How might I obtain a copy of an obscure movie from 1970, Dirtymouth?

December 17, 2008 1:22 PM

How might I obtain a copy of a very obscure movie, Dirtymouth, from the early 1970's?

My wife's father, Bernie Travis, starred in DirtyMouth, a relatively obscure bio-flick of Lenny Bruce. It's been overshadowed by the much more famous Dustin Hoffman film, Lenny, released four years later.

I've been searching for some time for a way to purchase a copy of this film for my wife. All she has is a very poor VHS copy of a copy.

Does anyone have any suggestions for how I can get a good copy of this film, or of any obscure movie specialty stores that may carry a copy? Google hasn't been much help to me, but my Google-Fu may just be off-kilter.

posted by mrbarrett.com to media & arts (3 comments total)

I did a lot of searching in a lot of places and came up with nothing. If I were you, my next step would be finding out which studio holds the right to this movie and contacting them directly about your options. It may be a long shot, or close to impossible, but I cannot think of anything else you can do.. Good luck, I hope someone can find something for you.
posted by Brettus at 2:22 PM on December 17, 2008

You could try eBay's "Want it Now"
posted by exogenous at 3:26 PM on December 17, 2008

Here are two leads, don't know if they are much help....

A Different City specializes in rare 70s film, and their FAQ says they can often find titles you are searching for.

Also, here is an article that might get you started if you wanted to write the director's family to see if they know of an archive that has a copy.

As a complete long shot, you could get all mefites to vote on TCM to have it released (or least they purport to have this power -- see the little box mid-way down the right side).

Good luck!
posted by girlpublisher at 6:28 PM on December 17, 2008