Clarence Brown
About
Biography
Filmography
Notes
On his career, Clarence Brown was quoted as saying, "I only knew what was human and what I saw in real life. I can't make anything unless it's the best I can do."
Biography
Although he trained as an engineer and expected to pursue a career in the automotive industry, Clarence Brown became enamoured of the burgeoning new industry of filmmaking around 1914 and switched careers. The Massachusetts-born, Tennessee-raised Brown became an assistant to director Maurice Tourneur at Peerless Studio in New Jersey. Following WWI (during which he served as a flying instructor), he rejoined Tourneur and got his first chance to direct a film when his mentor fell ill during the shooting of "The Last of the Mohicans" (1920). Later that year, Brown made his solo directing debut with "The Great Redeemer," co-written by actor John Gilbert.
Influenced by Tourneur's use of romantic imagery, Brown was soon put under contract by Universal, where he honed his craft with efforts like "Smouldering Fires" and "The Goose Woman" (both 1925). both of which featured a romantic triangle, a theme that would recur in the director's oeuvre. Leaving Universal, he joined United Artists where he directed Rudolph Valentino in the charming romantic comedy "The Eagle" (1925) and the Norma Talmadge vehicle "Kiki" (1926). Executives at MGM were impressed enough to offer a contract and in 1926 Brown joined the studio where he would flourish.
MGM had carved its niche with a series of opulent, star-studded productions and Brown managed to retain his own unique vision while working within the studio's "house style." As a director, he tended to get out of the performer's way, preferring to offer suggestions that helped elicit the actor's best. His first assignment at MGM proved fortuitous: he was selected to direct Greta Garbo and John Gilbert in the romantic melodrama "Flesh and the Devil" (1926). Brown soon became the actress' preferred director, guiding her through a half-dozen more films including the silent "Romance" (1930) and Garbo's first talking picture "Anna Christie" (also 1930), based on the Eugene O'Neill play. Brown ended up competing against himself for the Best Director Academy Award for both efforts, but lost. (Indeed, he would be nominated four more times but would never take home a statue.)
Having proven his abilities with the difficult Garbo, Brown soon specialized in guiding many of MGM's strong-willed divas. Norma Shearer did some of her best work under his direction ("A Free Soul" 1931; "The Idiot's Delight" 1939) and Joan Crawford clamored to collaborate with him on such projects as "Possessed" (1931) and "The Gorgeous Hussy" (1936). He also continued his association with Garbo, steering her through "Anna Karenina" (1935) and "Conquest" (1937).
Following the untimely death of Irving Thalberg, MGM head Louis B. Mayer selected Brown to produce and direct a number of films that specifically appealed to the mogul, films that emphasized traditional values. Rising to the challenge, the director helmed such efforts as "Of Human Hearts" (1938), the biopic "Edison the Man" (1940), Mayer's personal favorite, "The Human Comedy" (1943), adapted from William Saroyan's novel, the overlong war drama "The White Cliffs of Dover" (1944), and "National Velvet" (1945). (Ironically, though, on loan to 20th Century Fox in 1939, Brown made what is arguably his best film, "The Rains Came," a drama about self-centered Brits in India who redeem themselves after a natural disaster strikes.)
Following WWII, Brown's output slowed. He earned his sixth career Oscar nomination for Best Director for "The Yearling" (1946), a well-acted adaptation of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings' novel about a young boy who adopts a fawn as a pet. In 1950, he produced and directed the superb "Intruder in the Dust," an adaptation of a William Faulkner novel about racial tolerance that was clearly out of sync with MGM's "house style." Harsh but sensitive, "Intruder in the Dust" tackled a controversial subject and perfectly captured the nuances of small-town bigotry. (As a young man, Brown had been living in Atlanta during that city's 1906 race riots and the memory of what he observed influenced his direction.) As a follow-up, the director turned to fancy with "Angels in the Outfield," a charming fantasy about a baseball team that may have benefited from divine intervention. The following year, Brown directed his last film, "Plymouth Adventure," a drama about the arrival of the Pilgrims in Massachusetts. He retired and lived off his real estate investments until his death in 1987 at age 97.
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Cast (Feature Film)
Writer (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Editing (Feature Film)
Film Production - Main (Feature Film)
Production Companies (Feature Film)
Life Events
1909
Worked in engineering department at Moline Company, an automobile manufacturer
1914
Became an assistant director to Maurice Tourneur at Peerless Studio in New Jersey
1917
Served as a flying instructor during WWI
1920
Directorial debut, co-helming (with Tourneur), "The Last of the Mohicans"
1920
Solo directing debut, "The Great Redeemer", co-written by John Gilbert
1922
Scripted and directed "The Light in the Dark"
1925
Helmed "The Eagle", starring Rudolph Valentino
1926
Signed to a contract by MGM
1927
Directed Greta Garbo in "Flesh & the Devil", co-starring John Gilbert
1928
Received producing credit on "The Trail of '98"
1929
First sound film, "Navy Blues"
1930
Helmed Garbo's first talking picture, "Anna Christie"; earned Oscar nomination as Best Director; was also nominated for the silent "Romance", starring Garbo
1931
Guided Lionel Barrymore to an Oscar in "A Free Soul"; earned third Best Director Academy Award nomination
1935
Reunited with Garbo on "Anna Karenina"
1937
Last film with Garbo, "Conquest"
1939
Directed "The Idiot's Delight", starring Clark Gable and Norma Shearer
1939
Made what is arguably one of his best movies, "The Rains Came"; was on loan to 20th Century Fox
1943
Helmed "The Human Comedy", featuring Mickey Rooney; received fourth Oscar nomination as Best Director
1945
Was director of "National Velvet", co-written by Helen Deutsch; earned fifth Academy Award nomination
1946
Picked up sixth Oscar nod as Best Director for "The Yearling"
1950
Tackled racial tolerance in "Intruder in the Dust"
1951
Produced and directed "Angels in the Outfield"
1952
Second collaboration with screenwriter Helen Deutsch, "Plymouth Adventure"; last film as director
1953
Final film as producer, "Never Let Me Go"
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Notes
On his career, Clarence Brown was quoted as saying, "I only knew what was human and what I saw in real life. I can't make anything unless it's the best I can do."
