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The Bootleg Files – Portrait: A Man Whose Name Was John

BOOTLEG FILES 917: “Portrait: A Man Whose Name Was John” (1973 television film starring Raymond Burr).

LAST SEEN:
On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO:
None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS:
It fell through the proverbial cracks.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE:
It deserves one.

I have a huge regret in writing this particular column – I wish I wrote it years earlier. Indeed, the film “Portrait: A Man Whose Name Was John” was on my to-do list for the longest time, but I only now got around to it. And while I am angry with my self-inflicted delay, I am overjoyed to report this film is one of the finest to be featured in The Bootleg Files series.
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The Bootleg Files: Hamlet

BOOTLEG FILES 839: “Hamlet” (1970 made-for-television film starring Richard Chamberlain).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: There might be a rights issue delaying its release.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Nope.

In March 1969, Richard Chamberlain traveled to England to play the leading role in a stage production of William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” His appearance was heralded as the first time that an American played the role in England since John Barrymore in 1925.
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