Last night I was watching a documentary about the development of the Spitfire. The narrator happened to mention that a film (or movie, if you prefer) had been made about the life of its designer.
I wondered how many real inventors, or inventions, were the subject of motion pictures (as opposed to documentaries). I've come up with a little list, given below. I'd be interested to hear of other candidates. I am aware that if I extended the list to imaginary inventions or inventors the list would be a lot longer: maybe I'll do that for another posting.
The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939). Don Ameche as Bell.
Edison, the Man (1940). Spencer Tracy as Edison.
The First of the Few (1942). Leslie Howard as Reginald Mitchell, designer of the Spitfire (not patented, as far as I know).
The Great Moment (1944). Don Ameche as Dr William Morton, who controversially patented ether as US 4848.
The Magic Box (1951). Robert Donat as William Friese-Greene, motion picture pioneer.
Tucker, the Man and his Dream (1988). Jeff Bridges as Preston Tucker, who innovated a safe car with inventions such as this one.
The Aviator (2004). Leonardo diCaprio as Howard Hughes.
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