The Bootleg Files: The Monkees’ Tokyo Concerts

Posted on September 17, 2021 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 779: “The Monkees in Japan” (1968 recording of the Pre-Fab Four in a Tokyo concert).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: There is no surviving video of the concert and the audio recording was never commercially released.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: To borrow a line from a Monkees tune: Zilch!

On very rare occasions, this column puts the spotlight on audio recordings that only exist when there is no surviving film element. In this case, the spotlight shines on what might have been the last commercial hurrah of the Monkees during their brief and frenetic spin at the center of the 1960s cultural zeitgeist.
Continue reading →

The Bootleg Files: The New York Hat

Posted on September 10, 2021 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 778: “The New York Hat” (1912 film directed by D.W. Griffith).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: On multiple labels offering silent films.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: An expired copyright.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: It’s already out there, but that’s not why it is in this column.

In the early years of the silent movies, the bootlegging of film prints was completely out of control. Due the primitive nature of film distribution, it was too easy for cinematic miscreants to swoop in and gather up prints and resell them as their own works, thus denying the profits that the original producers should have recived.
Continue reading →

The Bootleg Files: The Nancy Walker / Bounty Paper Towel Commercials

Posted on August 27, 2021 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 777: “The Nancy Walker / Bounty Paper Towel Commercials” (1970-1990 television commercial campaign).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: No perceived value in compiling 20 years’ worth of commercials.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

If you were watching U.S. television in the 1970s, it was impossible not to find Nancy Walker somewhere on the dial. She was simultaneously appearing on two popular shows at the same time – “McMillan & Wife” and “Rhoda” – and turned up in guest starring appearances on various series and variety shows; she also had notoriety for starring in two of the fastest flops of the decade, “The Nancy Walker Show” and “Blansky’s Beauties.”
Continue reading →

The Bootleg Files: Jack Benny in Australia

Posted on August 13, 2021 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 776: “Jack Benny in Australia” (1964 television special from down under).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: No perceived commercial value.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

In early 1964, Jack Benny received an offer to do a series of shows in Australia, where his radio and television shows had been popular for years. The timing for the offer was serendipitous, as CBS unceremoniously axed Benny’s popular television program at the end of 1963 and he had no other engagements lined up.
Continue reading →

The Bootleg Files: Doom of Dracula

Posted on August 6, 2021 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 775: “Doom of Dracula” (8mm reissue of sections from the 1944 “House of Frankenstein”).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: No perceived commercial value.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

In the years before video cassette recorders invaded living rooms in the late 1970s and early 1980s, movie lovers who wanted to own copies of their favorite films relied on portable projectors that screened the 35mm or 70mm Hollywood theatrical fare in the much smaller 16mm, 9.5mm, 8mm and Super 8 formats.
Continue reading →

10 Of The Most Intriguing Films That Were Never Made

Posted on July 30, 2021 by Phil Hall

Film history is littered with proposed projects that seemed tantalizing in concept, but somehow never found their way before the cameras. But were these aborted efforts destined to succeed? Seriously, would Stanley Kubrick’s proposed biopic of Napoleon or Alejandro Jodorowsky’s “Dune” been instant classics? I think that some vigorous debates could be enjoyed on whether or not we should be fortunate those works never got made.

Continue reading →

The Bootleg Files: Frank Sinatra Hosts ‘The Tonight Show’

Posted on July 23, 2021 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 774: “Frank Sinatra Hosts ‘The Tonight Show’” (1977 episode with Sinatra filling in for Johnny Carson).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: There might be a problem with music clearance rights.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: I wish it would be released.

Frank Sinatra did not give many interviews – he certainly didn’t need the publicity, nor did he welcome questions about his personal life that he considered to be intrusive. But there was one time in Sinatra’s life when he had the opportunity to be the one asking the questions – and, believe it or not, he was very good at it.
Continue reading →