The Bootleg Files: Carnival Story

Posted on May 17, 2024 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 866: “Carnival Story” (1954 drama starring Anne Baxter and Steve Cochran).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube and other online video sites.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: On public domain labels.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: A lapsed copyright enabled endless duping.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: The likelihood of a Criterion-style restoration and release is unlikely.

For many years, I avoided the 1954 “Carnival Story,” even though there were endless opportunities to view it. Back in the pre-cable television days, the film was a staple of very-late-night programming on local stations that needed to fill space between commercials during their twilight hours. With the dawn of VHS videos, the film’s public domain status ensured there were too many copies available from rival cheapo labels in bargain basement bins. And with the dawn of online video, “Carnival Story” is all over the Internet – but, then again, too many public domain films are all over the Internet, so why seek out this title?
Continue reading →

The Bootleg Files: Here is Germany

Posted on July 14, 2023 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 836: “Here is Germany” (1945 propaganda film directed by Frank Capra).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube and other online sites.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: On public domain labels.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: No copyright was ever filed on the film.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Nope, it is doomed to public domain hell.

During World War II, the U.S. government churned out scores of nonfiction films aimed at both the enlisted military personnel and civilian audiences. Many highly regarded Hollywood filmmakers received commissions from the military and worked to create productions that would artistically drive the message about why the nation was at war and what it hoped to achieve.
Continue reading →

The Bootleg Files: Hitler Lives

Posted on July 6, 2018 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 644: “Hitler Lives” (1945 short film that won the Academy Award).

LAST SEEN: It is on YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: A mistaken belief that it is in the public domain.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

When the 18th Academy Awards were presented in March 1946, much of the attention was devoted to Joan Crawford winning the Best Actress Oscar for her comeback performance in “Mildred Pierce” and to Billy Wilder’s “The Lost Weekend” winning the Best Picture honors. Less attention was given to the Warner Bros. short “Hitler Lives,” which won the Best Documentary Short Subject Oscar. Unknown to the Oscar audience that night, “Hitler Lives” was not an original film, but rather a rehash of an Army training film. And calling the film a documentary was charitable, as the film was clearly more of a propaganda essay than a serious nonfiction production.
Continue reading →