Has got to be Mr Deeds Goes To Town (1936), surely?
First of all it was the earliest screen appearance of the flat-screen TV in the 1960 ‘The Time Machine’ directed by George Pal. Now, we bring you arguably the first recorded use of the word ‘pixelated’ – the two little old ladies in the courtroom scene in the 1936 Gary Cooper classic ‘Mr Deeds Goes To Town’.
I say ‘arguably’ because of course, the lil’ ol’ dears aren’t really talking about the basic unit of the digital picture. Nope, they’re saying ‘pixie-lated’ and they mean someone who’s ‘away with the fairies’.
But it would be a pity to let the truth spoil such a good soundbite, eh?
“Pixilated” is an old Cornish expression meaning under the influence of the fairies. It obviously got to America via the early settlers as was suggested in the film Mr Deeds goes to town
Brilliant, Peter – thanks for that gem