Edison, the Man was a 1940 biographical film depicting the life of inventor Thomas Edison, who was played by Spencer Tracy. Much of the film's script fictionalises or exaggerates the real events of Edison's life. ^[1] Clarence Brown (May 10, 1890 – August 17, 1987) was an American film director. ... Hugo Butler (May 4, 1914 – January 7, 1968) was a Canadian born screenwriter working in Hollywood who was blacklisted by the movie studio bosses in the 1950s. ... Spencer Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was a two-time Academy Award-winning American film actor who appeared in 74 films from 1930 to 1967. ... Rita Johnson publicity photo 1941 Movie actress Rita Johnson (August 13, 1913 - October 31, 1965) was born in Worcester Ma. ... For alternate meanings of MGM, see MGM (disambiguation). ... May 10 is the 130th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (131st in leap years). ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ... Poster for Man on the Moon (1999), a biopic A biographical picture— often shortened to biopic— is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. ... Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman who developed many devices which greatly influenced life worldwide into the 21st century. ... Spencer Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was a two-time Academy Award-winning American film actor who appeared in 74 films from 1930 to 1967. ...

The film begins in 1929, at a 50th anniversary celebration honoring Edison for the discovery of the electric light. During his introduction, someone lights his cigar, triggering a flashback to 1869 when he had “no witnesses” and fought “ignorance, doubt, prejudice, and greed”.

Arrival in New York

Anxious to leave behind his days as a tramp telegraph operator, Edison goes to New York at the prompting of an old friend, Bunt Cavatt. However, Bunt leaves, and Edison stays to work for Mr. Els (Henry Travers). He longs to meet the financier Mr. Taggart to get funding to develop his inventions, and reads volumes of Faraday’s experiments.

Repair of the Gold Indicator

Edison soon got his chance. The Gold indicator malfunctioned, and Edison was able to repair it, earning him a meeting with Mr. Taggart. Mr. Taggart has no interest in funding “green electrical workers”, however, General Powell, the president of Western Union (the owner of the Gold indicator) does.

Menlo Park

Edison eventually sold an invention to Mr. Taggart and General Powell for $40,000, enabling him to get married and open his own “invention factory” at Menlo Park. In the next few years, he had successes and financial difficulties (which were always resolved by an invention that ended up being a “gold mine”). The most spectacular example was the phonograph, which allowed him to begin paying his workers again. (They were so devoted to him that they worked without pay when he temporarily ran out of money.)

The Electric Light

The most extended crisis involved the electric light, which began when Bunt bragged to reporters that Edison had already invented it. This brought condemnation by the scientific community (encouraged by Mr. Taggart, whose gas stocks were threatened by the announcement).

Edison “leaves science behind”, and with a Herculean trial-and-error effort, finally succeeds in inventing the electric light. However, his subsequent plans to light New York were again hindered by Mr. Taggart, who arranges for only a six-month period to complete the entire task (to comply with the law that all contracts must be concluded by some definite date). Mr. Taggart accused Edison of depriving taxpayers of their rights. Edison responded: “I didn’t come here this morning to deprive the taxpayers of any rights. I’m inviting this board to let them make use of a discovery that will endanger and handicap no one, but those who are afraid of its competition with their own monopolies.”

Fast Forward to 1929

Edison succeeded in lighting New York within six months, triggering a montage that fast-forwards him back to 1929, just in time to hear: “…he would have been a great man even if he had never invented anything.”

In his speech, he warns against science without wisdom, saying, “…or are they going to discover too late that science was trusted too much, so that it has turned into a monster, whose final triumph is man’s own destruction.” The speech is eerily prophetic, as the atomic bomb was exploded only five years after the movie was made.

Historical Accuracy

As already noted, the movie is considerably fictionalized, e.g.,

• All of the characters outside Edison’s immediate family are fictional, and none of Edison’s actual associates (or the financiers he dealt with) are named in the movie. Michael Simon (Bressart) appears to be loosely modeled after Edison’s real-life assistant Charles Batchelor.
• Edison’s concern about providing jobs and paychecks for his workers is an anachronism, reflecting the concerns of the Great Depression more than historical reality. According to the book “A Streak of Luck” by Robert Conot, Edison’s attitude toward workers was typical of industrialists of the time.
• A minor point: a check on the etymology of the word “filament” clearly shows that Edison did not invent it, as the movie claims.

Charles W. Batchelor, inventor, associate of Thomas A. Edison, early executive of General Electric Company Charles W. Batchelor (December 25, 1845-January 1, 1910) was an inventor and close associate of American inventor Thomas Alva Edison during much of Edison’s career. ...

Quotes

“I’m an inventor. I can’t be told what to do. I’ve got to do the things I want to do. I work with ideas, visionary things. Nobody—not even I—knows how useful they’re going to be or how profitable until I had a chance to work them out in my own way.”

“You think you’re nothing but wood and metal and glass. But you’re not: you’re dreams and hard work and heart. You’d better not disappoint us.”

“It’s not the money wrapped up in the laboratory, it’s the lives wrapped up in the laboratory. It’s come to mean everything that I ever set out to do. It means a weekly paycheck for all my men. It means home, shelter, clothing, and food for lots of families.”

“He hasn’t got a darn thing but I like to hear him talk that way.”

References

1. ^ Edison, the Man - Classic Film Guide, Film Guide

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