A Vida de Alexander Graham Bell

I always thought of him being an under rated actor. He certainly was versatile. He could sing, play comedy and drama, and if for no other reason, the academy finally realized his talents and gave him an oscar. It was long overdue. As for this film, he was very good and keep in mind Henry Fonda was playing a supporting role. As for Loretta Young..she was very lovely during those years, but her role had me squirming. As a deaf person, she spoke very well and the audience knows she's deaf because she makes it obvious as to her glaring at the actors mouths. I don't recall anyone mentioning if she was born deaf, or acquired it in later life.All in all, a satisfying film..thanks to Don's performance.

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.

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.

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).

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.