Talk:Tod Browning

Sources

My sources include the IMDB, the Browning entry on the Silent Movie Page, and The Ringmaster...Tod Browning. There's also a short analysis of Browning's "Outside the Law" which I haven't had an opportunity to use yet but hope to (especially in regards to film technique). This list is as much for my own benefit, for continuing the unfinished entry, as for anyone else. - Gwalla 07:20, May 1, 2004 (UTC)

Mystery of the Leaping Fish

Mystery of the Leaping Fish (1916) is a really weird short written by Tod Browing and starring Douglas Fairbanks Snr. Check it out on YouTube folks! Also look out for "Dark Carnival:The Secret World of Tod Browning" by David J. Skal & Elias Savada. MB-G 203.171.196.65 (talk) 07:53, 16 March 2008 (UTC)

Dracula

Universal may not have been wholly satisfied with Browning's Dracula but the movie was a major hit and for all intents and purposes kicked off what was soon to become known as the horror movie (and later, the horror genre). The main article does not make it clear what an enormous influence Browning's Dracula was, how it inspired the studio that produced it, Universal, to make Frankenstein, released later the same year (1931), which went on to enjoy even greater success. Dracula may not be the greatest of the Universal horrors but it's the one that "started it all". — Preceding unsigned comment added by Telegonus (talk • contribs) 08:33, 3 January 2013 (UTC)

Personal life

This article could be improved by adding further detail about Browning's personal life, including his affair with Anna May Wong.--Design (talk) 05:53, 7 July 2013 (UTC)

Pic of Browning and child from No Woman Knows

According to the article's caption, the photo shows Browning and an "unidentifirs child." Yet, when you go to the Detail 'page,' the detail states that the original caption names the child as "Maxine Tabacnio;" but then goes on to state that no such person is listed in the cast at IMDb.

I find that a little unusual since Wikipedia does not consider IMDb to be a valid reference. As such, why should the detail caption reference IMDb?

Also, whoever did the research did not go far enough. The original caption mentioned was of a scan, not an actual picture. And for those of us who do research, we know that "scans" are notorious for messing up words. And that is what happened here.

IMDb does list a cast member with the name of "Maxine Tabnac." And, if you click on the link, it takes you to 'her' page where her bio states that she was born Maxine Carolyn Tabacnic.

The scan obviously 'read' Tabacnic as Tabacnio - - - a very common scan error where old papers are involved. I've seen it a myriad times in my historical and genealogical researches.

Therefore, given all this, I think the "unidentified child" part of the article's photo's caption should be replaced with "Maxine Tabnac (aka Tabacnic)."

What do the rest of you think? 2600:8800:785:1300:C23F:D5FF:FEC4:D51D (talk) 06:47, 30 July 2018 (UTC)

Early Life

The birth year 1889 is clearly wrong in relation to other references throughout this article. Browning's draft registrations for WWI and WWII both give 12 July 1880 as his birth date, and while he sometimes claimed other birth years, 1880 is the most usual date he used. Yorick1952 (talk) 19:40, 29 January 2024 (UTC)

Did Browning actually drop out of school to join the circus at age 16, as biographers claim? The 1900 census shows him living with his parents and working as an "Order-clerk Saddles & Harness", and notes that he has worked continuously for the past 12 months. The Louisville city directories list Browning (as Charles A.) living with his parents and working for Harbison & Gathright, a saddle and harness business, first as a stock boy then as a clerk, from 1897 through 1901. Browning was living with his parents and working for the same employer from the ages of 17 to 21, so if he did drop out of school to join the circus at 16, he was back home and working as a stock boy the next year. Yorick1952 (talk) 19:39, 29 January 2024 (UTC)

Circus, sideshow and vaudeville

After running away to join the circus at age 16, the next year (1897) Browning was back in Louisville KY, living with his parents and working as a stock boy for saddle and harness business Harbison & Gathright, according to city directories. He continued living with his parents and working for this employer through 1901 (from ages 17 to 21). He is not listed in the Louisville directories again until 1905, when he is once more living with his parents. In March 1906 he marries Amy Louise Stevens, daughter of a Louisville pawnbroker, and in 1906-1907 is living with his in-laws and working as a railroad fireman for L&N (Louisville and Nashville Railroad). In 1908 he, and presumably his wife Amy, are living at a separate address as he continues working for L&N. In 1909 Browning began his screen acting career in California, and the 1910 census shows his wife Amy living with her parents in Louisville, where she remains the rest of her life. Aside from the year he joined the circus as a 16 year old, Browning's early circus/vaudeville experience would have occurred between 1901 and 1905, when he was in his earlier 20s.

The Circus, Sideshow and Vaudeville section needs to be rewritten to reflect this information. Please note that Amy Stevens' middle name is Louise, not Louis.

Also, the sentence under the Film actor: 1909–1913 section, “In 1909, after 13 years performing in carnivals and vaudeville circuits, Browning, age 29, transitioned to film acting” needs revision. Yorick1952 (talk) 22:52, 29 January 2024 (UTC)

Needs a Rewrite

Browning's uncle, the baseball star Pete "Louisville Slugger" Browning saw his sobriquet conferred on the iconic baseball bat. His Browning sought to escape early on." And: "A non-conformist within his family, Browning seems to have taken after his uncle, the baseball player Pete Browning. Like Pete he was alcoholic from a young age (an affliction that would eventually result in Pete being committed to a mental institution)."

This is an unclear muddle. What does "His Browning" mean? Who sought to escape? And who is this paragraph quoting? Jersey Jan (talk) 03:12, 23 October 2024 (UTC)