Pluperfect PDA (3)

By: Joshua Glenn
March 3, 2010

Reporter Robert Williams (Stew Smith) fiddles with his PDA while pitching woo at Gallagher (Loretta Young) in a secluded corner of the newsroom. From Frank Capra’s Platinum Blonde (1931).

Called on the carpet by his editor, Conroy (Edmund Breese), Stew complains that he was playing with an app: “It took me three hours to get those little gadgets in the holes, and you screw it up in a minute.” So which app was it? See for yourself:

Ringtone: “Minnie the Moocher”

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Third in an irregular series of posts tracking down iPhones, Palm Pilots, and other personal digital assistants transported into the pre-PDA past.

SIMILAR HILOBROW SERIES: DOUBLE EXPOSURE — the stratagems of Middlebrow | EGGHEAD — a gallery | FITTING SHOES — famous literary footwear | LATF HIPSTER | PANTENE MEME — a found gallery | SHOCKING BLOCKING — cinematic blocking