Tag Archives: musicals

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The Bootleg Files: George M!

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BOOTLEG FILES 905: “George M!” (1970 television adaptation of the Broadway musical starring Joel Grey and Bernadette Peters).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It fell through the cracks.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

On April 10, 1968, the musical “George M!” opened on Broadway. The show offered a biography of the great entertainer George M. Cohan and featured a healthy serving of his classic songs. Joel Grey, coming off his Tony Award-winning performance in “Cabaret,” starred as Cohan and an up-and-coming Bernadette Peters played his sister Josie.
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My Fair Lady (1964)

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One of the most intense debates I ever observed in an online forum had nothing to do with politics or religion or race or any hot-button issues. Instead, it centered around whether or not it was a mistake to cast Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Doolittle in the film version of “My Fair Lady.”
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The Bootleg Files: The Lord Don’t Play Favorites

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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.)
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The Bootleg Files: A Night on the Town

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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.
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The Bootleg Files: Look-Out Sister

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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.
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The Bootleg Files: Follies

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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.
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