The Bootleg Files: In Search of Noah’s Ark

Posted on August 14, 2026 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 945: “In Search of Noah’s Ark” (1976 nonfiction feature from Sunn Classics).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: Three different VHS video releases.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Out of circulation for many years.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: None.

If you were going to the movies back in the 1970s, you must remember Sunn Classic Pictures, also known as Schick Sunn Classics. This small Utah company happily littered movie theaters in with films that promised to unlock the secrets of cryptozoology, paranormal activity, historical conspiracies and the more opaque corners of Biblical text. Each film produced by this Utah-based company was distributed with a blaring, carny-worthy marketing campaign that saturated local television stations and newspapers with bombastic advertisements that greatly exaggerated the depth and scope of the presentations. The company also four-walled the theaters where their films played, thus giving them a generous share of the box office.
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The Bootleg Files: That’s Life

Posted on July 31, 2026 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 944: “That’s Life” (1968-69 television series starring Robert Morse and E.J. Peaker).

LAST SEEN: Bits and pieces are scattered on YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It is complicated

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: None.

Earlier this week, I was very sad to learn about the passing of actress E.J. Peaker. She was a vivacious blonde who came to prominence in the late 1960s by playing the perky dress shop salesgirl Minnie Fay in the film version of “Hello, Dolly!” and as the female lead in a strange television sitcom called “That’s Life.”
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The Bootleg Files: Hot Dog

Posted on July 24, 2026 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 943: “Hot Dog” (1970-71 children’s series starring Woody Allen, Jonathan Winters, and Jo Anne Worley).

LAST SEEN: Bits and pieces are scattered on YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It is complicated

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: None.

The other day, I was scrolling around social media and spotted a post that mentioned how Woody Allen starred in a kiddie television series in the early 1970s. And my reaction to that post was: Huh?
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The Bootleg Files: Bicentennial Minutes

Posted on July 3, 2026 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 942: “Bicentennial Minutes” (1974-76 daily series of one-minute educational shorts).

LAST SEEN: Some episodes are on YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: No perceived reissue value.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: None.

Have you noticed there is a considerable lack of enthusiasm for the current America 250 celebrations? I can recall a very different environment when the nation was celebrating its 200th birthday. Fifty years ago, there was an unusual but jolly series of one-minute episodes broadcast daily in prime time on CBS that recalled the incidents, issues, and personalities that shaped the American push for independence.
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The Bootleg Files: Uncle Tom’s Bungalow

Posted on June 19, 2026 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 941: “Uncle Tom’s Bungalow” (1937 animated short directed by Tex Avery).

LAST SEEN: On Vimeo.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: An excerpt was featured in a 1989 VHS video release.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It was withdrawn from circulation.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: None.

The slavery era represented one of the most painful chapters of American history, and the idea of making a comedy out of this tragedy is incomprehensible. Incredibly, the Warner Bros. animation unit thought it would be a fun idea to take Harriet Beecher Stowe’s anti-slavery landmark “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” and turn it into a breezy, irreverent romp.
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The Bootleg Files: Pardon My Terror

Posted on June 5, 2026 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 940: “Pardon My Terror” (1946 short comedy starring Gus Schilling and Richard Lane).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It fell through the cracks.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Maybe if someone does a DVD anthology of Schilling and Lane comedies.

Unless you are a truly dedicated scholar of the comedy films of the Golden Age of Hollywood, there is an excellent chance that you never heard of the team of Gus Schilling and Richard Lane. From 1945 to 1950, this pair of character actors were teamed for 11 short comedies produced at Columbia Pictures.
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The Bootleg Files: Putting on the Ritz

Posted on May 29, 2026 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 939: “Putting on the Ritz” (1974 animated short by Antoinette Starkiewicz).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It fell through the cracks.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Perhaps as part of a collection of the filmmaker’s work.

Earlier this week, I did an essay on “International Animation Festival,” a PBS series that aired in the mid-1970s. That series, which was hosted by British actress Jean Marsh, introduced viewers to rarely-seen animated shorts from European, Canadian, and independent American animators.
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