Wind-up Phonographs in Movies

[phonogfp]

1885 would limit the possibilities to a tinfoil machine or a prototype Bell-Tainter Graphophone...except in Hollywood!

George P.

[EdiBrunsVic]

After reading the previous posts, I do not think anyone mentioned the appearance of a Victor external horn machine the movie "Captain January" which stars Shirley Temple. It could be a Victor I.

[OrthoFan]

After reading the previous posts, I do not think anyone mentioned the appearance of a Victor external horn machine the movie "Captain January" which stars Shirley Temple. It could be a Victor I.

Sure looks like a Vic I --

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OrthoFan

[Django]

Those Magnificent in Their Flying Machines, 1965. Not so great special effects, but a great scene with the French and Germans having a dispute while Frere Jacque plays on a gramophone. One of my favorite movies.

[alang]

Watched "Garage Sale Mysteries" last night. A vintage audio restorer guy had an Edison Standard Model A in between his 1970s electronics.

Andreas

[Henry]

After reading the previous posts, I do not think anyone mentioned the appearance of a Victor external horn machine the movie "Captain January" which stars Shirley Temple. It could be a Victor I.

Sure looks like a Vic I --

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OrthoFan

I dunno, looks like Guy Kibbee to me!

[estott]

I just watched "Horror of Dracula" (1958) on DVD. There's a scene with Dr. Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) recording and playing back on a cylinder machine. The time period of the action is 1885. I am totally ignorant about cylinder machines, so if anyone here can elaborate on this particular one, here's your chance.

Pretty much an absurdity, but in films with a fantasy element I can easily suspend disbelief - the same goes for Quentin Collins having an Edison Home Phonograph in DARK SHADOWS.

[OrthoFan]

I just watched "Horror of Dracula" (1958) on DVD. There's a scene with Dr. Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) recording and playing back on a cylinder machine. The time period of the action is 1885. I am totally ignorant about cylinder machines, so if anyone here can elaborate on this particular one, here's your chance.

Pretty much an absurdity, but in films with a fantasy element I can easily suspend disbelief - the same goes for Quentin Collins having an Edison Home Phonograph in DARK SHADOWS.

I've never seen the "Horror of Dracula," but in the original book version, "Dracula" by Bram Stoker, published in 1897, one of the principal characters, "Dr. Seward," uses the phonograph to keep his diary. There has long been speculation as to what model Stoker envisioned, for instance:

"It is probable that Dr. Seward's phonograph was a variation of the Edison Class M Electric Phonograph, which was first commercially produced in 1889 by the North American Recording Company. The device in question employed a wax cylinder and was powered by a two-and-a-half volt DC motor. It could record and reproduce sound, and had numerous attachments for more specific functions. It was, moreover, specifically designed for professional pursuits and not for entertainment, since it came equipped with a stand upon which a typewriter or other business tool might be placed. Hence, Seward's phonograph is specifically designed as a tool, a means of recording information in an expedient manner." FROM: http://thelibrary.hauntedink.com/ghost/ch2.html

The book, itself, is not a straightforward narrative but a series of excerpts from journals, diaries, newspaper clippings, etc., presented in chronological order to tell the story.

OrthoFan

[Victrolacollector]

Is that a Victor Victrola in “Unaccustomed as we are” with Laurel and Hardy?

[GregVTLA]

I watch the TV show Psych and I've spotted two gramophones so far. First, there was a crapaphone visible behind the main character in the pilot, round case and fake HMV logo in all. Then, there was an Edison Diamond Disc phonograph visible in a crime scene. The machine was even available at an estate sale later in the episode.