Popular Science (film)
Encyclopedia
Popular Science was a series of short films, produced by Jerry Fairbanks
and released by Paramount Pictures
.
The Popular Science film series is a Hollywood entertainment production - the only attempt by the movie industry to chronicle the progress of science, industry and popular culture during the first half of the 20th Century.
The series, filmed in Magnacolor
, was the first to profile: father of television
Philo T. Farnsworth (1939), Frank Lloyd Wright
and his architectural school (1942), building Hoover Dam
(1935), building the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge (1936), Academy Award-nominated Moon Rockets (1947), the Electron Microscope
(1942), Jet Aircraft
(1946), the birth of Plastic Surgery
(1937), Telephone Answering Machine
(1936), Fuel
from Corn Cobs (1949), Rust Heinz and his Phantom Corsair
car (1938), world's first full-scale (whole body) X-ray
technique (1936), the "Mechanical Brain" Computer
at UCLA (1948), Contact Lenses (1936), the Northrop
"Flying Wing
" (1948). The series also promoted Paramount with a tour (1938) of the then-new Fleischer Studios
facility in Miami, Florida
, which produced animated cartoons for Paramount.
The series was created by independent Hollywood film producer Jerry Fairbanks in May 1935. Produced with the cooperation of the editors of Popular Science magazine, the series introduced its audience to advances in medicine
, aviation
, science
and technology
, television
, home improvement, planes, trains and automobiles, as well as an assortment of strange and whimsical inventions.
During its 14-year theatrical run, the Popular Science film series was honored with numerous awards and acclaim, including 5 Academy Award nominations. The Popular Science series also received a Special Commendation from the US Department of War in 1943 for its unparalleled coverage of American military technology involved World War II.
This film series has been a staple on television
for decades, most recently shown on the American Movie Classics cable network, hosted by Nick Clooney
and Bob Dorian. The series, as well as the rest of the Jerry Fairbanks film library, is owned by Shields Pictures.
Jerry Fairbanks
Gerald Bertram "Jerry" Fairbanks was a producer and director in the Hollywood motion picture and television industry....
and released by Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
.
The Popular Science film series is a Hollywood entertainment production - the only attempt by the movie industry to chronicle the progress of science, industry and popular culture during the first half of the 20th Century.
The series, filmed in Magnacolor
Magnacolor
Magnacolor was a color film process owned by Consolidated Film Industries. It was an off-shoot of William Van Doren Kelley's Prizma and utilized the same bi-pack color process. Magnacolor was succeeded at the company by Trucolor.-See also:*Bi-pack color...
, was the first to profile: father of television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
Philo T. Farnsworth (1939), Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
and his architectural school (1942), building Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam, once known as Boulder Dam, is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the US states of Arizona and Nevada. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President...
(1935), building the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge (1936), Academy Award-nominated Moon Rockets (1947), the Electron Microscope
Electron microscope
An electron microscope is a type of microscope that uses a beam of electrons to illuminate the specimen and produce a magnified image. Electron microscopes have a greater resolving power than a light-powered optical microscope, because electrons have wavelengths about 100,000 times shorter than...
(1942), Jet Aircraft
Jet aircraft
A jet aircraft is an aircraft propelled by jet engines. Jet aircraft generally fly much faster than propeller-powered aircraft and at higher altitudes – as high as . At these altitudes, jet engines achieve maximum efficiency over long distances. The engines in propeller-powered aircraft...
(1946), the birth of Plastic Surgery
Plastic surgery
Plastic surgery is a medical specialty concerned with the correction or restoration of form and function. Though cosmetic or aesthetic surgery is the best-known kind of plastic surgery, most plastic surgery is not cosmetic: plastic surgery includes many types of reconstructive surgery, hand...
(1937), Telephone Answering Machine
Answering machine
The answering machine or message machine, also known as the telephone answering machine in the UK and some Commonwealth countries) and previously known as an ansaphone, ansafone, or telephone answering device is a device for answering telephones and recording callers' messages.Unlike voicemail,...
(1936), Fuel
Fuel
Fuel is any material that stores energy that can later be extracted to perform mechanical work in a controlled manner. Most fuels used by humans undergo combustion, a redox reaction in which a combustible substance releases energy after it ignites and reacts with the oxygen in the air...
from Corn Cobs (1949), Rust Heinz and his Phantom Corsair
Phantom Corsair
The Phantom Corsair is an automobile prototype from 1938. It is a six-passenger coupe that was designed by Rust Heinz, a member of the H. J. Heinz family, and Maurice Schwartz of the Pasadena, California based Bohman & Schwartz coachbuilding company...
car (1938), world's first full-scale (whole body) X-ray
X-ray
X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
technique (1936), the "Mechanical Brain" Computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
at UCLA (1948), Contact Lenses (1936), the Northrop
Northrop Corporation
Northrop Corporation was a leading United States aircraft manufacturer from its formation in 1939 until its merger with Grumman to form Northrop Grumman in 1994. The company is known for its development of the flying wing design, although only a few of these have entered service.-History:Jack...
"Flying Wing
Flying wing
A flying wing is a tailless fixed-wing aircraft which has no definite fuselage, with most of the crew, payload and equipment being housed inside the main wing structure....
" (1948). The series also promoted Paramount with a tour (1938) of the then-new Fleischer Studios
Fleischer Studios
Fleischer Studios, Inc., was an American corporation which originated as an Animation studio located at 1600 Broadway, New York City, New York...
facility in Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
, which produced animated cartoons for Paramount.
The series was created by independent Hollywood film producer Jerry Fairbanks in May 1935. Produced with the cooperation of the editors of Popular Science magazine, the series introduced its audience to advances in medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
, aviation
Aviation
Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...
, science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
and technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
, television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, home improvement, planes, trains and automobiles, as well as an assortment of strange and whimsical inventions.
During its 14-year theatrical run, the Popular Science film series was honored with numerous awards and acclaim, including 5 Academy Award nominations. The Popular Science series also received a Special Commendation from the US Department of War in 1943 for its unparalleled coverage of American military technology involved World War II.
This film series has been a staple on television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
for decades, most recently shown on the American Movie Classics cable network, hosted by Nick Clooney
Nick Clooney
Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Clooney is an American journalist, anchorman, and television host. He is the brother of the late singer Rosemary Clooney, and father of actor and film director George Clooney.-Early life:...
and Bob Dorian. The series, as well as the rest of the Jerry Fairbanks film library, is owned by Shields Pictures.