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In the 1930s and early ’40s, fans flocked to biopics. So Hollywood had a great idea: take the stars of Boys Town and reteam them—with a twist—to tell the compelling life story of America’s greatest inventor, Thomas Edison.
So Mickey Rooney portrayed Young Tom Edison and Spencer Tracy headlined Edison, the Man. The two films opened two months apart, and each garnered huge, enthusiastic audiences.
In this tale of Edison’s youth, Tom’s scientific curiosity and experiments gone wrong are subjects of scorn in his hometown…and in his family. Tom shows heroism in the face of great danger, and even invents a device to help the doctor save his mother’s life. But will that be enough to win over the folks who call him addled?
Original Release
03/15/1940
US Release
03/15/1940
Links
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Mickey Rooney | Thomas Alva 'Tom' Edison |
Fay Bainter | Mrs. Samuel 'Nancy' Edison |
George Bancroft | Samuel 'Sam' Edison |
Virginia Weidler | Tannie Edison |
Eugene Pallette | Mr. Nelson |
Victor Kilian | Mr. Dingle |
Bobby Jordan | Joe 'Joey' Dingle |
J.M. Kerrigan | Mr. McCarney |
Lloyd Corrigan | Dr. Pender |
John Kellogg | Bill Edison |
Directors
Writers
Bradbury Foote, Dore Schary, Hugo Butler, H. Alan Dunn
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Mickey Rooney | Thomas Alva 'Tom' Edison |
Fay Bainter | Mrs. Samuel 'Nancy' Edison |
George Bancroft | Samuel 'Sam' Edison |
Virginia Weidler | Tannie Edison |
Eugene Pallette | Mr. Nelson |
Victor Kilian | Mr. Dingle |
Bobby Jordan | Joe 'Joey' Dingle |
J.M. Kerrigan | Mr. McCarney |
Lloyd Corrigan | Dr. Pender |
John Kellogg | Bill Edison |
Clem Bevans | Mr. Waddell |
Eily Malyon | Miss Lavina Howard, School Teacher |
Harry Shannon | Army Captain Brackett |
Ernie Adams | Passenger Buying Maple Sugar |
Maude Allen | Woman Fainting at Downed Bridge |
Jessie Arnold | Woman at Station |
Gertrude Astor | Train Passenger |
Polly Bailey | Woman at Station |
Sherwood Bailey | Red, Joe's Friend |
Jack Baxley | Man at Dingle's Store |
Producers
Name | Role |
---|
John W. Considine Jr. | Producer |
Orville O. Dull | Producer |