The Magic Box (1952)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

John Boulting

Writers:

Ray Allister (biography Friese-Greene, Close-Up of an Inventor)
Eric Ambler (writer)

Release Date:

21 January 1952 (UK)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Plot:

The story of William Friese-Greene, a British inventor who (this film would have you think) made the first movie camera.

Plot Keywords:

Obsession | Invention | Military | Police Officer | Pregnancy

Awards:

Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards.

Cast

Robert Donat	...	William Friese-Greene
Margaret Johnston	...	Edith Harrison Friese-Greene
Maria Schell	...	Helena Friese-Greene
Renée Asherson	...	Miss Tagg
Richard Attenborough	...	Jack Carter
Robert Beatty	...	Lord Beaverbrook
Martin Boddey	...	Sitter in Bath Studio
Edward Chapman	...	Father in Family Group
John Charlesworth	...	Graham Friese-Greene
Maurice Colbourne	...	Bride's Father in wedding group
Roland Culver	...	1st Company Promoter
John Howard Davies	...	Maurice Friese-Greene
Michael Denison	...	Reporter
Joan Dowling	...	Maggie
Henry Edwards	...	Butler at Fox Talbot's

Runtime:

118 min | UK:103 min (DVD version) | UK:108 min (edited version)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

France:U | Australia:PG | Finland:S | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

ABPC Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

Festival Film Productions

Trivia:

William Friese-Greene's son Claude Friese-Greene continued to develop his father's colour process and produced a series of colour travelogues of Britain in the 1920s. These never achieved contemporary commercial success but formed the basis of a very popular 3-part BBC Television broadcast The Lost World of Friese-Greene (2006) (TV), after being preserved by the British Film Institute.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In 1915 when Green's three eldest sons join the army, the landlord's agent mentions that the Spanish influenza is going around. In actuality the Spanish influenza did not begin until 1918.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Laurence Olivier: A Life (1982) (TV)

A Terrific Movie

The most enjoyable and very emotional scene was when Robert Donat (Wm. Friese-Greene) finally succeeds in producing moving images on a sheet he's hung in his studio...he runs like a madman into the street in the middle of the night desperate to find someone to witness this miracle. Who does he find? Sir Laurence Olivier..a Police Constable . Donat ushers him into his lab, sits him down and proceeds to ramble on about what he's invented. Sir Laurence, the ever vigilant and cautious policeman thinks he's some kind of nut and slowly reaches for his night stick..that's when Robert Donat flicks on the first moving pictures of Hyde Park...Olivier is flabergasted..gets up moves to the sheet and looks behind it.."That's Hyde Park!' After rambling some more Robert Donat breaks into tears..finally explaining what he has accomplished..Olivier replies "You must be a very happy man"..a terrific scene and one I'll never forget. A cameo appearance by Lord Olivier and a very memorable scene.