MAGIC BOX 1951 Robert Donat, John Boulting CAMERA UK PRESSBOOK

Original British 14 1/2 inch x 10 3/4 inch 8 Page Pressbook for the 1951 John Boulting Drama THE MAGIC BOX, based on the biography “Friese-Greene, Close-Up of an Inventor” by Ray Allister, with a screenplay by Eric Ambler and starring Robert Donat as William Friese-Greene, Margaret Johnston, Maria Schell, Laurence Olivier, Leo Genn, Stanley Holloway, Glynis Johns, Barry Jones, Cecil Parker, Eric Portman, Dennis Price, Michael Redgrave, Renee Asherson, Richard Attenborough, Basil Sydney as William Fox-Talbot and Robert Beatty as Lord Beaverbrook.

This biographical drama gives an account of the life of William Friese-Greene, who first designed and patented a working cinematic camera. This claim is subject to some controversy, but evidence now tends to support it. The film was completed and shown just before the end of the 1951 Festival of Britain, but the general release was not until 1952. Told in flashback, the film details Friese-Greene's tireless experiments with the "moving image," leading inexorably to a series of failures and disappointments, as others hog the credit for the protagonist's discoveries.

Pressbooks or Campaign Books were used by exhibitors for choosing their publicity campaigns. They would include ad blocks for use in newspapers and all the posters available. There was also editorial and illustrations.

The pressbook is in very good condition.