Clarence Brown
Clarence Brown (
May 10,
1890 -
August 17,
1987) was an
American film director.
Born in Clinton, Massachusetts. Brown was educated as an engineer at the University of Tennessee before coming into the film industry as an assistant to Maurice Tourneur. He worked with Tourneur for seven years and they co-directed two of Brown's first three films. Brown moved to Universal in 1924 and then to MGM, where he stayed until mid 1940s. At MGM he was one of the main directors of their female stars - he directed Joan Crawford five times and Greta Garbo five times as well.
He worked across the introduction of sound and continued to use the silent film's visual techniques throughout his career, he did not work well with dialogue. His works can be regarded as considerate and atmospheric, but too often were conventional, placid and slow. Nevertheless, he was nominated seven times for an Academy Award (six as director, once as a producer) but never received the Oscar.
Filmography
- The Last of the Mohicans (1920)
- The Great Redeemer (1920)
- The Foolish Matrons (1921)
- The Light in the Dark (1922)
- Don't Marry for Money (1923)
- The Acquittal (1923)
- The Signal Tower (1924)
- Butterfly (1924)
- The Eagle (1925)
- The Goose Woman (1925)
- Smouldering Fires (1925)
- Flesh and the Devil (1926)
- Kiki (1926)
- A Woman of Affairs (1928)
- The Trail of '98 (1929)
- Navy Blues (1929)
- Wonder of Women (1929)
- Anna Christie (1930) - Academy Award Nomination for best director.
- Romance (1930) - Academy Award Nomination for best director.
- Inspiration (1931)
- Possessed (1931)
- A Free Soul (1931) - Academy Award Nomination for best director.
- Emma (1932)
- Letty Lynton (1932)
- The Son-Daughter (1932)
- Looking Forward (1933)
- Night Flight (1933)
- Sadie McKee (1934)
- Chained (1934)
- Ah, Wilderness! (1935)
- Anna Karenina (1935)
- Wife vs. Secretary (1935)
- The Gorgeous Hussy (1936)
- Conquest (1938)
- Of Human Hearts (1938)
- Idiot's Delight (1939)
- The Rains Came (1939)
- Edison, the Man (1940)
- Come Live with Me (1941)
- They Met in Bombay (1941)
- The Human Comedy (1943) - Academy Award Nominations for best director and best picture.
- The White Cliffs of Dover (1944)
- National Velvet (1944) - Academy Award Nomination for best director.
- The Yearling (1946) - Academy Award Nomination for best director.
- Song of Love (1947)
- Intruder in the Dust (1949)
- To Please a Lady (1950)
- Angels in the Outfield (1951):
- When in Rome (1952)
- Plymouth Adventure (1952).