Birthday:
05-10-1890
Deathday:
08-17-1987 (97 years)
Birthplace:
Clinton, Massachusetts, USA
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.
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.
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The Signal Tower
Act like Switch Man
event1924 star_border 5.2
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A railroad worker accepts a colleague's offer to stay in his home, but when his friend is called out one night to stop a runaway train, he makes a play for the man's wife.
Navy Blues
Act like Roller Coaster Rider
event1929 star_border 7
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On shore leave, a young sailor meets and falls in love with a pretty young blonde. He goes home with her to meet her parents, but they don't approve of him at all. Their daughter takes offense at this, and in the ensuing argument she storms out of the house determined to live on her own.
Fats Domino Live from Austin Texas
Act like Batterie
event1986 star_border 10
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The Live From Austin, Texas series gets a taste of New Orleans on it latest release. Fats Domino, synonymous with New Orleans, rips it up on the Austin City Limits stage during this amazing performance. This Live From Austin, Texas performance includes all his classic songs from Blueberry Hill to I'm Walking and Ain’t That a Shame. Tracks:
1. I’m Walkin’
2. My Blue Heaven
3. Blue Monday
4. I’m Ready
5. My Girl Josephine
6. I Want To Walk You Home
7. I’m In Love Again
8. Let The Four Winds Blow
9. Poor Me
10. Walkin’ To New Orleans
11. Shake, Rattle And Roll
12. Ain’t That A Shame
13. I Hear You Knockin’
14. Blueberry Hill
15. Your Cheatin’ Heart
16. Three Nights A Week
17. All By Myself
Hollywood Goes to Town
Act like Self
event1938 star_border 7
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This short shows how Hollywood gets ready for the world premiere of an "important" movie. The film celebrated here is Marie Antoinette (1938), which had its premiere at the Carthay Circle Theatre. We see the street leading to the theatre transformed to suggest a garden that might be seen in a French palace. This includes the placement of trees and other foliage, as well as large statues along the route. Grandstands are set up so fans can see their favorite stars as they arrive for the premiere. Finally, the proverbial "galaxy of stars" arrives in their limousines. Fanny Brice and Pete Smith make remarks at the microphone set up on the carpet outside the theatre.
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
Act like Chariot Race Spectator (uncredited)
event1925 star_border 7.3
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Erstwhile childhood friends, Judah Ben-Hur and Messala meet again as adults, this time with Roman officer Messala as conqueror and Judah as a wealthy, though conquered, Israelite. A slip of a brick during a Roman parade causes Judah to be sent off as a galley slave, his property confiscated and his mother and sister imprisoned. Years later, as a result of his determination to stay alive and his willingness to aid his Roman master, Judah returns to his homeland an exalted and wealthy Roman athlete. Unable to find his mother and sister, and believing them dead, he can think of nothing else than revenge against Messala.
Dead Heat
Act like Harry Latham
event1988 star_border 6.1
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Detective Roger Mortis is killed in action while investigating a string of mysterious robberies: until he's brought back from the dead with a chemical company's secret re-animation technology. Now he has twelve hours to solve the case of his own death before he dies: And stays dead.
The Twilight Zone
(1 ep.)
event1985 star_border 7.7
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This 1980s revival of the classic sci-fi series features a similar style to the original anthology series. Each episode tells a tale (sometimes two or three) rooted in horror or suspense, often with a surprising twist at the end. Episodes usually feature elements of drama and comedy.
Inspiration
Director (1 ep.)
event1931 star_border 6.1
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The film features the leading actress Greta Garbo as Yvonne, an artist's model. Other stars include Robert Montgomery, Lewis Stone, Marjorie Rambeau and Judith Vosselli. It is a romantic melodrama, portraying a Parisian belle with a past returning to haunt her. The film is the only one where Montgomery played opposite Garbo.
Conquest
Director (1 ep.)
event1937 star_border 6.6
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A Polish countess is dispatched by her country to become Napoleon Bonaparte's mistress at the urging of Polish leaders, who feel she might influence him to support Polish independence.
Never Let Me Go
Producer (1 ep.)
event1953 star_border 5.6
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An American reporter falls in love with a Russian ballet dancer.
Come Live with Me
Director (1 ep.)
event1941 star_border 6.9
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Seeking US citizenship, a Viennese refugee arranges a marriage of convenience with a struggling writer.
A Woman of Affairs
Director (1 ep.)
event1928 star_border 6.7
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Childhood friends Diana, Neville and David are caught in a love triangle as adults. Diana and Neville have long been smitten with each other, but her father disapproves of the relationship, resulting in her eventual marriage to David. It's not long after their wedding, however, that tragedy strikes, sending Diana on a downward spiral. When Neville reappears in her life, will he be able to save her from her own misery?
Anna Christie
Director (1 ep.)
event1930 star_border 6.2
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Old sailor Chris Christofferson eagerly awaits the arrival of his grown daughter Anna, whom he sent at five years old to live with relatives in Minnesota. He has not seen her since, but believes her to be a decent and respectably employed young woman. When Anna arrives, however, it is clear that she has lived a hard life in the dregs of society, and that much of spirit has been extinguished. She falls in love with a young sailor rescued at sea by her father, but dreads to reveal to him the truth of her past. Both father and young man are deluded about her background, yet Anna cannot quite bring herself to allow them to remain deluded.
Idiot's Delight
Director (1 ep.)
event1939 star_border 6.1
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A group of disparate travelers are thrown together in a posh Alpine hotel when the borders are closed at the start of WWII.
Sadie McKee
Director (1 ep.)
event1934 star_border 7
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A maid has romances with a two-timer, a boozing millionaire and the master of the house.
Edison, the Man
Director (1 ep.)
event1940 star_border 6.6
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In flashback, fifty years after inventing the light bulb, an 82-year-old Edison tells his story starting at age twenty-two with his arrival in New York. He's on his way with the invention of an early form of the stock market ticker.
Angels in the Outfield
Director (1 ep.)
event1951 star_border 6.7
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The short-tempered manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates mends his ways in return for a little divine assistance.
Flesh and the Devil
Director (1 ep.)
event1926 star_border 7.2
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When lifelong best friends Leo and Ulrich return home after completing their military training, Leo meets the stunning Felicitas at a railway station and is mesmerized by her beauty. A scandal follows, for which Leo is sent away. Returning home three years later, he discovers that much has changed.
Wife vs. Secretary
Director (1 ep.)
event1936 star_border 6.8
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Linda, the wife of a publishing executive, suspects that her husband Van’s relationship with his attractive secretary Whitey is more than professional.
National Velvet
Director (1 ep.)
event1945 star_border 7.2
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Mi Taylor is a young wanderer and opportunist who finds himself in the quiet English countryside home of the Brown family. The youngest daughter, Velvet, has a passion for horses and when she wins the spirited steed Pie in a town lottery, Mi is encouraged to train the horse.
The Human Comedy
Producer (1 ep.)
event1943 star_border 6.3
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Teenager Homer Macauley stays at home in the small town of Ithaca, California to support his family while his older brother Marcus prepares to go to war.
The Yearling
Director (1 ep.)
event1946 star_border 6.5
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Jody convinces his parents to allow him to adopt a young deer, but what will happen if the deer misbehaves?
Chained
Director (1 ep.)
event1934 star_border 6.8
top_panel_open
Richard, a millionaire in love with his secretary, Diane, is dispirited when his wife refuses to divorce him. Concerned that Diane will now lose interest, Richard offers her an all-expense-paid cruise to Argentina so that she can think it over. While traveling, however, Diane falls in love with fellow traveler Mike. She resolves to come clean to Richard, but upon return she becomes conflicted when she finds out he was able to get divorced after all.
Anna Karenina
Director (1 ep.)
event1935 star_border 6.6
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In 19th century Russia a woman in a respectable marriage to a senior statesman must grapple with her love for a dashing soldier.
Intruder in the Dust
Director (1 ep.)
event1949 star_border 7.3
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Rural Mississippi in the 1940s: Lucas Beauchamp, a local black man with a reputation of not kowtowing to whites, is found standing over the body of a dead white man, holding a pistol that has recently been fired. Quickly arrested for murder and jailed, Beauchamp insists he's innocent and asks the town's most prominent lawyer, Gavin Stevens, to defend him, but Stevens refuses. When a local boy whom Beauchamp has helped in the past and who believes him to be innocent hears talk of a mob taking Beauchamp out of jail and lynching him, he pleads with Stevens to defend Beauchamp at trial and prove his innocence.
Possessed
Director (1 ep.)
event1931 star_border 7.1
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Marion is a factory worker who hopes to trade the assembly line, for a beautiful penthouse apartment. Mark Whitney, a wealthy and influential lawyer can make her dreams come true, but there is only one problem, he will give her everything but a marriage proposal. Will this affair ever lead to marriage?
The White Cliffs of Dover
Director (1 ep.)
event1944 star_border 6.7
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American Susan travels with her father to England for a vacation. Invited to a society ball, Susan meets Sir John Ashwood and marries him after a whirlwind romance. However, she never quite adjusts to life as a new member of the British gentry. At the outbreak of World War I, John is sent to the trenches and never returns. When her son goes off to fight in World War II, Susan fears the same tragic fate may befall him too.
A Free Soul
Director (1 ep.)
event1931 star_border 6.1
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An alcoholic lawyer who successfully defended a notorious gambler on a murder charge objects when his free-spirited daughter becomes romantically involved with him.
Plymouth Adventure
Director (1 ep.)
event1952 star_border 5.5
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During the Mayflower pilgrims' long voyage across the Atlantic Ocean on their way to America, Captain Christopher Jones falls in love with William Bradford's wife Dorothy.
It's a Big Country
Director (1 ep.)
event1951 star_border 5.3
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Comprised of eight unrelated episodes of inconsistent quality, this anthology piece of American propaganda features some of MGM Studios' best directors, screenwriters and actors; it is narrated by Louis Calhern. Stories are framed by the lecture of a university professor. In one tale a Boston resident becomes angry when the census forgets to record her presence. Another sketch chronicles the achievements of African Americans while still another pays tongue-in-cheek tribute to Texas.
Night Flight
Director (1 ep.)
event1933 star_border 5.8
top_panel_open
Story of South American mail pilots, and the dangers they face flying at night.
Romance
Director (1 ep.)
event1930 star_border 6.3
top_panel_open
A beautiful opera star kept by a rich older man falls in love with a young clergyman.
They Met in Bombay
Director (1 ep.)
event1941 star_border 7.3
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A jewel thief and a con artist are rivals in the theft of a valuable diamond and gem necklace in Bombay and as the Japanese Army invades China.
Emma
Director (1 ep.)
event1932 star_border 6.5
top_panel_open
After decades of raising the motherless Smith children, housekeeper Emma Thatcher is faced with resentment when she marries their father.
Smouldering Fires
Director (1 ep.)
event1925 star_border 6.5
top_panel_open
A successful businesswoman falls in love with one of her much younger factory workers. She doesn't know that he is in love with her younger sister.
Ah, Wilderness!
Director (1 ep.)
event1935 star_border 6.3
top_panel_open
At the turn of the century, a young man graduates high school and realizes the joys and sorrows of growing up, with some loving help and guidance from his wise father. A tender, coming-of-age story, with a wonderful look at a long-gone, but fondly remembered, small town America.
The Eagle
Director (1 ep.)
event1925 star_border 6.3
top_panel_open
Vladimir Dubrouvsky, a lieutenant in the Russian army, catches the eye of Czarina Catherine II. He spurns her advances and flees, and she puts out a warrant for his arrest, dead or alive. Vladimir learns that his father's lands have been taken by the evil Kyrilla Troekouroff, and his father dies. He dons a black mask, and becomes the outlaw The Black Eagle. He enters the Troekouroff household disguised as a French instructor for Kyrilla's daughter Mascha. He is after vengeance, but instead falls in love with Mascha.
Of Human Hearts
Director (1 ep.)
event1938 star_border 5.8
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This is a story about family relationships, set in the time before and during the American Civil War. Ethan Wilkins is a poor and honest man who ministers to the human soul, while his son Jason yearns to be a doctor, helping people in the earthly realm. It is a rich story about striving for excellence, the tension of father-son rebellion, and the love of a mother that can never die.
The Rains Came
Director (1 ep.)
event1939 star_border 5.9
top_panel_open
Indian aristocrat Rama Safti returns from medical training in the U.S. to give his life to the poor folk of Ranchipur. Lady Edwina and her drunken artist ex-lover Tom Ransome get in the way, but everyone shapes up when faced by earthquake, flooding, and plague.
The Gorgeous Hussy
Director (1 ep.)
event1936 star_border 5.2
top_panel_open
It's the early nineteenth century Washington. Young adult Margaret O'Neal, Peggy to most that know her, is the daughter of Major William O'Neal, who is the innkeeper of the establishment where most out-of-town politicians and military men stay when they're in Washington. Peggy is pretty and politically aware. She is courted by several of those politicians and military men who all want to marry her, except for the one with who she is truly in love.
The Goose Woman
Director (1 ep.)
event1925 star_border 5.9
top_panel_open
A famous opera singer lost her voice when her son was born, and has drowned her sorrows in drink. When a murder is committed near her house, she invents a story in order to get herself back in front of the public again. However, the story she comes up with results in her son being arrested for the murder.
Song of Love
Director (1 ep.)
event1947 star_border 6.7
top_panel_open
Composer Robert Schumann struggles to compose his symphonies while his loving wife Clara offers her support. Also helping the Schumanns is their lifelong friend, composer Johannes Brahms.
The Trail of '98
Director (1 ep.)
event1928 star_border 6.2
top_panel_open
Fortune hunters from all over the country rushing to the Klondike in 1897 to seek their fortunes in the gold are tested by hardships of the journey.
The Light in the Dark
Director (1 ep.)
event1922 star_border 5.5
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A young girl is struck and seriously injured by a wealthy society matron's car. The woman brings the girl back to her house. Later, a hardened thief is told by the girl of a goblet, that could be the Holy Grail, which has healing powers and could help her. The thief, touched by her predicament, sets out to steal the goblet and bring it to her.
Letty Lynton
Director (1 ep.)
event1932 star_border 6.8
top_panel_open
Socialite Letty Lynton is returning to New York, abandoning one-time lover Emile Renaul in South America, when she strikes up a shipboard romance with Jerry Darrow. Renault is waiting for her in New York and will not leave her alone, so she poisons him. When detectives take her to the D.A.s office, Jerry cooks up an alibi.
Don't Marry for Money
Director (1 ep.)
event1923
top_panel_open
Don't Marry for Money is a 1923 silent drama
When in Rome
Director (1 ep.)
event1952
top_panel_open
An American fugitive flees to Rome and tries to elude capture by masquerading as a priest.
To Please a Lady
Director (1 ep.)
event1950 star_border 6.3
top_panel_open
Mike Brannon is a former war hero turned midget car racer. His ruthless racing tactics have made him successful but the fans consider him a villain and boo him mercilessly. Independent, beautiful reporter Regina Forbes tries to interview him but is put off by his gruff chauvinism, and when Brannon's daredevil tactics cause the death of a fellow driver, he finds himself a pariah in the sport thanks to her articles. When she finds him earning money as a barnstorming daredevil driver hoping for a comeback, they begin to become mutually attracted.
Kiki
Director (1 ep.)
event1926 star_border 7
top_panel_open
Kiki, a poor young woman who sells newspapers on the street corners of Paris, is able to land a job singing and dancing at a nearby theater. While she is there, she invites herself into the life of the revue's manager, with whom she has fallen in love.
Wonder of Women
Director (1 ep.)
event1929 star_border 3
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A German pianist is going to break up with his unfaithful wife, when he receives the message that his favourite stepchild has died. This film is believed lost.
The Son-Daughter
Director (1 ep.)
event1932 star_border 7
top_panel_open
Young Asians in San Francisco find their love thwarted by clan warfare.
Looking Forward
Director (1 ep.)
event1933 star_border 6.2
top_panel_open
Depression Era story set in London about a wealthy shop owner who goes bankrupt and is forced to fire his faithful staff.
The Blue Bird
Editor (1 ep.)
event1918 star_border 6.7
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Peasant children Mytyl and Tyltyl are led on a magical quest for the fabulous Blue Bird of Happiness by the fairy Berylune. On their journey, they're accompanied by the anthropomorphized presences of a Dog, a Cat, Light, Fire, and Bread, among other entities.
The Great Redeemer
Director (1 ep.)
event1920
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A murderer and a thief, imprisoned together, find their lives changed forever when the thief's drawing of Christ's crucifixion on the cell wall comes to life.
The Foolish Matrons
Director (1 ep.)
event1921
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Three women, each living in a separate social sphere, work out their destinies in New York.
The Hand of Peril
Editor (1 ep.)
event1916
top_panel_open
Nine rooms of a house are shown, with action occurring in each room simultaneously
The Pride of the Clan
Editor (1 ep.)
event1917 star_border 7.1
top_panel_open
Donald MacTavish, the last chieftain of his clan on an island off the coast of Scotland, dies at sea. This leaves his only daughter, Marget, to assume the responsibilities of leadership. Marget's burden is partially eased by her blossoming romance with Jamie Campbell. But there is a secret from Jamie's past that neither of them know about.
Butterfly
Director (1 ep.)
event1924
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Silent Feature Film by Clarence Brown
The Secret Garden
Producer (1 ep.)
event1949 star_border 7.1
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When Cholera takes the parents of Mary Lennox, she is shipped from India to England to live with her Uncle Craven. Mary changes the lives of those she encounters at her Uncle's remote estate.
The Acquittal
Director (1 ep.)
event1923
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When a wealthy man is found murdered in his bedroom, one of his two adopted sons is arrested and charged with the killing. However, the verdict at his trial is an acquittal. Since the police don't seem to be particularly interested in finding the real killer, the dead man's daughter-in-law--the wife of the adopted son who wasn't charged--takes it upon herself to solve the crime.
The Closed Road
Editor (1 ep.)
event1916
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1916 silent drama directed by Maurice Tourneur
The Last of the Mohicans
Co-Director (1 ep.)
event1920 star_border 6.4
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As Alice and Cora Munro attempt to find their father, a British officer in the French and Indian War, they are set upon by French soldiers and their cohorts, Huron tribesmen led by the evil Magua. Fighting to rescue the women are Chingachgook and his son Uncas, the last of the Mohican tribe, and their white ally, the frontiersman Natty Bumppo, known as Hawkeye.
The Rail Rider
Editor (1 ep.)
event1916
top_panel_open
The Rail Rider is a 1916 American silent drama film directed by Maurice Tourneur and starring House Peters, Bertram Marburgh, and Henry West.
The Cub
Editor (1 ep.)
event1915 star_border 5.9
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This breezy comedy is about a cub newspaper reporter who goes to investigate a family feud, which has erupted into violence again—a parody of the real Hatfield-McCoy feud.
A Girl's Folly
Editor (1 ep.)
event1917 star_border 5.4
top_panel_open
A restless young girl yearns to leave her rural environment and "get away from it all". One day she stumbles upon a film crew shooting a western near her home. She makes friends with the film's leading man, who encourages her to try her luck as an actress. So she leaves her small town and goes to the big city to break into the picture business. However, things don't turn out quite the way she planned.
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