There Weren't Martians in 1924 Either...

[flat-top]

"Turns out that during the 1924 Mars opposition—when Mars would be closer to Earth than it had been since 1804—the secretary of the Navy sent a telegram to all naval stations asking them to "COOPERATE ASTRONOMERS WHO BELIEVE POSSIBLE THAT MARS MAY ATTEMPT COMMUNICATION BY RADIO WAVES WITH THIS PLANET WHILE THEY ARE NEAR TOGETHER."

The result of the three-day exercise? Nothing but static.

 

[John in Covina]

Actually on the Mars side they were trying to send messages but no one noticed the plug of their radio transmitter had been accidentally kicked out of the wall socket.

 

[The Wolf]

I thought the static was the martian's trying to contact us.lol
Thanks for sharing an unusual. I hadn't heard of it before.

Sincerely,
The Wolf

 

[mike]

Life imitating art or the other way around...

Radio-Mania (1923) aka M.A.R.S. (1922) / The Man From Mars / Mars Calling

I have always thought this film was lost. I am half asleep, but it seems to me if you follow this link...

https://bfi.org.uk/whatson/bfi_southbank/exhibitions/previous_exhibitions/iain_forsyth_jane_pollard_radio_mania_an_abandoned_w

The Gallery at BFI Southbank has gone 3D with a new video installation by British artists Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard. Taking as its starting point 1922 3D film The Man from M.A.R.S., Radio Mania: An Abandoned Work is part film, part rehearsal, captured using contemporary 3D video and audio technologies. The artists have set about creating a contemporary adaptation of this silent film, transporting the viewer into the centre of a rehearsal capturing the actors, artists and musicians at work. Kevin Eldon (Big Train, Hot Fuzz) stars alongside Caroline Catz (Doc Martin), Terrence Hardiman (The Demon Headmaster) and the legendary Fenella Fielding (Carry On Screaming!). Soundtracked by a live band led by Nick Plytas, it also features a Martian dance by comedy actors Ben Crompton, Iain Lee and Ben Moor. Radio Mania: An Abandoned Work runs until 11 July.

The Man from M.A.R.S. was made in 1922 to demonstrate 'Teleview', a stereoscopic motion picture system created by Laurens Hammond who later went on to invent the Hammond Organ. The film played for 24 days in a New York cinema before closing, after which neither Teleview nor the 3D film was seen again. A 2D version is now looked after by the BFI National Archive. Forsyth and Pollard’s project was filmed in a single take at Twickenham Film Studios, with a script by writer and novelist Kirk Lake.

Forsyth and Pollard's practice revels in the grey edges of science and the idea of haunted media. Here they stage an unmissable, entertaining and immersive installation summoning an atmosphere mixing the theatricality of the stage and the illusionism of cinema. The work occupies a state between extended reality and hallucination.

BFI Gallery podcasts
A Bunch of Fives: Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard in Conversation
Iain Forsyth, Jane Pollard and Nick Cave in Conversation

Screenings and Events
The exhibition is accompanied by a series of screenings and events:

Radio-Mania + Discussion
Dir Roy William Neil, 1923.
Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard’s new work was inspired by this prophetic curio of the silent screen, originally presented in stereoscopic 'Teleview'. The artists will lead a post-screening discussion with guests.
Thu 9 July 18:10 NFT3