Johnson played in supporting roles in "Shane" (1953), where he appeared as Chris Calloway, a "bad guy who makes good" after being beaten senseless by Alan Ladd, and "One-Eyed Jacks" (1961) starring Marlon Brando. In 1964, he worked with Ford again in "Cheyenne Autumn". He also appeared in four Peckinpah-directed films: "Major Dundee" (1965, with Charlton Heston), "The Wild Bunch" (1969, with William Holden and Robert Ryan), and two back-to-back Steve McQueen films, "The Getaway" and the rodeo film "Junior Bonner" (both 1972). In 1973, he co-starred as Melvin Purvis in John Milius' "Dillinger" with Warren Oates; he also appeared in Milius' 1984 film "Red Dawn". In 1975, he played the character Mister in "Bite the Bullet", starring Gene Hackman and James Coburn. He also appeared with Charles Bronson in 1975's "Breakheart Pass". In 1980, he was cast as Sheriff Isum Gorch in "Soggy Bottom U.S.A."