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* [[Margaret Johnston]] as Edith Harrison
* [[Margaret Johnston]] as Edith Harrison
* [[Maria Schell]] as Helena Friese-Greene
* [[Maria Schell]] as Helena Friese-Greene
* [[David Oake]] as [[Claude Friese-Greene]]
* David Oake as [[Claude Friese-Greene]]
* [[Janette Scott]] as Ethel Friese-Greene
* [[Janette Scott]] as Ethel Friese-Greene
* [[John Howard Davies]] as Maurice Friese-Greene
* [[John Howard Davies]] as Maurice Friese-Greene
Line 89: Line 89:
* [[Martin Boddey]] as SItter in Bath Studio
* [[Martin Boddey]] as SItter in Bath Studio
* [[Edward Chapman (actor)|Edward Chapman]] as Father in family group
* [[Edward Chapman (actor)|Edward Chapman]] as Father in family group
* [[Maurice Colbourne (actor, born 1894)|Maurice Colbourne]] as Bride's father in wedding group
* Maurice Colbourne as Bride's father in wedding group
* [[Roland Culver]] as 1st Company promoter
* [[Roland Culver]] as 1st Company promoter
* [[Joan Dowling]] as Maggie
* [[Joan Dowling]] as Maggie

Revision as of 21:21, 22 March 2015

For other uses, see Magic Box.

The Magic Box
Directed byJohn Boulting
Written byRay Allister and Eric Ambler
Produced byRonald Neame
StarringRobert Donat
Margaret Johnston
Maria Schell
Robert Beatty
Margaret Rutherford
CinematographyJack Cardiff
Edited byRichard Best
Music byWilliam Alwyn
Distributed byBritish Lion Films
Release date
1951
Running time
118 min.
CountryUK
LanguageEnglish
Box office£82,398 (UK)[1]

The Magic Box is a 1951 British, Technicolor, biographical drama film, directed by John Boulting. The film stars Robert Donat as William Friese-Greene, with a host of cameo appearances by such actors as Peter Ustinov and Laurence Olivier. It was produced by Ronald Neame and distributed by British Lion Film Corporation. The film was a project of the Festival of Britain and adapted by Eric Ambler from the controversial biography by Ray Allister.

Background

This biographical drama gives an account of the life of William Friese-Greene, who first designed and patented one of the earliest working cinematic cameras. The film was completed and shown just before the end of the 1951 Festival of Britain, but the general release was not until 1952. Told in flashback, the film details Friese-Greene's tireless experiments with the "moving image," leading inexorably to a series of failures and disappointments, as others hog the credit for the protagonist's discoveries.[2]

Plot summary

In 1921, William Friese-Greene, in dire financial straits and separated from his wife, but still working, attends a film conference in London. He is saddened that all the attendees are businessmen interested only in moneymaking. He attempts to speak, but no-one is interested and he sits down. He thinks back to his early pioneering days.

Young "Willie" works as an assistant to photographer Maurice Guttenberg, who will not let him take portraits his way. He leaves and, with his new wife, a client of his former employer, he opens a studio. After a slow start, he does well and opens other studios, but he is more interested in developing moving pictures and colour films. He single-mindedly works on his ideas, spending more and more money, and is eventually declared bankrupt. With the coming of World War I, their sons (one under age) enlist in the army to relieve their parents of the burden of providing for them.

In partnership with a businessman, he develops his ideas, but the partnership sours and he's on his own, bankrupt, again. Nevertheless, he perseveres and, late one night, he projects the short film he has taken in Hyde Park that afternoon. Excited, he rushes out and drags in a passing policeman to witness the success of the film. The policeman is dumbfounded, not quite comprehending what he has just seen.

Back at the conference, Friese-Greene again stands up to speak, but becomes incoherent and is forced to sit down. He collapses. A doctor is called, but it is too late. Examining the contents of his pockets in an attempt to identify him, the doctor comments that all the money he could find was just enough for a ticket to the cinema.

Awards

The film was nominated for two BAFTA Awards in 1952—Best Film and Best British Film.

Cast

Cameos

References

  1. ^ Vincent Porter, 'The Robert Clark Account', Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Vol 20 No 4, 2000 p495
  2. ^ Allmovie.com
  • TimeOut Film Guide – published by Penguin Books – ISBN 0-14-029395-7
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