If there was a silent version of Quentin Tarantino, the most logical choice would be director Tod Browning. While Tarantino focuses on the look and feel of the 1970's exploitation films, Browning's work often found itself the target of exploitation, period.
His most famous excursion into the world of the misunderstood is the 1932 sound production of Freaks. However, long before that early talking curiosity, Tod Browning made silent features which were far more disturbing and creative. These films often centered around carnivals and the characters, clowns and connivers that made up the world of these traveling road shows.
Browning's most memorable work is through his ten picture collaboration with silent screen great, Lon Chaney. From the unsettling revenge picture, West of Zanzibar, to the desperate lows that love can bring in The Unknown, to the odd trio of carnival criminals in The Unholy Three, one will find a director who's work feels just as modern, edgy and original as some of the hipper new filmmakers of this current generation.
Many of the Browning / Chaney movies are available on DVD and most are worth checking out along with The Show, that features John Gilbert as a carnival barker caught in a web of deception, love and murder. His movies are worth searching for and any true film lover will find that watching a Tod Browning directed film will be time well spent.
His most famous excursion into the world of the misunderstood is the 1932 sound production of Freaks. However, long before that early talking curiosity, Tod Browning made silent features which were far more disturbing and creative. These films often centered around carnivals and the characters, clowns and connivers that made up the world of these traveling road shows.
Browning's most memorable work is through his ten picture collaboration with silent screen great, Lon Chaney. From the unsettling revenge picture, West of Zanzibar, to the desperate lows that love can bring in The Unknown, to the odd trio of carnival criminals in The Unholy Three, one will find a director who's work feels just as modern, edgy and original as some of the hipper new filmmakers of this current generation.
Many of the Browning / Chaney movies are available on DVD and most are worth checking out along with The Show, that features John Gilbert as a carnival barker caught in a web of deception, love and murder. His movies are worth searching for and any true film lover will find that watching a Tod Browning directed film will be time well spent.
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