'Dear Mr. Brody' Review

Arlington TX

06 March, 2022

5:50 PM

Description

By Joe Friar, Fort Worth Report March 5, 2022 For ten days in 1970, a fervor swept the nation after 21-year-old Michael Brody Jr., heir to his family's margarine fortune, announced that he would give away his inheritance to the poor, the destitute, anybody that needed money. It was the "Make love, not war" era for many young people including Brody, a hippie who was more concerned with writing songs, spreading the "love one another" message, and ending the Vietnam War. He didn't care about money. He was also high as a kite. Keith Maitland, the award-winning filmmaker behind the 2016 documentary "Tower" which used rotoscope animation and archival footage to tell the story of the 60s University of Texas school shooting, shifts his focus to another true story, one you may not be familiar with, but it's also tragic as the cries for help from hundreds of thousands of people went unanswered. It's been over 50 years since the ill-fated but well-intentioned cash grab sparked a media frenzy, so why did it take so long to tell this story? To answer the question, we go to Melissa Robyn Glassman who is at the center of Maitland's documentary. A few years back she was working for Hollywood producer Edward R. Pressman. While visiting his storage unit she discovered twelve boxes labeled "BRODY Letters" which contained thousands of unopened letters bearing the same postmark, January 1970, addressed to Michael James Brody Jr. The event is reenacted for the film but for the most part archived media footage, and interviews with those closest to Brody help tell the story. As you watch the archival footage of the long-haired Brody who gives off Eddie Money vibes (with that last name of course he does), the good-looking wannabe musician seems genuine which explains why so many people wrote to him. Also, the media ran with the story and soon Brody found himself being interviewed by Walter Cronkite and Ed Sullivan. He also scored a record deal and hung out with John Lennon during his ten days of fame. But with each new interview, the specifics of his offer changed. First, it was $25 million, then $50 million, and then $100 billion. It became evident that he was either full of it or whacked out of his mind. Sadly, it was both. To read the full article, click here. Fort Worth Report is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization that produces factual, in-depth journalism about city and county government, schools, healthcare, business, and arts and culture in Tarrant County. Always free to read; subscribe to newsletters, read coverage or support our newsroom at fortworthreport.org.