Douglas Brode

Whether you judge by box office receipts, industry awards, or critical accolades, science fiction films are the most popular movies now being produced and distributed around the world. Nor is this phenomenon new. Sci-fi filmmakers and audiences have been exploring fantastic planets, forbidden zones, and lost continents ever since George MÉliÈs’ 1902 film A Trip to the Moon. In this highly entertaining and knowledgeable book, film historian and pop culture expert Douglas Brode picks the one hundred greatest sci-fi films of all time.Brode’s list ranges from today’s blockbusters to forgotten gems, with surprises for even the most informed fans and scholars. He presents the movies in chronological order, which effectively makes this book a concise history of the sci-fi film genre. A striking (and in many cases rare) photograph accompanies each entry, for which Brode provides a numerical rating, key credits and cast members, brief plot summary, background on the film’s creation, elements of the moviemaking process, analysis of the major theme(s), and trivia. He also includes fun outtakes, including his top ten lists of Fifties sci-fi movies, cult sci-fi, least necessary movie remakes, and “so bad they’re great” classics-as well as the ten worst sci-fi movies (“those highly ambitious films that promised much and delivered nil”). So climb aboard spaceship Brode and journey to strange new worlds from Metropolis (1927) to Guardians of the Galaxy (2014).

LOST RIDERS OF THE HOLLYWOOD SAGE . . . Fans of Western movies have heard of (and likely seen) the key genre classics: Shane, High Noon, The Searchers, Stagecoach, Red River, Tombstone, and Unforgiven, to name a few. But how many armchair cowboys and cowgirls are aware that thirty years previous to Clint Eastwood's film, a similarly named movie, The Unforgiven, featured two top 1950s Western stars, Burt Lancaster and Audie Murphy? Or that the story told in Tombstone earlier appeared in an all but lost 1940s film featuring the sadly forgotten Richard Dix? Beginning in the pre-20th Century era of silent flickers, continuing on through Hollwood's Golden Age to overlooked masterpieces from our own time, THEY WENT THAT-A-WAY features credits for each 'Oater, ' rare images, and an analysis of each inclusion.. From serious psychological movies produced during the 1950s to those Singin' Cowboy B pictures that delighted audiences in the 1930s, here is a book designed to complete every Western buff's desire to know the whole story of an authentic American. genre.

LOST RIDERS OF THE HOLLYWOOD SAGE . . . Fans of Western movies have heard of (and likely seen) the key genre classics: Shane, High Noon, The Searchers, Stagecoach, Red River, Tombstone, and Unforgiven, to name a few. But how many armchair cowboys and cowgirls are aware that thirty years previous to Clint Eastwood's film, a similarly named movie, The Unforgiven, featured two top 1950s Western stars, Burt Lancaster and Audie Murphy? Or that the story told in Tombstone earlier appeared in an all but lost 1940s film featuring the sadly forgotten Richard Dix? Beginning in the pre-20th Century era of silent flickers, continuing on through Hollwood's Golden Age to overlooked masterpieces from our own time, THEY WENT THAT-A-WAY features credits for each 'Oater, ' rare images, and an analysis of each inclusion.. From serious psychological movies produced during the 1950s to those Singin' Cowboy B pictures that delighted audiences in the 1930s, here is a book designed to complete every Western buff's desire to know the whole story of an authentic American. genre.

From the earliest days of moving pictures, there have been the big blockbusters... Birth of a Nation, The Gold Rush, Sunrise, The Crowd... featured the loftiest stars, most renown directors, largest budgets, garnering the strongest reviews. Most famous of them all? Gone With the Wind (1939). During that classic year for Tinseltown, another film did not fare nearly so well at the box-office. The Wizard of Oz was written off as a failure. Then came television. CBS executives decided to air Wizard one Sunday evening, wondering how it might do. Ratings were beyond belief. From then on, once a year, T.W.O.O. would air, people of all ages eagerly awaiting 'the event.' They could not have known then that they were members of a 'cult following.' For T.W.O.O. swiftly became one of many wonderful, weird, whacky movies, too unique and original for the mainstream on original release, yet deeply appealing to aficionados. Wherever they live, devotees of previously misbegotten movies became a far-spread community of fans. 'Cultists, ' if you will. Here are over 500 of the most enduring. Midnight Matinees offers a virtual encyclopedia of such 'special' pictures from their origination in the 1890s to the cutting-edge work being turned out today. Featuring more than 300 pictures, mostly rare, many never before published. This volume is more for fans of Orson Welles, Hollywood maverick, than John Ford, crowd-pleasing genius. If Joan Crawford was your favorite noir femme fatale, forget about it Marie Windsor? That's the ticket And when it comes to a superstar like Marilyn Monroe, don't look for the gleeful Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, though The Misfits vividly recalls her darkest days... and finest acting As cultists like to say: 'Long live Tuesday Weld.' Not in Wild In the Country, mind you, opposite Elvis Presley. Instead, Pretty Poison. A cult queen in a midnight matinee.

From the earliest days of moving pictures, there have been the big blockbusters... Birth of a Nation, The Gold Rush, Sunrise, The Crowd... featured the loftiest stars, most renown directors, largest budgets, garnering the strongest reviews. Most famous of them all? Gone With the Wind (1939). During that classic year for Tinseltown, another film did not fare nearly so well at the box-office. The Wizard of Oz was written off as a failure. Then came television. CBS executives decided to air Wizard one Sunday evening, wondering how it might do. Ratings were beyond belief. From then on, once a year, T.W.O.O. would air, people of all ages eagerly awaiting 'the event.' They could not have known then that they were members of a 'cult following.' For T.W.O.O. swiftly became one of many wonderful, weird, whacky movies, too unique and original for the mainstream on original release, yet deeply appealing to aficionados. Wherever they live, devotees of previously misbegotten movies became a far-spread community of fans. 'Cultists, ' if you will. Here are over 500 of the most enduring. Midnight Matinees offers a virtual encyclopedia of such 'special' pictures from their origination in the 1890s to the cutting-edge work being turned out today. Featuring more than 300 pictures, mostly rare, many never before published. This volume is more for fans of Orson Welles, Hollywood maverick, than John Ford, crowd-pleasing genius. If Joan Crawford was your favorite noir femme fatale, forget about it Marie Windsor? That's the ticket And when it comes to a superstar like Marilyn Monroe, don't look for the gleeful Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, though The Misfits vividly recalls her darkest days... and finest acting As cultists like to say: 'Long live Tuesday Weld.' Not in Wild In the Country, mind you, opposite Elvis Presley. Instead, Pretty Poison. A cult queen in a midnight matinee.

Young gossip columnist Louella Parsons and aged sportswriter Bat Masterson meet to cover the fight in which contender Jack Dempsey hopes to become the next heavyweight champion of the world.

FROM HELL TO HOLLYWOOD: An Encyclopedia of Warld War II Films offers the most comprehensive illustrated guide ever assembled for theatrical motion-pictures, English-language and international, dealing with the conflict that consumed America and the globe during the mid-20th century. Though United States official involvement did not begin until December, 1941, following the bombing of Pearl Harbor by Japan's imperial air force, early battles and other precipitous moments, which led to legendary conflicts in Europe and the Pacific, can be traced back through the better part of a decade, many deriving from the unsatisfactory treaties that ended the initial Great War. This book also addresses WWII's aftermath in America, Asia, and Europe, as varied filmmakers have portrayed that difficult period.In a unique approach to this complex, broad subject, specific films are grouped according to unifying themes that involve varied aspects of 'The Big Picture.' These range from training of civilians for a new, updated state-of-the-art armed forces to the impact of warfare on the development of commercial flight, also the unique roles played by spies, People's Armies, and other misunderstood aspects of the war as writers and directors perceived them then, as well as more recent Revisionist portrayals.Included are hundreds of vivid photos, many never before printed in book form. This work is so immense that it had to be presented in two inter-dependent volumes--a first for Bear Manor Media This is Volume One. DOUGLAS BRODE is a screenwriter, novelist, graphic novelist, produced playwright, multi-award winning journalist, and multi-award winning educator. He created and taught the Film Classics program for The Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University until his retirement. Now Brode concentrates on turning out further books, both fiction and non-fiction. These include Deadlier Than the Male: Femme Fatales in 1960s and 1970s Cinema for Bear Manor Media.

FROM HELL TO HOLLYWOOD: An Encyclopedia of Warld War II Films offers the most comprehensive illustrated guide ever assembled for theatrical motion-pictures, English-language and international, dealing with the conflict that consumed America and the globe during the mid-20th century. Though United States official involvement did not begin until December, 1941, following the bombing of Pearl Harbor by Japan's imperial air force, early battles and other precipitous moments, which led to legendary conflicts in Europe and the Pacific, can be traced back through the better part of a decade, many deriving from the unsatisfactory treaties that ended the initial Great War. This book also addresses WWII's aftermath in America, Asia, and Europe, as varied filmmakers have portrayed that difficult period.In a unique approach to this complex, broad subject, specific films are grouped according to unifying themes that involve varied aspects of 'The Big Picture.' These range from training of civilians for a new, updated state-of-the-art armed forces to the impact of warfare on the development of commercial flight, also the unique roles played by spies, People's Armies, and other misunderstood aspects of the war as writers and directors perceived them then, as well as more recent Revisionist portrayals.Included are hundreds of vivid photos, many never before printed in book form. This work is so immense that it had to be presented in two inter-dependent volumes--a first for Bear Manor Media This is Volume One. DOUGLAS BRODE is a screenwriter, novelist, graphic novelist, produced playwright, multi-award winning journalist, and multi-award winning educator. He created and taught the Film Classics program for The Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University until his retirement. Now Brode concentrates on turning out further books, both fiction and non-fiction. These include Deadlier Than the Male: Femme Fatales in 1960s and 1970s Cinema for Bear Manor Media.

FROM HELL TO HOLLYWOOD: An Encyclopedia of Warld War II Films offers the most comprehensive illustrated guide ever assembled for theatrical motion-pictures, English-language and international, dealing with the conflict that consumed America and the globe during the mid-20th century. Though United States official involvement did not begin until December, 1941, following the bombing of Pearl Harbor by Japan's imperial air force, early battles and other precipitous moments, which led to legendary conflicts in Europe and the Pacific, can be traced back through the better part of a decade, many deriving from the unsatisfactory treaties that ended the initial Great War. This book also addresses WWII's aftermath in America, Asia, and Europe, as varied filmmakers have portrayed that difficult period.In a unique approach to this complex, broad subject, specific films are grouped according to unifying themes that involve varied aspects of 'The Big Picture.' These range from training of civilians for a new, updated state-of-the-art armed forces to the impact of warfare on the development of commercial flight, also the unique roles played by spies, People's Armies, and other misunderstood aspects of the war as writers and directors perceived them then, as well as more recent Revisionist portrayals.Included are hundreds of vivid photos, many never before printed in book form. This work is so immense that it had to be presented in two inter-dependent volumes--a first for Bear Manor Media This is volume 2 of 2. DOUGLAS BRODE is a screenwriter, novelist, graphic novelist, produced playwright, multi-award winning journalist, and multi-award winning educator. He created and taught the Film Classics program for The Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University until his retirement. Now Brode concentrates on turning out further books, both fiction and non-fiction. These include Deadlier Than the Male: Femme Fatales in 1960s and 1970s Cinema for Bear Manor Media.

FROM HELL TO HOLLYWOOD: An Encyclopedia of Warld War II Films offers the most comprehensive illustrated guide ever assembled for theatrical motion-pictures, English-language and international, dealing with the conflict that consumed America and the globe during the mid-20th century. Though United States official involvement did not begin until December, 1941, following the bombing of Pearl Harbor by Japan's imperial air force, early battles and other precipitous moments, which led to legendary conflicts in Europe and the Pacific, can be traced back through the better part of a decade, many deriving from the unsatisfactory treaties that ended the initial Great War. This book also addresses WWII's aftermath in America, Asia, and Europe, as varied filmmakers have portrayed that difficult period.In a unique approach to this complex, broad subject, specific films are grouped according to unifying themes that involve varied aspects of 'The Big Picture.' These range from training of civilians for a new, updated state-of-the-art armed forces to the impact of warfare on the development of commercial flight, also the unique roles played by spies, People's Armies, and other misunderstood aspects of the war as writers and directors perceived them then, as well as more recent Revisionist portrayals.Included are hundreds of vivid photos, many never before printed in book form. This work is so immense that it had to be presented in two inter-dependent volumes--a first for Bear Manor Media This is volume 2 of 2. DOUGLAS BRODE is a screenwriter, novelist, graphic novelist, produced playwright, multi-award winning journalist, and multi-award winning educator. He created and taught the Film Classics program for The Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University until his retirement. Now Brode concentrates on turning out further books, both fiction and non-fiction. These include Deadlier Than the Male: Femme Fatales in 1960s and 1970s Cinema for Bear Manor Media.

As John Wayne’s character said in The Alamo: “There’s right and there’s wrong. You got to do one or the other.” The ultimate measure of a man is how he chooses to act. From the pithy to the humorous to the profound, the film career of the man known as The Duke is full of life lessons for today. In John Wayne's Way, author Doug Brode explores the film legacy of the Duke and provides commentary on the lessons learned from the archetypes of the West and American manhood Wayne displayed on the silver screen. Complete with quotes and photographs from the movies, these pithy lessons will be appealing to John Wayne fans and Western film buffs.

"The PLANET JESUS Trilogy is just CRAZY - in the most WONDERFUL and CREATIVE way. Highly recommended - a must-read " -- Rod Lurie, director/writer/producer (KILLING REAGAN, COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF, STRAW DOGS, RESURRECTING THE CHAMP, NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH, etc.) Gospels long attributed to such disciples as Mark, Matthew, John, Luke, Judas and even Mary Magdalene--some considered canonical by the church, others relegated to the margins of Christianity--reveal much about Jesus' youth until the age thirteen, as well as The Mission that consumed the final year and a half of his life. But there is no record of The Missing Years . . . until now. In this, the second installment of their PLANET JESUS trilogy, the father/son writing team of Douglas Brode and Shaun Brode present a carefully researched revelation of what might have occurred during the twenty-one lost years. As with Volume One, "Flesh & Blood," the authors present their findings in the form of a historical novel: A purportedly 'found' text, written by the gentle rebel who inspired a nonviolent revolution that changed the way of the world. No proof exists that Jesus committed a single word to print. Some experts argue that as an illiterate he had to be quoted by disciples. "Body & Soul" offers an imaginative speculation as to what an autobiography might have been like. The premise includes a recently discovered fact--Jesus had a twin brother, Joses--as well as a speculation that has never been proven or disproven, but is often raised in open-minded discussions of the most important being to ever walk the face of the earth: Was Jesus a woman? All books in the PLANET JESUS trilogy ("Hope & Glory," the third, will conclude this epic) draw heavily on Ancient Alien Theory: our planet was visited in pre-history by beings from another world (extra-terrestrials) traveling in flying saucers (Unidentified Flying Objects). Visitors from far planets were hailed by primitive humanoids as 'gods' and 'angels.' In truth, they were flesh and blood creatures with limited powers that exceeded those of early primates. When these Fallen Angels mated with prehistoric females, the resultant new race would move beyond Neanderthals and Cro-Magnon Man to become, in a Quantum Leap that defies Darwinian evolution, the first true people. The rare few descended from high-ranking Archangels were the Anointed Ones: Buddha, Confucius, Herakles and Jesus among them. Why was Jesus referred to as Christ, not a Hebraic term but Athenian? How is it that Jesus spoke of theological ideas unknown in Israel though significant in China, Japan, Africa, and India? If we assume the miracles actually happened, owing to clear records by multiple witnesses, here are logical explanations as to how Jesus walked on water, transformed water into wine, fed a multitude on a few loaves and fish, cured diverse maladies such as blindness, madness, and leprosy, even rose a man up from the dead. Previously these have been accepted on faith or rejected by doubters. PLANET JESUS offers a viable middle-ground between such extremes: a logical explanation as to how all these could have occurred in the reality that was Palestine, Year 31.

Whether you judge by box office receipts, industry awards, or critical accolades, science fiction films are the most popular movies now being produced and distributed around the world. Nor is this phenomenon new. Sci-fi filmmakers and audiences have been exploring fantastic planets, forbidden zones, and lost continents ever since George MÉliÈs’ 1902 film A Trip to the Moon. In this highly entertaining and knowledgeable book, film historian and pop culture expert Douglas Brode picks the one hundred greatest sci-fi films of all time.Brode’s list ranges from today’s blockbusters to forgotten gems, with surprises for even the most informed fans and scholars. He presents the movies in chronological order, which effectively makes this book a concise history of the sci-fi film genre. A striking (and in many cases rare) photograph accompanies each entry, for which Brode provides a numerical rating, key credits and cast members, brief plot summary, background on the film’s creation, elements of the moviemaking process, analysis of the major theme(s), and trivia. He also includes fun outtakes, including his top ten lists of Fifties sci-fi movies, cult sci-fi, least necessary movie remakes, and “so bad they’re great” classics-as well as the ten worst sci-fi movies (“those highly ambitious films that promised much and delivered nil”). So climb aboard spaceship Brode and journey to strange new worlds from Metropolis (1927) to Guardians of the Galaxy (2014).

Sex, Drugs, & Rock ‘n’ Roll analyzes the cultural, political, and social revolution that took place in the U.S. (and in time the world) after World War II, crystalizing between 1955 and 1970. During this era, the concept of the American teenager first came into being, significantly altering the relationship between young people and adults.As the entertainment industries came to realize that a youth market existed, providers of music and movies began to create products specifically for them. While Big Beat music and exploitation films may have initially been targeted for a marginalized audience, during the following decade and a half, such offerings gradually become mainstream, even as the first generation of American teenagers came of age. As a result the so-called youth culture overtook and consumed the primary American culture, as records and films once considered revolutionary transformed into a nostalgia movement, and much of what had been thought of as radical came to be perceived as conservative in a drastically altered social context.In this book Douglas Brode offers the first full analysis of how an American youth culture evolved.

Sex, Drugs, & Rock ‘n’ Roll analyzes the cultural, political, and social revolution that took place in the U.S. (and in time the world) after World War II, crystalizing between 1955 and 1970. During this era, the concept of the American teenager first came into being, significantly altering the relationship between young people and adults.As the entertainment industries came to realize that a youth market existed, providers of music and movies began to create products specifically for them. While Big Beat music and exploitation films may have initially been targeted for a marginalized audience, during the following decade and a half, such offerings gradually become mainstream, even as the first generation of American teenagers came of age. As a result the so-called youth culture overtook and consumed the primary American culture, as records and films once considered revolutionary transformed into a nostalgia movement, and much of what had been thought of as radical came to be perceived as conservative in a drastically altered social context.In this book Douglas Brode offers the first full analysis of how an American youth culture evolved.

While political liberals celebrated the end of “cowboy politics” with the election of Barack Obama to the presidency, political conservatives in the Tea Party and other like-minded groups still vociferously support “cowboy” values such as small government, low taxes, free-market capitalism, and the right to bear arms. Yet, as Douglas Brode argues in this paradigm-shifting book, these supposedly cowboy or “Old West” values hail not so much from the actual American frontier of the nineteenth century as from Hollywood’s portrayal of it in the twentieth century. And a close reading of Western films and TV shows reveals a much more complex picture than the romanticized, simplistic vision espoused by the conservative right.Examining dozens of Westerns, including Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Red River, 3:10 to Yuma (old and new), The Wild Ones, High Noon, My Darling Clementine, The Alamo, and No Country for Old Men, Brode demonstrates that the genre (with notable exceptions that he fully covers) was the product of Hollywood liberals who used it to project a progressive agenda on issues such as gun control, environmental protection, respect for non-Christian belief systems, and community cohesion versus rugged individualism. Challenging us to rethink everything we thought we knew about the genre, Brode argues that the Western stands for precisely the opposite of what most people today-whether they love it or hate it-believe to be the essential premise of “the only truly, authentically, and uniquely American narrative form.”

This blend of history and dark fantasy feasts upon vampire lore, reinventing the manner in which real-life monsters were transformed into pop culture icons by two of Ireland's great writers. Dubliners Sheridan Le Fanu and Bram Stoker travel to Transylvania where they race to save the women they love from the Countess Elizabeth Bathory. After the blood bath, Le Fanu and Stoker pose as doctors John Seward and Abraham Van Helsing to confront Vlad the Impaler and Count Dracula himself. Together for the first time, this immortal cast offers a highly erotic exploration of the vampire's eternal allure.