The Bootleg Files: Paradise in Harlem

Posted on November 19, 2021 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 785: “Paradise in Harlem” (1939 all-Black feature).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: On public domain labels.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: An absence of a copyright dooms the film to endless public domain duping.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Unlikely.

From the 1910s through the late 1940s, there was a distinctive cinema geared exclusively to Black American audiences. These films starred all-Black casts and were distributed only to theaters in predominantly Black neighborhoods.
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The Bootleg Files: Sadie Hawkins Day

Posted on November 5, 2021 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 784: “Sadie Hawkins Day” (1944 animated short based on Al Capp’s “Li’l Abner” comic strip).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: On VHS.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: A film that fell through the cracks.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Only if someone restores the full series of animated shorts.

In 1934, Al Capp introduced the comic strip “Li’l Abner” that offered sharp satirical humor within the setting of a burlesque of Appalachian subculture – or what an earlier generation unapologetically referred to as hillbillies. Capp’s work quickly caught the favor of the newspaper-reading public and the characters and backwoods catchphrases that populated the comic strip quickly became fixtures in pop culture.
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The Bootleg Files: Summer Daze

Posted on October 29, 2021 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 783: “Summer Daze” (1932 short comedy starring Karl Dane and George K. Arthur).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: A film that fell through the cracks.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Unlikely.

In 1926, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cast two of its character actors, Karl Dane and George K. Arthur, in comic relief supporting roles in the film “Bardelys the Magnificent.” The actors were not teamed for this production, but someone in the studio came up with the idea of pairing the tall and gangly Dane with the diminutive Arthur in an Army comedy called “Rookies,” which was released to great popularity in 1927.
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The Bootleg Files: Understanding Stresses and Strains

Posted on October 22, 2021 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 782: “Understanding Stresses and Strains” (1968 animated Disney short for the educational market).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: A film that fell through the cracks.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Unlikely, unless it is part of an anthology of Disney’s non-theatrical films.

During the 1960s, Walt Disney Productions began to curtail its output of animated short films for the theatrical market. From a commercial viewpoint, this made perfect sense because fewer cinemas were including animated shorts as part of their exhibition slate.
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The Bootleg Files: The Second Shot Kills

Posted on October 8, 2021 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 781: “The Second Shot Kills” (1972 fan film of the 007 franchise made by Welsh teenagers).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Getting this released commercially is a bit tricky.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Unlikely.

This week, everyone with even the faintest connection to film scholarship has been writing articles in advance of the U.S. premiere of the new James Bond film “No Time To Die.” However, there is a more intriguing 007 film that deserves attention – one that you probably never knew existed.
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The Bootleg Files: The Rula Lenska / Alberto VO5 Commercials

Posted on October 1, 2021 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 780: “The Rula Lenska / Alberto VO5 Commercials” (series of TV commercials from the late 1970s).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: There is no perceived commercial value for a home entertainment anthology of these commercials.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Sorry, darling.

I did not plan to write another television commercial-based column, but yesterday on Twitter I read that the British actress Rula Lenska turned 74. I had not thought of Rula Lenska in ages, and for those of us who were watching television in the 1970s her name and image occupied a unique space.
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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.
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