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The Bootleg Files: Dylan Thomas

BOOTLEG FILES 848: “Dylan Thomas” (1962 Oscar-winning documentary short featuring Richard Burton).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO:
It doesn’t appear to have been released.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: There could be a rights issue preventing its release.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

Here’s a question for Academy Award trivia buffs: What is the only Welsh film to win an Oscar? The answer is the subject of this week’s column: “Dylan Thomas,” which earned the 1962 Best Documentary Short Subject Award.
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The Bootleg Files: Jive Junction

BOOTLEG FILES 847: “Jive Junction” (1943 musical starring Dickie Moore and directed by Edgar G. Ulmer).

LAST SEEN: On DailyMotion.com.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: It doesn’t appear to have been released.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: There might be a music rights issue.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

When you think of the musicals of the 1940s, you probably think about the big-budget Technicolor productions from MGM or 20th Century Fox. Few people would immediately call to mind the output of Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC), the Poverty Row funhouse that churned out low-budget Westerns and thrillers. Every now and then, this cheapjack studio would put forth a musical – and while none of these films resonated within the popular culture, they provided enough silly distraction to help theaters fill their double features.
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The Bootleg Files: Microsoft Windows 95 Video Guide

BOOTLEG FILES 846: “Microsoft Windows 95 Video Guide” (1995 instructional video starring Jennifer Aniston and Matthew Perry).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube and Archive.org.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: Only the original VHS release.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It no longer has any perceived value.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

When Matthew Perry passed away last Saturday, the obituaries and tributes focused heavily on his role as Chandler Bing in the NBC sitcom “Friends.” There was some mention of his other work, particularly his Emmy-nominated performances on “The West Wing,” his brief foray into film acting with forgettable flicks like “The Whole Nine Yards,” and his two-season reboot of “The Odd Couple.”
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The Bootleg Files: The Weird Adventures of Mutt & Jeff and Bugoff

BOOTLEG FILES 845: “The Weird Adventures of Mutt & Jeff and Bugoff” (1973 animated feature).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube and Archive.org.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO:
None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: The rights holder will not make it available.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

Leo Tolstoy’s opened his novel Anna Karenina with the extraordinary observation: “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” A similar consideration can be applied to movies: “Good movies are all alike; every bad movie is bad in its own way.”
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The Bootleg Files: Hiss and Yell

BOOTLEG FILES 844: “Hiss and Yell” (1946 Oscar-nominated comedy short starring Vera Vague and Emil Sitka).

LAST SEEN:
On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS:
The rights holder will not make it available.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

In the late 1930s, comic actress Barbara Jo Allen invented the character Vera Vague for a radio show. This character was a chatterbox, featherbrained spinster who was always in pursuit of a man. Audiences quickly embraced the character, and her appeal was so strong that Allen adopted Vera Vague as her professional name.
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The Bootleg Files: Oceans of Love

BOOTLEG FILES 843: “Oceans of Love” (1956 animated short from the Terrytoons studio).

LAST SEEN:
On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: The rights holder will not make it available.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE:
Not likely.

Cartoon lovers of a certain age will recall the glory days of Terrytoons, an animation studio founded by Paul Terry that specialized in cartoon shorts that were usually lacking in artistic genius but more than compensated with good silly fun. Terry himself acknowledged his studio’s shortcomings regarding its low-budget animation, once describing Walt Disney’s operation as the “Tiffany’s in this business” while his was “the Woolworth’s.”
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The Bootleg Files: John Denver and the Ladies

BOOTLEG FILES 842: “John Denver and the Ladies” (1979 television special featuring Tina Turner, Valerie Harper, Cheryl Ladd, Erma Bombeck and Cheryl Tiegs).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO:
None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: No perceived reissue value.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE:
Not likely.

During the 1970s, John Denver was a ubiquitous presence on television, both as a guest on variety programs, awards productions and talk shows, and as the star of an occasional TV special. By the end of the decade, Denver tried to push himself away from his folk-country-pop persona into different areas. He scored a box office hit in his first movie, working with George Burns in the 1977 “Oh, God!”, but he opted not to vigorously pursue acting and would not appear in another film for nine years. He became an increasingly vocal activist focused on conservation and humanitarian issues. And while he didn’t lose his core audience, his new music in the late 1970s (which was more complex and mature than his earlier sing-along hits) did not generate the sales as his output from the earlier part of his decade.
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