Tag Archives: The Bootleg Files

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The Bootleg Files: The Rula Lenska / Alberto VO5 Commercials

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BOOTLEG FILES 780: “The Rula Lenska / Alberto VO5 Commercials” (series of TV commercials from the late 1970s).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: There is no perceived commercial value for a home entertainment anthology of these commercials.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Sorry, darling.

I did not plan to write another television commercial-based column, but yesterday on Twitter I read that the British actress Rula Lenska turned 74. I had not thought of Rula Lenska in ages, and for those of us who were watching television in the 1970s her name and image occupied a unique space.
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The Bootleg Files: Caesars Guide To Gaming with Orson Welles

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BOOTLEG FILES 757: “Caesars Guide to Gaming with Orson Welles” (1978 video starring the one-time Mr. Kane).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Never intended for home entertainment release.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

Orson Welles is the cinematic gift that never stops giving. Just when you think you’ve seen every film and television appearance credited to him, another long-lost piece of ephemera manages to emerge and fill out his already considerable canon. This past week, a pair of Facebook friends shared a half-hour video that Welles did on behalf of the Caesars Palace resort in Las Vegas in 1978 – I never knew this existed and was excited to check it out.
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The Bootleg Files: The (Almost) Lost Files

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This week, The Bootleg Files is on a break. However, for those who never experienced the column during its original run on another site, there were that ran between March 2003 (debuting with Disney’s “Song of the South”) and September 2015 (ending with Satyajit Ray’s “Sikkim”). I will add that I am glad to be part of Cinema Crazed and grateful that The Bootleg Files are now here. A new column in The Bootleg Files will be online next week.

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The Bootleg Files: Garbo

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BOOTLEG FILES 583: “Garbo” (1969 BBC documentary narrated by Joan Crawford).

LAST SEEN: An unauthorized posting is on YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Uncertain.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: It was announced for a 2005 release, but that never happened.

Around 1985, I was walking down First Avenue in New York City when I noticed an elderly woman coming down the street. I immediately recognized this woman – for many years, she had been the elusive object of tabloid photographers eager to snap her picture. I debated whether I should make any acknowledgement of her presence and decided that it would be best to allow her to maintain the legendary privacy associated with her name. And thus, in less than a New York minute, I had my encounter with Greta Garbo.

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The Bootleg Files: Bell Bottom George

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BOOTLEG FILES 582: “Bell Bottom George” (1944 British comedy starring George Formby).

LAST SEEN: An unauthorized posting is on YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: The film and its star are unknown in the U.S.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: It has been released on British DVD, but a U.S. release is unlikely.

Very few Americans ever heard of George Formby, but over in Great Britain he is revered as one of the top entertainers of the 1930s and 1940s. With his squeaky Lancashire voice, his toothy grin, his penchant for singing upbeat tunes (many with saucy double meanings) while playing a ukulele or banjolele, and a persona for being a lovable bumbler who somehow manages to save the day, Formby personified what the British refer to as the “cheeky chappie,” but which Americans would recognize as a working-class hero.

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The Bootleg Files: Zenobia

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BOOTLEG FILES 581: “Zenobia” (1939 comedy starring Oliver Hardy, Harry Langdon and Hattie McDaniel).

LAST SEEN: An unauthorized posting from a TCM telecast is on YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: A 1997 VHS video release.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: A film that slipped through the cracks.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: It is not a priority.

In 1939, producer Hal Roach announced that he was creating a new film that teamed Oliver Hardy with Harry Langdon. This was not something that Hardy welcomed, but he had no choice. Hardy and his longtime partner Stan Laurel were signed to separate contracts with Roach – their teaming came about by accident rather than design – but after a dispute involving the production of the team’s 1938 feature “Block-Heads,” Roach terminated Laurel’s contract. With Hardy still under contract for another year, the producer looked about for a vehicle to fit his rotund comedy star.

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The Bootleg Files: A Day at the Horse Opera

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BOOTLEG FILES 576: “A Day at the Horse Opera” (1966 animated short inspired by the Marx Brothers).

LAST SEEN: An unauthorized video dupe is floating around Facebook.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: A possible problem with rights clearance.

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

On February 14, 1966, the trade publication Broadcasting Magazine carried an advertisement from Filmation Associates for a proposed series titled “The New Marx Brothers Show.” The series was to consist of 156 animated shorts featuring characters inspired by Groucho, Harpo and Chico Marx. (Yeah, no love for Zeppo, again!)

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