BOOTLEG FILES 870: “The Cocoanuts (Colorized)” (unauthorized color-dappled version of the 1929 Marx Brothers comedy).
LAST SEEN: On YouTube.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Because you can’t take a copyright protected film and colorize it.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Unlikely.
During the 1980s, there was a strange trend involving old black-and-white films being turned into color versions. Dubbed “colorization,” the trend began when the Hal Roach Studios began to colorize its 1930s titles including “Topper” and “Way Out West.” Later, black-and-white films that were in the public domain became prime targets for colorized versions – it was believed that consumers buying VHS videos would prefer color works rather than the old monochrome versions.
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