The CRPF "Old Phones in Movies & TV" Compilation

[Brinybay]

I watched "G-Men" with James Cagney tonight and my eyes bugged out when I saw this.

"Like"!

[Mr. Bones]

     Much of The Day After was filmed here in Lawrence, and I remember it quite well.

     My car is in it, and I, like countless others here, were offered the chance to be extras... I had to work and feed my family, so abstained. I was perfectly content for my '66 Caprice to get all the glory, and earn a few much-needed bucks for our household.

     To the best of my knowledge, no Caprices were ever harmed in the making of this film.

Best regards!

[twocvbloke]

That "The day after" sounds a lot like a BBC drama called "Threads" (made in 1984), and it too caused quite a stir in it's depiction of post-nuke life, and if I recall it too featured a lot of interesting telephone equipment, but the last time I watched it, which was the first time, made me not want to watch it again, so if someone else wants to do screengrabs of it, you're welcome to, just take a couple of antidepresants beforehand...

[TelePlay]

I've never seen, or don't remember seeing one of these, on TV before tonight. This is from The Rockford Files, Season 4, Episode 1 (1977) titled "Beamer's Last Case." Might have been cool back then but 37 years later, to me, it looks a bit cheap. Yes, it's not old but it's, well it's . . .

[andre_janew]

It looks like one of those reproduction candlestick phones they had in 1976 used to mark the 100th anniversary of the telephone and the 200th birthday of our nation.  They may not seem antique, but they are now.

My friend, Tony, used to call my WE 5300 series phone the "Batman" phone.  What such a phone had to do with Batman, I have no idea.  Bruce Wayne had a designer phone of some sort.  Batman had a red 500D.  I have no idea who had a black 5300 series phone.  His wife seems to think he just called it that because it was black and old.  Maybe she's right.  What do you guys think?

[Dave F]

Here is a nice old payphone getting ready to be destroyed in the 1958 cult classic, Attack of the 50-Foot Woman.  The cheesy huge prop hand belongs to the 50ft Woman herself, Nancy Archer, played by beautiful (and not-at-all-cheesy) Allison Hayes.

Allison Hayes appeared in many movies and TV shows in the 1950s and 60s, Attack of the 50-Foot Woman being her best-known role.  Sadly, Allison died from leukemia in 1977.  She was only 46.

Southern California is the worldwide hub of the movie industry, and it should be no surprise that many in the entertainment business have found their final resting places here.  Allison is buried at Holy Cross cemetery in Culver City, CA under her birth name, Mary Jane Hayes.  Holy Cross is just about two miles from my house.  Yesterday, I took a ride up there to visit her gravesite.  I have included a picture of her grave marker in this post for posterity.  Rest in peace, Allison.

DF

[Russ Kirk]

Thanks for sharing that Dave!
I wonder what ever happened to that old payphone....

Find-a-grave is also a good web page.  She is listed.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=4283

[TelePlay]

Was watching Niagara (1953) a few months ago when I spotted this phone. The movie was on again late last night so I taped it to get this picture. I know, it's kind of hard to see the phone but it's that funny looking black thing in the lower center. 

So, what is it. The phone is in a resort on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls (and I don't think they did this on a back lot somewhere), it's where the call originates. It looks like a Gray paystation with a top transmitter and a strange way of mounting it, if that's what those two top "hooks" really are, or is it an optical illusion because of the mirror?

So, what is it? Was that a common phone in the day?

[WEBellSystemChristian]

It looks like a Gray Pay Station attachment fixed to a WE candlestick, but it has a dial. I've seen a few of these, but not many (and none with a dial like that).

[Brinybay]

Catching up with Mad Men.  Lots of phones in the program, spotted this 10-button.  It's 1973 in the episode, there's a mixture of rotary dials and TT.  I haven't spotted a 12-button version yet.  There's a TT in the Draper bedroom, but can't see how many buttons it has.

[Argee]

Mad Men isn't in the 70's yet, it's still mid 1969.  Oh and the phone in the bedroom is a pink 1500.

[Brinybay]

Mad Men isn't in the 70's yet, it's still mid 1969.  Oh and the phone in the bedroom is a pink 1500.

You're right, I know why I was off a few years.  I saw some clues that referenced Nixon's inauguration, but I was thinking of his reelection in 72, which was memorable to me because it was the first election I was eligible to vote in.  He was first elected in 68, inauguration in 69.  69 would also make sense since his "niece" was definitely still in the late 60s hippie mode. 

[andre_janew]

I was thinking that the 12 button phones came out in the late 1960s.  When they first came out, the * and # buttons had no known use.  Am I correct in all this?

[Brinybay]

I was thinking that the 12 button phones came out in the late 1960s.  When they first came out, the * and # buttons had no known use.  Am I correct in all this?

1968 per Paul F's website.  But I imagine it was a while before they were in common use and the 10-buttons disappeared.  I was around then but don't recall the transition from 1500s to 2500s.  I only remember when a neighbor down the street got a 10-button and showed it to me when I was over there one time.  I remember being totally impressed, that was really something!

[andre_janew]

That would make me about seven years old when the 12 button phones first came out.  I lived in a rural area that had party lines at the time.  As I understand it, touch tone phones and party lines weren't exactly a good match.  I don't think anyone in the area had a touch tone phone until the late 1980s or early 1990s.  That was about the time that an enhanced 911 system made party lines obsolete.