"Who’s Calling? - A Telephonic Film Orgy” October 29, 2010

Event: “Who’s Calling? – A Telephonic Film Orgy”. Guest curator Pete Gowdy and Oddball Films present an evening of wild, wacky and wonderful films about the greatest invention since creation: the telephone. Bell Labs and friends created some of the most stunning industrial and campy “What’s New” and “How-To” films on the subject of telephone (and other) technology. Oddball is thrilled to present the cream of a very large crop. Films include: Conversation Crossroads (1958), bizarre non-technical musical explanation of automatic switching in eye-popping Technicolor!; Century 21 Calling (1964), campy romp through the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair and the Bell System Pavilion; Krystallos (1962), gorgeous color film detailing the Bell Labs research into synthetic quartz used extensively in microwave technology; The Town and the Telephone (1950), employee orientation film for telephone workers; We Learn About the Telephone (1965), back through history to show man’s need to communicate; The Mole and The Telephone (1974), Czech animation featuring Krtek the Mole (the Mickey Mouse of Czechoslovakia); Plus, a segment from the beautiful Kodachrome The Telephone and the Farmer (1952), vintage TV commercials and more!
Date: Friday, October 29, 2010 at 8:30PM
Venue: Oddball Films, 275 Capp Street, San Francisco
Admission: $10.00 RSVP Only to: 415-558-8117 or [email protected]
Web: http://www.oddballfilm.com/oddballftp/Whos_Calling_PR.pdf


"Who’s Calling? - A Telephonic Film Orgy”
Screens at Oddball Films

On Friday, October 29, Curator Pete Gowdy and Oddball Films present an evening of vintage 16mm films focused on the ubiquitous (until recently) Telephone. Thomas Edison called it an invention that "annihilated time and space and brought the human family in closer touch." Well, they sure produced a lot of films about them during their peak development in the mid 20th century, and the same technological innovation and expansive, colorful creativity that went into the phone was utilized for films about the phone. Showtime is 8:30PM and admission is $10.00. Seating is limited so RSVP is preferred to: [email protected] or 415-558-8117.

Highlights Include:

Conversation Crossroads (Color, 1958)
This truly bizarre film explains telephone switching in a non-technical way- as a musical! It worked for West Side Story, why not telephone switching!? Produced by Bell telephone in stunning Technicolor.

Century 21 Calling (Color, 1964)
Take an amazing romp through the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair as two happy-go-lucky kids make their way to the Bell Telephone Pavilion and try out all the latest gadgets from Ma Bell. As close as you’ll get to actually being there!

Krystallos (Color, 1962)
Explains the origin and properties of crystalline quartz (krystallos in Greek for quartz), and details the process of manufacturing synthetic quartz, and the use of synthetic quartz in electronic components- especially the modern telephone. Quite possibly one of the most beautiful industrial films ever produced.

The Town and the Telephone (Color, 1950)
Produced by the telephone company for its own employees- a wonderful overview of the previously massive system of people power and the American Way!

We Learn About the Telephone (Color, 1965)
A young man sketches a generic human (“Mr. Man”) who takes us back through history to show us how humans developed a need to communicate and the devices to do so. Then shows us how telephones enable the modern mid-Sixties world. Part-animated by the master John Hubley.

The Mole and the Telephone (Color, 1974)
The Mole gets friendly with a telephone handset in this animated film by Czsech legend Zdenek Miler.

PLUS- great TV segment clips, promos and wacky commercials!

Official Website: http://mim.io/3ed86