Dirtymouth is a 1970 American biographic film of the comic Lenny Bruce, starring Bernie Travis and written and directed by Herbert S. Altman.
After Altman completed the film, it was the subject of a lawsuit by film producer Marvin Worth. Worth had obtained the film rights in two books written by Bruce, and he alleged that Altman's movie infringed the copyrights in those books. The court agreed that some of the content in the film was copyright infringement, and issued a preliminary injunction.[1][2] Travis had also starred as Bruce in a stage production at The Village Gate in Greenwich Village; that production was also the subject of a copyright lawsuit by the executors of Bruce's estate.[3]
The film eventually received some small critical attention[4] before being eclipsed by Worth's much more famous 1974 film production Lenny, directed by Bob Fosse and starring Dustin Hoffman.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Beck, Marilyn (January 17, 1973). "'Lenny' film still afloat in troubled waters". Milwaukee Journal. New York Times Service. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
- ^ Marvin Worth Productions, Douglas International Corporation and Sally Marr, plaintiffs, v. Superior Films Corporation, Herbert S. Altman and Budco Distributing Corp., defendants, 319 F.Supp. 1269 (S.D.N.Y., September 30, 1970), copy of decision available here.
- ^ Dove, Ian (May 29, 1971). "Comic Bruce spurs a 3-front revival". Billboard. pp. 1, 8. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
- ^ Canby, Vincent (May 20, 1971). "Dirtymouth' Traces Bruce on Screen". The New York Times. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
External links
edit- Dirtymouth at IMDb
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