Tag Archives: Radios in Movies

Mystery Radio: Can you help Ray ID this solid-state radio from the film “Ford v Ferrari”–?

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ray Robinson, who writes:

Hi, Thomas. In the 2019 movie Ford v. Ferrari, a battered old shortwave radio is used in California to listen to commentary on the 1966 Le Mans race from France.

I’ve attached a few stills from the movie (which I highly recommend, by the way). Might any of your subscribers know the model of the radio?

Post Readers: Please comment with links if you can ID the make and model of this radio. It looks very familiar, but then again the design is similar to so many other models of the era. Ray, I look forward to checking out the film, too!

When Dagwood decided to become a radio repair technician

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Zantow, who shares a link to this 1947 “Blondie & Dagwood” episode #21. Dave notes that the part of the episode with a radio slant starts at approx. 24:22:

Click here to view on YouTube.

Thanks, Dave! I’m not sure I’ve ever watched an episode of Blondie and Dagwood, although I’ve certainly read hundreds of the comic strips and listened to many episodes of the OTR shows.

In fact, if you’d like to listen to some of the Blondie and Dagwood radio shows, the Internet Archive has a collection of 42 episodes that you can stream or download.

I’ve embedded the Internet Archive Playlist below for your convenience:

Trans-Oceanic spotted in 1959 film “On the Beach”

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mario Filippi (N2HUN), who writes:

Maybe this is old news but in the 1959 film “On the Beach” which was from the book by Nevil Shute, there is a Zenith transoceanic shortwave radio in this clip from the film. It is inside the lighthouse and appears just about five minutes into the film.

Big stars in this one, Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire and Anthony Perkins.

Thanks for the tip, Mario! I love classic films, but I don’t think I’ve seen On the Beach. I’ll put this on my watch list!

I’ll add this post to our ever growing archive of radios in film!

DUST “Voskhod”: A Sci-Fi short that features ham radio

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Scott Gamble, who shares the following science fiction short film called “Voskhod” by DUST.

The synopsis:

After repairing his HAM radio using parts found in the forest, a recluse radio operator receives a distress call from a stranded Soviet cosmonaut in orbit.

I thoroughly enjoyed this short film. We radio enthusiasts will certainly notice some inaccuracies on the radio side of things–feel free to comment on those–but I suggest you exercise a willing suspension of disbelief and truly enjoy this piece!

Click here to view on YouTube.

Can you identify the National radio model? Please comment!

A Radio Time Machine in “The Twilight Zone”

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Photo of Dean Jagger from The Twilight Zone episode Static. Jagger plays Ed Lindsay, a man whose old radio is able to receive radio broadcasts from years past. (Source: Wikipedia)

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ed, who writes:

[While] watching some original episodes of The Twilight Zone on Netflix, I discovered the March 10, 1961 episode entitled “Static”. I think you’d especially appreciate it. If you haven’t seen it, do check it out–it’s about a radio time machine!

There’re a couple of radios featured in the show (a big console tube radio and a transistor portable) but I couldn’t identify them. Maybe you or readers of the SWLing Post
can?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Static_(The_Twilight_Zone)

Spoiler Alert — if you haven’t seen this episode yet, you might want to hold off on reading about it on Wikipedia.

Click here to view on Netflix.

If you don’t have Netflix, you can watch this episode on YouTube in “Standard Definition” for $1.99. They also offer it in “High Definition” for $2.99. Apparently YouTube figured out a how to make a TV time machine that converts 1961 B&W TV broadcasts to HDTV!

Click here to check it out on YouTube.

Thanks so much, Ed!  I have not seen this episode yet, but I will soon! I thought I had seen all of The Twilight Zone episodes (as a kid and not in any particular order), but I don’t recall this one. I’m looking forward to it!

“The Spy” dramatizes careless use of covert QRP HF CW transmissions

1 Reply

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ed, who writes:

The new 6-part Netflix series ‘The Spy’ about the Mossad agent Eli Cohen (played by Sacha Baron Cohen) who infiltrated Syrian military intelligence from 1962-1965 dramatizes his careless use of QRP HF CW transmissions in Damascus, which were DF’d to track him down.

SWLing Post readers might find the series interesting, especially segments depicting Mossad’s use of covert QRP HF CW transmissions.

Radio-savvy viewers will find unintended humor in the use of a transistor AM radio circuit board, tiny batteries, and no antenna(!) to send CW messages from Damascus to Israel–and in the comical depiction of a Soviet/Syrian radio HF DF van. You’d think a TV series with star power could’ve found a willing ham or film crew member to lend some basic technical expertise.

Links:

Thanks for sharing, Ed! I’m sure this is a great series. And, yes, I suppose this wouldn’t be the first time the movie industry made an attempt at authenticity but fell just a little short! Since that’s such a key part of the film (no pun intended!), you would think they could have consulted an expert to make the setup authentic while preserving the integrity of the scene.

Trans-Oceanic spotted in Humphrey Bogart movie

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark Hirst, who writes:

I’m something of a Film Noir fan, so I was pleased to have tracked down “Dead Reckoning” on Amazon recently.

Starring Humphrey Bogart and Lizabeth Scott, Bogart’s character is seen early on in this 1947 film listening to police chatter on his bed side radio.

The police conversation sounds a bit contrived, serving the purpose of advancing the story of course, though I’m wondering if this type of radio could be used this way – I’m sure there are experts who would know.

Please comment if you can answer Mark’s question!

Thanks for sharing, Mark. Like you, I love Film Noir and pretty much anything starring Bogie (or especially Lauren Bacall)!