3D TVs

3D Films: Not All That New…

3D TV is indeed a new and awesome piece of kit, offering a viewer experience that has previously only been available in movie theatres. Until fairly recently though 3D films weren’t exactly prevalent. Despite this though, they’ve been around quite a while and the first feature film to use the technology was in fact released in 1922 and called The Power Of Love.

The film that is often credited with being the first 3D movie is called Bwana Devil, which was made in 1952. However this was the first release during a short-lived boom in the 50s that occurred globally, but was indeed little more than a fad. A fad that saw over five thousand theatres equip themselves for the ‘new era’ that never actually caught on. Oops.

So what of The Power Of Love? As you can imagine with a title like that it was a melodrama. Created by Nat Deverich the tale told is that of a young mariner from California that is set in the 1840s. It stared Barbara Bedford with the lead being played by Elliot Sparling and was screened at Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.

It is maybe not so surprising that being the first of its kind the technology was rarefied. Considering that it was another 30 years until 3D was tried again with any conviction it is no wonder that The Power Of Love was the only film to ever utilise the two-camera, two-projector Fairhall-Elder stereoscopic process. The film really was an island of progress in the timeline of 3D films, if only we knew more about it.

Unfortunately the film no longer exists and it’s even pretty tricky to find out how people reacted to seeing it. Although the creation of the film was unique the audience had to wear anaglyph glasses to witness the 3D effect. These had one red lens and one cyan lens, sound familiar?

It’s hard to believe it will actually be the 90th anniversary of the film’s release this September. What would be better than a screening to mark the occasion? Though with no known print in existence, we better start checking the archives and attics of execs past and present fairly thoroughly and right away…

Sam C thinks 3D is ace which is why you’ll find quite a few dimension bending gadgets at Find Me A Gift.