@michaelmeckler@mastodonapp.uk
Post #2747697
2026-01-20 03:02 UTC
@halfpress@mastodon.social @LibrarianRA@worldkey.io @tankgrrl@hachyderm.io Bizarre is the best word to describe that first promotional film for RCA computers.
Most folks watching this today will be unaware that the host of the film was a well-known television journalist, Frank Blair. He is frequently addressed as 'Frank' by others in the film, but his last name is never mentioned because it didn't need to be. Blair was the news anchor for the 'Today' show, the most popular morning television programme of the era. The 'Today' show was on the NBC television network, which was owned by RCA.
The conceit of having a film-within-a-film, showing the 'production staff' making the film as Frank Blair recites his script is rendered nonsensical because Blair continues to talk about RCA computers even when he is 'on break'. And the use of cut-ins of silent movie visuals seems to have taken a cue from 'The Night They Raided Minsky's', but without any real purpose.
This is one hot mess of a promotional film, but thanks for sharing.
Replies (1)
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@halfpress@mastodon.social 2026-01-20 03:20
@michaelmeckler@mastodonapp.uk @LibrarianRA@worldkey.io @tankgrrl@hachyderm.io Your summary is spot on in every way and I couldn’t agree more. And thanks for the background on Frank - I had meant to try to look into who he was. Note that this was made four years before I was born. Also, being 1970, it is definitely a late 60s vibe and not yet the full on bonkers 70s aesthetic. I wonder what this would have been had it been, say, 1975.