Hagley is pleased to release a newly restored copy of Invitation to Ohio. The film is a promotional piece sponsored by Ohio Bell Telephone and the Ohio Department of Development, created to attract businesses to the state by highlighting Ohio's advantages across a range of industries. Hollywood actors Wally Cox and John Dehner star in the film. The restoration was made possible by a grant from the National Film Preservation Foundation, which funded a new 16mm preservation print and a digital version.
The film includes approximately 400 scenes from across Ohio, highlighting industries such as steel, rubber, automotive parts, glassware, and the emerging computing and communications sectors. It also features the state's research and development hubs, universities, cultural institutions, and recreational opportunities. A notable scene includes the Cleveland Orchestra, conducted by George Szell. Sixty of the orchestra's musicians performed the film's soundtrack.
Directed by Hungarian-born Julius Potocsny (1929–2002), the film premiered on December 16, 1964, at Stouffer's Top of the Town in Cleveland. At the time, Potocsny was Vice President and Executive Producer at Cinecraft-Continental. He directed several other acclaimed sponsored films for the company, including Steel by Stopwatch (1960) and Search (1964).
The film was included in the U.S. Information Agency's global lending library. Scriptwriter Frank Siedel wrote hundreds of industrial and educational films; Invitation to Ohio was one of only two mentioned by title in his obituary.
As part of the broader post–World War II "promoting place" genre of industrial films, Invitation to Ohio stands out for its high production quality and creative storytelling. Ohio Bell distributed the film free of charge to schools, civic groups, trade organizations, and businesses.
We are grateful to the National Film Preservation Foundation for their support of Hagley's film collection. Learn more about the NFPF at www.filmpreservation.org.