The Bootleg Files: Luno

Posted on March 29, 2024 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 859: “Luno” (1963-1965 series of theatrical and television animated shorts).

LAST SEEN: Some of the shorts are on YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: A few shorts turned up on VHS video.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It fell through the cracks.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

You never know what you’ll find on Facebook. The other day, while scrolling through the site I came across a couple of a screenshots from an old cartoon that I didn’t immediately recognize. After reading the captions for the screenshot, I vaguely recalled the production being featured. I looked up the titles and found them on YouTube – and then, I remembered viewing these works during my childhood in the early 1970s.

Continue reading →

The Bootleg Files: The Strollin’ ’20s

Posted on March 1, 2024 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 856: “The Strollin’ 20s” (1966 all-star television special).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: There is most likely a rights clearance issue.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

Black entertainers have been part of the American television experience since the medium’s beginning, with no less a figure than the legendary Ethel Waters starring in an eponymous special in 1939 when television was still mostly experimental and extremely limited in its reach. Once television became more prominent in American living rooms, Hazel Scott and Billy Daniels briefly had their own programs, while in the mid-1950s NBC’s decision to have Nat King Cole host his own variety show created unexpected controversy when no national sponsor was willing to back the program. Harry Belafonte headlined a 1959 special that was sponsored by Revlon, but he rejected further productions backed by the company when he was ordered not to integrate his song and dance ensemble.
Continue reading →

The Bootleg Files: Vinyl

Posted on August 5, 2022 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 810: “Vinyl” (Andy Warhol’s 1965 unofficial adaptation of “A Clockwork Orange”.

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Unauthorized use of Burgess’ book and several classic rock songs.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: There is no great call for this one.

Everyone is familiar with Stanley Kubrick’s 1971 film version of the Anthony Burgess novel “A Clockwork Orange,” but some people might not realize there was an earlier screen adaptation – by, of all people, Andy Warhol.
Continue reading →

The Bootleg Files: A Bob Hope Special (15 Of My Leading Ladies)

Posted on May 27, 2022 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 802: “A Bob Hope Comedy Special (15 of My Leading Ladies).”

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Mostly likely due to rights clearance issues.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Probably not.

On September 28, 1966, Bob Hope hosted his first comedy special of the fall television season with a stellar cast – the ski-nosed funnyman recruited 15 actresses who starred opposite him during his film career.
Continue reading →

Sand, Sun and Songs: Celebrating The Beach Movies

Posted on March 7, 2022 by Phil Hall

On this episode of “The Online Movie Show,” we set the clock back to the early 1960s with a celebration of cheerful distractions provided by Frankie, Annette and their beach movies gang -including Buster Keaton! Film historian Tom Lisanti, author of “Hollywood Surf and Beach Movies: The First Wave, 1959-1969,” is the guest on this episode.

The episode can be heard here.

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.
Continue reading →

Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In: The Complete Series (DVD)

Posted on March 21, 2021 by Phil Hall

Few television programs hit the airwaves with the impact of “Rowan & Martin Laugh-In.” With its rapid-fire skein of zany sketches, topical humor, hipster catch phrases, go-go dancing, and zeitgeist-hugging mod fashions and pop-art production design, the program defined the spirit the free-wheeling and often chaotic late 1960s and early 1970s.
Continue reading →