Dark Carnival

Tod Browning is easily one of the most iconic filmmakers when it comes to bizarre, macabre, and unsettling films. From a career that began in a carnival sideshow to developing a reputation in Hollywood, his directorial work would give us memorable classics such as Dracula (1931) and Freaks (1932).

In Dark Carnival: The Secret World of Tod Browning, Hollywood’s Master of the Macabre, authors David J. Skal and Elias Savada shed light upon the life and career of Browning. This revised and expanded edition is an expansion of an iteration published in 1995 and made all the more special with the incorporation of information from recently unearthed scrapbooks and photographs that once belonged to Browning. Though Browning was extremely private, this book helps readers learn more about his life, career, legacy, and filmography.

Fans of classic horror and the cult classic Freaks are sure to enjoy this revised edition.


Dark Carnival: The Secret World of Tod Browning, Hollywood’s Master of the Macabre is available for purchase via the University of Minnesota Press.

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About Annette Bochenek

Dr. Annette Bochenek of Chicago, Illinois, is an avid scholar of Hollywood’s Golden Age. She manages the Hometowns to Hollywood blog, in which she writes about her trips exploring the legacies and hometowns of Golden Age stars. Annette also hosts the “Hometowns to Hollywood” film series throughout the Chicago area. She has been featured on Turner Classic Movies and is the president of TCM Backlot’s Chicago chapter. In addition to writing for TCM Backlot, she also writes for Classic Movie Hub, Silent Film Quarterly, Nostalgia Digest, and Chicago Art Deco Society Magazine.
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