Industrial magic and light: 3D at the New York World’s Fair (1939)

This article examines an early stereoscopic film made for and shown at the 1939 World’s Fair held in New York. The film In Tune with Tomorrow was commissioned by the Chrysler Motor Company, and featured 3D stop-motion animation of a car magically assembling without human intervention. This film is discussed in the context of a range of large and small screen experiments conducted at the fair. The rise of American industry’s use of film technologies as integral elements of ascendant its communication strategies is also addressed.