Phonographs in Movies...

[edisonplayer]

Saturday I was watching an episode of Wind At My Back.In in there was an outside horn machine. Instead of having a real horn they substituted a radio speaker from the 20s for a horn.It didn't look right. edisonplayer.

[Curt A]

Unaccustomed As We Are (1929) was the first "talkie" featuring Laurel & Hardy. In it Ollie invites Stan home for dinner. After having lauded the cooking of his wife they enter the apartment which has a floor model talking machine standing directly by the door.

It turns out that Mrs. Hardy is less than pleased with this unannounced visit. She starts arguing, and trying to get away from this Ollie starts playing a record. This gets Mrs. Hardy even more furuios and she grabs the record and smashes it over her husband's head.

The she leaves the appartment and the story - and troubles - go on.

I have a very fine restored version of this film on DVD and would love to upload a screenshot, but I don't know how to make one. Maybe MordEth or some other tech savy person could tell me how to? (I'm using an iMac with Mac OS X, version 10.5.1).

Fredrik

If you are using a Mac, it is simple to do a screenshot. Just pause the movie at the point you wish to copy, then press and hold "Shift, Command and 4" until a "crosshair" appears, to copy a portion of your screen. Place the crosshair at a corner of the picture you wish to copy and then hold your left mouse button while dragging the outline that appears to cover the portion of your screen that you wish to copy... Let go of the mouse button when you have outlined the portion of the image you wish to capture... done. Pay attention to where the screenshot is saved - normally to your desktop, so you can retrieve it to post or save for whatever use.
If you just want to copy the entire screen, press "Shift, Command and 3", if you wish to record something on your screen, press "Shift, Command and 5"... easy to do.

[Dan Gibson]

Spotted this machine in 1965’s “A Thousand Clowns”. Columbia?

[Gatyam]

Don't know if this has been posted before...tonight's edition of Svengoolie featured the movie "The Beast With Five Fingers." During the movie, a disembodied hand played the piano and terrorized the house's inhabitants. At the end of the movie, it was revealed that an Edison Standard Phonograph, remotely controlled, was the source of the piano playing. Awesome.

[pallophotophone]

Don't know if this has been posted before...tonight's edition of Svengoolie featured the movie "The Beast With Five Fingers." During the movie, a disembodied hand played the piano and terrorized the house's inhabitants. At the end of the movie, it was revealed that an Edison Standard Phonograph, remotely controlled, was the source of the piano playing. Awesome.

The Standard was inside a piece of armor- around where the waist would be. The horn- fabricated- faced upwards, the sound coming out of the helmet. With the fidelity and volume that a 2 minute black wax cylinder could never deliver. But it's still a very good film that only Warner Brothers could mount successfully !! Max Steiner score !

[estott]

Don't know if this has been posted before...tonight's edition of Svengoolie featured the movie "The Beast With Five Fingers." During the movie, a disembodied hand played the piano and terrorized the house's inhabitants. At the end of the movie, it was revealed that an Edison Standard Phonograph, remotely controlled, was the source of the piano playing. Awesome.

The Standard was inside a piece of armor- around where the waist would be. The horn- fabricated- faced upwards, the sound coming out of the helmet. With the fidelity and volume that a 2 minute black wax cylinder could never deliver. But it's still a very good film that only Warner Brothers could mount successfully !! Max Steiner score !

And the record was reportedly made at the "Milano Edison Company".

BTW- the piano playing was dubbed by the left hand of highly eccentric pianist Ervin Nyiregyházi

[larryh]

Of Human Bondage 1934 Betty Davis.. This might be in here already and if it is I am sorry, but going though all those post takes a lot of time. We watched this "Of Human Bondage" tonight, a very old film and Davis can't be much more than 20 or so in it. She acts overly dramatic, but none the less the story is worth while. What I wanted to mention is they had a scene in it in front of and English Store window which must of have 20 or more portables with the lids up on pedestals and down front a "Little Wonder Records" sign. Couldn't quite see what that was with but I assume perhaps a phonograph, otherwise for the records? With the movie playing I couldn't make out what brands the phonographs were but its the first time I had seen a movie with that many machines shown.

[epigramophone]

Of Human Bondage 1934 Betty Davis.. This might be in here already and if it is I am sorry, but going though all those post takes a lot of time. We watched this "Of Human Bondage" tonight, a very old film and Davis can't be much more than 20 or so in it. She acts overly dramatic, but none the less the story is worth while. What I wanted to mention is they had a scene in it in front of and English Store window which must of have 20 or more portables with the lids up on pedestals and down front a "Little Wonder Records" sign. Couldn't quite see what that was with but I assume perhaps a phonograph, otherwise for the records? With the movie playing I couldn't make out what brands the phonographs were but its the first time I had seen a movie with that many machines shown.

http://www.littlewonderrecords.com/

[TinfoilPhono]

Studio still of Gloria Swanson in "Sadie Thompson" (1928).

[alang]

Studio still of Gloria Swanson in "Sadie Thompson" (1928).

That is a beautiful picture.

Thanks
Andreas