The Story of Alexander Graham Bell
Darryl F. Zanuck's Entertainment gem will take its place in the Hall of Fame !
1939 | 98m | English
Popularity: 2 (history)
| Director: | Irving Cummings |
|---|---|
| Writer: | Ray Harris, Lamar Trotti |
| Staring: |
| Alexander Graham Bell falls in love with deaf girl Mabel Hubbard while teaching the deaf and trying to invent means for telegraphing the human voice. She urges him to put off thoughts of marriage until his experiments are complete. He invents the telephone, marries and becomes rich and famous, though his happiness is threatened when a rival company sets out to ruin him. | |
| Release Date: | Apr 04, 1939 |
|---|---|
| Director: | Irving Cummings |
| Writer: | Ray Harris, Lamar Trotti |
| Genres: | Drama, History |
| Keywords | inventor, biography, telephone, historical figure |
| Production Companies | 20th Century Fox |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $0
Budget: $0 |
| Updates |
Updated: Feb 02, 2025 Entered: Apr 13, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| Don Ameche | Alexander Graham Bell |
| Loretta Young | Mrs. Mabel Hubbard Bell |
| Henry Fonda | Thomas Watson |
| Charles Coburn | Gardner Hubbard |
| Gene Lockhart | Thomas Sanders |
| Spring Byington | Mrs. Hubbard |
| Sally Blane | Gertrude Hubbard |
| Polly Ann Young | Grace Hubbard |
| Georgiana Young | Berta Hubbard |
| Bobs Watson | George Sanders |
| Russell Hicks | Mr. Barrows |
| Paul Stanton | Chauncey Smith |
| Jonathan Hale | President of Western Union |
| Harry Davenport | Judge Rider |
| Beryl Mercer | Queen Victoria |
| Elizabeth Patterson | Mrs. MacGregor |
| Charles Trowbridge | George Pollard |
| Jan Duggan | Mrs. Winthrop |
| Claire Du Brey | Landlady |
| Harry Tyler | Joe Eliot |
| Ralph Remley | D'Arcy - Singer |
| Zeffie Tilbury | Mrs. Sanders |
| Jack Kelly | Banker's Son (uncredited) |
| Esther Brodelet | Telephone Operator |
| Tyler Brooke | Mr. Calhoun |
| Nora Cecil | Miss Jenkins |
| Davison Clark | Court Attendant at Door |
| Dick Elliott | Man Laughing at Demo |
| Edmund Elton | Banker at Demo |
| Fern Emmett | Mac Gregor's Maid |
| Mary Field | Piano Player |
| George Guhl | Mr. Winthrop |
| Otto Hoffman | Pawnbroker |
| Warren Jackson | Tom |
| Frank Jaquet | Edward |
| Sheldon Jett | New England Telephone Company Executive |
| Edward Keane | Banker at Demo |
| Crauford Kent | General |
| Edward LeSaint | Banker at Demonstration |
| Jarold Clifford Lyons | Infant |
| Dave Morris | Telegrapher |
| Ottola Nesmith | Nora |
| Ruth Robinson | Nurse |
| John Graham Spacey | Sir John Cowell |
| Landers Stevens | Manager of New England Telephone Exchange |
| Charles Tannen | Court Clerk |
| William Wagner | |
| Eddy Waller | Storekeeper |
| Jack Walsh | James J. Starrow |
| Lillian West | Sanders' Nurse |
| John Elliott | Banker at Demo |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| Ray Harris | Story |
| Walter Thompson | Editor |
| Richard Day | Art Direction |
| Mark-Lee Kirk | Art Direction |
| Thomas Little | Set Decoration |
| Royer | Costume Design |
| Leon Shamroy | Director of Photography |
| Ad Schaumer | Assistant Director |
| Louis Silvers | Music Director |
| Irving Cummings | Director |
| Lamar Trotti | Screenplay |
| Ernst Toch | Original Music Composer |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Kenneth Macgowan | Associate Producer |
| Darryl F. Zanuck | Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 3 |
| 2024 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 4 |
| 2024 | 6 | 6 | 14 | 2 |
| 2024 | 7 | 8 | 14 | 3 |
| 2024 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 3 |
| 2024 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 2 |
| 2024 | 10 | 4 | 9 | 2 |
| 2024 | 11 | 4 | 8 | 2 |
| 2024 | 12 | 3 | 7 | 2 |
| 2025 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 3 |
| 2025 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 1 |
| 2025 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 2025 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Trending Position
Don Ameche takes the title role in this biopic of the Boston-based Scotsman credited with the invention of the telephone, and he does bring a certain passion to an otherwise rather procedural drama. The story traces the development of his experiments with his friend Thomas Watson (Henry Fonda) and p ... arallels with his budding romance with Mabel (Loretta Young) and for much of the time, it rather uncomfortably straddles the line between science and melodrama. The last twenty minutes - including a visit to Queen Victoria and a court case to establish the legitimacy of his patents, livens the thing up a bit and the supporting cast of Charles Coburn and Gene Lockhart add value, but it needed to focus more of the reason we know of the man, and of the huge significance of his technological advancement. Worth a watch for Ameche's performance, still, though.
Worth a watch once, but that's it. The reason for watching, the invention of the Telephone, is largely glossed over and background noise. The main thrust of this story is a little too Mills & Boon, Bell falling in love with the deaf daughter of one of his backers. Very much an aged Romantic Drama of ... the early talkies era.