Fritz Lang

It should be noted that Fritz Lang received many of his ideas for his futuristic city when visiting the larger cities of the United States. He was greatly impressed with our tall skyscrapers and utilized their construction when building the model city for his movie. Lang also went to Hollywood to study the sci-fi techniques being employed on the movie lots. This was about the same time when a young stage electrician by the name of ken Strickfaden began wiring up the movie stages. It is quite possible that Lang and Strickfaden passed one another during Lang's visit. While the Lang movie does not measure up to the 1932 epic, Frankenstein, in regard to the electrical displays, it certainly became one of the legitimate forerunners of the sci-fi horror movies that were to follow.

Metropolis Poster

A very nice 27"X41" color Metropolis movie poster is available for $12.50 from Consolidated Poster Service, Inc., 341 West 44th St., New York City, NY 10036

Moroder Version on Video Tape

Video Review magazine has announced that the Moroder version of Metropolis will soon be available on video cassette. Video viewers can expect it to be more expensive than Publishers. Even so, the enhanced version may be worth the difference in price.

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Tesla Coils Resurrected

TCBA subscribers may recall my request for a good copy of the July, 1937 issue of MODERN MECHANIX. I already had an original copy of the article but needed a cover of that issue that was in better condition than mine. However, no one responded to this request. But - think of the joy experienced when a near mint copy of that issue was discovered among a flea market purchase of some 300 popular science type magazines. Our current cover is a copy of that 1937 issue. The accompanying article is included on the pages immediately following. The MODERN MECHANIX project is easily capable of a 6' spark. TCBA member Dick Johnson created a sensation with his project when a student at San Jose State College (CA).