During the 1940s and 1950s, Vera Ralston was the major female star at Republic Pictures. Often maligned by critics who claimed her stardom was due solely to her relationship with studio boss Herbert Yates (whom she married in 1952), Ralston’s film output was diverse and intriguing, with a colorful mix of productions co-starring major Hollywood talent.
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This coming Sunday, movie lovers will be watching the Academy Awards telecast and betting on which films and creative artists will take home the celebrated prize. Oddly, the history of the Oscars is heavy with classic works that failed to snag a single nomination – and the reasons for the omissions are among the great mysteries of movie history.
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Some movie icons end their careers with memorable achievements while others leave behind an ignoble post-script to otherwise grand works. Film historian Geno Cuddy joins “The Online Movie Show” podcast to discuss the best and worst cinematic swan songs of all time.
The episode can be heard here.
John Wayne as Genghis Khan? Lucille Ball as Mame? On this episode, we celebrate some of the most wonderfully misguided examples of movie miscasting, including some still-controversial casting decisions (Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Dolittle, Barbra Streisand as Dolly Levi) and some noble endeavors that went awry (Marlon Brando’s Fletcher Christian, Jane Fonda as Ibsen’s Nora). Actor/writer Joe Mannetti returns to “The Online Movie Show” to give praise to the actors in the wrong roles.
BOOTLEG FILES 674: “McLintock!” (1963 Western starring John Wayne).
LAST SEEN: On YouTube.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: On both public domain labels and in official commercial release.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It’s complicated.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: There was an official commercial release, but the film is still being bootlegged.
Earlier this week, John Wayne was the subject of news headlines and social media buzz – which is no mean feat, considering that the star passed away 40 years ago. The new focus on Wayne was due to politically incorrect comments on race and sexual orientation that he made in a 1971 interview with Playboy Magazine. Back in the day, nobody thought twice about the interview – contrary to popular insistence, people did not read Playboy for the articles. But today, of course, it seems that the mainstream media has a racism outrage quota to fill. And when the demand for racist behavior to condemn outpaces the supply of current incidents, clickbait scoundrels scour the archives – or, in a certain Chicago case, hire a pair of oversized Nigerian brothers – in order to stir new waves of frenzy.
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BOOTLEG FILES 655: “The Fighting Kentuckian – The 8mm Version” (severely truncated 8mm version of the 1949 John Wayne film).
LAST SEEN: On YouTube.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Severely edited version of a feature film in a long-defunct home entertainment format.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.
Prior to the proliferation of video cassette recorders in the late 1970s and early 1980s, movie lovers who wanted to screen their favorite classic films at home made use of portable projectors that screened the 35mm or 70mm Hollywood theatrical fare in the much smaller 16mm, 9.5mm, 8mm and Super 8 formats.
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