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OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 081

Trapped by Television

193664 minUnited States
ComedyDramaCrime
Video edition
YouTube
Original language
English
This copy runs
63:38
Subtitles
English

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Synopsis

An inventor needs financing to finish a television system, but unpaid bills and rival interests keep blocking his progress. A businesswoman and a persistent debt collector become involved as criminals see an opportunity of their own. The story combines romance and comic intrigue with an early screen vision of television's possibilities.

Cast

DirectorsDel Lord

Historical context

Television becomes the engine of a crime story at a time when the medium had yet to become an ordinary household possession. The film mixes speculative technology with comedy and investigation, preserving a 1930s fantasy of what electronic images might make possible.

Sources and availability

General references identify the work and its copy. A reference beside an editorial section is linked to the claims checked in that section.

WikipediaInternet Archive

Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.

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Availability checked on September 10, 2026.

Photograph credit

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