Melville W. Brown (March 10, 1887 – January 31, 1938) was an American film director, screenwriter and occasional actor. He began his career on the local stage in Oregon, in stock companies and vaudeville, before moving to California and working in the silent film industry in 1916, at the suggestion of Charlie Chaplin. His career was cut short when he died of a heart attack in January 1938.
Early life Brown was born on March 10, 1887, to John and Fannie Brown of Portland, Oregon. He began his career in show business in local vaudeville productions and stock companies, such as the Baker Stock Company in Spokane, Washington. In 1916, at the suggestion of Charlie Chaplin, he moved to Hollywood to start a film career.
Career His first known credit is as a screenwriter, on the 1919 silent film, The Pest, produced by Goldwyn Pictures, and directed by Christy Cabanne. Over the next several years he would continue to write screenplays, including the critically acclaimed The Goose Woman, which he adapted from a story by Rex Beach, and directed by Clarence Brown (no relation). He would move into the directing field in 1926, with the film, Her Big Night, which he also wrote the screenplay for. In 1935, he left Hollywood and went to England, where he directed several films over the next two years, the last of which, Mad About Money, was released after his death. Over the course of his career, he would write or direct over 30 films in Hollywood and the United Kingdom.
He returned from England in late 1937, and was working on a screenplay when he was stricken by a heart attack and died on January 31, 1938, at the age of 50.
Filmography Film YearCreditStarsReference The Pest1919writer Mabel Normand, John Bowers, and Charles Gerard Fashionable Fakers 1923writer Johnnie Walker, Mildred June, and George Cowl The Gaiety Girl1924writer Mary Philbin, Joseph J. Dowling, and William Haines The Rose of Paris1924writer Mary Philbin, Robert Cain, and John Sainpolis The Goose Woman1925writer Louise Dresser, Jack Pickford, and Constance Bennett Smouldering Fires1925writer Pauline Frederick, Laura La Plante, and Malcolm McGregor Where Was I?1925writer Reginald Denny, Marion Nixon, and Pauline Garon Her Big Night1926writer, director Laura La Plante, Einar Hansen, and ZaSu Pitts Poker Faces 1926writer Edward Everett Horton, Laura La Plante, and George Siegmann What Happened to Jones 1926writer Reginald Denny, Marian Nixon, and Melbourne MacDowell Taxi! Taxi!1927writer, director Edward Everett Horton, Marian Nixon, and Burr McIntosh Fast and Furious 1927director Reginald Denny, Barbara Worth, and Claude Gillingwater 13 Washington Square 1928director Jean Hersholt, Alice Joyce, and George Lewis Buck Privates 1928writer, director Lya De Putti, Malcolm McGregor, and ZaSu Pitts Red Lips 1928writer, director Marion Nixon, Charles "Buddy" Rogers, and Stanley Taylor Dance Hall1929director Olive Borden, Arthur Lake, and Margaret Seddon Geraldine 1929director Marian Nixon, Eddie Quillan, and Albert Gran Jazz Heaven 1929director John Mack Brown, Sally O'Neil, and Clyde Cook The Love Doctor 1929director Richard Dix, June Collyer, and Morgan Farley Check and Double Check1930director Freeman F. Gosden, Charles J. Correll, and Sue Carol Lovin' the Ladies1930director Richard Dix, Lois Wilson, and Allen Kearns She's My Weakness 1930director Arthur Lake, Sue Carol, and Lucien Littlefield Behind Office Doors 1931director Mary Astor, Robert Ames, and Ricardo Cortez White Shoulders 1931director Mary Astor, Jack Holt, and Ricardo Cortez Fanny Foley Herself1931director Edna May Oliver, Hobart Bosworth, and Florence Roberts Lost in the Stratosphere 1934director William Cagney, Eddie Nugent, and June Collyer Redhead1934director Bruce Cabot, Grace Bradley, and Regis Toomey The Nut Farm1935director Wallace Ford, Betty Alden, and Florence Roberts Forced Landing1935director Esther Ralston, Onslow Stevens, and Sidney Blackmer Champagne for Breakfast1935director Mary Carlisle, Hardie Albright, and Joan Marsh Head Office1936director Owen Nares, Nancy O'Neil, and Arthur Margetson Mad About Money1936director Mary Cole, Arthur Finn, and Alf Goddard
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