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The CRPF "Old Phones in Movies & TV" Compilation

Started by HobieSport, November 23, 2008, 01:45:19 AM

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AE_Collector

There are many of these quite well done replica phones out there now but why can't they make a decent looking handset cord for any of them???

Terry

old_stuff_hound

Quote from: Adam on July 23, 2011, 12:34:07 AM
Many modern "decorator" telephones have dials that look like they're rotary dials but they're really touch-tone buttons where the finger holes would be.  But, I don't recall seeing one of these modern decorator phones that looks like a 554 set.  However, Crosley does make them with the touch-tone pad that looks like a rotary dial in the older 354 style.

Did the movie show a closeup of the dial?

When I first saw him dialing the phone it thought it might be a transitional model like this:

(Thanks to Paul F for the photo)

But that would be an odd choice to have in a modern movie.

I'm familiar with the repro 354s. No, this was definitely a 554, and while there was not a closeup of the dial, it was clear enough to see that it was in fact a dial -- you could see it in profile. It was funny to watch him poke at it in a circular pattern.

Pretty lame movie, BTW....

TelePlay

#377
Was watching a 1959 episode of Perry Mason I recorded a few days ago and was surprised to see two phones from two generations prior to that period in two scenes. While the 500 was the phone of the day, as seen on PM's office desk, replacing the 302, the first phone below was spotted on a dresser top in a room at the Esquire Motel (in the Valley) and the phone below that was in a private home, both pre-302. After watching many, many episodes of PM and many of them several times, I'd be confident in saying that most PM episode scenes were done on location, the motel for example. Just too many episode scenes to build that many sets to meet production deadlines is my thinking. Anyway, seems interesting that both the motel and the private home were still using very old phones for that date.

The motel phone was taken during a quick pan from a clock on the dresser to a door next to the dresser so never did come into focus. No dial. The private home phone has a dial but was turned sideways so it's not easily seen.

Stephen Furley

I saw an original nitrate print of 'Brighton Rock' ant the National Film Theatre last year.  There were some nice candlesticksin it, I'm not certain but I think they were 150s.

In 1955 the British Railways Modernisation Plan was published.  Over the next few years British Transport Films made a series of 'Report on Modernisation' films.  In either the first or second of these, which would have been made in 1959 or 1961, where is a section on a new hump shunting yard in East London.  Within not many years hump shunting had ceased, and most of the yard was closed, as was the case with much that was done under the Modernisation Plan.  There is a shot inside the newly-built control tower for the yard, in which there is a candlestick telephone.  Surely, this must have been one of the last installations of these.  It's mounted on one of those criss-cross extending arm things, which I suspect is probably the reason why this style of telephone was used.

MAin 0-2368

Quote from: bingster on November 26, 2010, 11:56:00 AM
There's a fascinating clip from Dragnet (the radio version), in which Joe Friday places a long distance call, and we get to hear the entire process with the operators and real sounds.  I wish I could remember the episode it came from, because it's a real glimpse into the past that most people have forgotten.

The clip may have been shared here, but I just can't remember.

Here's a link to that Dragnet episode at archive.org
http://www.archive.org/download/OTRR_Dragnet_Singles/Dragnet_49-11-24_ep026_Mrs._Rinard_Albert_Barry_-_Mother-In-Law_Murder.mp3

It might take a little while to load. The phone call comes early in the show.
If that doesn't work. Try this.
http://www.archive.org/details/OTRR_Dragnet_Singles

Episode name is "Mrs. Rinard, Albert Barry - Mother-In-Law Murder" and it originally aired on November 24th, 1949.
http://www.archive.org/details/OTRR_Dragnet_Singles




bingster

= DARRIN =



old_stuff_hound

#381
How 'bout the BRIGHT YELLOW! 302 in "Buckaroo Banzai"?

MAin 0-2368

Watched Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid a couple days ago and it inspired me to create this dial card. Based on the quote from the movie, "You know how to dial, don't you? You just put your finger in the hole and make tiny little circles,".

GG



That is just downright "A+ and plenty of expletives" brilliant!

Who on Earth ever would have thought of satire dialing instructions made up to look like a real dial card? 

Now to take this to its logical conclusion, it might read "Put finger in holes and make tiny little circles, one after the other." 

There could be versions of that made up for every type of early dial phone on the planet, for example AE Mercedes dials, GPO #10 dials, etc. 

If it looked properly official in all other ways, such as yours does, it would be an absolute screeching hoot if any other fellow phone enthusiast visited and saw one of your phones made up that way.  Or for that matter if you posted pictures somewhere.

"Hey wait a minute---!  What the heck?  Is this real?!"

MDK

Nice dial card!


I saw a movie in the theater recently, "The Help". I spotted several WE554's in black, white, beige and green. Also saw a black WE354 and a few 500's.

Also noticed an RJ type connector on one of the phones... was this available in the early 60's?

On TV this past weekend, I saw Tony Randall using a WE302 in the movie "The Mating Game", and Phillip Ober using a handset that didn't appear to have a cord in one scene.

rdelius

No rj connectors until the mid 1970s or so
Robby

GusHerb

#386
Quote from: MDK on August 23, 2011, 07:53:41 AM
Nice dial card!


I saw a movie in the theater recently, "The Help". I spotted several WE554's in black, white, beige and green. Also saw a black WE354 and a few 500's.

Also noticed an RJ type connector on one of the phones... was this available in the early 60's?

On TV this past weekend, I saw Tony Randall using a WE302 in the movie "The Mating Game", and Phillip Ober using a handset that didn't appear to have a cord in one scene.

I saw The Help last week. It wasn't just ONE phone that had the "mini mod" handset cords it was ALL of the ones I noticed. It seemed like they got them all from the same source... I wonder if they were even Western Electric. Kinda spoiled the scene for me. me and my eagle eye... 

Afterpost thought: then I started to wonder if Bell System phones were even historically accurate to Jackson Mississippi. I have no idea, but I'd assume they are.
Jonathan

Dennis Markham

Quote from: MDK on August 23, 2011, 07:53:41 AM

I saw a movie in the theater recently, "The Help". I spotted several WE554's in black, white, beige and green. Also saw a black WE354 and a few 500's.

Also noticed an RJ type connector on one of the phones... was this available in the early 60's?

In the trailer I saw for this movie the phones shown both had modular handset cords.  It tainted my view of the movie (as far as details are concerned) without having to go see it.  The phones didn't appear time-period correct.  I hate when that happens. :)

There was a movie a while back, I think it had to do with the Space Program....it was depicted in the early 60's.  A close up of a woman using a kitchen 554...she hung up the handset on a 554 with a clear, Lucite hook.  Not.

AE_Collector

Quote from: rdelius on August 23, 2011, 01:39:08 PM
No rj connectors until the mid 1970s or so
Robby

Sounds about right. First I saw was early 1976 but in Canada and GTE area.

Terry

deedubya3800

Quote from: GusHerb on August 23, 2011, 06:15:50 PM
Afterpost thought: then I started to wonder if Bell System phones were even historically accurate to Jackson Mississippi. I have no idea, but I'd assume they are.
They would be as Jackson lies right in the heart of South Central Bell territory. :)