Purely Joyful Movie!

Brilliant and touching

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Mary Astor (Bobby Blake), Lyle Talbot (Fred Dennis), Nat Pendleton (Rocky), Joyce Compton (Mae), Thurston Hall (Curtis), Henry Mollison (Thornton), Wyrley Birch (Paul Thornton), Robert Strange (Standish), Russell Hicks, Howard C. Hickman, George Webb, Lloyd Whitlock, Bruce Sidney, Harry Stafford, Boyd Irwin (directors), Mary Blake (Miss Walsh), Wade Boteler (collection agency manager), Marc Lawrence (Griffin), Lillian Leighton (Mrs Leary), Eddie Fetherston (Jostler), Robert Gordon (messenger boy), Neil Moore (Mason), Max Wagner (Al), Ralph McCullough (truck salesman), Lillian Stuart. Director: DEL LORD. Screenplay: Harold Buchman, Lee Loeb. Story: Al Martin, Sherman L. Lowe. Photography: Allen G. Siegler. Film editor: James Sweeney. Special camera effects: E. Roy Davidson. Associate producer: Ben Pivar. Copyright 8 June 1936 by Columbia Pictures of California. New York opening at the Globe: 13 June 1936. Australian release: 23 September 1936. 64 minutes U.K. release title: CAUGHT BY TELEVISION.SYNOPSIS: An inventor (Lyle Talbot) is hard put to sell his cheapo television system until he falls in with a couple of enthusiastic amateurs (Nat Pendleton and Mary Astor). But his success is almost stymied by the machinations of a corrupt corporation executive, who is allied with a vicious killer (Marc Lawrence).COMMENT: Although it veers a bit uncertainly from slapstick comedy to stop-at-nothing thrills, this "B" still holds the interest despite its dated (even quaint) subject matter. The pace is fast, production values are surprisingly high and director Del Lord pulls no punches. The players respond enthusiastically, although our star, Mary Astor, battles against none too flattering photography and, for some reason, is outclassed in the beauty stakes by Joyce Compton who is also more alluringly made up and costumed. In some shots, Mary looks positively dowdy. However, for Joyce Compton (and Nat Pendleton) fans, "Trapped by Television" is a must.

I love most of the older films that I've seen but this one is a real snoozer. I found Murder by Television (1935) a bit more interesting (mainly for Bela Lugosi's performance in all honesty).I realize that in the 1930s television was a fairly brand new invention and they were kinda promoting it through motion pictures on the silver screen but the both films (Murder and Trapped) are not all that grand to me. Don't get me wrong, the film is not awful but it's not a great film. I really find it mediocre at best.The actors in the film are good but it's just a typical semi-comical or "cutesy" gangster flick of the 1930s - really nothing to make this film stand out other than the idea of a television which was done a year earlier with Lugosi in Murder by Television.3/10

With Christmas coming up,I started to look round on IMDb for movies to get my dad as X-Mas gifts.Taking a look at a fellow IMDber's page,I spotted an excellent review about a potboiler which had the then- ground breaking television medium as its main focus,which led to me getting up,and turning the TV on.The plot:Being ordered by his mobster boss to go round & collect a debt,a geeky gangster called Rocky O'Neil discovers that would-be scientist Fred Dennis is attempting to create an intriguing invention called the "television." Relating to Dennis's ambitions,O'Neil uses his streets skills to get Dennis's debt pushed aside.Catching the attention of would-be manager Barbara 'Bobby' Blake,Dennis finally gets the cash needed to complete his landmark invention.Getting ready to finally show his creation to the world,Dennis,O'Neil & Blake soon discover that there are some parts of the city's underworld,who would very much like to keep Dennis's TV off….forever.View on the film:Despite the lack of a full score giving the film a "hollow" soundtrack,the screenplay by Lee Loeb, Harold Buchman, Sherman L. Lowe & Al Martin keep the title moving at a lively pace,thanks to the writers steaming potboiler gangsters with fun Slap-Stick Comedy and wacky scientists.Made a few months before the BBC was to start TV broadcasts,director Del Lord shows a real excitement towards the new medium,with the warm glow of the TV being cast across the screen,as Dennis's device captures a screwball gangster fight,as Dennis,O'Neil and Blake find themselves trapped by the TV.

Nice guy inventor Fred Dennis (a solid and likable performance by Lyle Talbot) needs backing for his new television invention. He gets involved with shrewd and assertive crooked businesswoman Barbara 'Bobby' Blake (delightfully played with winning sass and spark by Mary Astor) while a bunch of gangsters plot to steal his invention. Director Del Lord, working from a compact script by Leo Loeb and Harold Buchman, relates the entertaining story at a snappy pace, offers a pleasing blend of comedy and drama, and delivers some rousing action at the very end. Moreover, it's acted with zest by an enthusiastic cast: Nat Pendleton as amiable lug Rocky O'Neil, Joyce Compton as Barbara's spunky gal pal Mae Collins, Thurston Hall as grumpy CEO John Curtis, and Marc Lawrence as ruthless mobster Frank Griffin. Allen G. Siegler's cinematography makes nice use of wipes. Plus it's a kick to see a motion picture made at a time when television was an exciting technological marvel. A fun little romp.