Edison, The Man

A warm, watchable whitewash. MGM went all out for Thomas Alva Edison in 1940, producing two films on his life. YOUNG TOM EDISON was a box-office flop despite Mickey Rooney's energetic portrayal; EDISON, THE MAN was a much more lavish and popular production, with Tracy giving a dutiful but dynamic performance as the famous inventor. The film opens as Edison, at age 82, is about to be honored on the 50th anniversary of his invention of the incandescent light. He is being interviewed by two youths and begins to relate the story of his early manhood. It then goes into flashback and chronicles Edison's most productive years, from age 25 to 35, when he produced the phono...