In the early 1930s Paramount Pictures commissioned independent Hollywood Film Producer Jerry Fairbanks to create a new series of original Theatrical Short Subjects.
The POPULAR SCIENCE Cinema Series was born in 1934 and ran theatrically throughout The Golden Age of Hollywood (to the 1950s).
Theses ten minute entertainment films, shot in beautiful Magnacolor (and not a product of colorization), cost the Studio nearly as much to produce as their full-length feature films.
POPULAR SCIENCE was an entertainment enterprise, not a newsreel or documentary production, and although factual in nature the series received the same creative attention as afforded Paramount’s feature film productions (music, dialogue, sets and cinematography were all of the highest quality).
Although time and perspective have gifted these films with remarkable historical significance, they were originally created to entertain an audience of well over 100 million moviegoers each and every week.
During its 15 year theatrical run the series was honored with numerous awards and acclaim, including 5 Academy Award nominations as well as a Special Commendation from the U.S. Dept. of War for its unparalleled coverage of military technology and the execution of warfare on a global scale.
POPULAR SCIENCE has been a staple on TV for decades, most recently on The Discovery Channel and the American Movie Classics cable TV network (as hosted by Nick Clooney).
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