| Canadian Railway Telegraph History |
| MORSE GOES TO THE MOVIES! |
CREDITS |
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| Man Called Intrepid, A | TV 3-Part Mini-Series - Several excellent scenes at Camp 'X' someplace in Northern Ontario where Morse taught to spies during WWII | David Niven, Michael York | Produced by CTV | 1979 | N |
| Man from U.N.C.L.E. (The) | TV Series - Episode: The Iowa Scuba Affair where Napoleon Solo uses a 'spy radio' that appears to be a crystal set (before the 'pen radios') | Robert Vaughn, David McCallum, Leo G Carroll | various | 1964-68 | Y Joe B, N3TTE |
| Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The | good scene of op at Shinbone - although no Morse, the authentic dress of the op is wonderful - eye shades, arm protectors, string tie | John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, Vera Miles | John Ford | 1962 | Y |
| Guglielmo Marconi | A CRB Foundation Heritage Canada TV Commercial - signifies arrival of first wireless transmission across the Atlantic Ocean from England to Signal Hill, Newfoundland, 12 Dec 1901 - a poor 'S' is attempted | ? | ? | 1994-97 | N |
| M*A*S*H* | TV Series - an episode has Radar taking instructions for a bris via a phone link to a ship off shore - the ship is sending Morse back | Alan Alda, Gary Burghoff et al | various | 19?? | Y (some episodes) RGB & Leo, KA3TGY |
| M*A*S*H* | TV Series - episode with Col. Lacey - Hawkeye is in surgery & is asked to change the radio channel so he bursts out into "DIT DIT DIT DIT DIT Good Evening Mr and Mrs America..." imitating the Walter Winchell routine | Alan Alda, Gary Burghoff et al | various | 1979 | Y (some episodes) |
| Massacre In Rome | code heard in background during voice radio broadcasts to civilians | Richard Burton, Marcello Mastroianni | George Pan Cosmatos | 1973 | Y |
| Maverick | Morse message used was 'supposed' to tell the bad guy to make sure that the good guy (Mel Gibson) doesn't make it to the poker game | Mel Gibson, Jodi Foster, James Garner | Richard Donner | 1994 | Y Dwight W, W6AR |
| Maximum Overdrive | code sent uncertain | Emilio Estevez, Pat Hingle, Ned austin, Aarry bell | Stephen King | 1986 | Y JAL, N1EAH |
| McArthur - I Shall Return | many good scenes with naval Morse signal lamps in Pacific | Host: John Huston | Mike Finlay | 1995 | N |
| McHale's Navy | TV Series, odd episode - ship-to-shore & war drums by natives! | Ernest Borgnine | Edward J Montagne | 1963-5 colour remakes 1989 | ? |
| Medical Detectives | The Learning Channel (TLC) TV Series - Murder story and investigation of Helle Crafts - when chief investigator questioned, Morse is faintly heard in the background | various actors | Paul Dowling | 1996 | N |
| Memphis Belle | no Morse sound but three clear scenes of Morse straight key used by navigator on plane | Matthew Modine, Eric Stoltz, Tate Donovan | Michael Caton-Jones | 1990 | Y |
| Men of the Fighting Lady | Morse seen & heard during radio room scenes onboard the carrier during the Korean War | Van Johnson, Walter Pidgeon, Keenan Wynn | Andrew Marton | 1954 | Y Donald C, AA3EK |
| Men In Black | apparently Morse code is used in this movie somewhere - any know what/where? | Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino | Barry Sonnenfeld | 1997 | Y Mike, N9BOR |
| Merrill's Marauders | one short scene near end where wireless US army op in Burma sends 'SMO'(?) | Andrew Duggan, Jeff Chandler, Claude Aikens, Ty Harden | Samuel Fuller | 1968 | N |
| Miami Vice | the opening sequence of one episode had a piece of music with Morse Code in the background before the opening credits | Don Johnson, Philip Michael Thomas | various | 1984-89 | N John Henry N |
| Mickey Mouse | Cartoon Title: "Mickey's Garden" - he uses call sign W60PU as part of plot & is on his QSL cards UPDATE: Mickey is working in his garden, which is overrun with bugs; the scene in which the morse code appears is one bug transmitting the signal to attack to all the other bugs - actual code is "CQ CQ OK GA OK GA" | Mickey Mouse | ? | 1935 | N *update* Andrew S, N2CN,George McG, K4CRQ |
| Midsomer Murders | Part One Secrets and Spies Episode - Morse taped out on a china dinner plate with a sterling silver knife - Morse is slow and easy to read! - one actor also mimics the tapped Morse saying dit-dah-dit etc | John Nettles, Jason Hughes, Jane Wymark | Various | 2009 | Y |
| Midway | Morse sent to indicate that the island's fresh water condenser was broken - gibberish code written by editorial dept.: ODBRQDLX (*code sent by Bob Leonard, KE6DM in movie) | Henry Fonda, Charlton Heston | Jack Smight | 1976 | Y Donald C, AA3EK |
| Mighty Mo The Many Lives of the USS Missouri | a few pictures where the USS Missouri was sending Morse to other ships in fleet | - | - | 19?? | ? Dwight, W6AR |
| Miracle of the Bells | A miracle occurs when a movie star is laid to rest - some Morse sound and scenes | Fred MacMurray, Frank Sinatra, Lee J Cobb | Irving Pichel | 1948 | Y |
| Mission Impossible | TV Series - Phelps is drugged & held captive by a country doctor; one of his operatives comes in & sees Phelps blink Morse to him letting him know what is happening | Peter Graves, Martin Landau, Barbara Bain et al | various | 1966-73 | Y Dan S, AA70A |
| Mission Impossible | Kitara Series - TV Series - Barney taps out good clear Morse - Paris says he does not understand the code and Barney says that is because it is Swahili (but what he taps is an S H 5 M and other letters and some nervous jibberish twitches) | Peter Graves, Leonard Nimoy, Greg Morris, Lesley Warren | Murray Golden | 1971 | Y |
| Mission Impossible | The Question Series - TV Series - Gladly, Morse tapped out on telephone to reveal a location but sadly the Morse is just good jibberish and does not come close to what Phelps says in words | Peter Graves, Gary Lockwood, Elizabeth Ashley | Murray Golden | 1973 | Y |
| Monarch of the Glen | TV Series Episode 5019 - Hector and Killwilly land in jail - Hector starts to use tap H in Morse with a spoon on the jail bars to say Hello to Golly in the next cell - Hector forgets what letter E is and swears saying blast that was an A | Alastair Mackenzie, Richard Briers, Susan Hampshire | various | 2001 | Y |
| Monty Python's Flying Circus | did a sequence in series 2's ep 2 (transmission date 22-9-70, recording date 2-7-70) with 'The Semaphore Version of Wuthering Heights', 'Julius Caesar on an Aldis Lamp', 'Gunfight at the OK Corral in Morse Code', & 'The Smoke Signal Version of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes' | - | - | 19?? | ? Mentler |
| Moody Blues (music) | album is STRANGE TIMES by THE MOODY BLUES - In an interview it was mentioned as being a code; ham radio people say 'CQ' being used by keyboard | The Moody Blues | Universal Records Inc. 012 153 565-2 | 1999 | Y (CD) Nida D |
| Moonlight in Vermont (music) | the chorus lyrics are wonderful: 'Telegraph cables they sing down the highway, And travel each bend on the road...' | Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong also Frank Sinatra has a recording | - | - | Y |
| Moonraker | James Bond is about to seduce the beautiful CIA Doctor - while going through her belongings, he pushes a button on her purse & an antennae pops out & signals SOS in Morse - he quips: "...standard CIA equipment I see." | Roger Moore, Lois Chiles, Michel Lonsdale | Lewis Gilbert | 1979 | Y |
| Morituri | short scene in German merchant ship radio room with clear Morse - appears to have a bug in use also | Marlon Brando | Bernhard Wicki | 1965 | Y |
| Morning Departure | British sub triggers WWII mine & sinks to bottom - after rescue ships arrive good scene with Morse signal lamp - later, diver lands on top of sub & using 'spanner' taps AIRWAY COMING, later PASSING WIRES & finally HRS 10 COM | John Mills, Richard Attenborough, Nigel Patrick | John Baker | 1950 | N |
| Morse Code Won't Sign Off (ABC NEWS Item) | an interesting special report on Morse Code on ABC News & also available online with audio file & animation | By Kerry Webster Special to ABCNEWS.com | - | 1998 | N Neal McEwen, K5RW - Telegraph Office |
| Mosquito Squadron | French underground receiving morse message from England about attack on Charlon Castle - good, clear reading for the few seconds | David McCallum, Suzanne Neve, David Buck | Boris Sagal | 1968 | N |
| Mr. Horn | a general explains how his men will use heliographs to send code between patrols, thus moving quickly to corner Geronimo. After these "walkie-talkies" are deployed an Indian uses a mirror to mimic a message, leading a patrol into an ambush | David Carradine, Richard Widmark, Karen Black | Jack Starrett | 1979 | Y Richard W. KW0U |
| Murder In Normandy | short morse signal lamp sends S - several excellent scenes of Canadian National Telegrams showing death notices of Canadian soldiers murdered by German Panzer Meyer | History Televison (Canada) | David Paperny | 1999 | N |
| Murdoch Mysteries | TV Series - Episode: Murdoch Ahoy - Murdoch sends a wireless message to the station house from the Keewatin ship - four brief scenes of wireless - code jibberish | Yannick Bisson, Helen Joy, Jonny Harris | various | 2013 | Y |
| Murdoch Mysteries | TV Series - Episode: The Murdoch Trap - Station House 3 receives a telephone call and the message is: 6 9 1 in Morse code | Yannick Bisson, Helen Joy, Jonny Harris | various | 2013 | Y |
| Muscle Beach Party | Morse Code heard in the background of the yacht bridge | Frankie Avolon & Annette Funicello | William Asher | 1964 | Y Steve H, KB0JYL |
| Narrow Margin, The | original 1952 film - no Morse BUT excellent 2 scenes with lady TTY op typing & spooling tape along with male op in eye shades & traditional arm bands | Charles McGraw | Richard Fleischer | 1952 | Y |
| National Dream, The (The Last Spike) | Episodes 5&6 especially .several scenes with accurate Morse, straight Bunnell keys, sounders & many railway stations & scenes - Van Horne seen/heard using key note, several errors: CPR shown crossing Canadian Praires without telegraph poles along side but telegraph poles across first! .laying rails see 'Algoma' steel but didn't exist in 1881 .rails are used & 100 pounders .Van Horne blasts 14L on whistle but signal not used until late 1890s .mention use of 'fishplates' but laid rails in 1880s did not use them | John Colicos, Joe Crowfoot, Jean-Marie Lemieux | Eric Till & James Murray | 1974 | N |
| National Post | newspaper television ad - clear Morse heard behind talking and image of 1940s hat with 'press' badge in hatband | animation | on CTV | 1998 | N |
| Nazi Megastructures | Hitler's Mediterranean Fortress (Sicily) - one scene of Morse lamp from German ship and radio equipment scene of Morse key - sound very brief so hard to tell if accurate | Tony Pollard, James Holland, Alexandra Richie, Patrick Bury | National Geographic | 2015 | Y |
| Nazi Megastructures | Hitler's Megaships - some scenes of Morse radio equipment and signaling lights from Tirpitz | Tony Pollard, James Holland | National Geographic | 2015 | Y |
| Nazi Megastructures | Kamikaze Bombers - several oepning scenes with Morse sound - radio equipment | Tony Pollard, James Holland | National Geographic | 2015 | Y |
| Nazi Megastructures | Lightning War Machine - many scenes with interesting morse keys and radio equipment for tanks and planes - a few scenes with morse sound but jibberish effect | Tony Pollard, James Holland | National Geographic | 2016 | Y |
| Nazi Megastructures | Hitler's Megafortress - Channel Islands - several scenes of Morse and German Enginma machine use - incredible communication rooms and tower | Tony Pollard, James Holland | National Geographic | 2016 | Y |
| Nazi Megastructures | Hitler's Killer Subs - several scenes of wireless Morse and German Enginma machine used on U-Boats with very bried dubbed sounds - also discovery of communication Command bunkers on land for U-Boat comm | Tony Pollard, James Holland | National Geographic | 2016 | Y |
| News Canada | ALL news episodes opens with Morse sounding NEWS then announcer jumps to events of the day (sports, weather, railway, communications, social, transportation, fashion etc) | animation | Yossi Abolafia, National Film Board of Canada | 1978 | N |
| News Canada | ep: October 26 1878 NFB of Canada Vignette - news opens with Morse sounding NEWS then announcer jumps to events of the day (CPR, Hanlan, women's fashions) | animation | Yossi Abolafia, National Film Board of Canada | 1978 | N |
| Night Flight aka: Vol de Nuit | extracts of Morse were used to great dramatic effect in the production storms | John Barrymore, Helen Hayes, Clark Gable, Lionel Barrymore, Robert Montgomery, Myrna Loy, William Gargan | Clarence Brown | 1933 | ? - Ron H G0MRH in MM51 Pg41 |
| Night Mail | - | Frank Atkinson, Richard Bird | Herbert Smith, Harry Watt, Basil Wright | 1936 | ? |
| Night Passage | opening screen has "Click" the operator writing down a telegram from end-of-track - can hear Morse in background while taking telegram - interesting setup of gravity batteries seen also | Jimmy Stewart, Brandon de Wilde | James Neilson | 1957 | N |
| Night To Remember, A | wireless Morse - Actual Sent:| Kenneth More | Roy Ward Baker | 1958 | Y | update Donald C, AA3EK |
| Night Train To Munich (aka Night Train) | poor Morse| Rex Harrison | Carol Reed | 1940 | Y | |
| No Man Is An Island | docudrama on life of George R. Tweed, a World War II hero - Tweed is trapped on Guam from the day when Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor - when time comes for Allies to invade the island, he is instrumental in signaling information to them from his hidden base on a hilltop - several good scenes with mirror & sending morse but not very accurate - some good sound from sub | Jeffrey Hunter, Miguel Anzures, Mario Barri | Richard Gladstone, John Monks Jr | 1962 | N |
| Now It Can Be Told | after WWII the group that trained the spies made a movie - some of the actors were the real spies in the training - several excellent scenes of Morse & equipment | - | ? | 1946 | N |
| O.S.S. | many Morse scenes (eg) Code training class with people using J-38 keys & several women in large radio room copying code from agents in occupied France | Alan Ladd | Irving Pichel | 1946 | N John Y, WD0FPY |
| Odette | several good scenes of wireless Morse used - code sometimes hard to hear | Anna Neagle, Trevor Howard, Peter Ustinov | Herbert Wilcox | 1951 | N |
| Oh Henry Chocolate Bars | TV Commercial | ? | ? | February 1997 | N |
| On the Beach | Actual sent: KA COKE BOTTLE ON KEY HELD BY WINDOW CORD RETURNING ABOARD NOW AR SK | Gregory Peck | Stanley Kramer | 1959 | Y update Donald C, AA3EK |
| Once Upon A Time In The West | opening scene with Station Agent has paper register clicking away with 2 spools of tape! - 2nd scene later of another station with same type of paper register working! NICE! | Henry Fonda, Claudia Cardinale, Charles Bronson, Jason Robards | Sergio Leone | 1969 | Y |
| One of Our Aircraft is Missing | | Godfrey Tearle | Michael Powell | 1941 | Y | |
| Operation Bottleneck | American soldiers in World War II Burma use code to contact their headquarters | Ron Foster, Miiko Taka, Norman Alden, Edward Pahn | Edward L Cahn | 1961 | N Richard W, KW0U |
| Operation Pacific | scenes: 1)'Sparks' told to send message - see/hear straight key send 'USS' for United States Submarine Thunderbolt (2) sub damaged then refitted - now see bug & hear brief sound - also see Japanese Morse signal lamps which Wayne refers to as 'search lights'! | John Wayne, Patricia Neal, Ward Bond | Blake Edwards | 1951 | Y |
| OnTV | TV commercial - ad for ONTV TV channel in Hamilton, Ontario - read "HAM" in sound | - | - | 2000 | N |
| Our Man Flint | sent message: MOUNTAIN ISLAND LATITUDE 18 DEGREES 9 MINUTES NORTH LONGITUDE 11 DEGREES 3 MINUTES WEST | James Coburn | Daniel Mann | 1966 | Y AL B, W1AB update QST Mag Aug 1997 Pg25 Ronnie V, K9OCE |
| Our Man In Havana | several brief Morse scenes - news ticker | Alec Guiness, Burl Ives, Maureen O'Hara | Carol Reed | 1960 | Y |
| Overland Pacific | A railway investigator tries to round up the white men behind a fake Indian attack on track layers - seevral end of track scenes in tent of Morse sent - cut wires on ploes | Chris Alcaide, William Bishop, Peggie Castle | Fred F Sears | 1954 | Y |
| Overland Trail | TV series | William Bendix, Doug McClure | various | 1960 | ? |
| Pale Rider | - | Clint Eastwood | Clint Eastwood | 1985 | Y |
| Paul Merton's Secret Stations | Paul Merton travelling Britain's Request Station Stop Stations visits Ferryside Signal Box and the operator uses the telegraph signal key and bell to alert stations up and down the line that a train has passed his station - clear, audible sound - Part 1 Episode 1 | Paul Merton | Stephanie Fyfe (Producer) | 2018 | Y |
| Pearl Harbour | History Television (Canada) doing week series on Pearl Harbour-use Morse in TV ad to advertise specials; hear only slow 'SSS' | - | - | 2001 | N |
| Pearl Harbour | new release of movie-scene where Commander Mitsuo Fuchida radios back the results of the air raid to flag ship-hard to hear 20 WPM CW in background, last character 'K' - Other Details Here | Ben Affleck, Kate Beckinsale, Cuba Gooding, Jr | Michael Bay | 2001 | NY Ron H |
| Pearls Before Swine | in '60s Rock band "Pearls Before Swine" that wrote & recorded tune titled "Oh Miss Morse" with Morse code in background | members? | ? | 1960s | ? Mick S |
| Pee-Wee's Big Adventure | Pee-Wee uses a house alarm to trigger a transmitter in a pumpkin to send the letter C which inturn makes an antenna send the Morse letters BIKE to open the door to his special bicycle | Pee-Wee Herman, Elizabeth Daily | Tim Burton | 1985 | Y Richard W, KW0U |
| (CD Audio) Day and Night - The Many Voices of Peter Sellers (and) Fool Brittania | a Peter Sellers track on a CD is a tribute to Morse tappers - words NIGHT AND DAY sent in time with music - also 'Fool Britannia' with 'big lumps of Morse on it.' | Peter Sellers | Day and Night EMI Comedy Classics #Ecc39 Fool Brittania MCI Spoken Word #GAGSDMC 071 | 19?? & 1963 resp | Y (CD/cassette) Graham F, G3MFJ/AB7VN |
| Pelican Brief, The | a small boat arrives on the beach in the dark & sends M by flashlight & receives K from another boat | Julia Roberts, Densel Washington, Sam Shepard | Alan J Pakula | 1993 | Y |
| People's Country | PBS Documentary Series - goes through 20thC one year at a time . 1930-"Sporting Fever" . 1921 "Dempsey-Carpentier Heavyweight Championship Fight" - film of event includes scene of the day, one transmitting fight live via telegraph using bug with straight key close at hand | PBS Documentary | - | 1990s | Y |
| Petticoat Junction | TV Series - Edgar Buchann, Bea Benaderet, Linda Henning, Smiley Burnette | Several shows throughout the run have Morse in Sam Drucker's store also when steam train is used | Various | 1963-70 | Y |
| Phantom Empire | In Episode Two Thunder Riders from the secret underground kingdom of Murania are recalled by Morse code. The queen sends S-I-E to the leader's wrist radio | Gene Autry, Frankie Darro, Betsy King Ross | Otto Brewer | 1935 | Y Richard W, KW0U |
| Phantom Express, The | Villians trying to sabotage a railway - weak Morse (scratchy sound!) | J Farrell MacDonald, Hobart Bosworth | Emory Johnson | 1932 | Y |
| Phenomenon | - HAM op call in movie is WB6QLF and is a real person! - John Travolta copies RTTY by ear - information from Charlie (KA8OQF) as a 'Newsline' feature closer from his interview in 'Amateur News Weekly' | John Travolta & Forest Whitaker | John Turteltaub | 1996 | n/a Greg, W8XP & Charlie, KA8OQF |
| Play Dirty | opening scene has Morse signal lamp between shore & ship (playing chess!) . Morse key used in desert to test signal when radio fails (mostly gibberish but hear S S S . late scene has gibberish Morse being sent but Germans listening & intercept signal & hear S F K M via German receiver | Michael Caine, Nigel Davenport, Nigel Green | Andre De Toth | 1969 | N |
| Polaroid Commercial | commercial for Polaroid 'Polapulse flashlight' - man in bar holding book with 'MORSE' - he flashes a message to a girl across the room: "I find you deeply attractive" problem is an old sailor behind the girl reads the message & chases the guy out of the bar | - | - | 1997 | N Dwight, W6AR |
| Poseidon Adventure, The | Morse used on the hull of the Poseidon to communicate with the divers/survivors | Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Shelley Winters | Ronald Neame | 1972 | Y Jay M, KD1GP |
| Porky Pig ('The Stranger and Porky Pig') | Cartoon - when Tonto calls the Lone stranger on his 'Televisor' you hear following 'HI HAMS QSL PORKY' (no spaces) | Porky Pig, Tonto, Lone Stranger | Robert Clampett | 1939 | N AL B, W1AB; update Bob F NS3Z |
| PT 109 | use of Morse signal lamp between ships | Cliff Robertson | Leslie Martinson | 1963 | Y Dan S, AA70A |
| Elvis Presley Special 'Aloha in Hawaii' | Elvis says 'Aloha' from Hawaii in Morse, speed about 20wpm .(update)on Jan. 14/73 it was an NBC-TV special satellite broadcast from International Center in Honolulu, reaching one billion people - performance was recorded live & released as a double album in Feb. 1973 & subsequently certified MULTI-PLATINUM | Elvis Presly | - | - | 1973 (Jan. 14) Pat M, W9ZO & update |
| Presidents At War - Part One - A Call To Valor Series | Only small scene scene with excellent Morse after the opening scene for 1941/42- also a brief Morse naval lamp scene | includes Eisenhower, LBJ, Reagan, Kennedy, Bush, Ford, Carter | 2019 | Y | |
| Prisoner of Shark Island, The | Doctor Mudd has ordered the soldiers to fire the canon at a US ship to make it come to port with needed medical supplies - several sequences of Morse naval signals flags & waving hand lanterns - uncertain if actual messages or not | Warner Baxter, Gloria Stuart, John Carradine, Joyce Kay | John Ford | 1936 | N |
| PSI Factor | . TV Series, Episode #115r - buzzing effect used to drive out rats that are screwing up the production of computer chips is actually tightly filtered cw . main character's last line, "...we may never know about this..."(referring to cw) is followed by two recognizable letters in cw, HA . various letters in cw also heard in background under Dan Aykroyd's commentary | ? | various | 1997 | N Charlie C, KA8OQF |
| Purple Plain, The | Morse signal lamp giving okay for plane to takeoff | Gregory Peck, Win Min Than | Robert Parrish | 1954 | N |
| Gomer Pyle, USMC | while on sea manuevers with US Navy, Gomer is sent out to a raft occupied by Sgt. Carter et al - Carter receives a message through the fog via Morse signal lamp from ship (Gomer saves the day by swimming into a periscope & capturing the sub below | Jim Nabors, Frank Sutton | various | 1964-1969 | N Dan S, AA70A |
