Joseph McBride, film critic and writer, was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on August 9, 1947, to Raymond E. McBride, a reporter for the Milwaukee Journal, and Marian Dunne McBride, a former reporter for the Journal and the Milwaukee Sentinel. He graduated from Marquette University High School, Milwaukee, in 1965, won a National Merit Scholarship, and enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. However, in 1967, he flunked out of school after completing only 18 credits.
McBride then officially turned his attention to his two major interests, movies and writing. Writing had been an interest since his youth. He wrote a daily family magazine at age 9, published his first article at age 12 (1959), and wrote a book, The Language of Baseball (never published), between 1963 and 1966. He worked on his school newspapers and other publications in both high school and college. It was while in college that he became deeply interested in movies. President of the Wisconsin Film Society from 1966 to 1969, he began in 1967 to contribute articles, reviews, and criticism to such publications as Film Heritage, Sight & Sound, Life, Rolling Stone, Film Comment, Film Quarterly, and the Milwaukee Journal.
McBride has also published several books on the cinema. He edited an anthology of film criticism, Persistence of Vision, which was published by the Wisconsin Film Society Press, Madison, in December 1968. His book Orson Welles, written from 1966 to 1969, was published in 1972, as was an anthology he edited entitled Focus on Howard Hawks. John Ford, written in collaboration with Michael Wilmington from 1970 to 1972, was published in 1974.
From November 1969 to July 1973, McBride was a reporter for the Wisconsin State Journal in Madison. After a year with the Riverside (California) Press and Daily Enterprise (1973-1974), McBride became a reporter and critic for Daily Variety (Hollywood) and Variety (New York) -- a position he held until 1977. During that time, he also wrote television and film scripts, achieving his first major success with the film Blood and Guts (1978). As a free-lance writer from 1977 to 1980, McBride continued to author scripts, two of which were produced: Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979) and Prom Night (1980). Incidentally, he made a minor appearance in each film.
McBride has been an avid baseball fan since his childhood in Milwaukee, where his family was friendly with a number of players. From his youth, McBride collected material on baseball colloquialisms, which he hoped to turn into a book. After many years of drafts, rewrites, and revisions, McBride's goal was realized, as High and Inside: The Complete Guide to Baseball Slang was published by Warner Books in 1980. In the year following the book's publication, McBride again wrote for Variety and Daily Variety, serving as business editor and critic. Late in 1981, however, he returned to free-lance writing. In 1980, McBride scripted The American Film Institute Salute to James Stewart, broadcast on CBS Television. Thereafter, he wrote for the AFI's yearly program, including salutes to Fred Astaire (1981), Frank Capra (1982), John Huston (1983), and Lillian Gish (1984). Other successful productions included the American National Theatre and Academy Tribute to James Stewart (1981) and Let Poland Be Poland (1982). Also, McBride continued to contribute to books, newspapers, and magazines such as Film and Film Comment.
In addition to his writing, McBride has conducted seminars on films and directors, and has given guest lectures at universities throughout southern California.
