Main Cast: Don Ameche, Loretta Young, Henry Fonda, Charles Coburn, Gene Lockhart
Release Year: 1939
Country: US
Run Time: 97 minutes
Plot
This fictionalized biography of the famed American inventor's life provided actor Don Ameche with his signature role. For years after its release, people even referred to the telephone as "an Ameche." The story begins in 1873 Boston as Bell endeavors to teach deaf people to speak in the manner invented by his father. When not teaching, Bell tinkers with his various inventions. Opportunity knocks when Bell is befriended by an aristocratic fellow (Charles Coburn) who wants Bell to help teach his daughter (Loretta Young) to speak. Bell agrees and falls in love with her. It is she who inspires and encourages him to invent the telephone, while it is young Watson (Henry Fonda) who assists him. After they meet with success, the inventors must do battle in court with Western Union, the company that held the patent to the telegraph. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Review
Rarely has an actor been so identified with a role as Don Ameche is with the title character of The Story of Alexander Graham Bell. There's good reason, too. Ameche gives his finest performance as Bell, and while to some that might be damning with faint praise, most would admit that his work here is indeed superlative. What's interesting is how good it is without being so very different from many of his other performances. It works so well because it draws very specifically on his strongest talents and because the part is so very well written. While the screenplay as a whole has some problems -- it's (of course) historically inaccurate, and much of the plotting is in a very "Hollywood" vein -- Bell is delineated very effectively. Ameche gets especially fine support from a lovely Loretta Young in her "bloom" period, and there's a rare chemistry between the two. There's chemistry of a different but equally important sort between Ameche and Henry Fonda; indeed, Bell succeeds as a film largely because these three leads not only work well together but create a history and a sense of bonding between them as characters. Irving Cummings direction is smooth, if a bit slick in places, and he certainly knows how to point up the important highlights in the film. The famous "Watson, come here" moment, even after all these years, still makes considerable impact. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
