The Story of Alexander Graham Bell

The Story of Alexander Graham Bell is a somewhat fictionalized 1939 biographical film of the famous inventor. It was filmed in black-and-white and released by Twentieth Century-Fox. The film stars Don Ameche as Bell and Loretta Young as Mabel, his wife, who contracted scarlet fever at an early age and became deaf.

The Story of Alexander Graham Bell
Directed byIrving Cummings
Produced byDarryl F. Zanuck
Kenneth Macgowan
Written byRay Harris
Screenplay byLamar Trotti
Boris Ingster
Milton Sperling
StarringDon Ameche
Loretta Young
Henry Fonda
Charles Coborn
Music byErnst Toch
CinematographyLeon Shamroy
Edited byWalter A. Thompson
Production
company
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
  • April 14, 1939 (1939-04-14)
Running time
98 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The first half of the film concentrates on the hero's romantic, financial, and scientific struggle.

Henry Fonda is notable in a supporting role as Mr. Watson who hears the first words ever spoken over the telephone. In a pivotal scene, Bell (Don Ameche), while working on the telephone, accidentally spills acid onto his lap and shouts in pain, “Mr. Watson, come here! I want you!”. Watson, barely able to contain his own excitement, rushes into the room and stammers out the news that he heard Bell calling out to him over the telephone receiver.  Bell has Watson repeat his own words to him to confirm it, and the two men begin hopping around the room, with Watson yelling out a war whoop.

The last part depicts the legal struggle against Western Union over patent priority in the invention of the telephone, ending with a courtroom victory. The final scene has the hero contemplating manned flight, under his wife's adoring gaze.

Cast

Accolades

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

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See also

References
  1. "AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers Nominees" (PDF). Retrieved August 14, 2016.
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