David Shedd Bradley (6 April 1920 in

Winnetka, Illinois Winnetka () is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, located north of downtown Chicago. The population was 12,316 as of 2019. The village is one of the wealthiest places in the nation in terms of household income. It was the second- ...

– 19 December 1997 in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

) was an American motion picture director, actor, film collector, and university instructor. He is known for the films '' 12 to the Moon'' and ''

They Saved Hitler's Brain ''They Saved Hitler's Brain'' is a 1968 TV movie directed by David Bradley. It was adapted for television from a shorter 1963 theatrical feature film, ''Madmen of Mandoras'', produced by Carl Edwards and directed by David Bradley. The film was ...

'' (a edited version of ''Madman of Mandoras'' and listed as one of the worst films of all time).

Biography

David Shedd Bradley was a grandson of Charles Banks Shedd, a prominent

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

real estate investor, banker, and financier, and civic leader who also served as an executive officer of the

Knickerbocker Ice Company The Knickerbocker Ice Company was an ice company based in New York State during the 19th century. Early history Knickerbocker Ice Company, an Ice trade company, was founded by John J. Felter, John G. Perry, and Edward Felter in 1831 on the eastern ...

of Chicago, which had been founded principally by Edward Avery Shedd, younger brother of Charles Banks Shedd. He attended the Todd School for Boys (from which

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

had graduated in 1931) from 1935 to 1937, and

Lake Forest Academy Lake Forest Academy (also known as LFA) is a co-educational college preparatory school for boarding and day students in grades 9 through 12. The school is located on the North Shore in Lake Forest, Illinois, United States, about 30 miles north o ...

during 1937–1940. He then spent a year at the Goodman Memorial Theatre Drama Department of the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

. During this time, he also directed a feature-length 16 mm version of ''

Peer Gynt ''Peer Gynt'' (, ) is a five- act play in verse by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen published in 1876. Written in Norwegian, it is one of the most widely performed Norwegian plays. Ibsen believed ''Per Gynt'', the Norwegian fairy tale on wh ...

'' with 17-year-old

Charlton Heston Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923April 5, 2008) was an American actor and political activist. As a Hollywood star, he appeared in almost 100 films over the course of 60 years. He played Moses in the epic film ''The Ten C ...

in the title role; Bradley having known Heston since high school. His studies at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

were interrupted by three years’ service in the

U.S. Army Signal Corps ) , colors = Orange and white , colors_label = Corps colors , march = , mascot = , equipment = , equipment_label = ...

motion picture section during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He worked as a combat photographer during the European campaign, eventually filming the arrival of the Allies in Paris. He graduated in 1950 with

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree from the university's School of Speech. On the basis of the 16 mm feature ''

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

'' that he had produced and directed in Chicago (and which also starred Charlton Heston), he was hired as a directing intern by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

in 1950.

Later years

After the teen drama ''

Dragstrip Riot A dragstrip is a facility for conducting automobile and motorcycle acceleration events such as drag racing. Although a quarter mile (1320 feet, 402 m) is the best known measure for a drag track, many tracks are eighth mile (201&n ...

'' (1958), he went on to direct ''Madmen of Mandoras'', padded for television into the infamous ''

'',They Saved Hitler's Brain (1964) - TCM.com
/ref> which proved to be his final output. Bradley later taught film studies at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

and

Santa Monica City College Santa Monica College (SMC) is a public, community college in Santa Monica, California. Founded as a junior college in 1929, SMC enrolls over 30,000 students in more than 90 fields of study. Although initially serving primarily pre-college high s ...

Filmography

* ''

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure no ...

'' (English language version of 1938 film also known as ''Ostrov sokrovishch'') * Sredni Vashtar' by Saki'' (1940 short) * ''Peer Gynt'' (1941, also writer) * ''

'' (1950, also produced and wrote script) * ''

Talk About a Stranger ''Talk About a Stranger'' is a 1952 American film noir directed by David Bradley and starring George Murphy, Nancy Davis and Billy Gray. The motion picture was shot by noted cinematographer John Alton, A.S.C. and was based on Charlotte Armstron ...

'' (1952) * ''

'' (1958) * '' 12 to the Moon'' (1960)-riffed by satirical cult sci-fi series ''

Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. ...

'' *''Madmen of Mandoras'' (1963, rereleased in 1968 with additional footage under the title ''

'')

References

External links

*
David Bradley Papers
Northwestern University Archives.
David S. Bradley Film Collection
Indiana University. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bradley, David 1920 births 1997 deaths Lake Forest Academy alumni School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni American experimental filmmakers Northwestern University School of Communication alumni UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television faculty Film directors from Illinois Ice trade Santa Monica College faculty