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Tod Browning

Tod Browning

Highest Rated: 100% Outside the Law (1920)

Lowest Rated: 75% London After Midnight (1927)

Birthday: Jul 12, 1880

Birthplace: Louisville, Kentucky, USA

A pioneering director who helped create the horror film genre, Tod Browning made his mark on cinema via his 10-film collaboration with actor Lon Chaney, the first sound version of "Dracula" (1931), starring Bela Lugosi, and most particularly his master work, "Freaks" (1932). So grotesque and frightful was "Freaks," that some 20 minutes were cut from the U.S. version, while Great Britain banned the film for three decades. But it was his work with Chaney during the silent era that stood the test of time, which started with "The Wicked Darling" (1919) and ended with "Where East is East" (1929). In between, he had Chaney portray a transvestite in "The Unholy Three" (1925), a cripple in "The Black Bird" (1926) and a vampire in "London After Midnight" (1927). He had slated "Dracula" to star Chaney, but the actor fell ill and died of cancer, leaving Browning to cast Lugosi. Meanwhile, after "Freaks," he helmed "Mark of the Vampire" (1935), a remake of "London After Midnight," "The Devil Doll" (1936) and "Miracles for Sale" (1939), before calling it a career. Following his death in 1962, film historians re-evaluated his career and helped rehabilitate him with contemporary audiences, elevating his status as a trailblazing horror director.

Filmography

Movies

Credit
No Score Yet 57% Miracles for Sale Director - 1939
79% 71% The Devil Doll Director,
Writer,
Producer
- 1936
81% 47% Mark of the Vampire Director - 1935
No Score Yet No Score Yet Fast Workers Director - 1933
95% 88% Freaks Director,
Producer
- 1932
94% 82% Dracula Director,
Producer
- 1931
No Score Yet 46% Iron Man Director - 1931
No Score Yet 8% The Thirteenth Chair Director,
Producer
- 1930
No Score Yet No Score Yet Outside the Law Director,
Screenwriter,
Producer
- 1930
No Score Yet 57% Where East Is East Director - 1929
No Score Yet 81% West of Zanzibar Director - 1928
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Show Director - 1927
75% 44% London After Midnight Director,
Producer,
Writer
- 1927
100% 88% The Unknown Director - 1927
No Score Yet 35% The Blackbird Director,
Writer
- 1926
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Road to Mandalay Director,
Writer
- 1926
88% 79% The Unholy Three Director - 1925
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Mystic Director,
Writer
- 1925
No Score Yet No Score Yet White Tiger Director - 1923
No Score Yet No Score Yet Drifting Director,
Screenwriter
- 1923
100% 57% Outside the Law Director,
Writer
- 1920
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Virgin of Stamboul Director,
Screenwriter
- 1920
No Score Yet 50% The Wicked Darling Director - 1919
No Score Yet No Score Yet Atta Boy's Last Race Screenwriter - 1916
98% 77% Intolerance Writer - 1916
No Score Yet No Score Yet Intolerance - Part 2 Writer - 1916
No Score Yet No Score Yet Intolerance - Part 1 Writer - 1916
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Mystery of the Leaping Fish Writer - 1916