The Bootleg Files: The Lord Don’t Play Favorites

Posted on October 4, 2024 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 881: “The Lord Don’t Play Favorites” (1956 television musical starring Kay Starr, Louis Armstrong, Buster Keaton and Robert Stack).

LAST SEEN: On Internet Archive and YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Music clearance issues and a poor quality surviving kinescope.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Nope.

One of all-time favorite books is Arthur Shulman and Roger Youman’s “How Sweet it Was,” which chronicles American television from the late 1940s through the mid-1960s. While many of the entries in the book are well-known, there was one photograph that always intrigued me – it was for a 1956 musical called “The Lord Don’t Play Favorites” and it showed Buster Keaton wearing a polka dot clown costume and his trademark flat hat while playing a calliope. Next to Keaton was Kay Starr, a popular singer in the 50s, who had a straw hat and a cane while wearing a striped blouse and a long black skirt. The caption for the photo only said that the show was a musical with a circus setting and co-starred Robert Stack, Dick Haymes and Louis Armstrong. (Yes, that’s the photo at the top of this page.)
Continue reading →

The Bootleg Files: A Night on the Town

Posted on September 20, 2024 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 879: “A Night on the Town” (1983 British television musical starring Ann Reinking, Eartha Kitt and Bobby Short).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Clearing the music rights is too expensive.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not in the U.S, although there was a U.K. release.

Musical comedy is, arguably, the most difficult genre to create. Not only is there the challenge of having on-screen talent who can sing, dance, and carry off light comic material, but there is the equal challenge of behind-the-camera talent involved in orchestrations, choreography, and the various production duties needed to create a magical world where people break into song and twirl about as if it was part of the daily routine.
Continue reading →

The Bootleg Files: Look-Out Sister

Posted on July 26, 2024 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 873: “Look-Out Sister” (1947 musical starring Louis Jordan).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: On public domain labels.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: A lapsed copyright.

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

During the 1940s, singer/songwriter and bandleader Louis Jordan was among the most popular entertainers of the decade. Jordan’s invigorating mix of big band, boogie-woogie and jazz music coupled with his often-amusing lyrics and ebullient performing style resulted in rollicking fun.
Continue reading →

The Bootleg Files: Follies

Posted on April 12, 2024 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 861: “Follies” (fan film recreation of the legendary 1971 Broadway musical).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: An unauthorized presentation of inconsistent quality.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

When the Stephen Sondheim musical “Follies” opened on Broadway in April 1971, the show’s co-director Harold Prince was sowing the seeds of a potential film version featuring some of Hollywood’s greatest stars. John Springer, who handled the publicity for the Broadway show, would later claim that a minor miracle was achieved when Bette Davis and Joan Crawford agreed to be in the film – albeit without being in the same scene; Springer also insisted Gloria Swanson, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton expressed interest in being part of the cast.
Continue reading →

The Bootleg Files: Gentlemen Marry Brunettes

Posted on March 22, 2024 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 858: “Gentlemen Marry Brunettes” (1955 musical starring Jane Russell and Jeanne Craig).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube and DailyMotion.com.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Most likely because of music rights clearance problems.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

Despite its similar title, the vaguely identical plot involving two American showgirls in Paris and the presence of Jane Russell, the 1955 “Gentlemen Marry Brunettes” is not a sequel to the 1953 “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.” Yes, the source material – Anita Loos’ 1927 novel “But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes” – is a sequel to her 1925 “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” but the film does not use the plot of the Loos book.

Indeed, the two films should not be mentioned in the same breath. “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” is one of the greatest musical comedies of all time – a witty, stylish, rollicking classic that offered Russell and Marilyn Monroe their best screen roles. “Gentlemen Marry Brunettes” doesn’t come close to the first production’s greatness at any level.
Continue reading →

The Bootleg Files: Jive Junction

Posted on November 17, 2023 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 847: “Jive Junction” (1943 musical starring Dickie Moore and directed by Edgar G. Ulmer).

LAST SEEN: On DailyMotion.com.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: It doesn’t appear to have been released.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: There might be a music rights issue.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

When you think of the musicals of the 1940s, you probably think about the big-budget Technicolor productions from MGM or 20th Century Fox. Few people would immediately call to mind the output of Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC), the Poverty Row funhouse that churned out low-budget Westerns and thrillers. Every now and then, this cheapjack studio would put forth a musical – and while none of these films resonated within the popular culture, they provided enough silly distraction to help theaters fill their double features.
Continue reading →

The Bootleg Files: Second Chorus

Posted on May 26, 2023 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 832: “Second Chorus” (1940 musical comedy with Fred Astaire, Paulette Goddard and Burgess Meredith).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: On public domain labels.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: A lapsed copyright.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely, although in theory there could be a rescue it from public domain hell.

In 1968, Fred Astaire returned to films after a six-year absence to star in the big-budget musical “Finian’s Rainbow.” In the media push for the film, Astaire was asked by a reporter which one of his film’s was his worst – the star stated without pause that the 1940 “Second Chorus” was the low point of his career.
Continue reading →