Populaire

 My researches have revealed that the very first speed-typing competition was held in Cincinnati in 1888. The two finalists – both men – each put up half the $500 prize money and the winner – who was using one of the first QWERTY keyboards on a Remington machine – achieved 97 words per minute. Not bad for a bloke.

“The young men’s fingers flew over the white-keyed instruments with the rapidity of a Hans Bulow improvising a staccato composition,” the Cincinnati Commercial Gazette reported. [Hans Bulow was a famous pianist of the time.]“The clicking of the two machines made a metallic chorus.”

The contest was less about the operators than the machines. The Enquirer reported, “It was evident that Mr. Traub could operate faster than his machine would respond, and he was to that extent placed at a disadvantage. 

“Owing to the compactness of the Remington keyboard, Mr. McGurrin was enabled to copy without looking at the keyboard at all, and he could have taken the dictated matter nearly if not quite as well blindfolded. He displayed marvelous speed and won the purse, although Mr. Traub proved himself a worthy competitor.”

If you visit the Cincinnati Museum Center, you can see the two machines used in the competition. Or see a picture here: http://cincinnati.com/blogs/ourhistory/2013/07/19/first-typing-contest-set-standards/
Although I agree that this will probably be of interest only to other nerds.

And while on the subject of other nerds you can see two of them competing in the “Ultimate Typing Championship Final 2010” on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9EXEpjSDEw  But only watch if you are willing to lose 4 minutes, 26 seconds of your allotted span to a completely worthless activity, as, apparently, 2,004,361 other people have to date. It's not very exciting, there are no pretty people to look at and it's not proper copy-typing at all as they seem to be typing straight over the text which is already on the screen. Now that is the sort of completely pointless test that only an American nerd could devise. (Although possibly an English Secretary of State for Education could do better?)

Anyway, our first film at the Mechanics Theatre was a good 'un wasn't it? And what a superb venue! Beautifully restored to its former glory – I could sense all those generations of mechanics with their Vernier callipers and snap tins listening intently to lectures before adjourning to The Black Rock for a well-deserved half of mild.

Audience feedback. The score was 85%:

A	A very well made film, a perfect “feel good” film great choice on a January evening.
A	Superb! Nostalgia, romance, tension – then typing – what an amazing combination. Plus the soundtrack was wonderful. Many thanks!
A	Lovely romantic comedy.
A	Loved it. Nothing wrong with some good old-fashioned romance.
A
A	GOOD OLD FASHIONED ENTERTAINMENT – FELT GOOD AND CHEERFUL AT THE END.
A	A great film led by a strong female character, warming the heart and touching the imagination.
A	A good “period piece” great music.
A	Funny most enjoyable!
A	Very enjoyable – shades of 'My Fair Lady' vs 'A Star is Born'; has French cinema finally sold its soul to Hollywood? I hope not. Otherwise a formulaic boy meets girl, boy loses girl, gets girl etc. story with slight additional complications.
A	Good film to start new year with, a feel-good film.
A	A very sweet enjoyable film. A good romcom nicely acted.
A	Brilliant
A	KEPT ME ENTHRALLED THROUGHOUT
A	'Rocky' but with typewriters.
A
A	Loved every retro minute!!
A	Very amusing. Lovely to have the focus on female sport.
A	Très amusant!
A	Engaging and amusing
A	Charmant et heureuse!
A	Enchanté. I loved every minute of it!!
A	Lovely film
A	Enjoyable tosh!
A
B	What a charmer! The Americans for business and the French for love......
B	Stylish and poignant – great use of cinematic styles (+ fashions) of 1950s/60s with delightful script and soundtrack.
B
B
B
B	A charming film. Very nostalgic.
B	Corny but very enjoyable.
B	Light hearted story well acted.
B	A happy ending to a good story.
B	Predictable, but fun
B	Charmant.
B	Very good recreation of a past era!
B	First time I've been to a screening but won't be the last.
B
B
B	Witty, original, well acted especially the main woman.
B	Light hearted, entertaining
B
C
C	Light and airy. Unsympathetic male lead, unfortunately!
C	Entertaining, amusing but a bit silly.
C	Funny – made the students (6th formers) laugh at 50s!!
C	Enjoyable, but not sure it avoided the sentimentality it sought to satirise.
C
C
C
C	A load of old tosh – but enjoyable to watch.
D	My Fair Lady meets Pretty Woman – entertaining!!

Online stuff:
Article about first ever speed-typing contest:
http://cincinnati.com/blogs/ourhistory/2013/07/19/first-typing-contest-set-standards/

And some more background on the same:
http://www.cincytypingchallenge.com/wordpress/speaker-lineup/history2/

Déborah François interview for Populaire: 'Acting felt like a fantasy':
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/starsandstories/10076969/Deborah-Francois-interview-for-Populaire-Acting-felt-like-a-fantasy.html

Robbie Collin in the Telegraph “charming-if-insubstantial romantic comedy”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/10088904/Populaire-review.html

Philip French in The Observer “Boy meets girl meets typewriter in this thoughtful, witty French take on classic Hollywood romcoms”
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/jun/02/populaire-film-review-philip-french

Rotten Tomatoes 71% audience rating:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/populaire/

Wikipedia article has a couple of references to the music and fashion influences:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Populaire_(film)

IMDB 6.8 out of 10:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2070776/