Broida Family (Click for Family Tree)
Our ancestor Buster Brodie was somewhat typecast by his appearance- he was very short, and very bald. In fact, his niece stated that he had no hair, no eyebrows, nor lashes.
Previous posts have described Max Broida, the man, and the stage and screen actor Buster Brodie, who were one and the same. We have a few more images from films he was in, so let the show begin!
“So You Want to Keep Your Hair” was a 1946 Richard L. Bare Productions film in which the American Everyman, named Joe McDoakes, realized he was going bald so he tried everything to stop his hair loss. There was a series of the Joe McDoakes shorts- this one was just 11 minutes long; the next was ” So You Want a Television Set,” released in 1953, but we don’t know that Buster Brodie was in any of the others. These films would be shown along with a ‘double bill’ (2 movies in a row). Buster did not play the title character, and we have been unable to find the film, so don’t know exactly how he fits into the plot.
Buster seemed to get patted on the head a lot. This was probably a function of his height, as well as that bald pate. Wonder which came first- the pats and they made him bald? Or did all those pats on the head just shine it up for him?
He is a series of images from a 1941 film called, “Miss Polly.”
Miss Polly walked down the aisle of the town meeting, and acknowledged Buster, who was playing one of the townspeople.
Miss Polly continued on, but then, it had to happen:
It’s that pat on the head again.
Wonder if the lighting crew went crazy with the reflections?
In 1944, the country was in the midst of war, and Banner Productions provided a romp through a haunted house with Shemp Howard of the Three Stooges and two other characters. Buster played, appropriately, “Baldy,” and was in a picture on the wall in the haunted mansion. Ghosts and Barney the Giant Gorilla kept the plot moving, with an advertising tagline of, “Three crack-brained clowns trapped in a haunted house with a runaway gorilla!” Sorry I missed it.
And then there is the 1935 sports-crime-comedy-drama film (really? that’s a movie genre??) called, “Kentucky Blue Streak” in which Buster had a small role. (OK, pun not intended originally but it fits.)
The scene is the race track at about 51 minutes into the movie, and a line of jockeys are walking along the stands on their way to saddle up. They all have hats on, and all are very short and pretty young looking. The woman with the light-colored dress says haughtily, “Hmmm, those jockeys are just little boys.” Buster was the next in line, and when he hears the comment, he doffs his hat, saying, “I thank you, lady.” Everyone laughs- Buster was great at getting a laugh with just a few words. (But do note his voice- that may be why he did not get many speaking parts in the movies, but did fine in vaudeville in earlier years. Rudolph Valentino had the same problem.)
The film makers had some fun with this film. The ‘meet cute’ at about 12 minutes in is interesting- they have hot dogs at the racetrack but they are in round buns and stick out at the ends! (Maybe hot dog buns had not yet been ‘invented’? But I am not researching that this late at night- especially because I would probably end up writing a social history piece about the hot dog and bun, and not stay focused on finishing this post.) Real Kentucky Derby racetrack scenes are incorporated to add realism- the cars are very cool. Also, C.C. Burr, of ‘C.C. Burr Productions’ played a cameo, as a jockey.
One very interesting thing in the movie caught my attention at the predictable end, and I had to go back and listen again. When they are calling the race at the end (about 52 minutes into the movie), the #3 post position horse is named, “Time Out.” The rider’s name is “Buster Brodie.” I was so surprised to hear that in the movie! Wonder how all the other ‘riders’ were related to the movie or writers.
“Kentucky Blue Streak” was made in 1935, but maybe there was a bit of foreshadowing, and we can only wonder why the name of the horse “Time Out” and Buster Brodie as its ‘rider’ were mentioned in the film. Variety– the entertainment professional’s newspaper- stated in Buster’s obituary that he had been in pictures for 20 years, “in addition to selling mutual tickets at race tracks recently.” It was probably hard for Buster to make it with just film work. Looking back on his life and career, we can see the irony of this film and his ‘second job’ during his later years.
Notes, Sources, and References:
- See also, especially for availability of films:
- “Talented Tuesday: Max Broida-Now Starring as Buster Brodie”- http://heritageramblings.net/2015/04/07/talented-tuesday-max-broida-now-starring-as-buster-brodie/
- The Real Max Broida, AKA Buster Brodie- http://heritageramblings.net/2015/04/10/the-real-max-broida-aka-buster-brodie/
- “Talented Tuesday: A Bit More Buster Brodie”- http://heritageramblings.net/2015/04/28/talented-tuesday-a-bit-more-buster-brodie/
- Watch “Kentucky Blue Streak” online: http://free-classic-movies.com/movies-03b/03b-1935-05-01-Kentucky-Blue-Streak/index.php
- IMDb.com– This used to be the “International Movie Data Base” with volunteers posting all the details of favorite movies. The website is now owned by Amazon.com but still a good (although not always complete) source of information.
- “Buster Brodie” – Buster Brodie/Max Broida obituary in Variety, 14 Apr 1948.
Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images. Click to enlarge images.
We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.