See the classic films of Knoxville's Clarence Brown during downtown festival

Knoxville News Sentinel staff
·3 min read

The Clarence Brown Film Festival will offer film screenings, talks and tours Aug. 16-20 around downtown Knoxville, alongside the East Tennessee History Center's annual History Hootenany.

Clarence Brown was a revered director of the classic Hollywood era who hailed from Old North Knoxville and was a graduate of Knoxville High School and the University of Tennessee in the early 1900s, according to a press release. His 52 feature-length films, spanning the silent era into the classic Hollywood period of the 1930s-'50s, were nominated for 38 Academy Awards and received eight.

He was a favorite director of Greta Garbo, Clark Gable, Joan Crawford, and helped launch a young Elizabeth Taylor to stardom. His impact was more than in the realm of glamour, however, as his films subtly addressed social issues from women's roles to racism, the release stated. In 1970, he donated the largest gift at the time to the University of Tennessee, endowing the Clarence Brown Theatre.

The festival aims to re-introduce Clarence Brown and his work to modern audiences with screenings of Brown’s most iconic films, as well as talks, tours and more.

A rare screening at the Tennessee Theatre

The 2023 festival will feature a rare screening of “The Signal Tower” (1924) with live musical accompaniment by Roger Miller of the Anvil Orchestra. The restored 35 mm silent film has been screened only two other times: at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. “The Signal Tower” was originally shown in Knoxville Oct. 2-4, 1924, at the now-long-gone movie house The Strand. The festival screening at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 19 will be the film’s debut showing in the Historic Tennessee Theatre.

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Claude Jarman Jr., star of "The Yearling" and "Intruder in the Dust," will be on hand to discuss his experiences as a child actor in some of Clarence Brown's most successful films. Gwenda Young, author of "Clarence Brown: Hollywood's Forgotten Master," will deliver the keynote address and introduce several films.

"Lights! Camera! East Tennessee!" is an exhibition at the Museum of East Tennessee History, 601 S. Gay St., developed in conjunction with the Film Festival that explores Knoxville's participation and representation in moving images, from the early days of film to today.

"This festival is a great opportunity to reintroduce Knoxvillians and out of town visitors to the films of Clarence Brown," McClung Historical Collection Manager Eric Dawson said in the release. "His movies remain sophisticated and entertaining examples of the classic Hollywood era featuring some of its most famous stars. Along with the films themselves, the talks and presentations will allow a better understanding of why Brown remains important, and how his connections to Knoxville influenced his work."

Film lineup for the Clarence Brown Film Festival

The five-day festival kicks off at 5:30 Aug. 16 in Happy Holler at Central Flats and Taps, 1204 Central St., with a walking tour of Brown’s childhood neighborhood.

Movie screenings include:

  • "Smouldering Fires" (1925) starring Pauline Frederick, Malcolm McGregor, and James Kirkwood; Central Cinema

  • "National Velvet" (1944) starring Elizabeth Taylor and Mickey Rooney; outdoor screening at Clarence Brown Theatre Plaza

  • "The Yearling" (1946) starring Claude Jarman Jr. and Gregory Peck; the Historic Tennessee Theatre

  • "Anna Karenina" (1935) starring Greta Garbo, Fredric March, and Freddie Bartholomew; the Historic Tennessee Theatre

  • "The Signal Tower" (1924) with live musical accompaniment by Roger Miller of the Anvil Orchestra; the Historic Tennessee Theatre

  • "Intruder in the Dust" (1949) starring Claude Jarman Jr., David Brian, and Juano Hernandez, the Historic Tennessee Theatre

  • "The Eagle" (1925) starring Rudolph Valentino, Vilma Banky and Louise Dresser, with live musical accompaniment by Ron Carter; the Historic Tennessee Theatre

All festival events are free and open to the public, according to the release.

For screening times and more information on the festival, visit knoxcountylibrary.org/clarence-brown-film-festival.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: See the classic films of Knoxville's Clarence Brown during festival