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Clarence Brown

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.


Note: This profile was written in or before 2003.

Clarence Brown Facts

Birth Name Clarence Leon Brown
OccupationDirector
BirthdayMay 10, 1890
SignTaurus
BirthplaceClinton, Massachusetts, USA
Date of deathAugust 17, 1987 (age 97)

Selected Filmography

The Last of the Mohicans
National Velvet
Yearling, The
TCM Greatest Classic Film Collection: Legends
The Human Comedy
Chained
Edison the Man
The Yearling
Wife vs. Secretary
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