[telecom] Bell --Telephones usage in movies

A fellow phone buff had the honor of picking up and later returning a loaned Call Director set to be used as a prop in a school play he was in. There was no charge; he got it at a local business office.

Every movie and TV show has some telephone props in it, ranging from simple plain sets to large switchboards. Movies that show an office would have numerous phones (ie "All the Presidents Men" which had keysets with glowing lights in them.) Often there were scenes where characters were in a phone booth and a pay phone.

In 1950s-60s sitcoms often the sets were color which were a premium charge back then.

Most of the time (though not always) the equipment was Western Electric. (In some productions AE or Kellogg sets were used).

Obviously Hollywood had a need for a lot of telephone sets, and occasionally working keyset lights. Did the Bell System charge Hollywood for loaners? Did the Bell System provide key system gear to make key lights work? Were special keyset lights required to be seen under floodlights of a scene?

Or did studios own a prop house of various telephone equipment that was used as needed?

Often the sound and light effects were not authentic; sometimes the lights on a keyset didn't flash the way they were supposed to. Often the ringers didn't match the phone. To this day pay phones make a 'ding-ding' sound when coins are dropped even though that was removed years ago.

As an aside, TV productions made extensive use of operator style headsets; all the crew wore a headset to hear orders from the director. Were these supplied by Western Electric? (I saw some made by RCA for studio use.)

Reply to
hancock4
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And is Hollywood served by Pacific Bell or by GTE? (Or whatever they call them nowadays?)

Reply to
mc

I think all the studios are in Pac Tel territory although Fox is on the cusp.

What is known as "Hollywood" per se (a part of Los Angeles) is completely Pac Tel.

The films that had key sets that worked correctly had a Pac Tel technical advisor. Just like the films that get flying jargon and equipment right have an aviation technical advisor.

Reply to
Sam Spade

I think studios expanded beyond the original "Hollywood" section many years ago. Old warehouses became sound stages. Many films were made 'on location' in various cities.

What's weird is when they make a period film today. The old phones used are a pot pouri of stuff, plenty of AE and Kellog sets mixed in. Indeed, I just saw an AE color Space-Saver set (they had roundish bodies while the WE types had square bodies).

I wonder what kind of telephone systems the studios themselves used. Many industrial plants of that size used privately owned telephone systems for internal plant communications and Bell equipment only for external calls so as to save rental charges. On the one hand, some studio owners in the golden age were frugal, on the other hand, they had huge egos and liked the big-shot impression multiple telephone sets gave us.

In the old days the Bell System made specialized PBX/key systems for use in large residences. The butler could answer incoming calls and switch them around. There was also intercom capability within the mansion. I suspect plenty of stars had such systems, and also customized colored or fancy sets.

Reply to
hancock4

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