An inventor looking for backing for his television invention gets involved with a crooked businessman and gangsters who try to steal his invention.An inventor looking for backing for his television invention gets involved with a crooked businessman and gangsters who try to steal his invention.An inventor looking for backing for his television invention gets involved with a crooked businessman and gangsters who try to steal his invention.
Photos
Mary Blake
- Miss Walsh, Secretary
- (uncredited)
Harry C. Bradley
- Telephone Man
- (uncredited)
Eddie Fetherston
- Heckler at Football Game
- (uncredited)
Robert Gordon
- Delivery Boy
- (uncredited)
Chuck Hamilton
- Policeman
- (uncredited)
Howard Hickman
- G.P. Tucker - Board Member
- (uncredited)
Russell Hicks
- J.F. Howland - Board Member
- (uncredited)
Boyd Irwin
- William S. Tully, Board Member
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaMary Blake's debut.
- Quotes
J.W. Greggs - Collection Agency Manager: [on the telephone] It ain't the policy of the Acme to threaten people. But if you don't kick in with that dough fast, I'm coming up there myself and smack you right on the button!
Featured review
Historically interesting 30's potboiler
Trapped by Television equates to a bit more than most 30's cinematic potboilers. It may include a number of the tropes that genre films from that decade usually have but it is distinct in that it is quite historically interesting. The reason for this is that it depicts a 30's view of television – a technology that hadn't actually happened at that point in time yet. Interestingly, the film speculates that these devices would not only be able to receive signals but to transmit them as well. To this end we have an inventor devise an elaborate art deco TV that can do just this. The plot-line surrounding this has him needing financial backing and going to a shady businessman, while a gang of criminals gets involved seeing this new invention as a potentially massive money-maker.
It's actually quite a decent premise for one of these flicks, given that, as we all know perfectly well, television would soon go on to be perhaps the most successful and influential technological development of the 20th century and the depiction of how it could work in this movie is charming and entertainingly quaint. Aside from all this, the plot-line still has the usual requisite elements seen in umpteen films from the period such as a male/female duo, a comedy-relief character – in this case a science-loving debt collector and dastardly villains. And to top it all off, it rounds off with a satisfying extended fight sequence and there's really nothing wrong with that either.
It's actually quite a decent premise for one of these flicks, given that, as we all know perfectly well, television would soon go on to be perhaps the most successful and influential technological development of the 20th century and the depiction of how it could work in this movie is charming and entertainingly quaint. Aside from all this, the plot-line still has the usual requisite elements seen in umpteen films from the period such as a male/female duo, a comedy-relief character – in this case a science-loving debt collector and dastardly villains. And to top it all off, it rounds off with a satisfying extended fight sequence and there's really nothing wrong with that either.
helpful•41
- Red-Barracuda
- Nov 25, 2014
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Caught by Television
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 4 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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Top Gap
By what name was Trapped by Television (1936) officially released in Canada in English?
Answer