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Audio ProductionsLong Distance (1941)

This movie is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives

Producer: Audio Productions
Production Company: Audio Productions (?)
Sponsor: American Telephone & Telegraph Co. (AT&T)
Audio/Visual: sound, b&w
Keywords: telephones; communication; Bell System; Manifest Destiny; United States expansion

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: Rick Prelinger - - May 6, 2008
Subject: Not that anyone asked, but this is one of my favorite sponsored films
Long Distance is beautifully shot and blends music and narration in an elegant way. It's a great portrait of what AT&T's network looked like and how it operated just before World War II. It also links the buildout of the long distance infrastructure with the spread of U.S. influence throughout the North American continent, and implicitly shows the relationship between communications networks and state power. I also like the unusual end title!

Reviewer: mike bennet - - April 17, 2005
Subject: Long Distance
About two thirds of this film is overlay footage of 1930"s and 40"s techinical equipment for comunications. If you are an telephone history buff it is great.

Reviewer: mike bennet - - April 17, 2005
Subject: Long Distance
About two thirds of this film is overlay footage of 1930"s and 40"s techinical equipment for comunications. If you are an telephone history buff it is great.

Reviewer: Spuzz - - October 8, 2004
Subject: Yes, and?
I was intrigued by the shots of the women in the LD tables, so I eagerly dl'ed it, expecting some wonderful movie about Long Distance Dialling. Well, the movie focuses on that for a little bit, but then seagues into this curious mishmash about discoverers discovering land in the 1800's and how the US was born and so on. It also tells us about how far people can be from one another. Not very interesting imho. (great, I'm the only downlaoder of this film thus far and I'm already criticising it).