14. Tod Browning
Key Films: The Unholy Three, London after Midnight, Dracula, Freaks Tod Browning had always have the fascination with the, for the lack of the better word, freaks. Coming from the background of working in the circus, Browning has always been informed by his work as both a clown and a carnival barker. Thus his film always dealt with the outcasts, the strange and the weird. His influence comes from his trailblazing career as a horror director working with the chameleon of horror films, Lon Chaney. Despite, his extensive career in the silent film genre, his two masterpieces come near the end of his career. One effectively ended it as well. The first is Dracula, the landmark film that launched the Universal Horror movie genre to new heights. Taking inspiration from the German Expressionist films of the early 1920s, Browning was able to adapt Bram Stokers novel while following the guidelines of Hollywood standard. Effectively carried by its mood and atmosphere, Browning was key in casting Bela Lugosi and knew enough to use static camera in order to get the full tour de force of his performance. But, the film that ended his career and perhaps his masterpiece has to be Freaks which came out the following year. With Freaks, Tod Browning creates a harrowing masterpiece of what we perceive to be the other. Not only does he make them the most sympathetic characters in the whole film while making the normal people the ugliest people in the world. Then in a moment, he is able to effectively turn the others from those sympathetic characters to monsters that bring fear and horror. His ability to subvert the pattern of his Lon Chaney movies by making his heroes deformed beings with a heart that turn into monsters because of circumstances. This film was derided by critics and audience alike, making his name blight on Hollywoods list, effectively ending his career. That is what makes his career such a travesty. He was a director with so much talent and vision with a personal touch to all of his films that the fact that his masterpiece ended his career is a real shame.