''The Story of Alexander Graham Bell'' is a somewhat fictionalized 1939

biographical film A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudra ...

of the famous inventor. It was filmed in black-and-white and released by

Twentieth Century-Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

. The film stars

Don Ameche Don Ameche (; born Dominic Felix Amici; May 31, 1908 – December 6, 1993) was an American actor, comedian and vaudevillian. After playing in college shows, stock, and vaudeville, he became a major radio star in the early 1930s, which ...

as Bell and

Loretta Young Loretta Young (born Gretchen Young; January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1953. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the fil ...

as Mabel, his wife, who contracted

scarlet fever Scarlet fever, also known as Scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'' a Group A streptococcus (GAS). The infection is a type of Group A streptococcal infection (Group A strep). It most commonly affects childr ...

at an early age and became deaf. The first half of the film concentrates on the hero's romantic, financial, and scientific struggle.

Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor. He had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. He cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics. Born and ra ...

is notable in a supporting role as Mr. Watson who hears the first words ever spoken over the telephone. In a pivotal scene, Bell (

), 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 The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services company, headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the company chang ...

over patent priority in the

invention of the telephone The invention of the telephone was the culmination of work done by more than one individual, and led to an array of lawsuits relating to the patent claims of several individuals and numerous companies. Early development The concept of th ...

, ending with a courtroom victory. The final scene has the hero contemplating crewed flight, under his wife's adoring gaze.

Cast

Alexander Graham Bell Alexander Graham Bell (, born Alexander Bell; March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish-born inventor, scientist and engineer who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone. He also co-founded the American Telephone and Te ...

as Mrs. Mabel Hubbard Bell *

as Thomas A. Watson *

Charles Coburn Charles Douville Coburn (June 19, 1877 – August 30, 1961) was an American actor and theatrical producer. He was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award three times – in ''The Devil and Miss Jones'' (1941), '' The More the M ...

Gardiner Greene Hubbard Gardiner Greene Hubbard (August 25, 1822 – December 11, 1897) was an American lawyer, financier, and community leader. He was a founder and first president of the National Geographic Society; a founder and the first president of the Bell Tel ...

Gene Lockhart Edwin Eugene Lockhart (July 18, 1891 – March 31, 1957)"Gene Lockhart"
''The ...

as Thomas Sanders *

Spring Byington Spring Dell Byington (October 17, 1886 – September 7, 1971) was an American actress. Her career included a seven-year run on radio and television as the star of '' December Bride''. She was a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player who appeared in ...

as Mrs. Hubbard *

Sally Blane Sally Blane (born Elizabeth Jane Young; July 11, 1910 – August 27, 1997) was an American actress who appeared in over 100 movies. Early life Blane was born in Salida, Colorado. She was the sister of actresses Polly Ann Young and Loretta Young ...

as Gertrude Hubbard *

Polly Ann Young Polly Ann Young (October 25, 1908 – January 21, 1997) was an American actress. Biography Young was born in Denver, Colorado. Actresses Loretta Young and Sally Blane were her sisters. From 1917 to 1941, she was featured in over 40 movies, ...

as Grace Hubbard *

Georgiana Young Georgiana Young (née Belzer; 1924 – November 13, 2007) was an American actress and the maternal younger half-sister of actresses Loretta Young, Polly Ann Young and Sally Blane. She had a brief career in film, appearing alongside her sisters ...

as Berta Hubbard *

Bobs Watson Robert Ball Watson (November 16, 1930 – June 26, 1999), credited as Bobs Watson, was an American actor and Methodist minister. Early years Robert Ball Watson was a member of the Watson Family, famous in the early days of Hollywood as being a ...

as George Sanders * Russell Hicks as Mr. Barrows * Paul Stanton as Chauncey Smith * Jonathan Hale as President of Western Union *

Harry Davenport Harry Davenport may refer to: * Harry Davenport (actor) (1866–1949), American film and stage actor * Harry Davenport (footballer) (1900–1984), Australian footballer * Harry J. Davenport (1902–1977), Democratic Party member of the U.S. House ...

as Judge Rider *

Beryl Mercer Beryl Mercer (August 13, 1882 – July 28, 1939) was a Spanish-born American actress of stage and screen who was based in the United States. Early years Beryl Mercer was born to British parents in Seville on 13 August 1882. Her father wa ...

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

* Elizabeth Patterson as Mrs. Mac Gregor *

Charles Trowbridge Charles Silas Richard Trowbridge (January 10, 1882 – October 30, 1967) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 230 films between 1915 and 1958. Biography Trowbridge was born in Veracruz, Mexico, where his father served in the ...

as George Pollard *

Jan Duggan Jan Duggan (born Genevieve Hussey; November 6, 1881 – March 10, 1977) was an American film and stage actress. Early life Duggan was born Genevieve Hussey in St. Louis, Missouri. She was the daughter of George W. Hussey Sr. and Mary E. Fl ...

as Mrs. Winthrop *

Claire Du Brey Claire Du Brey (born Clara Violet Dubreyvich, August 31, 1892 – August 1, 1993) was an American actress. She appeared in more than 200 films between 1916 and 1959. Her name is sometimes rendered as Claire Du Bray or as Claire Dubrey. Ear ...

as Landlady * Harry Tyler as Joe Eliot * Ralph Remley as D'Arcy - Singer *

Zeffie Tilbury Zeffie Agnes Lydia Tilbury (20 November 1863 – 24 July 1950) was an English-American actress.
profile at Cinemorgue

as Mrs. Sanders *

Edward LeSaint Edward LeSaint (January 1, 1871 – September 10, 1940) was an American stage and film actor and director whose career began in the silent era A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dia ...

as Banker at Demonstration (uncredited) * John Graham Spacey as Sir John Cowell (uncredited)

Plot

The film opens on a get-together, a conversation arises about our main character

(

). The conversation was quite critical of bell with the general consensus being that he was a fool. When Bell enters, the party goers treat his intelligence and his demonstration of how sound works as a comedic party trick. Bell is then introduced to a prospect of helping Gardiner Hubbard’s (

) deaf daughter with speech after showing him his capabilities of teaching a child born deaf to communicate using a glove with letters on it, to which Bell accepts the offer. On his way to the Hubbard house, Bell loses his balance when a young lady on a sled fly by him, he scolds her for being so reckless telling her that she could have ruined his telegraph instrument. When explaining his invention to Mr. Hubbard, Bell fails to capture his interest. Mr. Hubbard introduces Bell to his daughters, including his deaf daughter, Mabel Hubbard (

). The next day Bell and Mabel, while on a wagon ride, talk about Bell’s plans with the telegraph and Bell admits to Mabel that he is no longer interested in the telegraph and this is when he introduces the idea of the telephone. After Bell is kicked out of his home, he moves into his assistant, Thomas Watson's (

) apartment. While trying to fine tune his invention, Bell discovers that he is missing a spring that Watson misplaced, or rather didn’t purchase because he bought something to eat instead. This leads to a heated argument that was short lived when Watson plucked the magnetized steel that sent a tune to the hand-held device that Bell was holding, that turned their anger and frustration into ecstatic joy for both men. Bell makes his way to the Hubbard home to let everyone know of his monumental discovery. After telling Mabel of his discovery, he asks her to marry him and she accepted his proposal. Problems arise when he tells Mr. Hubbard, he tells Bell that he is not financially responsible enough to marry Mabel as he bounced from idea to idea, never finishing his previous tasks. Mabel pulls him aside and tells him to finish the telephone despite what her father said. Bell later laments about how is he going to build a receiver to interpret the vibrations sent through his contraption. He develops an idea through the concept of how human ears interprets sound finally developing a receiver in the process. Bell placed water in the receiver cup to try and transmit the sound. When the water was unsuccessful, he added a small amount of Sulfuric acid to turn the water into a conductor. In the process, Bell spills acid on his leg and shouting in the receiver “Mr. Watson, come here, I want you!” to which Watson finally hears Bell through the telephone for the first time. Bell later sets up a public demonstration of the telephone, the invention was received with laughter and ridicule, but that did not stop Bell. Soon there were hundreds of phones, but there was still a problem, Bell and the Hubbard’s were losing money. One offer arose that might help with the financial problem, England requested that Bell present the telephone to

(

). Bells idea was that if he could convince the Queen to install a telephone in her palace, then the whole world would follow suit. After a very successful demonstration the Queen has one installed in Buckingham Palace. Bell arrives back at the hotel to tell Mabel of the great news but is only met with more bad news. Mabel tells Bell that a new company organized by the

is trying to claim ownership of the invention of the telephone. Bell files a lawsuit against American Speaking Telephone Company. During the proceedings, American Speaking Telephone Company alleges that Bell had a fraudulent patent and that one of their engineers was the actual inventor. The judge tells Bell that he is going to give him some time to find any sort of paperwork that proves he is the inventor. Bell, thinking he lost, decided to go home but Mabel arrives at the last minute to deliver the paper that proved Bell’s claim to the telephone. As the court goes into consideration, Bell still thinks that he lost the case. Out of nowhere Western Union representatives show up to tell him that they are dropping the suit. They conducted an internal investigation where they found that the engineer fabricated the claim to make both Western Union and Bell look bad. They then release all ownership of the telephones that they owned to Bell. They then offered that if Bell let them continue to use the telephones, they would offer a very valuable business partnership. Bell accepts their offer making him a very rich man.

Reception

The film released to widespread critical acclaim with Nelson B. Bell of

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

states that the film "Moves Notable Audience To Enthusiastic Applause. ...is splendidly cast.", he also states that this film is

s "his best work by far that he has brought to the celluloids." Mae Tinee of the

Chicago Daily Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television are ...

raves that the film is "Another finely etched biography" as well as stating that "Loretta Young is lovely and loveable as Bell's great white light", ending the article "As for staging, direction, costumes, photography—the best, my friends, the BEST!"

Accolades

The film was nominated for the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Leade ...

's 2006 list AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers.

References

External links