The Magic Box (1952)

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

Also Known As:

Der wunderbare Flimmerkasten (West Germany) [de]
Det mörka rummet (Sweden) [sv]
La boite magique (France) [fr]
Näkemiin, Mr. Greene (Finland) [fi]
Stupenda conquista (Italy) [it]
Taikalaatikko (Finland) (TV title) [fi]
To magiko kouti (Greece) [el]

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)

Terrific film for film collectors and film buffs

This is the 1951 feature made by the British film industry to celebrate the festival of Britain. The film stars a virtual who's who of all the famous British cinema actors of that time, and one of the fun things about this film is trying to identify all of them as they pop up in various cameo roles. The story is the biography of William Friese- Greene, who this film claims invented the motion picture camera and projector. Edison and Lumiere are casually acknowledged as also being motion picture pioneers, but Friese-Greene is claimed to have had the first intermittent mechanism (presumably the Maltese cross) used in today's cinema projectors. It also claims that he invented the biocolour process, where color motion pictures are produced by rotating two color filters in front of the camera and projector (KinemaColour). The lead role is beautifully played by Robert Donat as the quiet intense inventor obsessed with producing moving photographs, and his wife is competently played by Maria Schell. Also appearing in cameo roles are Michael Redgrave, Richard Attenborough, Peter Ustinov, Stanley Holloway, Michael Dennison, the great Dennis Price, the beautiful Glynnis Johns and her father Mervyn Johns, the eccentric Joyce Grenfell, the wonderful Margeret Rutherford, and a host of others too long to mention. The most famous cameo is by Sir Laurence Olivier, as the astonished policeman who witnesses Friese-Greene's first triumph, the projection of moving images of Hyde Park on an improvised sheet screen. This is the most remembered scene of the film, and Friese Greene's excitement at this event reminded me of my own excitement when I first turned the handle on my first Pathescope 9.5mm projector! The film is of great interest to film collectors and movie buffs, containing beautiful shots of old wood and brass magic lanterns and early movie equipment. There are many wonderful scenes, such as the Victorian photo studio where they show customers having to stand absolutely still for 30 seconds to get their photo taken! The film was produced by Roy Boulting, and the beautiful Victorian settings and costumes are sumptuously photographed by Jack Cardiff. My family and friends really enjoyed this movie, it is low key almost like a BBC period drama, but if you are a film collector you will love it. We take the showing of films in our homes for granted these days, and it easy to forget the real struggle by inventors such as Friese- Greene to achieve what seemed impossible at the time. American audiences will of course have to (at least temporarily) suspend their belief that Edison was the sole inventor of the motion picture camera ( in fact Edison was primarily a business man and entrepreneur who copied many of the motion picture concepts developed by Lumiere in France) This film is very rare indeed. I don't think it exists on VHS or DVD,(certainly not in the USA), however Super 8mm film prints do exist, so if you find an S8 print grab it! My particular super 8 print is a 2400 ft Agfa color print, pin sharp with beautiful rich colors and great contrast. The mono magnetic track sound quality is very good for a film of 1951 vintage. Highly recommended, if you can find it.