Clarence Brown

Known For

Directing

Born

May 10, 1890

Died

Aug 17, 1987

Place of Birth

Clinton, Massachusetts, USA

Credits

66 titles

Clarence Brown

Biography

Clarence Leon Brown (May 10, 1890 – August 17, 1987) was an American film director. After serving as a fighter pilot and flight instructor in the United States Army Air Service during World War I, Brown was given his first co-directing credit (with Tourneur) for The Great Redeemer (1920). Later that year, he directed a major portion of The Last of the Mohicans after Tourneur was injured in a fall. Brown moved to Universal in 1924, and then to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where he remained until the mid-1950s. At MGM he was one of the main directors of their major female stars, he directed Joan Crawford six times and Greta Garbo seven. Brown was nominated five times for six films (see below) for an Academy Award as a director, but he never received an Oscar. However, he won Best Foreign Film for Anna Karenina, starring Garbo at the 1935 Venice International Film Festival. Brown's films gained a total of 38 Academy Award nominations and earned nine Oscars. Brown himself received five Academy Award nominations for six films and in 1949, he won the British Academy Award for the film version of William Faulkner's Intruder in the Dust. In 1957, Brown was awarded The George Eastman Award, given by George Eastman House for distinguished contribution to the art of film. Brown retired a wealthy man due to his real estate investments, but refused to watch new movies, as he feared they might cause him to restart his career. The Clarence Brown Theater, on the campus of the University of Tennessee, is named in his honor. He holds the record for most nominations for the Academy Award for Best Director without a win, with six.

Known For

Filmography

1988

Dead Heat

Harry Latham

Movie
1986

Fats Domino Live from Austin Texas

Batterie

Movie
1985

The Twilight Zone

(segment "Need to Know")

Tv
1953

Never Let Me Go

Producer

Movie
1952

Plymouth Adventure

Director

Movie
1952

When in Rome

Director

Movie
1951

It's a Big Country

Director

Movie
1951

Angels in the Outfield

Director

Movie
1950

To Please a Lady

Director

Movie
1949

Intruder in the Dust

Director

Movie
1949

The Secret Garden

Producer

Movie
1947

Song of Love

Director

Movie
1946

The Yearling

Director

Movie
1945

National Velvet

Director

Movie
1944

The White Cliffs of Dover

Director

Movie
1943

The Human Comedy

Producer

Movie
1941

They Met in Bombay

Director

Movie
1941

Come Live with Me

Director

Movie
1940

Edison, the Man

Director

Movie
1939

The Rains Came

Director

Movie
1939

Idiot's Delight

Director

Movie
1938

Hollywood Goes to Town

Self

Movie
1938

Of Human Hearts

Director

Movie
1937

Conquest

Director

Movie
1936

The Gorgeous Hussy

Director

Movie
1936

Wife vs. Secretary

Director

Movie
1935

Ah, Wilderness!

Director

Movie
1935

Anna Karenina

Director

Movie
1934

Chained

Director

Movie
1934

Sadie McKee

Director

Movie
1933

Night Flight

Director

Movie
1933

Looking Forward

Director

Movie
1932

The Son-Daughter

Director

Movie
1932

Letty Lynton

Director

Movie
1932

Emma

Director

Movie
1931

Possessed

Man on Merry-Go-Round (uncredited)

Movie
1931

A Free Soul

Director

Movie
1931

Inspiration

Director

Movie
1930

Romance

Director

Movie
1930

Anna Christie

Director

Movie
1929

Navy Blues

Roller Coaster Rider

Movie
1929

Wonder of Women

Director

Movie
1928

A Woman of Affairs

Director

Movie
1928

The Trail of '98

Director

Movie
1926

Flesh and the Devil

Director

Movie
1926

Kiki

Director

Movie
1925

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ

Chariot Race Spectator (uncredited)

Movie
1925

The Eagle

Director

Movie
1925

The Goose Woman

Director

Movie
1925

Smouldering Fires

Director

Movie