ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEE: BEST PICTURE Edna Gladney places thousands of orphaned children in homes and fights the government to remove from them the stigma of “illegitimacy.” Based on a true story. [ Blossoms in the Dust credits: Dir: Mervyn LeRoy/ Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Felix Bressart/ 95 min/ Drama, Biography/ Government Enforced Morality, Voluntarism] “This is an … [Read more...]
Young Tom Edison (1940)
Semibiographical account of the boyhood years of Thomas Edison. [ Young Tom Edison credits: Dir: Norman Taurog/ Mickey Rooney, Fay Bainter, George Bancroft/ 82 min/ Drama, Biography, Family/ Creator as Hero] “Young Tom Edison is sort of a Rudolf, the Red-Nosed Reindeer story with a creator-as-hero twist. Edison is strange, misunderstood, and unwanted; but it’s just his … [Read more...]
Edison, the Man (1940)
Thomas Edison overcomes all obstacles to invent, among many other things, the electric light. Semibiographical. [Dir: Clarence Brown/ Spencer Tracy, Rita Johnson, Lynne Overman/ 107 min/ Biography, Drama/ Creator as Hero] When Edison died at eighty-four, he had patented over one thousand inventions, including the motion-picture projector, the phonograph, and the electric … [Read more...]
Dr. Ehrlich’s Magic Bullet (1940)
A German doctor develops chemical agents for use against infectious disease. Biographical. [ Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet credits: Dir: William Dieterle/ Edward G. Robinson, Ruth Gordon, Otto Kruger/ 103 min/ Drama, Biography/ Creator as Hero, Anti-Regulation, Voluntarism] "A touching, upbeat story from Hollywood’s golden age." Chances are you’ve never heard of the … [Read more...]
The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939)
Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone. Biographical. Credits for [ The Story of Alexander Graham Bell credits: Dir: Irving Cummings/ Don Ameche, Loretta Young, Henry Fonda/ 97 min/ Drama, Biography/ Creator as Hero] No trailer available. As depicted in this film, Bell was a very busy man. He taught the mute to talk, improved the telegraph, invented the telephone, and … [Read more...]
The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936)
ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEE: BEST PICTURE Louis Pasteur struggles against professional ignorance and the government that gives it force to rid the world of microbial infection. Biographical. [The Story of Louis Pasteur credits: Dir: William Dieterle/ Paul Muni, Josephine Hutchinson, Anita Louise/ 87 min/ Drama, Biography/ Creator as Hero, Anti-Regulation] "What an inspiring and … [Read more...]