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IMDbPro

Tod Browning(1880-1962)

  • Director
  • Actor
  • Writer
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Tod Browning, Lon Chaney, and Conrad Nagel in London After Midnight (1927)
Belonging to a well-situated family, Charles Browning fell in love at the age of 16 with a dancer of a circus. Following her began his itinerary of being clown, jockey and director of a variety theater which ended when he met D.W. Griffith and became an actor. He made his debut in Intolerance (1916). Working later on as a director, he had his first success with The Unholy Three (1925) (after about 25 unimportant pictures) which had his typical style of a mixture of fantasy, mystery and horror. His biggest hit was the classic Dracula (1931), in which he also appears as the voice of the harbor master.
BornJuly 12, 1880
DiedOctober 6, 1962(82)
BornJuly 12, 1880
DiedOctober 6, 1962(82)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Awards
    • 2 wins & 2 nominations

Photos25

Jerry Austin, Tod Browning, Johnny Eck, Elizabeth Green, Martha Morris, Peter Robinson, Olga Roderick, Schlitze, Elvira Snow, and Jenny Lee Snow in Freaks (1932)
Jerry Austin, Tod Browning, Johnny Eck, Elizabeth Green, Josephine Joseph, Peter Robinson, Olga Roderick, Schlitze, Elvira Snow, and Jenny Lee Snow in Freaks (1932)
Olga Baclanova, Tod Browning, Rose Dione, Tiny Doll, Daisy Earles, Johnny Eck, Wallace Ford, Elizabeth Green, Daisy Hilton, Violet Hilton, Leila Hyams, Josephine Joseph, Koo Koo, Frances O'Connor, Peter Robinson, Olga Roderick, Angelo Rossitto, Schlitze, Elvira Snow, Jenny Lee Snow, Henry Victor, and Prince Randian in Freaks (1932)
Tod Browning in Freaks (1932)
Tod Browning and Schlitze in Freaks (1932)
Tod Browning and Schlitze in Freaks (1932)
Tod Browning, Tiny Doll, Daisy Earles, and Harry Earles in Freaks (1932)
Tod Browning
Roscoe Ates, Olga Baclanova, Tod Browning, Rose Dione, Harry Earles, Johnny Eck, Elizabeth Green, Daisy Hilton, Violet Hilton, Josephine Joseph, Martha Morris, Frances O'Connor, Peter Robinson, Olga Roderick, Angelo Rossitto, Schlitze, Elvira Snow, Jenny Lee Snow, and Henry Victor in Freaks (1932)
Olga Baclanova and Tod Browning in Freaks (1932)
Olga Baclanova and Tod Browning in Freaks (1932)
Jerry Austin, Tod Browning, Johnny Eck, Koo Koo, Peter Robinson, Olga Roderick, Schlitze, Elvira Snow, and Jenny Lee Snow in Freaks (1932)

Known for:

Joan Crawford and Lon Chaney in The Unknown (1927)
The Unknown
7.7
  • Director
  • 1927
Dracula (1931)
Dracula
7.4
  • Director
  • 1931
Olga Baclanova, Harry Earles, and Henry Victor in Freaks (1932)
Freaks
7.8
  • Director
  • 1932
Edward G. Robinson, Owen Moore, and Mary Nolan in Outside the Law (1930)
Outside the Law
5.6
  • Director
  • 1930

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Director

  • Robert Young, Henry Hull, and Florence Rice in Miracles for Sale (1939)
    Miracles for Sale
    • Director
    • 1939
  • Lionel Barrymore, Maureen O'Sullivan, Grace Ford, and Frank Lawton in The Devil-Doll (1936)
    The Devil-Doll
    • Director (uncredited)
    • 1936
  • Bela Lugosi and Carroll Borland in Mark of the Vampire (1935)
    Mark of the Vampire
    • Director
    • 1935
  • Fast Workers (1933)
    Fast Workers
    • Director (uncredited)
    • 1933
  • Olga Baclanova, Harry Earles, and Henry Victor in Freaks (1932)
    Freaks
    • Director
    • 1932
  • Lew Ayres and Jean Harlow in Iron Man (1931)
    Iron Man
    • Director
    • 1931
  • Dracula (1931)
    Dracula
    • Director
    • 1931
  • Edward G. Robinson, Owen Moore, and Mary Nolan in Outside the Law (1930)
    Outside the Law
    • Director
    • 1930
  • The Thirteenth Chair (1929)
    The Thirteenth Chair
    • Director
    • 1929
  • Lon Chaney, Lloyd Hughes, Estelle Taylor, and Lupe Velez in Where East Is East (1929)
    Where East Is East
    • Director
    • 1929
  • Lon Chaney in West of Zanzibar (1928)
    West of Zanzibar
    • Director
    • 1928
  • Lon Chaney, Marceline Day, and James Murray in The Big City (1928)
    The Big City
    • Director
    • 1928
  • Lon Chaney in London After Midnight (1927)
    London After Midnight
    • Director
    • 1927
  • Joan Crawford and Lon Chaney in The Unknown (1927)
    The Unknown
    • Director
    • 1927
  • The Show (1927)
    The Show
    • Director
    • 1927

Actor

  • Dracula (1931)
    Dracula
    • Harbormaster (voice, uncredited)
    • 1931
  • Intolerance (1916)
    Intolerance
    • Crook (uncredited)
    • 1916
  • Ethel's Disguise
    • Undetermined Role (unconfirmed, uncredited)
    • Short
    • 1915
  • Ethel Gets Consent
    • James Hadley - the Boss
    • Short
    • 1915
  • Music Hath Charms
    • Jim - the Singer
    • Short
    • 1915
  • Bill Turns Valet
    • James Hadley - the Boss
    • Short
    • 1915
  • Cupid and the Pest
    • Ed
    • Short
    • 1915
  • A Flurry in Art
    • The Thief
    • Short
    • 1915
  • A Flyer in Spring Water
    • James Hadley - the Boss
    • Short
    • 1915
  • Love and Business
    • Fred Gates
    • Short
    • 1915
  • Ethel Gets the Evidence
    • James Hadley - the Boss
    • Short
    • 1915
  • The Record Breaker
    • John
    • Short
    • 1914
  • Bill and Ethel at the Ball
    • James Hadley - the Boss
    • Short
    • 1914
  • The Housebreakers
    • Harris
    • Short
    • 1914
  • Mr. Hadley's Uncle
    • James Hadley - the Boss
    • Short
    • 1914

Writer

  • London After Midnight (2002)
    London After Midnight
    • story "The Hypnotist"
    • TV Movie
    • 2002
  • Alan Curtis, Preston Foster, and Ann Rutherford in Inside Job (1946)
    Inside Job
    • story
    • 1946
  • Lionel Barrymore, Maureen O'Sullivan, Grace Ford, and Frank Lawton in The Devil-Doll (1936)
    The Devil-Doll
    • story
    • 1936
  • Bela Lugosi and Carroll Borland in Mark of the Vampire (1935)
    Mark of the Vampire
    • story "The Hypnotist" (uncredited)
    • 1935
  • Dracula (1931)
    Dracula
    • contributing writer (uncredited)
    • 1931
  • Edward G. Robinson, Owen Moore, and Mary Nolan in Outside the Law (1930)
    Outside the Law
    • screenplay
    • story
    • 1930
  • Lon Chaney, Lloyd Hughes, Estelle Taylor, and Lupe Velez in Where East Is East (1929)
    Where East Is East
    • story by
    • 1929
  • Lon Chaney, Marceline Day, and James Murray in The Big City (1928)
    The Big City
    • story
    • 1928
  • Lon Chaney in London After Midnight (1927)
    London After Midnight
    • story "The Hypnotist"
    • 1927
  • Joan Crawford and Lon Chaney in The Unknown (1927)
    The Unknown
    • story
    • 1927
  • Lon Chaney and Lois Moran in The Road to Mandalay (1926)
    The Road to Mandalay
    • story
    • 1926
  • Lon Chaney in The Blackbird (1926)
    The Blackbird
    • story by
    • 1926
  • Aileen Pringle and Conway Tearle in The Mystic (1925)
    The Mystic
    • story
    • 1925
  • Wallace Beery, Priscilla Dean, Raymond Griffith, and Matt Moore in White Tiger (1923)
    White Tiger
    • scenario
    • story
    • 1923
  • Priscilla Dean in Drifting (1923)
    Drifting
    • scenario
    • 1923

Personal details

Edit
  • Height
    • 5′ 9¾″ (1.77 m)
  • Born
    • July 12, 1880
    • Louisville, Kentucky, USA
  • Died
    • October 6, 1962
    • Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA(stroke (also suffered from arteriosclerosis and had been treated for laryngeal cancer))
  • Spouses
      Alice WilsonJune 9, 1911 - May 12, 1944 (her death)
  • Publicity listings
    • 6 Print Biographies
    • 17 Articles

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    In the early morning hours of June 16, 1915, Browning was seriously injured when his car collided with a freight train in Downtown Los Angeles. The crash killed one of his passengers, actor Elmer Booth, and injured another, actor George Siegmann. An initial police investigation stated that the train operators claimed Browning was at fault for failing to observe the railway signals, but no legal action was taken.
  • Salaries
      West of Zanzibar
      (1928)
      $45,000

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