Doug Brode Writes, Scores, Wins!

We’ve written reviews of Doug Brode’s books before in these pages. And no wonder – he has written a lot of books! In fact, there are two things, well, let’s call it three, that most of us would have to cede to Doug: his scope of writing, his knowledge of film, and his love of and insight into the world of Walt Disney.

Many years ago, on “Magazine 13,” an (at that time) Newchannels local program I was privileged to co-host, Doug was our movie critic. As a fun addition, we decided to challenge Doug on each show with an unscripted question about movies – and if he got it wrong, the viewer who sent it in got a prize. I can say in all honesty very few viewers ever got a prize. His knowledge of film was just that broad and deep.

And recently, The Popular Culture Association (PCA) announced that Dr. Douglas Brode was the 2023 President Award Recipient and Speaker at the PCA Conference (April 5-8 in San Antonio, Texas). “The President Award recognizes the contributions of outstanding individuals who have contributed to the study of Popular Culture.”

The PCA is a group of “scholars and enthusiasts who study popular culture…which offers a venue to come together and share ideas and interests about the field or about a particular subject within the field.” As such, they noted of Brode, “…as a college professor and professional writer (Brode) early-on argued that Classical Culture is, when properly understood, Popular Culture plus time, paving the way for such media as television and comic books to be taken as seriously as live theatre and mainstream literature. He is a screenwriter, playwright, novelist, film historian, and multi-award-winning journalist.”

As part of the gathering, Brode spoke to attendees on two of his favorite topics.

On April 5 th , Brode presented his own original and unorthodox take on the film “The Graduate,” a ground-breaking piece of cinema that is tied closely to the “60s generation.” With its seven Academy Award nominations, and huge box office success, “The Graduate” has often been called one of the greatest American films of all time. While Brode probably wouldn’t argue with that, having featured the film in three of his books – “The Films of Dustin Hoffman,” “The Films of the Sixties,” and “Sex, Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll,” he does offer a new view of the traditionally accepted interpretation of iconic character, Benjamin Braddock, and his meaning as a symbol of the youth of the 60s.

Then on Thursday, April 6th, Brode dove into another of his passions and area of expertise, the history

of the “Old West,” with “The Alamo: Fact, Film, and Fiction.” He not only shared with his audience

numerous little-known facts about the legendary siege, but he also took a look at the accuracy (both

technically and “spiritually”) of Alamo films including John Wayne’s 1960 epic, and information about his own graphic novel “Yellow Rose of Texas: The Myth of Emily Morgan (McFarland).” For this graphic novel, local artist Joe Orsak provided the superb illustrations.

Even as I write this article, I’m enjoying the first chapters of Brode’s newest novel, “MEET ME IN MANHATTAN or Once Upon a Time in the East * The Authentic Saga of Miss Etta Place Companion to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid As Recalled by her Friend and Confidant William Bartley (‘Bat’) Masterson.” And from what I’ve read so far, I will predict a hit.

McFarland Books recently published THE D.C. UNIVERSE: Collected Essays, which, Brode edited. Did I mention that Brode is a fan of comics, particularly both the D.C. and Marvel universes? In fact, a Marvel Universe book will be published by McFarland later this year.

Another upcoming work of fiction capitalizes on readers’ love of graphic novels, and is called “MADE MEN, or Once Upon a Time in the Mafia.” Based upon the life story (with names changed to protect the guilty) it tells the story of a Mob-owned plastic surgeon who turned two hitmen into twins for Oswald and Sirhan, who were then used to assassinate the Kennedy brothers. Dan Zollinger illustrates this story.

I recall once attending a film studies class conducted by Brode at Syracuse University, and being stunned by not just the depth of his knowledge, but my own lack of critical “chops” when it came to evaluating a film. No, I don’t guess you have to be an expert to enjoy a movie – but listening to the class, I developed an appreciation for the things that make a film truly shine, and learned to approach a movie not just for the entertainment and fun, but also as a piece of “literature” that encompasses not only the written and spoken word, but light, color, images, music – in fact, all our senses save maybe smell, and even then a good movie can conjure up the smells and even temperatures of the scenes onscreen. Brode also served as the film critic for The Syracuse Post-Standard and The Syracuse Herald American, the city’s Newhouse newspapers, between 1983 and 1994, with many of his articles nationally syndicated.

Among his many books, Doug contributed several volumes to the “Films of” series by Citadel Press, including volumes on the 50’s and 60’s, as well as Steven Spielberg, Woody Allen, Jack Nicholson, and Robert De Niro.

When he wasn’t too busy writing histories or fiction, Brode found time to edit or co-edit anthologies on Star Wars, Star Trek, Walt Disney, The 21 st Century Western and the American Civil War in film. He scripted the 1997 neo-noir film, “Midnight Blue,” starring Harry Dean Stanton, and while in Syracuse, produced his original “Heartbreaker,” as well as appearing in the Woody Allen favorite “Play It Again Sam,” and Neil Simon’s “Chapter Two,” (in all three of which I shared the stage with Doug!).

As editor of Table Hopping for many years, Brode invited me to begin writing for this paper several years back, much to my delight. So I can say with enthusiasm, from all of us here at Table Hopping – congratulations, and a well-deserved honor!