The movie would otherwise be a footnote in cinema but for one fact: it was the first feature film to be shown on the new innovation called television. The September 1932 release of "The Crooked Circle" was just one of many Hollywood low budget films the industry was cranking out on a consistent basis. One of television's first experimental stations, W6XAO-TV, in Los Angeles, received permission from the small production and distribution company, Sono Art-World Wide Picture, to broadcast over the air on March 10, 1933, its "The Crooked Circle" to a handful of pioneering televisions capable of picking up its signal in the area. The broadcast of the movie officially became the first time a feature film was shown on TV.
The television station broadcasting this historical event was owned by Cadillac car salesman Donald Musgrave Lee, who took an interest in radio in the mid-1920s by buying several Southern California radio stations. In 1931, Lee expanded to the emerging technology of television, obtaining a license to conduct experimental broadcasts. From the transmission tower he built on a ridge just above the "Hollywoodland" sign overlooking Los Angeles, his station beamed "The Crooked Circle," even though the movie was still playing in local movie houses. Sono Pictures was looking for free publicity for its movie, and realized the advertisements announcing the TV event was beneficial for its B-movie starring ZaSu Pitts. The Los Angeles Evening-Post Record ad stated, "An event of unusual interest from both a scientific and entertainment stand points is slated for next Thursday and Friday when, for the first time, a complete motion picture feature production will be broadcast over radio-television. (TV receivers in 1933 could only play the image while the audio was heard on radio receivers.) 'The Crooked Circle' has been selected. A special demonstration open without charge to the public, will be on view at the Barker Brothers' radio department."
TV station owner Lee selected "The Crooked Circle" because of its simplicity in the lack of camera motion. He didn't want ghosting lines to appear on the TV's tiny screens when the images showed movement. The film's plot involves a secret organization infiltrating a tight-knit gang known as The Crooked Circle as it plans the assassination of a rival member. To chose who gets the honor of performing the killing, Thelma Parker (Irene Purcell) draws the lucky chip. Thelma is really an undercover law enforcement agent who works alongside Yoganda (C. Henry Gordon) to bust up the ring. Despite being a policeman on the fringes of the investigation, Officer Arthur Primmer (James Gleason) ends up playing a major role in the film. Gleason is a tough-talking cop who really has a heart of gold. Irene Purcell, known more for her stage acting, appeared in only eight films, her first in 1931. "The Crooked Circle" was Purcell's second to last movie before she married the president of a large household cleaning supply company. She and her newlywed moved to the Frank Lloyd Wright Wingspread House, now an Historic National Landmark in Racine, Wisconsin.
"The Crooked Circle's" role in television history was solidified eight years later when the movie again was aired, this time on New York City's NBC Television experimental station WX2BS on June 18, 1940, making it as one of the first feature films broadcast over the airwaves in the city. That station is now WNBC-TV.
The television station broadcasting this historical event was owned by Cadillac car salesman Donald Musgrave Lee, who took an interest in radio in the mid-1920s by buying several Southern California radio stations. In 1931, Lee expanded to the emerging technology of television, obtaining a license to conduct experimental broadcasts. From the transmission tower he built on a ridge just above the "Hollywoodland" sign overlooking Los Angeles, his station beamed "The Crooked Circle," even though the movie was still playing in local movie houses. Sono Pictures was looking for free publicity for its movie, and realized the advertisements announcing the TV event was beneficial for its B-movie starring ZaSu Pitts. The Los Angeles Evening-Post Record ad stated, "An event of unusual interest from both a scientific and entertainment stand points is slated for next Thursday and Friday when, for the first time, a complete motion picture feature production will be broadcast over radio-television. (TV receivers in 1933 could only play the image while the audio was heard on radio receivers.) 'The Crooked Circle' has been selected. A special demonstration open without charge to the public, will be on view at the Barker Brothers' radio department."
TV station owner Lee selected "The Crooked Circle" because of its simplicity in the lack of camera motion. He didn't want ghosting lines to appear on the TV's tiny screens when the images showed movement. The film's plot involves a secret organization infiltrating a tight-knit gang known as The Crooked Circle as it plans the assassination of a rival member. To chose who gets the honor of performing the killing, Thelma Parker (Irene Purcell) draws the lucky chip. Thelma is really an undercover law enforcement agent who works alongside Yoganda (C. Henry Gordon) to bust up the ring. Despite being a policeman on the fringes of the investigation, Officer Arthur Primmer (James Gleason) ends up playing a major role in the film. Gleason is a tough-talking cop who really has a heart of gold. Irene Purcell, known more for her stage acting, appeared in only eight films, her first in 1931. "The Crooked Circle" was Purcell's second to last movie before she married the president of a large household cleaning supply company. She and her newlywed moved to the Frank Lloyd Wright Wingspread House, now an Historic National Landmark in Racine, Wisconsin.
"The Crooked Circle's" role in television history was solidified eight years later when the movie again was aired, this time on New York City's NBC Television experimental station WX2BS on June 18, 1940, making it as one of the first feature films broadcast over the airwaves in the city. That station is now WNBC-TV.