The Story of Alexander Graham Bell

This film has a unique place in movie history. The Story of Alexander Graham Bell not only gave Don Ameche his signature role, but Ameche's very name entered the English slang. Still today, a telephone is sometimes referred to as an "ameche."

Bell was a Scottish immigrant who came by way of Canada to the Boston area. At the time the film opens, Don Ameche is a teacher of deaf children. He's also employed as a private tutor to one particular child, Bobs Watson who is Gene Lockhart's son. There scenes have a particular poignancy.

Ameche also woos and wins Loretta Young, a deaf woman who is the son of prominent businessman, Charles Coburn, who later backs him in his scientific work and business ventures.

As you can imagine living in a world with a whole lot of silent people and a natural scientific bent made him curious about sound. In inventing the telephone, Bell sought to break the sound barrier which was then limited by how loud the loudest person could shout.

The famous scene with assistant Henry Fonda when Bell's own voice goes over a wire for the first time is there. And his later patent struggles are also well documented.

But it is Don Ameche's sincere and straightforward interpretation of Alexander Graham Bell that makes this film memorable. And he's matched every step of the way by Loretta Young as his wife. Ms. Young by the way got to be in this film with all three of her sisters, playing her sisters, a rare treat.

Given Bell's lifelong interest in the deaf, I'm sure that today with the invention of TTY lines to help deaf people communicate by phone, he'd be doubly proud of what he had accomplished.

A good film and a great tribute to a great scientific and humanitarian individual.

Don Ameche has the title role in "The Story of Alexander Graham Bell" in this 1939 film starring Henry Fonda, Loretta Young, Charles Coburn, Gene Lockhart, and Spring Byington.

This movie was a big hit - it must have been, because in 1941's "Ball of Fire," Barbara Stanwyck teaches Gary Cooper slang and refers to the telephone as "the Ameche," as others have mentioned here. As far as how accurate the story is - for Fox, not bad at all. The background of Bell's teaching experience and family history of working with speech and sound is correct, he did have a demonstration of his new device, he did have patent problems, he did take on the little boy and Mabel as deaf clients to teach, he did teach finger-spelling, he did have patent problems, he did marry Mabel, their first child was a girl, and Mabel's father was one of his investors. The Fonda character, Watson, was also real, though Bell had two other assistants, and the scene where Bell finds out the telephone works when he calls for Watson is accurate. Also, Bell mentions a great interest in aeronautics in the movie - he indeed did a lot of work in aeronautics later on.

Don Ameche does a great job as Bell. Before Tyrone Power appeared at 20th Century Fox, Ameche was set for many more lead roles; Power's popularity pushed him into second leads. If Ameche seems melodramatic in the courtroom scenes, that was the style of the day. He gives a serious, intense, and sincere performance. It's probably the role for which he's best remembered. Henry Fonda is wonderful - he's funny and relaxed, positively excellent. In another year, he'd be starring in his own movies. Loretta Young as Mabel is believable as well as lovely, and her sisters in real life -- Sally Blane, Polly Young, and Georgiana Young - play her sisters here.

Gene Lockhart as Sanders is another standout in a poignant performance as a man who wants his deaf son to be able to speak. Charles Coburn plays Mable's no-nonsense, gruff father very well.

Considering that the movie "Suez" is fiction from beginning to end, 20th Century Fox is to be commended for bringing so much real history into this film and making it so entertaining.

Movies about history are very important. They also need to be entertaining and believable. All three of those qualities need to be involved in a film such as this. Don Ameche brings to the silver screen an early representation of the life of Alexander Graham Bell and his contribution to the world. The invention of the telegraph and the telephone are explored in this Irving Cummings film.

I bet you didn't know that AGB got his inspiration for the telephone from his years of teaching the deaf talk and communicate. That brings us to the love interest portion of the film, when we are introduced to the future Mrs. Mable Bell, who also is deaf, played by Loretta Young. It is a very interesting contrast between the film's intention and what the facts entail, because the first full decade of the talkies and sound happened in the 1930s, which makes that the quietest decade in film history, as it applies to full sound in film. It is interesting that there is no music in the movie, hardly at all, because this is a movie about trying to achieve the ability to hear and to transmit sound, so this is, kind of, an interesting juxtaposition of how this movie feels.

It also is interesting seeing a film that was made only 65 years after Bell did his experiments, so you get a more uniquely believable script, then if it was one produced today, because 150 years have now gone by since Bell did his experiments. It also is apparent that the mind of an inventor can also be driven by his love of people or his compassion towards the world he/she lives in. None of that is more apparent when we see the love that is shared between Bell and his deaf students and his eventual love to Mable.

Ameche is also contrasted with his less intelligent assistant Thomas Watson, played by Henry Fonda, who compensates for his lack of certain knowledge by being Bell's friend and cheerleader. This film teaches us that drive and desire doesn't always have to lead to power and money, but can sometimes lead to what it really should, love and accomplishment.

8.1 (B MyGrade) = 8 IMDB.

If are looking for an accurate and detailed lesson about either the life of Alexander Graham Bell or the invention of the telephone, this film is far from perfect. Often it takes liberties and omissions--all in the aim of producing an entertaining film first and foremost. However, if you understand that it is NOT great history but purely there to entertain, it's pretty good. I would not put in on par with the Edison films at MGM or the wonderful Warner Brothers films on Pasteur and Erlich, but it is quite good.

The movie only concerns the period just before the telephone was invented as well as the process of inventing and marketing the device. So, if you want information about his work as a deaf educator or about his interesting family background, this film is maddeningly silent. I would LOVE to see a film talk particularly talking about his hatred of sign language (as he felt the deaf MUST be forced to learn to talk and function like the hearing) or the disdain many deaf today have for him. Perhaps this sort of discussion would be best dealt with in a documentary, but it IS fascinating stuff.

As far as this film goes, Ameche, Fonda and Young are all very good here, the direction very nice and the entire production is polished and pleasant from start to finish.

The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1940) : Brief Review -

Ahoy, this is Alexander Graham Bell Speaking (to the audience to ring the bell in their hearts, instead of the Telephone!). Firstly, I'd like to pinch myself to believe that Alexander Graham Bell was this handsome. How!?? Even Marx Bros. Couldn't resist making a spoof of him as "Don Ameche". Dear Ameche, you just made me believe that those great scientists and investors didn't just have good brains but good looks too. It doesn't matter what their usual pictures on Google show; the cinema is always the best medium to showcase their images. Watching a biopic of Alexander Graham Bell in the 2023, 5G era, on my mobile by downloading, with Bluetooth earphones on.. Guess how fascinating and amusing this experience is. Here I am using all these electronic devices that make my life easy and accessible, and there he was, the great Bell, who had to have sleepless nights with an empty stomach in a cheap attic. What good have we done to have been born on the same planet, using the helpful devices created by the legendary scientist? We all know Graham Bell's name now, but how many of us are aware of his struggle? Behind every successful man, there is a woman, they say. Well, Alec had Mable. If there had been no Mable, he would have given up his invention of Telephone. So, let's thank Mable Bell too. A handsome man like Bell had to choose a deaf woman as his life partner. That also tells you a great deal about humanity and how God has made perfect pairs for us. The Story of Alexander Graham Bell is a little bit overdramatic and less intelligent, but it's inspiring, encouraging, emotional, and enthusiastic. Writing a review of the inventor of Telephone on my mobile has to be one of the most metaphorical things that have ever happened in my life. Irving Cummings and the solid cast made sure that the tale of tele-phone (and somewhat of aeronautics) reached me with a clear voice. Thank you, Mr. Bell, and thank you to the team for making this film.

RATING - 7/10*

By - #samthebestest.