A WELCOME GUEST IN THE HOUSE (1957, 23:29)
The National Association of Broadcasters sponsored this film as a testimonial to the power of television in its service to the citizenry during the Cold War.
AN RCA PRESENTATION: TELEVISION (1939, 9:03)
Vintage footage of one of the earliest filmed promotions for the use of television, filled with footage of primitive TV studios at NBC's Rockefeller Center facilities, thought to have been produced to coincide with regularly scheduled coverage of the New York World's fair that same year.
UNIVERSAL NEWSREEL: KENNEDY ON TELSTAR - EUROPE SEES NEWS CONFERENCE (JULY 23RD 1962, 1:18)
National prestige soars as the U.S. orbits the fist modern communications satellite into orbit and uses it to broadcast a presidential press conference to Europe.
MAGIC IN THE AIR (1941, 7:58)
Widely considered the most classic of OTR films, this extraordinary document chronicles the birth and growth of the world's first commercial radio network with a behind-the-scenes tour of their Radio City & Rockefeller Center facilities in New York City and recourse to many time honored film clips of all things radiophonic.
MAGIC IN THE AIR (1955, 8:12)
GMC so liked the 1941 version of this film that it had its Public Relations department re-release it with update modifications fourteen years later!
NEW SEVEN FUNCTION REMOTE CONTROL FOR COLOR (1959, 3:24)
Silent piece on a very early version of the tv remote.
PROGRAMMER WITH MAGIC MEMORY: ANOTHER NEWSMAKER (1959, 4:00)
Another silent piece, this one on the "Magic Memory" tv autotuner.
RADIO AND TELEVISION (1940, 10:30)
Vocational Guidance Films sponsored this effort to help educate its audience about the wide variety of technical jobs that were available not only in the now time-honored field of radio broadcasting & receiving but also the fledgling vocation of television. Though it's intended to instruct its viewers about employment opportunities contemporary to its time, it teaches us in our day a great deal about communications operations in its day.
TELEVISION REMOTE CONTROL (1961, 5:46)
Today, the remote we use to channel surf is as much a part of life in the first world as any other appliance we lay our hands on - for some, much more. But in 1961, this was something new & big - and RCA Victor wanted everyone to know about it, and this film is the result.
ARMY/NAVY SCREEN MAGAZINE: TELEVISION TOMORROW (1945, 12:17)
Excellent primer on the future of technology and employment opportunities in television broadcasting, as shown to military servicemen returning from wartime duty, as seen from the vantage point of the beginning of the television age.
UNIVERSAL NEWSREEL: TELSTAR BRINGS WORLD CLOSER (1962, B&W, 3:17)
The world's first commercial "comsat" (communications satellite) is sent into orbit, transmits the first television picture to and from space, and becomes the vanguard of many other such telstars which enabled continuous global telephone, data, television and other communications.
THE REASONS WHY (1959, 26:45)
Lovely color film entertainingly and informatively demonstrating the television manufacturing process at RCA's plant in Camden, New Jersey.
THE HILLSBOROUGH WITH NEW HIDEAWAY STYLING (1959, 2:30)
A concluding silent piece on a console television that folded into a piece of furniture that disguised its real purpose.
THE STORY OF TELEVISION (1956, 14:50)
RCA's attempt to tell the history of this new medium at a point itself rather early in its history, and it shows - in all the right ways. Of course, RCA is responsible for it all - at least, that's what this film tends to try to say. It did have something to say besides all this, though - the era of color television had arrived - and yes, RCA was responsible for that, too. Filled with education about and demonstration of historical firsts, it's a treat for media history buff & baby-boomer viewer alike.
TOMORROW ALWAYS COMES (1941, 28:53)
The intention of this film, made as it was by the Manhattan Undergarment Company, was to sell rayon lingerie. In the process, it also unintentionally resulted in the documentation of live television broadcasting in its very infancy, CBS style, in the form of a fashion show featuring rayon lingerie products!