BOOTLEG FILES 590: “Murder in the Cathedral” (1951 British feature based on the T.S. Eliot drama).
LAST SEEN: We cannot confirm the last public exhibition of this film.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Out of circulation in the U.S. since its original theatrical release.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: It is possible.
The 12th century political battle between England’s King Henry II and Archbishop Thomas Becket was the subject of two magnificent dramas: T.S. Eliot’s “Murder in the Cathedral” and Jean Anouilh’s “Becket.” Today, most Americans are familiar with the Academy Award-winning 1964 film version of “Becket,” starring Richard Burton and Peter O’Toole. Sadly, there is much less familiarity on this side of the Atlantic with the 1951 film adaptation of “Murder in the Cathedral.”