Once my buddy Charles Corder and I had our driver licenses, we weren’t limited to having our parents drop us off at the movie theaters anymore.
In the summer of 1975, “Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze” was released, so what better to do than to go see it at one of the multi-screen drive-in theaters that were popular around town.
Both of us were reading the Bantam paperback reprints of Doc Savage, and were eager to see the movie. On top of that, it starred Ron Ely, who also played another pulp character, Tarzan, on TV in the mid-1960s.
I remember sitting in the car, and listening to the John Philip Sousa-inspired theme song, but I don’t remember having a strong impression of the movie one way or the other. But I was excited that the ending teased to a sequel (which we now know never happened).
This all comes to mind as Doc Con prepares to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the movie at this year’s convention Friday through Sunday, Oct. 9-11, in Glendale, Ariz.
And what a celebration it looks to be. The Guest of Honor will be none other than the Man of Bronze himself, Ron Ely. Ely will be on hand to talk about the movie, pose for photos, and sign autographs.
Doc Con guests also include Bob Larkin, who painted nearly 50 of Bantam’s Doc Savage paperback covers; Anthony Tollin, a pulp and comic-book expert, and publisher of Sanctum Books, which will complete its reprinting of all 182 Doc adventures in December; “rogue” sociologist October Surprise, who has studied the readership of the Doc Savage pulp through its letter columns; and comic-book artist Steve Rude, who will be doing a live painting demonstration (Ely is the subject) during the con.
Jay Ryan, one of Arizona Fans of Bronze, the group that hosts the con, expects attendance to top 60 this year. Last year’s con attracted around 45 fans, which is more than double the 18 to 20 peak attendance during the eight years when I was fortunate enough to participate while living in the Phoenix area.
I’m not surprised by the anticipated attendance. The con’s Facebook page has been very active with fans excited about this year’s gathering.
Jay says that Saturday’s programming, which used to end around 5 p.m., has been extended this year until 9 p.m. to accommodate all of the guests and the usual activities that go along with the con. There is a silent auction of usually unique Doc items, as well as the “Hidalgo Trading Company” session, which involves a round-robin giveaway where participants contribute one or more Doc collectibles to the pool and are then eligible to pick an item (or more) to keep. Dealers will also have Doc and pulp-related items for sale. And, who knows what other surprises the Arizona Fans have in store.
That’s all on top of the fun experience of meeting fellow fans of Doc Savage and the pulps.
Though I’ve sent in my registration, it doesn’t look like I will be able to attend. But, with the con being still three weeks away, there’s time for you to make plans to go. I promise you won’t be sorry.
You can get all of the details on Doc Con’s Facebook page, or by emailing Jay.
This reminds me when the 1975 Pulpcon managed to get an advance print of the Doc Savage film and many of the Pulpcon attendees saw the film at a special screening in a nearby movie theater. I remember liking the film and special bumper stickers were handed out advertising the movie. It’s been 40 years? Not to me. Seems like it just happened.
I put that bumper sticker on my car, where it stayed until I traded it off. I liked the movie, and thought Ron Ely was the perfect Doc. I didn’t care much for a few of the other actors, however.
I hadn’t heard about the special showing at Pulpcon, Walker. That was pretty cool at the time, I’m sure. As Tom says, Ron Ely was ideal as Doc in the movie. Too bad it was too campy otherwise.
Speaking of the special bumper sticker reminds me. The second Doc Con that I attended was in 2005, celebrating the 30th anniversary of the movie. I recreated the bumper sticker as a give-away to those who attended. I came across one the other day when I was replacing a bookshelf in my office. Here’s what it looked like: