There is a documentary on the TUBI app about the first television network ... which was started by the Nazis in 1935. It never really took off as they couldn't figure out a way to use it effectively - plus the world war going on and the lack of TV sets. It ceased operating in 1944. Most thought the broadcasts would've been lost forever, like early TV in the U.S. and elsewhere that was lost unless it was recorded on Kinescope. But they discovered that the Nazis actually recorded sporting events for live broadcasts using film, beginning with the 1936 Olympics. They'd use trucks with film cameras, that film would run from the camera, through a developer inside the truck and the developed film would pass through the equipment transmitting the broadcast ... and they found some stacks of film in a German archive. One of the clips they showed was a boxing match between Max Schmeling and Adolf Heuser in 1939 (Schmeling's first fight after the Louis rematch) ... and they even had the capability ... during the broadcast ... of showing a slow motion replay "live." Pretty Wild. Here's a link. It's around the 32-minute mark. https://tubitv.com/movies/485750/television-under-the-swastika-history-of-nazi-tv?start=true
Probably means the full TV broadcast is available -- not that it was a long fight. Ringwalks and such. Might be the oldest "live" television broadcast of a heavyweight champion ... or any boxing champion ... with commentary.
Saw a WWII story recently where a German soldier was escorting a British prisoner, the Brit looked at the German and said" Don't I know you? you look familiar , The Brit was a friend of boxer Tommy Farr and he then recognized who it was,,,Max Schmeling.
It's not available for Europe viewers. Can anybody please share it somehow?? I'd really appreciate that!!
The Tubi app is available on a Roku, if you have those. I think you can download Tubi on most Xbox consoles, too. Most Smart TVs, as well.
It is the slow motion replay of the Schmeling fight which really intrigued me, so I went to a film board I post on (another of my hobbies) and inquired about when slow motion replays came in on TV. I got the answer. I will share it: Intermediate Film System-- was a television process in which motion picture film was processed almost immediately after it was exposed in a camera, then scanned by a television scanner, and transmitted over the air. This system was used principally in Britain and Germany where television cameras were not sensitive enough to use reflected light. Developed by Georg Oskar Schubert. It was demonstrated by Fenseh AG in 1932 and used for broadcasting in 1934. The exposed film travelled in a continuous band from the camera into a scanner which fixed the image. The time from camera to scanner could be a minute or less. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Off this, I guess it took only a minute to get a replay. It was expensive, but did preserve a very clear image. A cheaper system replaced it in Britain in 1937, but didn't preserve the clear image. And the later kinescopes were no where near as clear. Interesting info and thanks for the original post and the replay of the Schmeling fight.
I just watched it, what a powerful right hand by Max! The quality of the slow motion reply is also really good for that period. Thank you again for sharing this piece of gold! Anything new with Max Schmeling is worth watching, such an underrated fighter.
I remember a photo somewhere of Schmeling giving the Nazi salute after a victory .. nit just the newspaper one w Jacobs .. was thinking that one might show up in the clip ..
That description matches the animated graphic in the documentary showing how the film was developed and broadcast within a minute or two.
Might have to check to see if the that archive is online and if they could post the full footage of the fight - even if it's watermarked. It would be great to see the full broadcast. Maybe the salute is in there. Basically the only people watching with televisions were the higher-ups in government. So if Max knew he was being filmed, he probably did. Given how reports say he was treated by the German government after losing to Louis, I'm surprised his first fight after Louis was one of the first sporting events televised live. Packed crowd, too.
