The Bootleg Files: The Hero

Posted on December 30, 2022 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 823: “The Hero” (1917 short starring Billy West and Oliver Hardy).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: On public domain labels.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: A blatant (if effective) rip-off of Charlie Chaplin’s act.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: There is no great call for a Billy West revival.

When Charlie Chaplin’s popularity exploded into superstardom status during the mid-1910s, the demand of his films became greater than his ability to create original new works. To fill the void, a number of comic actors began to dress up in Chaplin’s distinctive Little Tramp costume and make-up and churn out short films of a Chaplinesque nature. Most of these imitators were not that special and their work has been lost to oblivion. But one copycat created a near-perfect facsimile of Chaplin’s act, to the point that his films were occasionally marketed as being genuine Chaplin films.
Continue reading →

The Bootleg Files: Der Januskopf

Posted on February 4, 2022 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 794: “Der Januskopf” (1920 unauthorized version of “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” directed by F.W. Murnau).

LAST SEEN: When it was theatrically released.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Murnau did not clear the rights to the Robert Louis Stevenson source material.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Excellent, provided that someone finds a print of the film.

In the early 1920s, the great German director F.W. Murnau made back-to-back horror films based on popular books from his era: “Der Januskopf,” based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” and “Nosferatu,” based on Bram Stoker’s “Dracula.” There was just one problem: Murnau never bothered to secure the rights to these books and tried to get circumvent copyright laws by making slight adjustments to their respective stories and changing the names of the characters.
Continue reading →

The Bootleg Files: The New York Hat

Posted on September 10, 2021 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 778: “The New York Hat” (1912 film directed by D.W. Griffith).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: On multiple labels offering silent films.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: An expired copyright.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: It’s already out there, but that’s not why it is in this column.

In the early years of the silent movies, the bootlegging of film prints was completely out of control. Due the primitive nature of film distribution, it was too easy for cinematic miscreants to swoop in and gather up prints and resell them as their own works, thus denying the profits that the original producers should have recived.
Continue reading →

A Woman of Paris: Chaplin’s Misunderstood Masterwork

Posted on May 3, 2021 by Phil Hall

Charlie Chaplin’s “A Woman of Paris” (1923) has been one of the most misjudged films of all time, for both its content and its history. In this episode, we take a new look at this work with Wes D. Gehring, author of “Charlie Chaplin and A Woman of Paris: The Genesis of a Misunderstood Masterpiece.”

The episode can be heard here.

In Search of ‘London After Midnight’

Posted on February 22, 2021 by Phil Hall

Tod Browning’s 1927 “London After Midnight” starring Lon Chaney is the most famous lost film of all time. In this episode of “The Online Movie Show,” film historian Daniel Titley, author of the upcoming book “London After Midnight: The Lost Film,” discusses the film’s complex history and whether it will ever seen again.

The episode can be heard here.

The Shakedown (1929)

Posted on August 17, 2020 by Phil Hall

This early effort from director William Wyler focuses on Dave Roberts, a handsome young boxer involved in a traveling scam anchored around phony fights. Roberts is tasked with ingratiating himself in a small town before agreeing to challenge a visiting pugilist in a bout that culls bets from local gamblers. Roberts always loses the bout and then exits for another town and a repeat of the cycle.
Continue reading →

A Few Words About Nosferatu

Posted on February 24, 2020 by Phil Hall

This week’s episode of “The Online Movie Show” takes a look at the tumultuous history and still-resonating impact of F.W. Murnau’s 1922 masterwork “Nosferatu.” Our guest on this episode is film historian and podcaster Geno Cuddy.

The episode can be heard here.

The Bootleg Files: Love

Posted on December 6, 2019 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 710: “Love” (newly bootlegged version of a copyright-protected restoration of a 1919 comedy short starring Roscoe “Fatty” Arbucke).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: This just appeared online two days ago.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Someone must have thought it was okay to rip off the presentation because the source material is public domain.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely at all.

The basic premise of this column is to highlight rare film and television productions that can only be seen in bootlegged prints and unauthorized online video postings. The column has never encouraged bootlegging of copyright-protected work. On occasion, this column has considered public domain titles that are the subject of endless duping because of their lapsed copyrights – and in too many cases, the only way that one can appreciate those works is by enduring the duped versions.
Continue reading →