Canadian Railway Telegraph History |
MORSE GOES TO THE MOVIES! |
CREDITS |
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Eagle Has Landed, The | Duvall is sitting in the communication centre waiting to be arrested by the SS - Morse heard briefly in background (message sent in fast code) | Michael Caine, Robert Duvall, Donald Sutherland | John Sturges | 1977 | Y |
Edison, The Man | . lady sending & receiving Morse in telegraph office . Edison uses Morse to ask her for a date by striking a pipe that goes from the lab to her telegraph op position . Edison gives his new invention a quick check by using a key . key used in attempt to make a telegraph repeater . worker gives story to press about himself teaching a rattlesnake - the code di di dah dah di di da dah di di da dah . when Edison announces his discovery of light, he announces it by telegraph | Spencer Tracy, Rita Johnson | Clarence Brown | 1940 | Y John U, WD0FPY |
Edison, Thomas A | 'Change Navigators' - History Television (Canada) recognizing Edison & in one short clip he is seen working a key (no sound) | Thomas A Edison | History Television | October 1997 | N |
Eight Men Out | Morse Code keys are shown where newspeople are sending code about the baseball game & some kids are receiving the code using a coil, cat-whisker type receiver & headphones (update rgb). also 'stock ticker' Morse unit with paper tape receiving news about Game One & how they are doing 'throwing' the game (odd because man reading off coded tape faster than receives!) | Charlie Sheen, John Cusack | John Sayles | 1988 | Y Dwight W, W6AR |
Emperor of the North Pole | several scenes of gibberish Morse (nothing beats Borgnine swinging is conductor's stick though!) | Ernest Borgnine Lee Marvin | Robert Aldrich | 1973 | Y Joe B, N3TTE |
Empire of the Air | Documentary - as credits roll to an end 'Baseball next' is sent in CW | - | Ken Burns | 1991 | N Fint T, N3CBJ Bill J, WB8RAE |
Empire of the Sun | young Ballard in a Singapore hotel room watches Japanese ships use Morse signal lamps - the boy sees the code then sends a message that appears to contain the word 'FIRE' - seconds later a Japanese ship fires several rounds at the hotel & he blames himself | Christian Bale, John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson | Steven Spielberg | 1987 | Y |
End of Morse Code (Newspaper) | click link on Newspaper to read a write in The Toronto Star about end of Morse in Canada re: shipping & satellite | Nicolaas van Run | Toronto Star | 02 Feb 1999 | N |
Endeavour | Theme music same as Inspector Morse | Shaun Evans | Various | 2012 on | DVD |
Enemy Below, The | near end of movie, American Captain receives Morse signal lamp message from German submarine they will attack in 5 minutes - US Captain's signal man sends message 'message received' - all that is seen in code is MESSA | Robert Mitchum, Curt Jurgens, Doug McClure | Dick Powell | 1957 | Y |
Enemy of the State | there are five separate scenes where they show a 'keyhole' spy survellience satellite; each time it repeats CQ in Morse (also show a ham receiver) | Will Smith, Gene Hackman, Jon Voight | Tony Scott | 1998 | N Ron H, AH6RH |
Ensign Pulver | radio room scene has operator with marine wireless radio and bug that he uses to send SOS - two other brief radio room scenes but no Morse | Robert Walker Jr, Burl Ives, Walter Matthau | Joshua Logan | 1964 | Y |
Executive Decision | Morse Code used on jet tail lights inform Navy pilots of their presence | Kurt Russell | Stuart Baird | 1996 | Y Jim W, N0BLU |
Eye of the Needle | German agents use Morse to keep in touch with controllers in Germany (code heard is gibberish) | Donald Sutherland | Richard Matquand | 1981 | Y Regis, N1XKE & D.Cox AA3EK |
Fantastic Voyage | CW used in the sound track sent by W6WY | Stephen Boyd Raquel Welch | Richard Fleischer | 1966 | Y Maty W & AL B, W1AB |
Father Goose | Morse heard in background when Eckland radios in via phone to headquarters | Gary Grant, Leslie Caron | Ralph Nelson | 1964 | Y John Y, WD0FPY |
FBI Story, The | . 30 seconds of code received then radio destroyed and station blown up before the bad guys arrive on horseback . FBI agents intercept a message on the radio indicating a shipment of platinum is on its way to Buenos Aires, the code heard is: PL ON ITS WAY TO BA | Jimmy Stewart, Vera Miles | Mervyn LeRoy | 1959 | Y Dwight W, W6AR & D. Cox for update AA3EK |
Finding Battleship Bismarck | National Geographic Society - German newsreel footage shows battleship radio room of op sending CW with sound effects in background | documentary | NGS | 1989 | Y Charlie C, KA8OQF |
Final Countdown, The | sequence where radio officer listens to Morse & makes a statement about the old code he learned at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station *update* when a storm comes up & Morse is used on the light guns to signal the other ships to return to port | Kirk Douglas, Martin Sheen | Don Taylor | 1980 | Y Dan S, AA70A *update* Jason J |
Final Option, The | an SAS operative uses a flashlight to communicate the intentions of the bad guys & girl in the house to the authorities outside | Judy Davis, Lewis Collins, Richard Widmark | Ian Sharp | 1982 | Y Chris V |
Firefox | several scenes with morse in background while in Russian command centre as track stolen aircraft | Clint Eastwood, David Huffman, Freddie Jones | Clint Eastwood | 1982 | Y |
First Man On The Moon | NOVA Episode 5692 - Scene where the Gemini spacecraft runs into operational difficulties and begins tumbling and spinning out of control after undocking from the test LEM - the background music is tonally and rhythmically morse SOS | Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldren et al | Chris Riley | 2014 | Y |
Flash Gordon | A&E Biography - Morse used & heard (violin obligato for sounder effect) when 'Flash Gordon' first introduced via newspapers | Buster Crabbe | - | 1997 | Y |
Sandford Fleming | TV Commercial | Heritage Canada | na | 1994/5 | ? |
For The Boys | Information about soldiers is tapped out & sent to them by landline | Carmen Miranda, Vivian Blaine, Michael O'Shea, Phil Silvers | Lewis Seller | 1944 | N Richard W KW0U |
For Valour | several scenes of morse in this series mostly dealing with WWII spies - code good, sound good but all too short, mostly for effect | actual operators/spies/agents | Seethe Kumar | 1980 | N |
For Your Eyes Only | James Bond Movie - Morse clearly heard from the electronic surveillance ship 'St. Georges' radio room before an old WWII sea mine hits it & the ship goes down | Roger Moore, Carole Bouquet, Lynn-Holly Johnson | John Glen | 1981 | Y |
Foreign Correspondent | radio op uses bug on plane (no sound) . opening scene with has TTY receiving cablegram from overseas stating that there would not be war in Europe this year (1939!) | Joel McCrea | Alfred Hitchcock | 1940 | Y |
Four Faces West" (originally "They Passed This Way") | Pounding telegraph key behind fleeing lovers shows that law is on their trail | Joel McCrea, Frances Dee, Charles Bickford | Alfred Green | 1948 | Y Richard W, KW0U |
Four Feathers, The | The engagement scene has an interesting line: It is a Polka is it not? A bit jerky like saying Good Bye in Morse Code - Excellent Morse used in background while the General is questioning his Captain's blindness (the first feather return by John Clements) | Ralph Richardson, John Clements | Zoltan Korda | 1939 (not yet known if 1978 remake has Morse) | Y |
Four Feathers, The | Sound is synchronized - lapses in key use - sound hard to pinpoint | Merian C Cooper, Richard Arlen, Fay Wray | Lothar Mendes | 1929 | ? |
Fugitive, The | TV Series | David Janssen | Various | 1963-66 | Y |
Full Steam Ahead | TV Series - Episode 4 - an excellent demo of the Wheatstone telegraph as used on British railways before Morse Code (used now on steam preservation) - also scenes with junction boxes and bell codes (another excellent series) | Ruth Goodman, Alex Langlands, Peter Ginn & plenty of steam volunteers | Various | 2016 | Y |
Gamera | a giant turtle breaks free of the polar ice as the result of a Cold War incident between U.S. fighter planes & an unknown bomber. The bomber crashes & a nuclear explosion results, setting the radioactive, fire-breathing turtle free. The turtle goes on a rampage, but final turns good by using it's Breath of Fire to push back a life-threatening typhoon. Morse Code is used several times in the early portions of the film - mostly in Ship-to-Shore scenes | Albert Dekker, Brian Donlevy | Norlyaki Yuasa | 1965 | Y Dave D, K7HMP |
Garfield (comic strip) | Garfield shown in the top of the Weekender pounding out his name in Railway morse - link: ( http://www.garfield.com/comics/pages/ga000319.html ) | Garfield | na | 2000 | N Wenlock |
General, The | silent film | Buster Keaton | Buster Keaton | 1927 | Y |
Giant Behemoth, The | a radioactive dinosaur zaps London - the British Coast Guard warns shipping using radio & blinker Morse | Gene Evans, Jack MacGowran | Eugene Lourie | 1959 | N Richard W, KW0U |
Glenn Miller Story, The | military forces are listening to his music and scene shows preparation for battle & a signal lamp is used | Jimmy Stewart, June Allyson | Anthony Mann | 1954 | Y Dan S, AA70A |
Golden Age of Steam Trains | a few excellent vintage & TV series/movies of telegraph operators - music acts as accurate code | - | Glen Parkway Prod | 1991 | Y |
Goodbye, Mr. Chips! | brief (too brief) shot of telegraph office (twice) - no sound | Robert Donat, Greer Garson, John Mills | Sam Wood | 1939 | Y |
Good Morning, Vietnam | morse imitated by Robin Williams while doing a few radio broadcasts in the imitaition of famous radio announcer di di die di etc | Robin Williams, Forest Whitaker, JT Walsh | Barry Levinson | 1987 | Y |
Go Tell The Spartans | several scenes with Toffee the radio man using legless straight key & good Morse effects in background heard but code not accurate / scene with Lancaster sending 'funny' | Burt Lancaster, Marc Singer | Ted Post | 1978 | Y |
Gray Lady Down | people are trapped inside a submarine & exchange messages with their rescuers inside a DSRV (US Marine special purpose vessel to execute Deep Sea Rescues) - Morse messages tapped using spanners | Charlton Heston, David Carradine, Stacy Keach | David Greene | 1977 | Y de Alfred H and Dan S, AA70A title update! |
Great Escape, The | many repeated hand signals to warn of coming 'ferrets' have Morse patterns / generally heard are 'X M I S' & '/' -note: several recent interviews of actual POWs have confirmed use of Morse for signalling | Richard Attenborough, Steve McQueen, James Garner, Charles Bronson | John Sturges | 1963 | Y |
Great Escapes of World War II | A&E Special - Morse used by underground in one segment but Morse poorly dubbed in | Various | Michael Andrews | February 1997 | Y |
Great Imposter, The | towards end of film, faint Morse heard coming from Royal Canadian Navy ship radio room Cayuga informing captain that the Canadian naval doctor is an imposter | Tony Curtis, Edmond O'Brien, Arthur O'Connell | Robert Mulligan | 1960 | Y |
Great Train Stories (Canadian) | currently on History Television Canada - episode on Stations disappointing as some good Morse scenes of morse in tower & stations but historical details weak - has purely Quebec slant with little regard for rest of Canada - details on morse with train dispatching & signalling not well done / some curious vintage footage used throughout series using Great Northern, CN steam shots when talking about CPR, constantly repeating a few scenes from Buster Keaton's silent film 'The General' which has little bearing (US civil war to Canadian dispatching?)-series needs some careful, historical & thoughtful re-editing | personnal interviews | G Turcotte | 2000 | Not Yet |
Green Goddess | group of Brits are being held hostage by an evil Raj but they foil his plans because unbeknownst to his aids, one of the hostages knows morse code | George Arliss | Alfred E Green | 1930 | ? Rhabyn S |
Gung Ho! | . Japanese radio operator keying Emergency code as a steam roller smashes into the radio room (no sound) . violin pedal-point sending repetitive rhythmical code as Noah Beery Jr receives radio message about incoming Japanese plane attack | Randolph Scott, Noah Beery Jr, Robert Mitchum | Ray Enricht | 1943 | Y |
Gunga Din | The telegram & some Morse in town scene | Cary Grant, Douglas Fairbanks Jr, Joan Fontaine | George Stevens | 1939 | Y |
Guns of Naverone, The | Wireless Morse as Germans try to radio that British ships are going through the straits | Gregory Peck Anthony Quinn | J. Lee Thompson | 1961 | Y Steve H KB0JYL |
Gunsmoke | TV Series - odd episode | James Arness | Various | 1955-75 | N |
Hanoi Hilton, The | . prisoners of war tap messages in Morse on walls of their cells to communicate with each other (to see code style: Morse Codes/'Rock Telegraph') . Denton uses his eyes to blink Morse revealing how they were being treated, during an interview that was aired for the public | Michael Moriarty, Paul LeMat | Lionel Chetwynd | 1987 | Y Dan S, AA70A & update Suzy (AA70A) |
Have Gun Will Travel | TV Series - several episodes where people wanting his services wire him - on his card: "HAVE GUN, WILL TRAVEL. WIRE PALADIN, SAN FRANCISCO" | Richard Boone | Andrew V McLaglen, various others | 1957-63 | Y - some episodes |
Heartbeat | TV Series: Turn Of the Tide - Alf and Rowan on a boat signalling smugglers with a ship Morse lamp - jibberish (an O M N and other letters unable to determine) | Nick Berry, Niamh Cusack, Derek Fowlds, Willian Simons | Tim Dowd | 1994 | Y |
Hell and High Water | The mystery sub's crew has a Morse blinker conversation with a Chinese warship, which then tries to kill them | Richard Widmark, Cameron Mitchell, Bella Darvi | Sam Fueller | 1954 | N Richard W, KW0U |
Heroes of Telemark (,The) | 3 very poor Morse sound scenes (for almost historically correct movie) where woman op sends repeated DDDDDD & in another scene to GGGGG . a radio detection unit pinpoints transmitter at 247degrees by 73degress "WSW about 6 kilometres away" while same op tries to notify England about failure to blow up German heavy water plant | Kirk Douglas, Richard Harris, Ulla Jacobson | Anthony Mann | 1965 | N |
Hetty Wainthropp Investigates | Eye Witness Episode - A deaf birdwathcer escapes a crooked copper and gets to a phone box to Morse (poorly!) to his parents he is okay | Patricia Routledge, Dominic Monaghan, Derek Benfield | Various | 1996 | Y |
Hidden Figures | There's a scene where a radio broadcast flashes the news that the Soviets have orbited Yuri Gagarin into earth orbit. It's prefaced by a morse code bulletin | Taraji P Henson, Octavia Spencer | Theodore Melfi | 2016 | Y Ron H, AH6RH |
High Frequency (aka: Qualcuno in Ascolto | film about a couple of hams who solve a murder mystery and also find love, Morse featured several times - technology in movie pretty much impossible, it presented a positive image of ham radio | Vincent Spano, Oliver Benny, Anne Canovas | Falierio Rosati | 1988 | Y Jim N2TAW |
High Noon | clean opening scene at station with agent dressed in usual garb - good shot of Bunnell sounder & relay - relay & sounder can be seen and heard tapping out closing of message | Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly, Lloyd Bridges | Fred Zinnemann | 1952 | Y |
High Road to China | - | Tom Selleck | Brian G Hutton | 1983 | Y |
Hindenburg | History Television (Canada) - examines Hindenburg disaster in series 'Great Disasters' - brief scene of newspaper reporters using 'bugs' to file copy for arrival of air ship just before the disaster | historical footage | George Marshall | 1966 | N |
Hindenburg, The | in one scene just a couple of clicks sounding like the letter I - a few good scenes of radio equipment and Morse key on board air ship / Ritter (Scott) in radio room & faint Morse in background hard to decode | George C Scott, Anne Bancroft | Robert Wise | 1975 | Y |
His Double Life | based on novel 'Buried Alive' & play 'The Great Adventure' by Arnold Bennett - a valet dies & is buried in his master's stead - Morse is faithful & accompany's titling twice | Roland Young, Lillian Gish | by Arthur Hopkins | 1933 | ? Art G |
History Channel (Canada) Spy Week | terrific clear Morse in ad for 'Spy Week' beginning 09 January 2000 | documentaries of WWII spies | - | 1999 | ? |
History Erased | History Television Canada starting new series 19 April 2019 - Morse key shown in preview - assuming at this time will be an episode on Morse | - | - | 2019 | ? |
History Erased | French Education - Lots of excellent scenes with Chappe Optical Telegraph and simplified explanations and uses for it across Europe | Clifford Johnson, Jacalyn Duffin | - | 2019 | Patrick Camron (Producer) |
History Erased | Italian Series - Lots of excellent scenes with Morse and sound is 100% accurate and clean - mostly dealing with Marconi in Italy and mention of the Titanic with CQD and SOS use - quite good | Francesco da Mosto, Kenneth Bartley, Michael Scott | - | 2019 | ? |
History's Mysteries | History Channel Documentary - In 1945, the US is on friendly terms with Ho Chi Minh - Ho & his liberation fighters spy on Japanese troop movements & radio American OSS using Morse | - | - | 1997 | ? George B, WA5HRC |
Hitler's Most Wanted (TV Series) | Discovery Channel - Host James Ellis introduces Wilhelm Canaris as one of the Most Wanted - in this episode (Wilhem Canaris) two scenes of good Morse sound and several images of Morse keys, radios et al - incredible tour of the German Spy Museum and the equipment spies used during WWII | James Ellis (host) | Mark Stevenson | 2019 | NY |
H.M.C.S. Haida | History Television (Canada) Documentary of HMCS Haida at Toronto's Ontario Place - good slow example of naval Morse & equipment about rescue needed for HMCS Athabasca by HMCS Haida | survivors of HMCS Athabasca & Haida | Howard Green | 1999 | N |
Hogan's Heroes | TV Series - opening intro (flag pole antenna) & various early episodes - you hear sent CQ CQ CQ CQ CQ... | Bob Crane | Various | 1965-70 | Y update, Ron H AH6RH |
Home Fires | TV Series - telegrams on deaths, captures, missing - Morse suggested | Clare Calbraith, Brian Fletcher, Samantha Bond | Various | 2015 | DVD |
Horse Feathers | During a chaotic biology lecture Groucho bangs on a key & yells for help | The Marx Brothers, Thelma Tood, David Landau | Norman McLeod | 1932 | Y Richard W, KW0U |
Hot Lead (aka: Run of the Arrow) | Station telegraph announces approach of train | Tim Holt, Richard Martin, Joan Dixon | Stuart Gilmore | 1951 | N Richard W, KW0U |
Hour of the Gun | no Morse but an excellent scene with the operator hooping a 'telegram' (not flimsy) to the conductor on a speeding train to pass onto Wyatt Earp & if watch closely, you'll see the semaphore signal drop! (some excellent train shots) | James Garner, Jason Robarts Jr, Robert Ryan | John Sturgess | 1967 | Y |
How The West Was Won | no keyed Morse but Morse code briefly used by US Cavalry troopers sending messages about position of Indians by using mirrors & hats to replicate the dit & dah in transmiting code - appeared to be only an S & H | Gregory Peck, Jimmie Stewart, Henry Fonda, John Wayne, Karl Malden | Henry Hathaway, John Ford, George Marshall | 1963 | Y |
Human Comedy, The | Small town USA | Mickey Rooney, Frank Craig, Marsha Hunt | Clarence Brown | 1943 | Y |
Hunt For Red October, The | . Captain of the Dallas sends Morse by signal lamp on the periscope & comments on "...how rusty his Morse is." . scene where Alfa sub Kanavolov receives orders to Red October, the scene with the mast of the sub extending above the surface of the water, you can clearly audibly identify US marine broadcast station DE WLO RTTY | Sean Connery | John McTiernan | 1990 | Y Dan S, AA70A update Leland E V aa2qx/g0szp |
Hurricane Express, The | first episode several scenes showing railroad telegraph in operation (relay, sounder, key) | John Wayne | Armand Schaefer | 1932 | Y update from John Y, WD0FPY |
Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte | no morse sound but a quick scene of Hollisport Station & in background see op with eye shades working in Bay Window - nice! | Betty Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Joseph Cotton | Robert Aldrich | 1965 | Y |