The Secret of Tuxedo Park (2018)

The Secret of Tuxedo Park is a documentary film about Alfred Lee Loomis (1887-1975), who was a lawyer, an investment banker, and a self-taught scientist. The film premiered on US television (PBS) in 2018. It is an episode of the long-running program American Experience (season 30, episode 2). Here is some basic information about it:

** Writer and director: Rob Rapley

** Narrator: Campbell Scott

** Run time: 53 minutes

Several persons are interviewed in the film. Here are the names of the participants (in alphabetical order):

** Robert Bruderi – author

** Jennet Conant – author

** Michael Hiltzik – reporter (Los Angeles Times)

** Jacqueline Loomis – Alfred’s daughter-in-law

** Mary Paul Loomis – Alfred’s granddaughter

** Jacqueline Loomis Quillen – Alfred’s granddaughter

** David Zimmerman – author

The film is based on two books. Here are the titles:

** The Invention that Changed the World: How a Small Group of Radar Pioneers Won the Second World War and Launched a Technological Revolution by Robert Buderi (1996)

** Tuxedo Park: A Wall Street Tycoon and the Palace of Science that Changed the Course of World War II by Jennet Conant (hardcover 2002, paperback 2003)

As you can see from the chart above, both authors appear in the film.

What do reviewers say about this film? On IMDb it has a rating of 75 per cent, which corresponds to (almost) four stars on Amazon. On the US version of Amazon there are at the moment three reviews of this product. The average rating is 4.6 stars.

I understand the positive reviews. The topic of this film is an important story about World War Two that is not well-known. And in this film the story is told very well. I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars.

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Alfred Lee Loomis

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