BOOTLEG FILES 817: “Hey, Nanny Nanny” (1933 short starring Clark and McCullough).
LAST SEEN: On YouTube.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It fell through the cracks.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.
Question: What is the funniest movie that you never saw? The answer could be “Hey, Nanny Nanny,” a 1933 short starring the comedy team of Bobby Clark and McCullough.
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BOOTLEG FILES 816: “All-Star Party for Lucille Ball” (1984 television special with an extraordinary A-list line-up).
LAST SEEN: On YouTube.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It fell through the cracks.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.
When I was watching the 1984 television special “All-Star Party for Lucille Ball,” the same thought kept rotating through my mind: they don’t make them like this anymore. Not only is today’s televised entertainment so completely devoid of the level of star power that was gathered for this one-shot offering, but the feel-good quality and genuine sincerity that permeated the production offers a reminder that there was a time (not so long ago) when broadcast television was a genuinely friendly place to visit.
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BOOTLEG FILES 815: “King of the Jungle” (1933 adventure film starring Buster Crabbe).
LAST SEEN: On YouTube.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It fell through the cracks.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.
In 1932, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer scored a commercial hit by casting former Olympic swimmer Johnny Weissmuller in the title role of “Tarzan the Ape Man.” Paramount Pictures thought it could replicate the rival studio’s success, but rather than acquire the rights to Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan character it opted to make a quasi-Tarzan film based on Charles Turley Stoneham’s “The Lion’s Way” – in which a Tarzan-type character was raised in the African jungle by lions rather than apes.
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BOOTLEG FILES 814: “The Lauren Bacall High Point Coffee Commercials” (a series of television advertisements from the early 1980s).
LAST SEEN: On YouTube.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: No commercial reissue value.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.
Forty years ago, American television viewers were bombarded with a series of commercials for the High Point brand of instant decaffeinated coffee starring Lauren Bacall. While it was hardly unusual to have recognizable stars pitching coffee in 30- and 60-second spots – Bacall and her then-husband Jason Robards co-starred in a Maxwell House ad during the mid-1960s – the High Point commercials represent a somewhat bizarre realm where marketing and camp overlap. These commercials generated giggles back in the day, and today they are treasured by many as small gems of unintentional humor.
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BOOTLEG FILES 813: “King of the Pins” (1950 short film).
LAST SEEN: On YouTube.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: A true obscurity.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.
When people are asked to identify short films made by Columbia Pictures during Hollywood’s Golden Era, it is safe to assume that the majority of responses will be rooted in comedy – The Three Stooges, Andy Clyde, Buster Keaton, Charley Chase and Vera Vague will probably be cited most often.
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BOOTLEG FILES 812: “The Plank” (1967 British comedy film).
LAST SEEN: On YouTube.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It never made it across the Atlantic for a commercial release.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not in the U.S. market.
For every Benny Hill, Monty Python or “Are You Being Served?” that crossed the Atlantic, there are scores of British funnymen who either tried and failed to find an American audience or never gave it a go. Two of the most inventive and delightful British comics to find favor in their country, Eric Sykes and Tommy Cooper, are mostly unknown to Americans – and I might wonder if today’s younger Britons are familiar with these yesteryear stars.
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BOOTLEG FILES 811: “Olivia Newton-John – Hollywood Nights” (1980 TV special).
LAST SEEN: On YouTube.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: The expense in clearing the music and performance rights.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: There is no great call for this one.
In April 1980, Olivia Newton-John was at a career peak – she ended the 1970s as one of the decade’s most popular recording stars and her first Hollywood movie, the 1978 production of “Grease,” immediately established her as a box office presence. Her star power was so strong that ABC recruited her for a one-hour variety special that would air ahead of its telecast of the Academy Awards ceremony.
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