Synopsis
Postwar expansion of telephone service made possible by development of microwave radio transmission and the transistor.
Uploader's description on archive.org
Details
- Running time
- 18 minutes
- Collection
- Prelinger Archives
- Internet Archive item
- StoryWit1950
Subjects on the Internet Archive
- Communication: Telephone
- Infrastructure: Information
Reviews on the Internet Archive
★★★★★ · excellent telephone history · leecherzs · 2004-06-01
This begins with a nice introduction: frontiers of science documenting the latest developments in medicine and science in the space age. First is a group of everyday people at a bell labs telephone exhibit. One man is smoking his pipe. the use of repeaters (amplifiers) to improve voice quality is shown. Next we see a demo of the smaller transistor version. the benefits of the transistor are mentioned along with the anticipation of future uses. A prophesizing alexander graham bell mentions his ideas of the future phone system. The historical developments in telecommunications are discussed…
★★★★★ · Excellent Film · Ron Raygun · 2008-12-03
I remember watching this film back in grade school in 1959. Bell Labs was on the forefront of technology after WWII. The original TDX microwave system, the first No.5 Crossbar switching system in Media, PA, the transistor (discovered by accident at Bell Labs), CAMA mechanical toll billing system, Low band (35/43 MHz.) Highway Service Mobile Telephones, are some of the topics covered with the striving concept of a high grade of service, and high standards in manufacturing equipment by Western Electric made the Bell System the best telephone network in the world.
★★★ · You can say that agtain · Spuzz · 2005-06-24
Complete with echoey narration, "Story Without End' goes about saying what advances we have going with telephone cable. From the cut down of call-wait time to connect to long distance, to the type of wire we are using, the film covers everything. While the scenes of a phone company's inner workings were interesting, I found the whole thing running way too long for it's own good.
★★★ · Some Day, Your Phone WIll... · Dodsworth the Cat · 2025-12-06
A programme called "Frontiers of Science" (introduced by Peter Roberts) aired in TV syndication in the early '60s. Considering the intro to this film talks about "the space age," the intro can't be from 1950. I wonder if the syndicator simply bought old industrial films and slapped a new intro on them. This well-edited film concentrates on telephone developments after WW2, including automatic direct dialing. Still, we're treated to a costume drama of Alexander Graham Bell's feelings about the phone's future. There's plenty of stock footage, and a lot of footage of telephone switching…
