... which is open to debate. Unless someone wants to track down the editor -- Maurice Pivar, was it? -- and ask the 135 year old dead guy if Browning was allowed anywhere near the editors' bungalow.

Even given that this was "A Tod Browning Production" it was a Universal picture and Browning was a director for hire. It would not be at all uncommon for the director to have had little say in how the film would be cut together, regardless of his stature in the industry. Even James Whale got his films clipped, trimmed and re-arranged at Universal, both in the Laemmle era and post-Laemmle. Dunno about James Stahl.

(On the other hand... the spirit of the long-stiff Pivar could just be making things up, confusing Browning's absence during editing with Christy Cabanne's two-week booze toot on SCARED TO DEATH, when make-up man Harry Thomas stepped in to direct the comedy stylings of Nat Pendleton then cut the existing footage of Lionel Atwill into mandolin picks.  Thomas never directed again, though Cabanne retired happily to operate a raisin mine, cursing Cinecolor to his dying day.). 


Last Edited By: Ted Newsom Mar 16 15 3:34 PM. Edited 1 times.