Typewriter Talk / Typewriters in the Movies

**Posted by SquireDante** 08-7-2017 18:03:59

I watched Breakfast at Tiffany's and even though there wasn't a really clear shot of the typewriter I noticed it was a Smith Corona. I'd say based on the year the movie came out it was a Galaxie in red.
Also the third episode in season one of Downton Abbey has some good shots of The Empire Model 1.
One thing I've been wondering about is why have several British tv shows that take place in Britain showcased American typewriters? I've seen Royals and Remingtons in Home Fires, Grantchester and The Durrells. Did the US export a lot of machines or is it a mistake made by set designers?

**Posted by colrehogan** 09-7-2017 10:47:02

I've noticed recently, that in some episodes of the original Star Trek, that there are some typewriters. In one episode, Miri, the Miri character presses a key or two on it. I think it was a Royal KMM or something similar. In the Assignment: Earth episode, there is another machine that I'm not sure what they used for it. In the episode, Gary Seven flipped a switch and it was seen to be typing by voice.

I've been trying to see the ones used in Hogan's Heroes, but haven't been able to do so yet.
In Doctor Who: Terror of the Zygons, Sarah Jane Smith uses a light green Remington of some sort to start typing an article. They show her typing her character's name and at least a few other words. In the more current episodes of DW, I have noticed what looks like an Olympia SM-3 directly attached to the TARDIS console. In the episode titled The Doctor and Vincent, I believe this typewriter actually has a picture coming out of it (from behind...)

**Posted by Uwe** 09-7-2017 11:59:43

SquireDante wrote:
Did the US export a lot of machines or is it a mistake made by set designers?

Yes, the U.S. manufacturers exported a lot of machines, but don't forget that they also had factories in other countries as well. However, my experience with set designers is that they are more concerned with the size and colour of a typewriter than being historically accurate. I don't know how many films I've seen that had typewriters in them that would have been manufactured after the time period of the film's story (or scene). Decorators and propmasters know that only a very small percentage of viewers will spot such things let alone care about them.

**Posted by SquireDante** 09-7-2017 16:27:42

I didn't realize US typewriter factories went so far afield. Were there any British manufacturers over here?
Now that I've gained some experience in typewriters and recognize certain brands, I'm looking for them in every movie or tv show that might have one.

**Posted by Uwe** 09-7-2017 16:48:44

Typewriter spotting is fun, and sometimes annoying for my wife because I'll often pause a film that we're watching just so I can better identify the typewriter used in the scene.

I don't think there were any British factories in the U.S., at least none come to mind. In fact, I'm not sure there were any from any other country either.

**Posted by CoronaJoe** 09-7-2017 22:14:50

Besides International Harvester vehicles, now I'm into typewriter spotting Loved Trumbo, I've seen "Populaire" twice, and recently viewed "Papa: Hemingway in Cuba" They had his Remington correct from what I've read about writers and their machines. However, the set pieces for the Miami Globe newspaper's newsroom appeared to be all portables and I was able to make out at least one grey Royal QDL from the 50's. I'm sure the stage department was on a budget and finding good desk machines might have been daunting. I don't think reporters preferred portables at work, at least not what you see in film noir or the Daily Planet.

**Posted by CoronaJoe** 09-7-2017 22:17:15

OH, and another thing, spotting can be annoying to spouses or significant others unless you forewarn or at least ask so as to warm them up to it.

**Posted by Uwe** 18-7-2017 14:37:46

"Now she needed all of her faculties to deal with the villainous threat before her." ('Just' Joan)

The Japanese-made Triumph Gabriele 10 used by the heroine of The Jewel of the Nile, just seconds before she picked up the typewriter and threw it into the Mediterranean.

**Posted by SquireDante** 13-9-2017 16:40:51

There are a couple in Bells Are Ringing (1960). I'm not good enough to recognize them from shape alone and there weren't any logos that I saw. One looked to be a noiseless portable of some kind and another might've been a standard Underwood, or Remington. Basically I have no idea.

**Posted by Uwe** 13-9-2017 18:25:50

I was surprised, given its contemporary setting, to have spotted a number of Royal HH models in 'John Wick Chapter 2'. They were being used in a dispatch center for assassination contracts and I wondered if it was an off-grid measure.