The Bootleg Files: Professor Mamlock
BOOTLEG FILES 896: “Professor Mamlock” (1938 Soviet drama focused on Nazi anti-Semitism).
LAST SEEN: On YouTube.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It fell through the cracks.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: If any film deserves a release, this is it.
After Adolf Hitler’s rise to power and his subsequent persecution of Germany’s Jewish population, the Hollywood film industry found itself in a quandary. Many of the studios were owned and operated by Jewish businessmen who were not supportive of Hitler’s anti-Semitic policies – and many German creative artists who fled Hitler’s Germany were welcomed in the Hollywood studios. But at the same time, the German market was a lucrative export destination for Hollywood films and the studios did not want to jeopardize the revenue stream they enjoyed from German cinemas. As a result, no Hollywood film criticized Nazi policies against its Jewish population, while “Confessions of a Nazi Spy” released by Warner Bros. in May 1939 broke the taboo of clearly identify Hitler’s government as an enemy to Americans.
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Short Film For You!: Groundhog Day for a Black Man [Black History Month]
Short Film For You!: Hair Daze [Black History Month]
Produced for the Black Creators Short Film series at Beats by Dre, Hair Daze speaks to one’s roots, personality, and community through hair:
Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Hare Lift (1952)
Hare Lift (1952)
Directed by Friz Freleng
Story by Warren Foster
Animation by Ken Champin, Arthur Davis, Manuel Perez, Virgil Ross
Music by Carl W. Stalling
Bank robber Yosemite Sam makes a gun-toting withdrawal from the Last National Bank, warning those inside the bank to “keep a-reachin’ for the ceilin’ till ya’ reach it!” But the sound of approaching police sirens forces him to flee and drives to the airport where the world’s largest airplane has arrived for public exhibition. Bugs Bunny is alone in the airplane, sitting in the cockpit while pretending he’s a pilot. Sam mistakes him for the real pilot and forces Bugs to take off – even though Bugs knows nothing about flying. Nonetheless, Bugs starts the airplane and begins to drive it down a main street before abruptly taking it on a wild ride up to the moon and then back in a dizzying plummet to Earth.
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Inheritance (2025)
Following the passing of her mother who she was caretaker for, a young woman accepts a job from her father who seemingly had abandoned their family decades prior. Soon, she discovers that the man is more than an apt liar and a potential crook and must decide if she wants to take risks for him that could cost her life.
