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THE BIG NOISE FROM WINNETKA—THE DAVID BRADLEYSAGA

Since we were discussing the late John Kobal, another name from the past comes to mind: that of the also late David Bradley. Now if you want to talk about a character, look no further… this man was a hoot and a half!

First of all David was famous around film circles for having collected this staggering collection of silent films, the only existing prints of many of them left in the civilized world. David was also infamous for “discovering” Charlton Heston and putting the young actor in the first of two 16mm features – Ibsen’s PEER GYNT and JULIUS CAESAR. Heston appears bare-chested in the first and with that famous jaw in place in the second.

These films opened doors for both men in Hollywood, David went into a directors training program where he managed to direct his only decent film TALK ABOUT A STRANGER (1952) starring two actors destined for California politics and Washington, George Murphy and Nancy Davis-later-Reagan. This was a minor film noir that benefited greatly by having that great John Alton as the cinematographer. Heston also advanced with a few small but showy roles and the rest is shall we say history?

David was already becoming well known around town as a major pain in the ass to work with. He was so opinionated with just one minor film to his credit that his reputation for being ‘difficult’ was beginning to be set in stone. His next film 12 TO THE MOON (1960) was dreadful and David made a lot of enemies over the re-editing of it. This would prove to be nearly his undoing as a director except for one more turkey yet to come to roost.

In 1963 David Bradley would make his masterpiece of utter crap with “Madmen of Mandorus or THEY SAVED HITLER’S BRAIN” This film is beyond PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE and yet it dares to be dull even as grown men drive around with Hitler’s head in a glass case between them in the back seat of a car!! You may ask with these credentials how can this man be arrogant and self-important?! Well wait and see!!

Now what makes all of this so bizarre is that David Bradley had the attention of a lot of intelligent, well known people in Hollywood who would turn up once a year for a New Year’s Day party to watch David and his live-in boyfriend, Ken Du Main, film the guests as they arrive, after which they would see a film from his vast collection, usually starring one of his guests from the silent era. David’s crowning moment came with the attendance of born-again Mary Philbin to one of these clambakes where he made her recreate the unmasking scene from her classic 1925 PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, however in Hollywood the monsters just come as themselves, so it was decidedly anti-climatic to unmask David yet again!!. Dare I say the crowd went wild?? Pacemakers not withstanding…

After having lived in Beverly Hills for over a decade, John Kobal told me about David and his parties, suggesting that I go at least once just to say I’d been there. How could I truly have arrived in Tinsel town without having been to one of Bradley’s New Year’s Day soirees?

Now the problem would be getting invited to such a party, since David Bradley was mad or feuding with just about everyone in the field of film history. He especially hated John, so when I finally got the phone call from David himself he went on a rant for over an hour with a list of people not to bring if I were to bring a guest. I finally convinced him I would bring no one that coming New Year’s Day.

Well… the auteur who directed HITLER’S BRAIN lived way up in the Hollywood Hills in a faux Greco-Roman area called Mt Olympus off Doheny and Sunset Blvd. The house itself was nothing too elaborate but large enough to accommodate a crowd with a back patio for those who smoked or wished to relieve themselves. The crowd was defiantly older, befitting the silent era David so admired. I met Madge Bellamy, who David introduced cruelly as his “Baby Jane,” and indeed the poor lady looked very much like Bette Davis in said film. His ‘friend’ Ken had a camera mounted on his shoulder and went about the house filming whatever David told him to film actually, barking orders like De Mille from central casting!

Out on the patio stood a frail Sam Jaffe and his wife Betty Ackerman and next to them was Rouben Mamoulian and his wife Azadia who was getting bombed. I knew Rouben slightly by then (1983) so I spoke with him, and he did not introduce his wife as she moved further away as I approached. A few minutes of small talk and I headed back into the parlor where more waxworks were chatting away as David and Ken captured them all on celluloid. “Don’t move your head” he shrieked to Jetta Goudal as she pushed her sad browbeaten husband aside for a close-up. As I opened the door to enter you could hear Rouben at the top of his voice saying to his wife “Enough Azadia you are disgracing the name of Mamoulain!!” Funny, I thought she was right on!

I discovered later that David would always tell new arrivals that Heston was on his way to the party and would be there shortly, yet to my knowledge the one-time “Peer Gynt” was always a no show. One can only wonder what exactly the young ‘Chuck’ Heston had to endure for that first break on the silver screen, something not dreamt of in your philosophy….no doubt.

David Bradley died Dec 19th 1997, leaving nearly four thousand films as his legacy
to film history. So David managed to save more than Hitler’s brain after all.

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