks, and tragedy, all while lost amid the anonymous, pitiless throngs of the big city.
The Crowd
1928
5.3A young man visiting Hollywood on family business gets into trouble when he sees a bank robbery in progress, and thinks it is a movie scene.
45 Minutes from Hollywood
1926
6.1Fortune hunters from all over the country rushing to the Klondike in 1897 to seek their fortunes in the gold are tested by hardships of the journey.
The Trail of '98
1928
An ordinary day - so an eventful one - of Tom Katt, a young man who works as a drugstore owner's assistant: his - very acrobatic - bike ride to his place of work; the - fanciful - way he performs his job; the - ingenious - subterfuge he finds to help his employer, who has money problems; the - swift - way he escapes the cops chasing him...
Red Pepper
1925
7.0Bryce Cardigan struggles to protect his Redwood inheritance from a railroad-owner, who is also the guardian of the woman Bryce loves.
The Valley of the Giants
1927
10.0As a boy, Tom Morley, was forced to watch the killings of his foster parents and the abduction of his foster sister. When he reaches manhood he joins the Texas Rangers and becomes very good at tracking down outlaws; whereby, he is given the nickname "The Falcon". He finally tracks down his long lost foster sister who has become a spy for the outlaws.
Outlaws of Red River
1927
7.1In this Our Gang film, James Finlayson plays the gang's schoolteacher who takes the kids to Europe after winning a local contest. He takes them on a tour of Naples, Pompeii, Rome, the Vatican, Venice, London, and finally Paris, where problems arise on top of the Eiffel Tower.
Seeing the World
1927
6.6Mr. and Mrs. Weedle are desperate to find two babies, for their rich uncle has sent them money for years thinking they have children. Now that he’s coming into town, the couple must find a pair of babies as soon as possible. The Our Gang kids are ready for the job, but a 27-year old midget is also in the running for the job and he doesn’t play fairly.
Baby Clothes
1926
6.5Your Own Back Yard is a 1925 American short silent comedy film directed by Robert F. McGowan. It was the 43rd Our Gang short subject released. Farina is having a very bad day, especially by his friends-very cruel playing nasty tricks, etc. Heeding his mother's advice to stay "in your own back yard," he does just that, feeding jumping beans to his chickens.
Your Own Back Yard
1925
6.8The gang has a taxi, consisting of an old Model T with no engine, pushed by a horse. When the owner takes his horse back, they must rely on motorists to tow them to the top of the hill so they can coast down. Little Farina borrows the car and it runs out of control all over town, causing mayhem everywhere it goes.
One Wild Ride
1925
6.3The boys are showing off their dogs to each other when little rich girl Mary Kornman rides by in her pony-drawn cart. When the pony shies and runs away, Mickey comes to the rescue with his dog. In gratitude, Mary invites all the boys and their dogs to her party, much to the chagrin of her wealthy mother.
Dog Days
1925
6.4On Christmas Eve, the Gang copes with hardships, helps capture a gang of thieves, and learns that Santa Claus really exists for those who wish fervently enough.
Good Cheer
1926
7.5Farina and Joe fib to the gang that they've beaten up the neighborhood bully. Later, they hear he's been murdered and think they'll get the blame.
Telling Whoppers
1926
6.0The kids from Our Gang have to attend a wedding, and they bring along their flea collection--which gets loose.
Thundering Fleas
1926
7.0Habitually mistreated at the deceptively named Happyland Home Orphanage, the Our Gang kids find a loyal and kindhearted friend in the form of a black grownup named Uncle Tom. Alas, Tom's own children -- including real-life siblings Allen "Farina" Hoskins and Jannie "Mango" Hoskins -- are carted off to Happyland by the cold-hearted county officials. Farina, Mango, and the other kids escape the cruel orphanage in the dead of night, while Uncle Tom, preparing for their return, "borrows" food, clothes, and furnishings from various merchants.
Bring Home the Turkey
1927
7.2Many of the "Our Gang" kids are in their secret clubhouse - so secret that some wannabe members have troubles trying to find the tunnel entrance - planning their next game, which will be a Wild West shootout. They run into some obstacles in playing the game, including objections from parents, and as such they decide to postpone it until the wee hours of the next morning and play it in the streets of the neighborhood. As it begins to rain during the middle of their shootout that morning, they decide to take refuge in a neighborhood house. What they are unaware of is that the house belongs to inventor W.R. Jones, who rigged it to be a "magnetic house", a demonstration for a possible amusement park attraction. Not knowing about the house's rigged contraptions leads to a lot of misadventures for the gang not related to shooting Indians as they try to figure out what's happening around them.
Shootin' Injuns
1925
6.8The Gang stages their own revisionist version of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" in Mickey's barn. But Joe's mother thinks the back yard needs cleaning, and there are several interruptions when they lose a leading character. Mickey plays Simon Legree; Mary as Eva; Joe as Uncle Tom; and Farina essays the role of Topsy.
Uncle Tom's Uncle
1926
7.5The kids are playing baseball when a man dressed in Middle-Eastern clothing comes out and tells them to be quiet. They join Mary, Farina, and Scooter in the gang's hide-out while Mary is reading ghost stories. While on the other side of the wall, the Arab-looking man is cheating people out of their money by staging a fake séance using state-of-the-art special effects. The cave entrance for the gang's hide-out collapses, so they light candles and dig into the wall, entering into the house. The "suckers" find out they are being cheated and run to get the cops to book the guys. The guys find out that the kids are in the house, and one dresses up in a ghost costume and chases the kids throughout the house.
Shivering Spooks
1926
Series credits
6.5Racket Squad is an American TV crime drama series starring Reed Hadley as Captain John Braddock, a fictional detective working for the San Francisco, California Police Department. The show aired in syndication for a season before being picked up by CBS for three seasons. The series was filmed at Hal Roach Studios in Culver City, California, and was sponsored by cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris, hence there was a pack of the sponsor's brand on Braddock's desk at the beginning and end of the episode, as well as occasional scenes of him or other characters "lighting up".
Racket Squad
1951
No synopsis available yet.
Captain Billy's Mississippi Music Hall
1948
