Bud and Lou (1978)

Posted on December 1, 2025 by Phil Hall

Biopics of legendary entertainers rarely work, if only because it requires actors to achieve the impossible effect of duplicating the charisma and nuances of the stars they are supposed to be imitating. The classics of this genre work when the headliners give their own personalities and quirks into their roles rather than trying to create a reasonable facsimile of the stars they were hired to reenact. Thus, James Cagney did a great James Cagney in “Yankee Doodle Dandy” while Barbra Streisand was the perfect Barbra Streisand in “Funny Girl” – no one ever confused them for George M. Cohan and Fanny Brice, even though they were supposed to be recreated the performing styles of those respective talents.
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The Bootleg Files: No Indians Please!

Posted on November 14, 2025 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 922: “No Indians Please!” (1948 silent truncated version of Abbott and Costello’s “Ride ‘Em Cowboy”).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: No perceived commercial value.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Nope, sorry.

If you’ve been following this column, you may recall that I’ve been on a mini-Abbott and Costello kick. Two weeks ago, I reviewed the new AI-fueled parody “Abbott and Costello Meets the Exorcist” and last week I dug up a video record of a Texas theater company’s 1984 live stage production of “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.” I was going to put Bud and Lou back on the shelf until I saw a notice announcing that November is Native American Heritage Month – and that seemed like the perfect cue to unspool the team’s 1948 release of “No Indians Please!”
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The Bootleg Files: Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (Full Show) 1984

Posted on November 7, 2025 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 921: “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (Full Show) 1984” (Texas-based stage production recorded on video).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: A few problems with copyright infringement.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Nope, sorry.

Last week, this column served up a new AI-fueled parody called “Abbott and Costello Meets the Exorcist.” But when I was watching that video on YouTube, I was alerted there was also a video titled “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (Full Show) 1984.” And my reaction to that was an incredulous “What???”
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The Bootleg Files: Abbott and Costello Meets the Exorcist [Halloween Horror Month 2025]

Posted on October 31, 2025 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 920: “Abbott and Costello Meet the Exorcist” (2025 AI-fueled comedy short short).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Unauthorized use of trademarked material.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Maybe someday as part of a collection of AI viral videos.

The latest trend in viral videos involves comedy shorts where prominent cultural and political figures are animated via artificial intelligence to appear in unlikely situations. Among the most recent examples of this trend that I’ve seen include Ronald Reagan dancing in a hotel lobby, Mister Rogers as a belligerent WWE combatant, and Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X dining together on a ribs dinner.
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Dance with Me, Henry (1956)

Posted on March 3, 2025 by Phil Hall

The 1956 “Dance with Me, Henry” is a strange and dreary film that ended the on-screen teamwork of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. Working within the tight confines of a low budget – the team had parted ways with their longtime studio Universal Pictures and wound up with independent producer Bob Goldstein – the duo eschewed the elaborate knockabout of their typical output in favor of a more situational comedy setting.
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The 10 Wackiest Academy Award Achievements of All Time

Posted on February 28, 2025 by Phil Hall

Ahead of Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony, let’s take a few minutes to consider some of the unlikeliest nominations and winners in the history of cinema’s most prestigious prize.

Who Saw This Coming? Few people expected Hal Mohr to win the 1935 Best Cinematography Oscar for “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” – if only because he wasn’t nominated. In the mid-1930s, the Academy changed its rules to allow write-in votes to go alongside the ballot nominees, but after write-in candidate Mohr won his award the rules were rewritten to prevent another write-in winner.
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The Bootleg Files: Have Badge Will Chase

Posted on April 1, 2022 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 797: “Have Badge Will Chase” (1959 8mm one-reel excerpt from “Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops”).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It fell through the cracks.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Nope.

Long before video cassette recorders invaded living rooms in the 1970s, movie lovers who wanted to replay their favorite films at home would purchase projectors and screens and create their own private cinematic viewing experience.
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