Don Ameche stars as the famed telephone inventor in this 1939 biopic. He gives a solid performance, and the film isn't nearly as corny and ridiculous as the two Thomas Edison movies made the following year, but it's not really a top-tier flick. His love interest is Loretta Young, and her sometimes disapproving, sometimes supportive parents are Charles Coburn and Spring Byington. Loretta plays someone deaf who relies only on lip-reading, and her consistency led to her playing another deaf woman in 1944's And Now Tomorrow. If you like her in this one, check out the other, where she really shines. Henry Fonda in the 1930s was usually in movies that showed off his handsome mug, but perhaps he had a yearly quota to fulfil and was forced to play Don Ameche's lazy, perpetually hungry sidekick. He has hardly any screen time, and what little he does have is spent complaining about his growling stomach. I can't imagine he had much fun in this movie, since he's given none of Don's rousing speeches, purpose to the plot, romantic scenes, or memorable contribution.
In a couple of scenes you'll get to see Harry Davenport, as yet another judge, and Elizabeth Patterson, as Don's cranky landlady. Bobs Watson joins the supporting cast as a mute boy whom Don Ameche tries to cure. His father is Gene Lockhart, and it never ceases to impress me how versatile Gene's roles are. In the same year he played a sleazy slimeball in Blackmail, he plays a devoted, sorrowful father who bursts into tears as easily as Bobs usually does in his movies. It's a perfect father-son casting as they wrap their arms around each other and cry.
In a couple of scenes you'll get to see Harry Davenport, as yet another judge, and Elizabeth Patterson, as Don's cranky landlady. Bobs Watson joins the supporting cast as a mute boy whom Don Ameche tries to cure. His father is Gene Lockhart, and it never ceases to impress me how versatile Gene's roles are. In the same year he played a sleazy slimeball in Blackmail, he plays a devoted, sorrowful father who bursts into tears as easily as Bobs usually does in his movies. It's a perfect father-son casting as they wrap their arms around each other and cry.