GusF This is a very entertaining biopic of the inventor of the telephone starring the great Don Ameche as the title character, Loretta Young, a very young Henry Fonda and Ameche's "Heaven Can Wait" co-star Charles Coburn, all of whom give excellent performances. Don Ameche is one of my favourite actors. Watching him in a film, whether he's in his 30s or in his 80s, is the cinematic equivalent of wrapping myself in a warm blanket on a cold night. He is like Gregory Peck and Christopher Reeve in that respect.It's fictionalised in parts - for instance since Bell only went to Canada (and later the US) in his 20s, he should really have a Scottish accent - but I think that it's fairly accurate for the most part. Bell's two daughters Elsie - who is depicted in the film as a baby - and Marian were still alive when it was released. I wonder if they saw it and what they thought of it. The film was so popular that "the Ameche" was a widely used slang term for the telephone throughout the 1940s.

vincentlynch-moonoi There is film and there is history, and often the twain don't meet. Here they do...fairly well. Read the Wikipedia entry on Alexander Graham Bell before you watch the film and you'll see that the gist of the story is accurate, even if some of the details are fudged for Hollywood. In fact, some of Bell's early life was pretty interesting, and could have been brought more into the plot. But again, this is Hollywood, not the Encyclopedia Britannica.What is great film-making? I'd say when a film prints an indelible image on one's mind -- that's great film-making. And the last time I saw this film was on television some time over 50 years ago. And yet, the scene where Bell spills sulfuric acid on his leg and says, "Mr. Watson, come here, I want you" remained as fresh and clear in my mind in 2013 as when I first saw the movie on the late show back in the 1960s (or was it the 1950s?). I ALWAYS found Don Ameche to be a very appealing actor, and of course, this is his most famous role...and frankly, the film is all his! Of course, he has some fine support here. Loretta Young is fine as Bell's deaf wife. Henry Fonda plays the key role of "Mr. Watson", and does nicely, but he had not fully come into his own yet. Charles Coburn and Gene Lockhart play the old codgers well, and Spring Byington doesn't get enough screen time. And thank God -- Bobs Watson is mute in the film and not only doesn't talk, but doesn't cry! ;-)This is one of the great and memorable screen biographies, and despite some flaws is very watchable, interesting, and entertaining. Highly recommended.

thinker1691 Irving Cummings does an excellent job directing the cast of assembled actors in this film. The story itself is taken from the memories of the daughter of Alex Bell and follows through with all the trials and tribulations of Bell himself. Beginning with the decision he gave up teaching the deaf and dumb to speak and through the obscure and menial existence of an inventor, up through the difficult task fighting for his invention in court. Don Ameche plays Alexander Graham Bell, who does so with such spirit and vitality, audiences will later realize why this actor is so synonymous with the character. The same is true with Henry Fonda who plays Thomas Watson who also is easily identified with this movie. Loretta Young, Charles Coburn and Gene Lockhart are magnificent and help insure this black and white becomes a solid standard in any collection of what we now understand as Classic films. ****

Neil Doyle Just how factual all the events are in Fox's biographical account of THE STORY OF Alexander GRAHAM BELL, I don't know, but it seems safe to say they have taken the basic outline of his life and embellished it with a series of vignettes that serve to show us how and why he became the inventor of the telephone.Although this is DON AMECHE's signature role (indeed the invention is often referred to as "The Ameche"), he clearly had better roles in his future. Here he overacts to a tiresome degree under Irving Cummings' direction. On the other hand, there's a considerable amount of underplaying by LORETTA YOUNG and HENRY FONDA in subordinate roles. Young is Ameche's deaf wife and Fonda is his laboratory assistant.Factual or not, it moves at a slow pace and may not be the kind of biography for everyone, lacking the vigorous style of a story about Jesse James, for example. There's a little too much talk before we get to the crucial scene in the film where Ameche spills acid and calls for help over the wire to Fonda in the next room.Supporting cast includes GENE LOCKHART, SPRING BYINGTON and CHARLES COBURN (who must have been one of Hollywood's busiest character actors in the '30s and '40s).