The Bootleg Files: The Red Detachment of Women

Posted on February 27, 2026 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 932: “The Red Detachment of Women” (1970 Communist Chinese ballet film).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It was never theatrically released in the United States.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: It is possible that someday it would appear on a US label.

I need to prefix this review by admitting that I am not a big fan of the ballet and I have even less enthusiasm for Chinese Communist propaganda. Thus, having me review “The Red Detachment of Women,” a feature-length ballet film produced during the Chinese Communist era known as the Cultural Revolution, might run the risk of ingrained bias.
Continue reading →

Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Rabbit’s Feat (1960)

Posted on February 25, 2026 by Phil Hall

Rabbit’s Feat (1960)
Directed by Chuck Jones
Story by Michael Maltese (uncredited)
Animation by Ken Harris, Richard Thompson
Music by Milt Franklyn

Wile E. Coyote – the talking version with the supercilious Mid-Atlantic accent – returns to pursue “rabbitus idioticus delicious.” As with his previous attempts to secure Bugs Bunny for his meal, the self-important coyote winds up falling victim to his cockamamie schemes and traps.
Continue reading →

Sherlock Holmes in Washington (1943)

Posted on February 23, 2026 by Phil Hall

When a British secret agent carrying confidential documents is abducted from a train traveling between New York City and Washington, DC, His Majesty’s government calls on Sherlock Holmes to travel across the Atlantic to locate the missing agent and retrieve the documents. Bringing along Dr. Watson, Holmes quickly unravels the mystery behind this disappearance while exposing a Fifth Column spy operation in the nation’s capital.
Continue reading →

The Bootleg Files: The Flintstones on Ice

Posted on February 20, 2026 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 931: “The Flintstones on Ice” (1973 television special mixing the Bedrock bunch with ice dancing).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Who knows?

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Nope, sorry.

Back when I was a kid in the 1970s (yes, I am that old), the only time that ice skating appeared on television was during the Winter Olympics or in an occasional special anchored on an ice dancing spectacular production. In 1973, the Hanna-Barbera fun factory licensed their Flintstones characters for a one-shot ice skating special. The resulting work was among the most bewildering but strangely entertaining specials to air on 1970s television.
Continue reading →

Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Person to Bunny (1960)

Posted on February 18, 2026 by Phil Hall

Person to Bunny (1960)
Directed by Friz Freleng
Story by Michael Maltese
Animation by Arthur Davis, Gerry Chiniquy, Virgil Ross, Harry Love
Music by Milt Franklyn

Bugs Bunny is being interviewed at his Hollywood home (a luxurious hole in the ground) on live television by Cedric R. Burrows for the “People to People” show (a spoof Edward R. Murrow and his series “Person to Person”). While the interview is in progress, Daffy Duck comes in and tries to make himself the center of attention. Bugs answers a question about Elmer Fudd with an insulting wisecrack – “His IQ is PU” – but Elmer is watching the broadcast and grabs his rifle, showing up at Bugs’ home. The broadcast devolves into chaos as Elmer winds up shooting Daffy, a quickly recovered Daffy does vaudeville-style dancing for the camera, and a rifle-toting Elmer chases Bugs out of his home.
Continue reading →

Old Rockin’ Chair Tom (1948)

Posted on February 16, 2026 by Phil Hall

One of the most misunderstood (and, subsequently, controversial) characters in animation history is the amply proportioned Black woman who appeared in 19 of the Tom and Jerry shorts. Contemporary sources refer to as “Mammy Two Shoes,” but that name was never used on-screen or in the screenplays – that moniker was first applied incorrectly in a 1975 Film Comment article and stuck ever since. Not only did she not have a name, but viewers never saw her face (outside of a split-second gag in the 1950 “Saturday Evening Puss”) and never truly understood her relationship to the troublesome cat and mouse duo. It is widely assumed she is a maid or housekeeper because she wears an apron, but if that is the case her (presumably white) employers are never shown or even mentioned. In “Saturday Evening Puss,” she refers to the residence as “my house,” suggesting homeownership rather than domestic servitude.
Continue reading →

The Bootleg Files: Orson Welles at the Magic Castle

Posted on February 13, 2026 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 930: “Orson Welles at the Magic Castle” (1978 television special starring the Big O).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: The production was considered lost for many years, and its return came via an unauthorized upload.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not unless a restored copy is produced.

Orson Welles is the ultimate gift that keeps on giving. Since his passing in October 1985, a steady stream of long-lost and hitherto-unknown works directed by or involving this extraordinary talent have emerged, offering new insight into his colorful and often erratic output.
Continue reading →