Hello, my name's Justin McLuhan. I'm here today with Will Sloan.

And you're listening to the important cinema club. And today we're talking about Todd 1D in his first name, Browning.

Best known during his lifetime as a close collaborator of Lon Chaney Sr. in a number of silent shockers.

Shockers. Best known to audiences today, perhaps as the director of the 1931, Bella Legosi, Dracula, but most beloved among cinephiles as the director of 1932's Freaks.

But among cinnophiles as well, not usually held in that much of a high

regard. Yeah, he's somebody who has his fans, but it's not so much for his incredible Misan

or his facility with the camera, although I do think many of his movies have a lot of indelible

imagery in them. Yes.

It's more for his obsessions.

He has a very dark and twisted worldview.

Many of his films deal with physical abnormalities.

Many of his films deal with toxic family relationships.

And many of his films are about, let's call it the Insel lifestyle. Yes,

in cell is a perfect way to say that. You know, men who have some sort of a disability who long

after a woman who is out of reach. Sometimes they don't even have disabilities. Sometimes they're

faking disabilities. Yes. And they just want the woman to touch them. And usually at the end of the film, the men will do some evil thing. And, oh, they just want the woman to touch them. And usually at the end of the

film, the men will do some evil thing and have not a change of heart, but sacrifice themselves.

The line between civilization and barbarism is often very tenuous in his movies. And, you know,

because of all this, Dracula, even though it's, I think, still

his best-known movie, I wouldn't even call it one of his most characteristic movies. No.

It doesn't have those obsessions in it. I would say that, like, Mark of the Vampire is more

Todd Browning-ish, things that interested him than Dracula, the one that is mostly famous for Bella Legosi's performance. Let's be honest. Let's talk a little bit about Dracula. Okay. I didn't revisit it for this podcast. I did not either, because we did it on the Bella Legosi episode. That's right. But let's get it out of the way a bit because I actually kind of like Dracula. I think it's okay. I understand what you like about it as well. It's like you got the big

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