Biography
A stage actor and director, Brown began assisting on films in 1920, and worked on the lighting of
Erich Von Stroheim's
Foolish Wives in 1922. He began producing and directing westerns and actioners starring
Reed Howes in 1925; two years later he also helmed
Ken Maynard westerns, starting with
The Land Beyond the Law and
Gun Gospel. Brown accompanied Maynard into talkies with such films as
Parade of the West and
Sons of the Saddle, but turned from directing to producing in 1933. He helmed only one more film, the 1944 musical
Knickerbocker Holiday. As a producer his notable films include
Michael Curtiz'
Captain Blood,
Howard Hawks'
Ceiling Zero,
Gerd Oswald's
Screaming Mimi, and several of
Budd Boetticher's westerns with
Randolph Scott:
The Tall T,
Decision at Sundown,
Buchanan Rides Alone,
Ride Lonesome, and
Comanche Station. ~ All Movie Guide