Classic Telephone History Films 2DVDs

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Classic Telephone History Films 2DVDs

Included Films:

Telephone and Telegraph

Produced: 1946

Length: 10 Minutes

An amazing vintage film that illuminates the history of communications, Telephone and Telegraph is a phenomenal historical experience. As the film reveals, telegraph jobs were similar to those in the growing telecommunications field of the 1940s. There is stock footage of a late 19th century Western Union office and a Bell telephone, as well as a lot of great video of analog equipment. Most interestingly, the film also reveals the gender roles of the era when it divides the available telecommunications jobs up by sex, saying that some jobs just werent open to girls. Men were encouraged to get a college degree, which would help them in their careers as engineers, couriers, executives, installers and others. Women, on the other hand, are told that they could work as operators, clerks, or secretaries. This vintage film illuminates the history of telecommunications like no other!

The Town & The Telephone

Produced: 1950

Length: 27 Minutes

One of the essential factors in the growth of a city is its communications capabilities. The communication services provided by the telephone company is designed to provide the means for transacting business, the means for communicating information, for seeking help, for keeping old friends in touch. The Town & The Telephone, takes a look at how communication services such as the telephone influenced all these things in the 1950s. The narrator takes us on a journey through a small, nameless town that is experiencing the effects of the telephone lines that pass through it. It is a growing bustling town that has only benefited from the added avenue of communication. From there he takes us on a journey to understand how the telephone is affecting the whole country, placing particular emphasis on the operators who make phone communication possible. This twenty seven minute film is a remarkable slice of telephone history and development.

Story Without An End

Produced: 1950

Length: 18 Minutes

The future can be found in many places. It can be seen reflected in the eyes of those privileged to look at it. Telephone people must always be looking ahead towards the future, innovating new technologies and resources to keep abreast of the growing communications industry. Made by Bell Systems, an innovator in technology after World War II, Story Without End, shows the progress made since Alexander Graham Bell first invented the telephone. Showing the new, lighter transistor and sturdier cables they work hard to convince the viewer there is no obstacle they cannot climb in order to obtain a better telephone experience for their customers. As members of a community constantly looking towards the future, this 1950s film guarantees scientists will make the story of the telephone a story of continuous progress. A story without end.

Operation Toll Dialing

Produced: 1949

Length: 6 Minutes

Operation Toll Dialing demonstrates the procedures and techniques used in rotary phone dialing. Covers the essential equipment used by1949 telephone operators. The in depth look into communication technology goes into specifics showing the use of trunks, how calls are routed and the difference between dialing with your finger and using a dialing tool. The film concludes with the basics rules for saving service and equipment time for toll dial operators, such as “never interrupt dialing once started” and “poise above the next digit to be dialed”.

The Nation At Your Fingertips

Produced: 1951

Length: 10 Minutes

Today we think of being able to call anywhere in the country, the world, as a rather ordinary and simplistic, but back in the 1950s being able to call across the country was a revolutionary idea. The Nation At Your Fingertips, explains the history of the telephone showing how its moved on from boys manning a large switchboard, the young women fielding calls, and finally onto the biggest miracle of all, direct calls across the country without an operator. This film explores the leaps and bounds made in the communications industry since Alexander Graham Bell first developed the telephone in 1876, showing the technology used and the people that have made this growth possible.

Long Distance 1

Produced: 1950s

Length: 14 Minutes

A million poles parade across the landscape bearing the graceful drapery of the cables draped with wires. By connection of the local systems of every area in the land they formed the unified network that pulses with the flow of talk expressing the activities of industry, agriculture, government, and the home life of the nation. Long Distance centers on the miracle of long distance calling and the technology and people that make it possible. Seemingly transfixed with the amount of cables that have traversed the United States in order to make long distance calling possible, Long Distance shows how the nation has changed for the better by the phone connecting people of all walks of life. This is a superb look into an era of switchboard operators and pre cell phone long distance calling.

Long Distance 2

Produced: 1950

Length: 10 Minutes

How To Use The Dial Telephone

Produced: 1927

Length: 7 Minutes

How To Use The Dial Telephone is an early promotional film from American Telephone and Telegraph Co., or AT&T. The film teaches potential customers how to place a phone call on the new public telephones placed by AT&T during the late twenties. Starting with how to use the phone book – called a blue book at the time – we see how to use the ear piece, the rotary dial and some common problems or errors users may experience. Telephone sure have come a long way!

Dial Comes To Town

Produced: 1940s

Length: 20 Minutes

Gramps does not like much. He especially does not fancy the idea of the new dial phones that are soon to replace the old phones in town. Indignant he calls up his friend and we see the way phones worked before the dial telephone replaced them. Gramps questioning of the new phones falls along the lines of, why change something that is not broken? He learns the answer to this question, and many more, when forced to a town meeting held to explain how to use the new dial phones and what they mean for the community. A rather dummied down explanation to try and get viewers of the 1940s on board the dial phone ship, this film succeeds in entertaining through the use of common stereotypes, such as how elderly people hate change. A must see for any communications buff!

What Mr. Bell Had Mind

Produced: 1954

Length: 10 Minutes

The telephone, few products of mans ingenuity have been so widely used and misused. What did Mr. Bell have in mind when he invented the telephone? It certainly was not for talking for long periods of time according to this film. Filmed during the height of media conformism in the 1950s, What Mr. Bell Had in Mind tries to explain to the viewer the proper ways of speaking on the telephone by making them feel guilty about not using Mr. Bells invention properly. A woman taking her time to get to the point and a man trying to sell an automobile over the phone are prime examples of the wrong way to use the telephone. However if you plan out your conversations and use the phone to be as brisk as possible you are fulfilling Mr. Bells dreams. A strange film showing the ideals and beliefs of the time, What Mr. Bell Had in Mind, is a true gem about communications history.

Just Imagine

Produced: 1947

Length: 10 Minutes

Do you know what materials were used in making a 433 part telephone in the 1940s? More importantly, did know that with a little magic, an animated creature known as Tommy Telephone and a strange crank apparatus, a phone can assemble itself? Its true! Made during the height of the Second World War, AT&T used ads such as this to convince buyers that their phones are made of quality products. Implementing wonderful stop motion animation and a phone assembling itself to a marching tune this film shows all the various components that go into making a telephone. The tiniest parts and screws are shown piece by piece as the telephone is assembled, encouraged by Tommy Telephone, the conductor of this strange lesson on one of communications most valuable tools. While the message in the ad is unclear, the enjoyment is pure and the information it provides on telephones is incalculable.

Invisible Diplomats

Produced: 1960s

Length: 21 Minutes

Under that perky hat is one of the nicer parts of business, Ms. Connie Wisner. In “Invisible Diplomats,” we follow Ms. Wisner and her roommate, Ms. Kelly Smith, whom are both switchboard operators. The two discuss their day and talk about the difficulty and the importance of the job. After all, switchboard operators are the “invisible receptionists” for the company. The film also discusses telephone etiquette and how to properly coordinate phone calls between important persons.

The World At Your Call

Produced: 1960s

Length: 9 Minutes

Part travelogue, part ad encouraging consumers to waste money on long distance calls in an era when long distance calling was expensive, The World At Your Call, is a treasure chest of telephone history. As we learn about the many benefits of calling long distance we see extraordinary panoramic views of places like the White Mountains, New Orleans, Washington D.C. and England. As the vivid scenery changes from wild forest to urban forest we view the different ways in which the phone can bring people closer together. One man calls his sweetie 1,000 miles away another man confirms his vacation plains in the wild west, both using the invaluable tool of long distance calling. Made in the 1960s this film not only informs the viewer on the United States ever changing telephone industry but shows the grandeur that is her wilderness.