The Bootleg Files: A Streetcar Named Desire

Posted on January 30, 2026 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 928: “A Streetcar Named Desire” (1984 made-for-television film starring Ann-Margret and Treat Williams).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: As a VHS video release only.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: I have no idea why this is out of circulation.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Nothing on the immediate horizon.

Remaking a classic film is always a thankless task, for nine times out of ten the remake is a pallid shadow that is eons removed from the artistry that made the original a beloved work. During the 1970s and 1980s there were plenty of misguided small-screen remakes of big-screen classics. Even the presence of genuine talent in those made-for television remakes couldn’t save them from being weak carbon copies – think of the 1972 “The Man Who Came to Dinner” with Orson Welles and Joan Collins, or the 1974 “Brief Encounter” with Richard Burton and Sophia Loren, or the 1976 “Dark Victory” with Elizabeth Montgomery and Anthony Hopkins, or the 1986 “Stagecoach” with Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, and Willie Nelson.
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The Bootleg Files: Dames at Sea

Posted on December 8, 2023 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 849: “Dames at Sea” (1971 made-for-television musical starring Ann-Margret, Ann Miller and Anne Meara).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: There could be a rights issue preventing its release.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

In 1966, the tiny Caffe Cino in New York City’s Greenwich Village offered “Dames at Sea, or Golddiggers Afloat,” a good-natured send-up of the 1930s Warner Bros. musicals. With music by Jim Wise and lyrics and a book by George Haimsohn and Robin Miller, this 50-minute mini-production presented an unknown 18-year-old Bernadette Peters as Ruby, a send-up of the kid-in-the-chorus-who-becomes-a-star role that Ruby Keeler played in the yesteryear extravaganzas.
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The Bootleg Files: The Jack Benny Birthday Special

Posted on February 15, 2019 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 673: “The Jack Benny Birthday Special” (1969 TV special).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It fell through the cracks.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Unlikely.

During the mid-1960s into the early 1970s, Jack Benny made a number of TV specials that aired on NBC. Most of these offerings were pleasant but entirely forgettable, and Benny often seemed to be dialing in his performances.
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