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Rowland Brown(1897-1963)

  • Writer
  • Director
  • Additional Crew
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Rowland Brown was born on 6 November 1897 in Akron, Ohio, USA. He was a writer and director, known for Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), Blood Money (1933) and Hell's Highway (1932). He was married to Karen van Ryan and Marie Helis. He died on 6 May 1963 in Costa Mesa, California, USA.
BornNovember 6, 1897
DiedMay 6, 1963(65)
BornNovember 6, 1897
DiedMay 6, 1963(65)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Add photos, demo reels
  • Nominated for 2 Oscars
    • 2 nominations total

Known for

Humphrey Bogart, Pat O'Brien, Gabriel Dell, Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Billy Halop, Bobby Jordan, Bernard Punsly, and The Dead End Kids in Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)
Angels with Dirty Faces
7.9
  • Writer
  • 1938
George Bancroft in Blood Money (1933)
Blood Money
6.7
  • Writer
  • 1933
Richard Dix in Hell's Highway (1932)
Hell's Highway
6.8
  • Writer
  • 1932
The Doorway to Hell (1930)
The Doorway to Hell
6.5
  • Writer
  • 1930

Credits

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IMDbPro

Writer



  • Dan Duryea in Climax! (1954)
    Climax!
    6.5
    TV Series
    • story
    • 1957
  • John Bromfield and Maxie Rosenbloom in Damon Runyon Theater (1955)
    Damon Runyon Theater
    7.9
    TV Series
    • original story
    • 1955
  • Coleen Gray and John Payne in Kansas City Confidential (1952)
    Kansas City Confidential
    7.3
    • story
    • 1952
  • Randolph Scott in The Nevadan (1950)
    The Nevadan
    6.3
    • additional dialogue
    • 1950
  • Lynn Bari, Virginia Huston, and George Raft in Nocturne (1946)
    Nocturne
    6.5
    • story
    • 1946
  • Tyrone Power and Dorothy Lamour in Johnny Apollo (1940)
    Johnny Apollo
    6.9
    • screen play
    • 1940
  • Ellen Drew and George Raft in The Lady's from Kentucky (1939)
    The Lady's from Kentucky
    6.1
    • story
    • 1939
  • Humphrey Bogart, Pat O'Brien, Gabriel Dell, Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Billy Halop, Bobby Jordan, Bernard Punsly, and The Dead End Kids in Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)
    Angels with Dirty Faces
    7.9
    • from a story by
    • 1938
  • Jackie Cooper in Boy of the Streets (1937)
    Boy of the Streets
    5.7
    • original story
    • 1937
  • James Stewart, Robert Young, and Florence Rice in Navy Blue and Gold (1937)
    Navy Blue and Gold
    6.6
    • Writer (uncredited)
    • 1937
  • Freddie Bartholomew, Mickey Rooney, and Jackie Cooper in The Devil Is a Sissy (1936)
    The Devil Is a Sissy
    6.7
    • story
    • 1936
  • Warner Baxter in Robin Hood of El Dorado (1936)
    Robin Hood of El Dorado
    5.9
    • Writer (uncredited)
    • 1936
  • Widow's Might
    • Writer
    • 1935
  • Leave It to Blanche
    • Writer
    • 1934
  • What Happened to Harkness?
    • story
    • 1934

Director



  • Freddie Bartholomew, Mickey Rooney, and Jackie Cooper in The Devil Is a Sissy (1936)
    The Devil Is a Sissy
    6.7
    • Director (uncredited)
    • 1936
  • George Bancroft in Blood Money (1933)
    Blood Money
    6.7
    • Director
    • 1933
  • Richard Dix in Hell's Highway (1932)
    Hell's Highway
    6.8
    • Director
    • 1932
  • Spencer Tracy and Marguerite Churchill in Quick Millions (1931)
    Quick Millions
    6.3
    • Director
    • 1931

Additional Crew



  • Warner Baxter in Robin Hood of El Dorado (1936)
    Robin Hood of El Dorado
    5.9
    • treatment (uncredited)
    • 1936

Personal details

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  • Height
    • 6′ (1.83 m)
  • Born
    • November 6, 1897
    • Akron, Ohio, USA
  • Died
    • May 6, 1963
    • Costa Mesa, California, USA
  • Spouses
      Karen van RyanJuly 1942 - ? (his death, 3 children)
  • Other works
    Story: "A Handful of Clouds" (filmed as The Doorway to Hell (1930))

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    Temperamental screenwriter and occasional director of the 1930s. Moved to Hollywood in the mid-'20s, finding work as a prop boy on the Universal lot. By 1926 he was working as a gagman for 'Reginald Denny'. He wrote several moderately successful gangster movies in the early 1930s, their "authentic feel" rumored to have been enhanced by his having been a bootlegger with mob ties during Prohibition. Career stalled after being fired, first from directing The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934) by Alexander Korda, then by David O. Selznick from A Star Is Born (1937). Little heard of after 1940.

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