Tag Archives: 1970s

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The Bootleg Files: Orson Welles at the Magic Castle

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BOOTLEG FILES 930: “Orson Welles at the Magic Castle” (1978 television special starring the Big O).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: The production was considered lost for many years, and its return came via an unauthorized upload.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not unless a restored copy is produced.

Orson Welles is the ultimate gift that keeps on giving. Since his passing in October 1985, a steady stream of long-lost and hitherto-unknown works directed by or involving this extraordinary talent have emerged, offering new insight into his colorful and often erratic output.
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The Bootleg Files: The Gong Show Pilot Episode

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BOOTLEG FILES 916: “The Gong Show Pilot Episode” (unaired taping of the initial concept for the popular game show).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It fell through the proverbial cracks.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

Maya Angelou once wrote, “I believe that every person is born with talent.” However, the celebrated poet may have offered that observation without having been exposed to “The Gong Show,” a crazed bundle of anarchy that ran on NBC as a daytime program from 1976-78 and as an evening syndication offering from 1976-80.
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Bad Movie Monday: Attack of the Killer Tomatoes (1978)

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It’s kind of weird that I hadn’t reviewed Attack of the Killer Tomatoes yet since it was more or less my introduction to bad movies. I remember being about ten years old and hearing whispers about it on the playground. Kids would talk about having watched this movie with the same kind of eerie somber tone reserved for describing how they saw the ghost of a dead grandparent standing at their bedroom door. “You won’t believe what I saw last night, but…”

So, how does it hold up nearly forty years later? Well, let’s find out!
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The Bootleg Files: Sticks and Bones

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BOOTLEG FILES 900: “Sticks and Bones” (1973 television film directed by Robert Downey Sr.).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It is a complicated story.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

This article represents the 900th entry in The Bootleg Files column celebrating films and television productions that can only be appreciated in either unauthorized presentations or in problematic public domain dupes. For those who are not familiar with this column’s history, it began on Film Threat in 2003 and appeared there on Fridays through 2015, when the site went offline. Although it was one of Film Threat’s most popular features, it was not invited back when Film Threat resumed publishing in 2017. Thankfully, Felix Vasquez Jr. – who was a colleague of mine on Film Threat – invited me to resume The Bootleg Files here on Cinema Crazed. And while the column has received some nasty comments – which is to be expected from any Internet publishing effort – it has received far more appreciative input from readers during these past 22 years. For those who turn up every Friday to read this column, I offer my deepest appreciation for your support and friendship.
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The Bootleg Files: John Wayne Great Western Savings Commercials

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BOOTLEG FILES 899: “John Wayne Great Western Savings Commercials” (1978 series of television advertisements for a California financial institution).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It fell between the proverbial cracks.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

John Wayne fans know their beloved actor made his final big screen appearance in the 1976 film “The Shootist,” but that was not his final performance before the cameras. In 1977 and 1978, Wayne received $350,000 per year from the Los Angeles-based Great Western Savings and Loan to promote its financial institutions to California television viewers.
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The Bootleg Files: The Frederick Douglass Afro Sheen Commercial

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BOOTLEG FILES 894: “The Frederick Douglass Afro Sheen Commercial” (1979 television commercial featuring an unlikely historic figure promoting haircare products).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: There has been no home entertainment anthology for the television commercials for this Afro Sheen product line.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

It is not uncommon for historical figures to be used in television commercials, usually for comic effect. Leonardo Da Vinci was incorporated into a Red Bull advertisement, Abraham Lincoln hawked Geico’s insurance products, and several of the Founding Fathers turned up pitching a variety of goods. But for pure undiluted strangeness, nothing beats a 1979 television commercial where the 19th century abolitionist Frederick Douglass is called up to sell the Afro Sheen line of haircare products aimed at Black Americans. And while the concept is more than a little bizarre, the result is delightfully effective.
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The Bootleg Files – B.C.: The First Thanksgiving

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BOOTLEG FILES 887: “B.C.: The First Thanksgiving” (1973 animated television special).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: On a VHS video release.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It fell through the cracks.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Probably not.

The transition from newspaper comic strip to film or television production is not an easy journey. For every “Popeye the Sailor” or “Peanuts” that seamlessly moved from the funny pages to the screen, there are too many comic strips that tried and failed to make the jump.
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