Magic in the Air (1941)

★★★★★ · MAGIC IT IS... · www.martsander.com · 2003-07-13

A great flick to watch if you have any connections with the television. The shots from the director's booth are absolutely wonderful, and it's moving in a weird way to hear the announcer say: "Here's one of the very first images received by the television. Compare that crude image with that of today's!" as we see blurry Felix the Cat change into a beautiful blonde... Yes, they thought they had come of age.

★★★★★ · Historically Facinating · Robin_1990 · 2008-03-03

Since almost nothing exists from pre-WW2 american Television, It's facinating to watch this short film, which gives us an insight into very early TV. Most importantly, it notes that early TV is a mix of "Radio, Motion Pictures and the Stage", which is really what early TV was like (Many early TV shows were based on Radio Programs, and many early TV shows were basically televised stage acts). Also shown is an example of what TV was like back then, Showing a model walking a diving board (Which could be either an early fashion show, or even a telecast of the play. In any case, It's one of the…

★★★★ · Historically very interesting · ERD · 2006-07-18

If you are interested in television, this 1941 documentary is historically very interesting. Well written and presented.

★★★ · Magic in the Air · Christine Hennig · 2002-10-03

This 1941 film about television (then in only a few thousand homes) fairly accurately predicts the role television would take in people's lives in the future. A man who cannot get tickets to a football game relaxes in his easy chair at home and watches it on the tube. Then an extensive explanation of how television works is given. At the end, though, it gets weird when a woman leaps out of the television and freshens up the man's drink. The narrator doesn't exactly promise this kind of service from future tv, but encourages the men in the audience to fantasize about it, something most men…