The Bootleg Files: The World of Kurt Weill

Posted on March 21, 2025 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 901: “The World of Kurt Weill” (1967 television special starring Lotte Lenya).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Most likely, there is a music rights clearance issue.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

From the mid-1960s to the early 1970s, one of the most intriguing series on American television was “NET Playhouse.” NET stood for National Educational Television and it served as the forerunner of the Public Broadcasting Service.

“NET Playhouse” primarily focused on adaptations of classic plays and stories that featured both established stars and up-and-coming actors – then-unknowns Dustin Hoffman, Martin Sheen and Jon Voight turned up in the series’ 1966 premiere season. The series rarely offered musical presentations, and one of those tuneful diversions included the 1967 hour-long production “The World of Kurt Weill” that celebrated the career of the German-born composer.
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Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Lumber Jack-Rabbit (1953)

Posted on March 19, 2025 by Phil Hall

Lumber Jack-Rabbit (1953)
Directed by Charles M. Jones
Story by Michael Maltese
Animation by Abe Levitow, Ken Harris, Richard Thompson, Lloyd Vaughan, Ben Washam
Music by Carl Stalling

Notable as the only Bugs Bunny cartoon shot in the 3D process, “Lumber Jack-Rabbit” gets off to an amusing start when a wandering Bugs sings “Jimmy Crack Corn” while journeying into Paul Bunyan’s garden. Unaware that he is in a giant’s domain – he mistakes the asparagus for “funny looking trees” – he becomes ecstatic at discovering gigantic carrots. Bugs sets up mining equipment to cull his harvest, but is interrupted by Paul Bunyan’s equally massive Smidgen.
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Snow White and the Three Stooges (1961)

Posted on March 17, 2025 by Phil Hall

Disney’s live-action version of “Snow White” is coming the theaters this Friday and the advance word on the production is not positive. Perhaps this is a good time to recall another live-action version of “Snow White” that fell very far short of the 1937 animated classic “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” – the 1961 big-budget mess known as “Snow White and the Three Stooges.”
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The Bootleg Files: Sticks and Bones

Posted on March 14, 2025 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 900: “Sticks and Bones” (1973 television film directed by Robert Downey Sr.).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It is a complicated story.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

This article represents the 900th entry in The Bootleg Files column celebrating films and television productions that can only be appreciated in either unauthorized presentations or in problematic public domain dupes. For those who are not familiar with this column’s history, it began on Film Threat in 2003 and appeared there on Fridays through 2015, when the site went offline. Although it was one of Film Threat’s most popular features, it was not invited back when Film Threat resumed publishing in 2017. Thankfully, Felix Vasquez Jr. – who was a colleague of mine on Film Threat – invited me to resume The Bootleg Files here on Cinema Crazed. And while the column has received some nasty comments – which is to be expected from any Internet publishing effort – it has received far more appreciative input from readers during these past 22 years. For those who turn up every Friday to read this column, I offer my deepest appreciation for your support and friendship.
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Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Bully for Bugs (1953)

Posted on March 12, 2025 by Phil Hall

Bully for Bugs (1953)
Directed by Charles M. Jones
Story by Michael Maltese
Animation by Ben Washam, Lloyd Vaughan, Ken Harris
Music by Carl Stalling

According to Chuck Jones, “Bully for Bugs” came about because of an unexpected declaration made by producer Edward Selzer didn’t want any films related to bullfighting because he felt that bullfights aren’t funny. If Selzer was commenting on comedy films with a bullfighting theme, he was most correct – those films relied heavily on stock footage, trick editing, the obvious use of stunt doubles and connect-the-dots comedy with the funnymen supposedly being chased around a bullring.
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Listen, Judge (1952)

Posted on March 10, 2025 by Phil Hall

No one ever accused the Three Stooges of being ecologically focused, but their 1952 short “Listen, Judge” offers a brilliant example of recycling old material to create a new and vibrant comedy explosion.
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The Bootleg Files: John Wayne Great Western Savings Commercials

Posted on March 7, 2025 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 899: “John Wayne Great Western Savings Commercials” (1978 series of television advertisements for a California financial institution).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It fell between the proverbial cracks.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

John Wayne fans know their beloved actor made his final big screen appearance in the 1976 film “The Shootist,” but that was not his final performance before the cameras. In 1977 and 1978, Wayne received $350,000 per year from the Los Angeles-based Great Western Savings and Loan to promote its financial institutions to California television viewers.
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