The Bootleg Files: Professor Mamlock

Posted on February 7, 2025 by Phil Hall

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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The Bootleg Files: Vom Bäumlein, Das Andere Blätter Hat Gewollt

Posted on April 21, 2023 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 829: “Vom Bäumlein, Das Andere Blätter Hat Gewollt” (1940 animated short made in Nazi Germany).

LAST SEEN: On the Internet Archive and on YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: No sane U.S. label is going to put it into home entertainment release.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Nein.

The filmmakers of Nazi Germany were pathetically jealous of their counterparts in Hollywood. After all, the German cinema suffered a creative brain drain after Hitler’s rise to power in 1933, with the greatest talents leaving for other countries while significantly inferior pro-Nazi talents remained behind.
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The Bootleg Files: The Wandering Jew

Posted on March 1, 2019 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 675: “The Wandering Jew” (1933 British feature starring Conrad Veidt and Peggy Ashcroft).

LAST SEEN: On GodTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: A perceived lack of commercial value.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: A U.S. release is highly unlikely.

The first feature-length production of the sound film era to incorporate Jesus Christ into the on-screen characters was not inspired by the Gospels. Instead, it was based on a weird legend that originated in the 13th century and percolated across Europe well into the early 20th century.
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