Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsABFFPride MonthOutfest OutfrontsSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Biography
  • Awards
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Clarence Brown(1890-1987)

  • Director
  • Producer
  • Editor
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Clarence Brown
Clarence Leon Brown was the son of Larkin Harry and Catherine Ann (Gaw) Brown of Clinton, Massachusetts. His family moved to Knoxville, Tennessee, when he was 12 years old. He graduated from Knoxville High School in 1905 and from the University of Tennessee with a B.A. in mechanical and electrical engineering in 1912. After graduation Brown settled in Alabama, where he operated a Stevens Duryea dealership called the Brown Motor Car Co. He soon tired of the car business and, fascinated by the movies, moved to New Jersey to study with French director Maurice Tourneur at Peerless Productions in Fort Lee.

During his career Brown directed or produced more than 50 widely-acclaimed full-length films--many during his long association with prestigious MGM--and worked with many of the industry's most illustrious performers. He also maintained close ties with the University of Tennessee, donating the money necessary to construct the institution's Clarence Brown Theatre during the 1970s and an additional $12 million after his death.
BornMay 10, 1890
DiedAugust 17, 1987(97)
BornMay 10, 1890
DiedAugust 17, 1987(97)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Nominated for 6 Oscars
    • 2 wins & 8 nominations total

Photos19

Clark Gable, Joan Crawford, and Clarence Brown in Possessed (1931)
Clarence Brown
Clarence Brown and Helen Hayes in Night Flight (1933)
Joan Crawford, Clarence Brown, Robert Montgomery, May Robson, and Lewis Stone in Letty Lynton (1932)
Joan Crawford, Clarence Brown, and Robert Montgomery in Letty Lynton (1932)
Joan Crawford and Clarence Brown in The Gorgeous Hussy (1936)
Clark Gable, Leslie Howard, Clarence Brown, and Norma Shearer in A Free Soul (1931)
Greta Garbo and Clarence Brown in Anna Christie (1930)
Greta Garbo and Clarence Brown in Anna Christie (1930)
Clarence Brown, Dorothy Sebastian, and Lewis Stone in A Woman of Affairs (1928)
George Barnes, Clarence Brown, and Rudolph Valentino in The Eagle (1925)
Clarence Brown

Known for

Greta Garbo in Anna Karenina (1935)
Anna Karenina
7.0
  • Director
  • 1935
Greta Garbo in Anna Christie (1930)
Anna Christie
6.6
  • Director
  • 1930
Mickey Rooney in The Human Comedy (1943)
The Human Comedy
7.0
  • Director
  • 1943
Leslie Howard and Norma Shearer in A Free Soul (1931)
A Free Soul
6.6
  • Director
  • 1931

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Director

  • Gene Tierney, Spencer Tracy, Van Johnson, Dawn Addams, and Leo Genn in Plymouth Adventure (1952)
    Plymouth Adventure
    • Director
    • 1952
  • When in Rome (1952)
    When in Rome
    • Director
    • 1952
  • It's a Big Country: An American Anthology (1951)
    It's a Big Country: An American Anthology
    • Director
    • 1951
  • Janet Leigh and Paul Douglas in Angels in the Outfield (1951)
    Angels in the Outfield
    • Director
    • 1951
  • The Schumann Story
    • Director
    • Short
    • 1950
  • Clark Gable and Barbara Stanwyck in To Please a Lady (1950)
    To Please a Lady
    • Director
    • 1950
  • Intruder in the Dust (1949)
    Intruder in the Dust
    • Director
    • 1949
  • Katharine Hepburn, Paul Henreid, and Robert Walker in Song of Love (1947)
    Song of Love
    • Director
    • 1947
  • Gregory Peck, Claude Jarman Jr., and Jane Wyman in The Yearling (1946)
    The Yearling
    • Director
    • 1946
  • Elizabeth Taylor and Mickey Rooney in National Velvet (1944)
    National Velvet
    • Director
    • 1944
  • Irene Dunne and Alan Marshal in The White Cliffs of Dover (1944)
    The White Cliffs of Dover
    • Director
    • 1944
  • Mickey Rooney in The Human Comedy (1943)
    The Human Comedy
    • Director
    • 1943
  • Clark Gable and Rosalind Russell in They Met in Bombay (1941)
    They Met in Bombay
    • Director
    • 1941
  • James Stewart and Hedy Lamarr in Come Live with Me (1941)
    Come Live with Me
    • Director
    • 1941
  • Spencer Tracy in Edison, the Man (1940)
    Edison, the Man
    • Director
    • 1940

Producer

  • Clark Gable, Gene Tierney, and Richard Haydn in Never Let Me Go (1953)
    Never Let Me Go
    • producer
    • 1953
  • When in Rome (1952)
    When in Rome
    • producer
    • 1952
  • Janet Leigh and Paul Douglas in Angels in the Outfield (1951)
    Angels in the Outfield
    • producer
    • 1951
  • The Schumann Story
    • producer
    • Short
    • 1950
  • Clark Gable and Barbara Stanwyck in To Please a Lady (1950)
    To Please a Lady
    • producer
    • 1950
  • Intruder in the Dust (1949)
    Intruder in the Dust
    • producer
    • 1949
  • The Secret Garden (1949)
    The Secret Garden
    • producer
    • 1949
  • Katharine Hepburn, Paul Henreid, and Robert Walker in Song of Love (1947)
    Song of Love
    • producer
    • 1947
  • Elizabeth Taylor and Mickey Rooney in National Velvet (1944)
    National Velvet
    • producer (uncredited)
    • 1944
  • Irene Dunne and Alan Marshal in The White Cliffs of Dover (1944)
    The White Cliffs of Dover
    • producer
    • 1944
  • Mickey Rooney in The Human Comedy (1943)
    The Human Comedy
    • producer
    • 1943
  • James Stewart and Hedy Lamarr in Come Live with Me (1941)
    Come Live with Me
    • producer
    • 1941
  • Clark Gable and Norma Shearer in Idiot's Delight (1939)
    Idiot's Delight
    • producer
    • 1939
  • James Stewart and Ann Rutherford in Of Human Hearts (1938)
    Of Human Hearts
    • producer (uncredited)
    • 1938
  • Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, and Myrna Loy in Wife vs. Secretary (1936)
    Wife vs. Secretary
    • producer (uncredited)
    • 1936

Editor

  • Tula Belle and Robin Macdougall in The Blue Bird (1918)
    The Blue Bird
    • Editor
    • 1918
  • Exile (1917)
    Exile
    • Editor (uncredited)
    • 1917
  • Law of the Land (1917)
    Law of the Land
    • Editor (uncredited)
    • 1917
  • Doris Kenyon and Robert Warwick in A Girl's Folly (1917)
    A Girl's Folly
    • Editor (as Clarence L. Brown)
    • 1917
  • Mary Pickford in The Pride of the Clan (1917)
    The Pride of the Clan
    • Editor (uncredited)
    • 1917
  • The Velvet Paw (1916)
    The Velvet Paw
    • Editor (as Clarence L. Brown)
    • 1916
  • House Peters in The Rail Rider (1916)
    The Rail Rider
    • Editor (as Clarence L. Brown)
    • 1916
  • House Peters in The Closed Road (1916)
    The Closed Road
    • Editor (as Clarence L. Brown)
    • 1916
  • House Peters in The Hand of Peril (1916)
    The Hand of Peril
    • Editor (as Clarence L. Brown)
    • 1916
  • George Beban in Pawn of Fate (1916)
    Pawn of Fate
    • Editor (as Clarence L. Brown)
    • 1916
  • Holbrook Blinn, Johnny Hines, and Vivian Martin in A Butterfly on the Wheel (1915)
    A Butterfly on the Wheel
    • Editor (as Clarence L. Brown)
    • 1915
  • Wilton Lackaye and Clara Kimball Young in Trilby (1915)
    Trilby
    • Editor (as Clarence L. Brown)
    • 1915
  • The Ivory Snuff Box (1915)
    The Ivory Snuff Box
    • Editor (as Clarence L. Brown)
    • 1915
  • The Cub (1915)
    The Cub
    • Editor (as Clarence L. Brown)
    • 1915

Personal details

Edit
  • Alternative name
    • Clarence L. Brown
  • Born
    • May 10, 1890
    • Clinton, Massachusetts, USA
  • Died
    • August 17, 1987
    • Santa Monica, California, USA(kidney failure)
  • Spouses
      Marian Ruth Spies1946 - August 17, 1987 (his death)
  • Other works
    Flight instructor for the Army Air Corps during World War I.
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Print Biography
    • 1 Portrayal
    • 1 Interview
    • 14 Articles

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Directed 10 different actors in Oscar-nominated performances: Greta Garbo, Lionel Barrymore, Norma Shearer, Marie Dressler, Beulah Bondi, Charles Boyer, Mickey Rooney, Anne Revere, Gregory Peck and Jane Wyman. Barrymore and Revere won Oscars for their performances in one of Brown's movies.
  • Quotes
    A star is when someone says, "To hell with it, let's leave the dishes in the sink and go see Joan Crawford in a movie".
  • Salaries
      The Goose Woman
      (1925)
      $12,500

Related news

Contribute to this page

Suggest an edit or add missing content
  • Learn more about contributing
Edit page

More to explore

Production art
Photos
IMDb's Top Picks for May
See the list
Production art
Photos
The Best Pics of the Week
See the gallery

Add demo reel with IMDbPro

Demo reel thumbnail
Make your IMDb page stand out by adding a demo reel
Upload your demo reel

Add demo reel with IMDbPro

Make your IMDb page stand out by adding a demo reel
Upload your demo reel
Demo reel thumbnail

How much have you seen?

Keep track of how much of Clarence Brown’s work you have seen. Go to your list.
Production art
Photos
IMDb's 2023 Summer Movie Guide
See the list

Recently viewed

Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
Get the IMDb App
Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
  • Get the IMDb App
  • Help
  • Site Index
  • IMDbPro
  • Box Office Mojo
  • IMDb Developer
  • Press Room
  • Advertising
  • Jobs
  • Conditions of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your Ads Privacy Choices
IMDb, an Amazon company

© 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.