The Magic Box - DaaVeeDee

The Magic Box (DVD) (*)

$24.99

Screened, competed or awarded at:
BAFTA Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Mono )

Product Origin/Format:
United Kingdom ( PAL/Region 2 )

Running Time:
103 min

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Scene Access

Movie filmed in 1951 and produced in:
United Kingdom ( Great Britain, Ireland )

Directed By:
John Boulting

Written By:
Ray Allister
Eric Ambler

Actors:
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
Ronald Culver ..... 1st Company Promoter
John Howard Davies ..... Maurice Friese-Greene
Michael Denison ..... Reporter
Joan Dowling ..... Maggie
Henry Edwards ..... Butler at Fox Talbot's

Synopsis:

The Magic Box was the English film industry's contribution to the 1951 Festival of Britain. Its all-star cast generously forsook their usual salaries for the privilege of paying tribute to that unsung pioneer of cinema, William Friese-Greene, here played by Robert Donat. Adapted by Eric Ambler from the controversial biography by Ray Allister, Magic Box contends that Friese-Greene was the true father of motion pictures, and not such upstarts as W. K. L. Dickson and Thomas Edison. Told in flashback, the film details Friese-Greene's tireless experiments with the "moving image," leading inexorably to a series of failures and disappoints, as others hog the credit for the protagonist's discoveries. The huge cast includes such British film luminaries as Joyce Grenfell, Miles Malleson, Michael Redgrave, Eric Portman, Emlyn Williams, Richard Attenborough, Peter Ustinov, Cecil Parker, Kay Walsh, and, best of all, Laurence Olivier as the confused bobby who witnesses Friese-Greene's first motion picture demonstration.

This product was added to our catalog on Friday 07 November, 2008.

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