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REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It was withdrawn from circulation.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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The Bootleg Files: Fred Flintstone & Barney Rubble in Songs from Mary Poppins

Posted on May 22, 2026 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 938: “Fred Flintstone & Barney Rubble in Songs from Mary Poppins” (1965 album mashing up the Disney and Hanna-Barbera classics).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None – but, then again, it is a spoken-word recording.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Clearing the rights to this would be nearly impossible.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: It would be fun as a special feature on a Flintstones-related DVD, but that is unlikely.

This week’s entry is not about a film or television production, but instead focuses on a bootleg video that shares a rare example of cross-pollination between two rival animation studios – in this case, Hanna-Barbera characters promoting films made by the Walt Disney Company in a long-playing album.
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The Bootleg Files: Fallen Angels

Posted on May 8, 2026 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 937: “Fallen Angels” (1974 British television version of the Noel Coward comedy starring Joan Collins and Susannah York).

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 someday.

One of the hottest tickets on Broadway today is the revival of Noel Coward’s 1925 comedy “Fallen Angels,” starring Rose Byrne and Kelli O’Hara is Tony Award-nominated performances. But if you can’t make it to Broadway – or if you can but don’t want to pay elevated prices to see that show – I would like to direct your attention to a 1974 British television of “Fallen Angels” starring Joan Collins and Susannah York.
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The Bootleg Files: The Awful Truth

Posted on April 24, 2026 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 936: “The Awful Truth” (1956 made-for-television production starring Bob Hope and Greer Garson).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It is probably a case of clearing the rights to the source material.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Maybe someday.

As a comedian, Bob Hope was always a case of extremes. Either he was laugh-out-loud hilarious or groan-out-load awful. To be honest, I approached this 1956 made-for-television version of “The Awful Truth” with Hope playing opposite Greer Garson expecting the groan-out-loud version of the funnyman. After all, “The Awful Truth” is a classic 1937 screwball comedy that helped secure Cary Grant’s stardom. Hope starred in a radio version of “The Awful Truth” in 1941, so he was clearly familiar with the material. But, hey, Bob Hope doing a Cary Grant role?
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The Bootleg Files: Gugusse and the Automaton

Posted on April 10, 2026 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 935: “Gugusse and the Automaton” (1897 short film by Georges Méliès).

LAST SEEN: On the Library of Congress website.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It was one of many films from the late 19th century that were bootlegged.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Maybe someday in an anthology of rediscovered lost films.

During the height of his film production career, the pioneering French producer/director Georges Méliès fought a losing battle against miscreants who made bootlegged copies of his films and profited in selling these unauthorized prints. The bootlegging was particularly acute in the American market, where Méliès was forced to set up a sales office to fight against the characters who were pirating his work.
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