BOOTLEG FILES 721: “Energy: A National Issue” (1977 educational animated film narrated by Charlton Heston and starring Fred and Wilma Flintstone).
LAST SEEN: On YouTube.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It seems to have fallen through the proverbial cracks.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Unlikely.
Last week’s column served up the worst production in “The Flintstones” canon. This week, we serve up the second worst.
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BOOTLEG FILES 720: “The Flintstones: On the Rocks” (2001 made-for-television animated film).
LAST SEEN: On the Internet Archive
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It seems to have fallen through the proverbial cracks.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Unlikely.
In 1960, ABC premiered “The Flintstones” as the first animated sitcom to air in prime time. The show was a riff on “The Honeymooners” set in prehistoric times, and it immediately resonated with viewers who kept it on the air for a six-season run.
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BOOTLEG FILES 719: “The Great Radio Comedians” (1972 documentary featuring George Burns, Jack Benny and Edgar Bergen).
LAST SEEN: On YouTube.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It seems to have fallen through the proverbial cracks.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Unlikely.
From the late 1920s into the late 1940s, Americans relied on radio for their home entertainment. There was a wide variety of original programming to choose from, but many listeners gravitated to the weekly comedy series. Considering the heyday of the medium coincided with the grim years of the Great Depression and World War II, the comedy shows offered much-needed happy distraction from the problems and crises taking place across the country and around the world.
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This week, The Bootleg Files is on a break. However, for those who never experienced the column during its original run on another site, there were that ran between March 2003 (debuting with Disney’s “Song of the South”) and September 2015 (ending with Satyajit Ray’s “Sikkim”). I will add that I am glad to be part of Cinema Crazed and grateful that The Bootleg Files are now here. A new column in The Bootleg Files will be online next week.
BOOTLEG FILES 718: “The Box” (1981 short film starring Terry Jones and Michael Palin, directed by Micky Dolenz).
LAST SEEN: On YouTube.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It seems to have fallen through the proverbial cracks.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Unlikely.
Terry Jones’ death on January 22 brought forth a wave of warm and cherished memories of the Welsh funnyman’s classic moments with Monty Python. Jones’ passing also encouraged some die-hard Python fans to unearth a genuine rarity: a little-seen short film that Jones and fellow Python Michael Palin co-wrote and co-starred together under the direction of ex-Monkee Micky Dolenz. One could imagine these three distinctive talents would have created something truly remarkable, but they strangely came up with a weird little bore.
BOOTLEG FILES 717: “Hawaiian Punch Commercials” (long-running series of comically violent advertising).
LAST SEEN: On YouTube.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: No perceived commercial reissue for a home entertainment anthology of these commercials.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Utterly unlikely.
In concept, the notion of an advertising campaign anchored on deliberate physical abuse seems like a spectacularly bad idea – especially if the target audience is children. However, one of the most successful campaigns in advertising history involved a series of television commercials for a sugary drink that featured a strange little man who almost always punched a pleasant but dimwitted soul in the face, knocking him flat on his back.
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BOOTLEG FILES 716: “Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood” (1960 all-star TV special).
LAST SEEN: On YouTube.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: No perceived commercial reissue value.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.
By the time 1960 rolled about, the film industry was in a very strange place. The studio system had mostly crumbled and many of the major Hollywood productions were being shot overseas. The movie studios learned to grudgingly live with television and a few figured out how to profit from the small screen medium.
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