1 00:02:49,917 --> 00:02:51,282 Boys! 2 00:03:02,792 --> 00:03:04,874 I hope you brought your Checkbooks. 3 00:03:27,333 --> 00:03:29,995 The air brakes pay for George's latest obsession. 4 00:03:30,083 --> 00:03:32,540 By changing the dimensions of his pipes, 5 00:03:32,625 --> 00:03:36,197 George can move natural gas over 20 miles from the well. 6 00:03:36,292 --> 00:03:38,032 Shooting, like a gun. 7 00:03:38,125 --> 00:03:40,832 Is that good or bad, Mrs. Westinghouse? 8 00:03:42,292 --> 00:03:44,954 - How is your daughter, Gladys? - Oh, quite well, thank you. 9 00:03:45,042 --> 00:03:46,907 She's met a financier. 10 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:49,286 The beading on your dress is exquisite. 11 00:03:50,375 --> 00:03:54,698 Mr. Westinghouse, I saw in The World Mr. Edison's new electric system 12 00:03:54,792 --> 00:03:57,408 is significantly cheaper than gas. 13 00:03:57,500 --> 00:03:59,741 Does that keep you up at night? 14 00:03:59,833 --> 00:04:01,824 There's always more to see. 15 00:04:02,792 --> 00:04:05,499 Mr. and Mrs. Worthington, Mr. Manesberg, 16 00:04:05,583 --> 00:04:08,871 Dr. and Mrs. Burton, Reverend Vincent, Mr. McCoy, 17 00:04:08,958 --> 00:04:11,244 Mr. Faulk, Miss Faulk, enjoy your evening. 18 00:04:24,208 --> 00:04:27,905 Edison says he's months away from lighting up the world. 19 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:31,913 It's impressive, but trust me, it's ten years away from being practical. 20 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:35,958 The papers make it sound as though this is something different. 21 00:04:37,292 --> 00:04:38,657 A miracle. 22 00:04:39,583 --> 00:04:42,199 As if you started to levitate off the carpet. 23 00:04:43,792 --> 00:04:46,033 I'd love to meet him. Could you arrange it? 24 00:04:46,125 --> 00:04:47,365 It's been several years... 25 00:04:47,458 --> 00:04:49,699 A dinner. Comfortable. Elegant. Substantive. 26 00:04:49,792 --> 00:04:53,410 Edison can't be bothered to tie his shoes, let alone attend a social event. 27 00:04:53,500 --> 00:04:56,287 Perhaps you're right. But try anyway. 28 00:04:59,875 --> 00:05:02,036 Anything fascinating? 29 00:05:02,125 --> 00:05:05,697 Mr. Pennoyer has found a bargain on a Beaux Arts shack in Newport. 30 00:05:05,792 --> 00:05:08,829 Mrs. Abernathy's mother has passed, and apparently Edison believes 31 00:05:08,917 --> 00:05:11,033 it may never be nighttime again. 32 00:05:14,125 --> 00:05:16,457 - Are you excited to meet the President? - Yes. 33 00:05:16,542 --> 00:05:18,578 Don't say a thing about JP. Morgan's nose. 34 00:05:18,667 --> 00:05:20,282 - What's wrong with his nose? - Nothing. 35 00:05:20,375 --> 00:05:23,822 - What's wrong with his nose? - It's huge. Huge! 36 00:05:23,917 --> 00:05:26,533 It's like someone took a hammer and slammed it into his face. 37 00:05:26,625 --> 00:05:28,268 I thought you already got the money. 38 00:05:28,292 --> 00:05:29,623 I only got half. 39 00:05:29,708 --> 00:05:31,309 Does Morgan even know that you're coming? 40 00:05:31,333 --> 00:05:33,198 He'll invest as always. I hate this. 41 00:05:33,292 --> 00:05:35,052 - Mr. Edison, you have dinner with... - What? 42 00:05:35,125 --> 00:05:36,956 Dinner with Westinghouse. On your return. 43 00:05:37,042 --> 00:05:38,282 Why are barns red? 44 00:05:38,375 --> 00:05:40,059 Maybe so you can see them in the snow. 45 00:05:40,083 --> 00:05:41,893 - It's 'cause red paint's cheapest. - What happened to your shoes? 46 00:05:41,917 --> 00:05:44,283 Morgan will want to know the practicality of your system. 47 00:05:44,375 --> 00:05:45,535 I have money. 48 00:05:45,625 --> 00:05:47,741 Enough for two small buildings in Manhattan? 49 00:05:47,833 --> 00:05:48,868 Yes. 50 00:05:48,958 --> 00:05:49,993 Oh, good. 51 00:06:03,750 --> 00:06:05,536 This was intended to be my lunch. 52 00:06:05,625 --> 00:06:07,957 The President has asked to see the phonograph in person. 53 00:06:08,042 --> 00:06:10,875 - I had no idea you'd be here. - Mrs. Edison. 54 00:06:10,958 --> 00:06:12,573 Mr. Morgan. These are our children. 55 00:06:12,667 --> 00:06:15,374 Dot and Dash. Delightful. I know what you're doing. 56 00:06:15,458 --> 00:06:18,575 How much are you short? Just how much of my money do you want to wash away? 57 00:06:18,667 --> 00:06:21,079 Oh, as very, very much as possible. 58 00:06:21,167 --> 00:06:22,873 - Who's this? - Samuel lnsull. 59 00:06:22,958 --> 00:06:25,620 Mr. Edison's personal secretary. 60 00:06:25,708 --> 00:06:29,030 - Mr. Morgan, Mr. Edison. - Which one? He's also Mr. Edison. 61 00:06:29,125 --> 00:06:30,831 The President will see you now. 62 00:06:37,250 --> 00:06:38,410 Now. 63 00:06:38,500 --> 00:06:41,742 On top of the Crumpetty Tree the Quangle Wangle sat, 64 00:06:41,833 --> 00:06:45,496 but his face you could not see, on account of his beaver hat. 65 00:06:46,125 --> 00:06:47,956 This is the sound of your voice. 66 00:06:50,542 --> 00:06:53,534 On top of the Crumpetty Tree the Quangle Wangle sat, 67 00:06:53,625 --> 00:06:55,832 but his face you could not see, 68 00:06:55,917 --> 00:06:58,659 - on account of his Beaver Hat. - Is that what I sound like? 69 00:07:00,542 --> 00:07:02,908 My men tell me you're turning down $5 million. 70 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:04,559 I'm grateful for the offer, Mr. President, 71 00:07:04,583 --> 00:07:08,121 but it's the type of science you're after that I find objectionable. 72 00:07:08,208 --> 00:07:10,601 - There's always money in guns. - The one device I shall never build 73 00:07:10,625 --> 00:07:12,741 is that which takes the life of another man. 74 00:07:12,833 --> 00:07:13,948 It's barbaric. 75 00:07:15,167 --> 00:07:17,874 But... take a look at this. 76 00:07:17,958 --> 00:07:21,155 One square mile of Manhattan, the First District. 77 00:07:21,250 --> 00:07:23,491 - And I'm gonna light it up. - Then you have done it. 78 00:07:23,583 --> 00:07:25,949 A star in a jar. It's a warm glow. 79 00:07:26,042 --> 00:07:29,330 No smell. No poison. Thirteen hours of light per globe. 80 00:07:29,417 --> 00:07:31,248 And it's cheaper than gas. Safer too. 81 00:07:31,333 --> 00:07:33,289 We bury the wires using my DC current, 82 00:07:33,375 --> 00:07:36,993 and those same wires will bring you energy and heat. 83 00:07:37,875 --> 00:07:40,833 I need two buildings to house six dynamos of my own construction. 84 00:07:40,917 --> 00:07:42,908 This won't even reach my house. 85 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:45,742 Morgan, let me make you so rich 86 00:07:45,833 --> 00:07:47,726 that you will look back at this moment and wonder, 87 00:07:47,750 --> 00:07:49,991 "Why was I ever so disgustingly poor?" 88 00:07:52,458 --> 00:07:54,498 It's all right there. Ferry to Wall Street. 89 00:07:54,583 --> 00:07:56,393 In case you missed my scribble, that's a big old circle 90 00:07:56,417 --> 00:07:58,453 around the New York Times... Free advertising. 91 00:07:58,542 --> 00:08:00,658 - One hundred fifty. - Half a million. 92 00:08:00,750 --> 00:08:03,867 I'm talking about $500,000, you buy the next century. 93 00:08:04,458 --> 00:08:05,868 Brighter, safer, yours. 94 00:08:05,958 --> 00:08:08,726 Sounds rather grand to me, Pierpont. If I had your fortune... 95 00:08:08,750 --> 00:08:11,082 With respect, you don't, Mr. President. 96 00:08:14,958 --> 00:08:16,914 - What is that? - That's not very nice. 97 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:19,286 Morse code. 98 00:08:20,042 --> 00:08:21,452 What did the boy say? 99 00:08:21,542 --> 00:08:22,976 - What did the boy say? - If there's nothing else, 100 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:25,440 - it's been a pleasure, Mr. President. - What did the boy say? 101 00:08:27,333 --> 00:08:28,994 Do you know what you've done? 102 00:08:30,083 --> 00:08:32,074 I always receive more by saying no. 103 00:08:34,125 --> 00:08:37,162 Set up the Manhattan offices and make them look professional. 104 00:08:37,250 --> 00:08:39,332 - What does that mean? - Oh, I don't know. Carpets. 105 00:08:40,708 --> 00:08:43,245 I don't know. Carpets. 106 00:08:43,333 --> 00:08:44,743 And the name? 107 00:08:46,500 --> 00:08:49,822 Edison Electric, of course. Sir, why not build munitions? 108 00:08:49,917 --> 00:08:51,726 Five million dollars. It's hard to say no to... 109 00:08:51,750 --> 00:08:53,456 No. 110 00:08:53,542 --> 00:08:54,998 If it's Edison, it works. 111 00:08:55,083 --> 00:08:57,870 If it works, I'd strongly prefer it not kill anybody. 112 00:08:59,375 --> 00:09:00,455 Right. 113 00:09:29,375 --> 00:09:33,368 Thomas Edison has an unfavorable opinion of college graduates seeking employment 114 00:09:33,458 --> 00:09:36,530 because they cannot answer his examination questions. 115 00:09:37,375 --> 00:09:39,081 "Who composed ll Trovatore?" 116 00:09:39,167 --> 00:09:40,498 Verdi. 117 00:09:40,583 --> 00:09:42,303 "What is the speed of sound?" 118 00:09:42,333 --> 00:09:43,476 Oh, a trick question. 119 00:09:43,500 --> 00:09:46,492 Sound travels at a constantly diminishing rate of speed. 120 00:09:46,583 --> 00:09:52,283 But I believe the fastest rate on record is 11,463 feet per second. 121 00:09:52,375 --> 00:09:54,036 How do you know all this? 122 00:09:54,125 --> 00:09:55,581 I read that this morning. 123 00:10:00,292 --> 00:10:01,623 This is different. 124 00:10:03,458 --> 00:10:04,948 I can feel it. 125 00:10:06,083 --> 00:10:08,495 You never requested a house guest before. 126 00:10:09,542 --> 00:10:10,622 Really? 127 00:10:12,375 --> 00:10:13,535 Hmm. 128 00:10:21,167 --> 00:10:23,954 - Eight minutes from the junction, sir. - Hmm? 129 00:10:24,042 --> 00:10:25,782 The Westinghouse dinner. 130 00:10:25,875 --> 00:10:29,663 We're going home. They're tired. I already shook enough hands today. 131 00:10:33,250 --> 00:10:34,990 Evening, Frank. 132 00:10:35,083 --> 00:10:36,664 George. 133 00:10:37,833 --> 00:10:38,868 Pardon? 134 00:10:39,917 --> 00:10:41,282 I'm not stopping. 135 00:10:43,292 --> 00:10:44,372 Right. 136 00:10:56,333 --> 00:10:58,324 Maybe the brakes are busted. 137 00:11:00,250 --> 00:11:01,865 I doubt that. 138 00:11:28,083 --> 00:11:30,039 An emergency came up in New York. 139 00:11:51,708 --> 00:11:53,573 Don't let him agitate you. 140 00:11:54,333 --> 00:11:55,823 This is how he is. 141 00:11:56,958 --> 00:11:59,791 Before he was a wizard, I let him live in my basement. 142 00:12:00,750 --> 00:12:03,601 My wife wouldn't have him at the table with us unless he cleaned himself. 143 00:12:03,625 --> 00:12:06,162 And boy, given the ultimatum, the man ate alone. 144 00:12:06,250 --> 00:12:07,706 How does he work? 145 00:12:09,792 --> 00:12:13,080 You want to know his secret? He engineers his own reality, 146 00:12:13,167 --> 00:12:15,533 and he looks for needles in haystacks. 147 00:12:16,458 --> 00:12:19,245 But how does he know there's a needle in the hay to begin with? 148 00:12:19,333 --> 00:12:21,244 He doesn't. Neither do you. 149 00:12:21,333 --> 00:12:23,949 But he's so determined not to be the second person to find it, 150 00:12:24,042 --> 00:12:26,624 he'll go stalk by stalk, on a "what-do-you-know." 151 00:12:26,708 --> 00:12:29,950 He could be the richest man on earth, 152 00:12:30,042 --> 00:12:32,283 but he doesn't give a damn about money. 153 00:12:34,875 --> 00:12:37,116 What does he give a damn about? 154 00:12:41,208 --> 00:12:43,199 Mary? Talk. 155 00:12:43,292 --> 00:12:45,476 - I just want to test the resistance... - Where's my barrette? 156 00:12:45,500 --> 00:12:47,411 - On top of your bureau. - What's a bureau? 157 00:12:47,500 --> 00:12:49,286 It's what's under your barrette. 158 00:12:49,375 --> 00:12:52,412 Can I get you to promise on here that you'll build me a fence? 159 00:12:52,500 --> 00:12:54,741 Ground's frozen. Needs to thaw. 160 00:12:57,625 --> 00:12:59,240 Look, you're missing it! 161 00:13:00,208 --> 00:13:02,620 It's a baby! Still has her spots! 162 00:13:08,208 --> 00:13:09,823 Tom, come see this. 163 00:13:12,958 --> 00:13:15,370 Tom? Tom? 164 00:13:16,958 --> 00:13:20,030 You want half a million dollars, make me something with your name on it 165 00:13:20,125 --> 00:13:22,161 that I can sell to General Sherman. 166 00:13:22,250 --> 00:13:24,582 Counteroffer. How about I don't give you what you want, 167 00:13:24,667 --> 00:13:26,407 but you give me everything I want? 168 00:13:29,750 --> 00:13:33,493 We are gonna be big, big, big! 169 00:13:33,583 --> 00:13:36,700 - Bigger than an elephant! - And no one stops an elephant! 170 00:13:36,792 --> 00:13:38,532 Whoo! 171 00:15:19,750 --> 00:15:20,990 It'll work. 172 00:15:33,792 --> 00:15:36,408 Look, I've got to be honest. This might not work. 173 00:15:38,333 --> 00:15:41,951 Conventional wisdom has it, if you think you're gonna fall flat on your face, 174 00:15:42,042 --> 00:15:43,782 better not do it in front of a crowd. 175 00:15:47,208 --> 00:15:49,369 Tonight, things could change. 176 00:15:50,042 --> 00:15:51,907 I hope they do. 177 00:15:52,583 --> 00:15:54,119 And if they do... 178 00:15:55,500 --> 00:15:57,456 they'll change there... 179 00:15:58,458 --> 00:15:59,914 and there. 180 00:16:01,750 --> 00:16:04,162 My boys and I caught in a jar 181 00:16:04,250 --> 00:16:07,572 what before now has only flashed across the night sky. 182 00:16:09,333 --> 00:16:12,245 What say we unscrew the lid and see what happens? 183 00:16:12,333 --> 00:16:15,040 You ready? 184 00:16:16,250 --> 00:16:19,287 - Three, two... - Two, one! 185 00:17:17,708 --> 00:17:21,656 The man has 100,000 feet of copper for 87 customers. 186 00:17:21,750 --> 00:17:23,741 It will never be profitable. 187 00:17:24,625 --> 00:17:27,947 It's a hobby for the rich. Something to show off. 188 00:17:28,042 --> 00:17:29,657 It doesn't have to be. 189 00:17:32,125 --> 00:17:35,868 I'm securing patents on the Siemens dynamo and the Gaulard-Gibbs transformer. 190 00:17:35,958 --> 00:17:38,415 Transformer? That's more like a metal suitcase. 191 00:17:38,500 --> 00:17:40,866 How much did that cost? 192 00:17:40,958 --> 00:17:43,495 Edison, he picked the wrong horse. 193 00:17:44,500 --> 00:17:46,912 His current is like a hose with a knot in it. 194 00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:49,036 He needs to sell one generator per mile. 195 00:17:49,125 --> 00:17:52,572 You want to build an AC system. That's too powerful for motors. 196 00:17:52,667 --> 00:17:55,625 Put doubt out of your mind for one moment and tell me, 197 00:17:55,708 --> 00:17:57,994 what distance do you estimate one could get 198 00:17:58,083 --> 00:17:59,914 with a single alternating dynamo? 199 00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:01,456 - A few thousand. - Yards? 200 00:18:01,542 --> 00:18:02,873 - Miles. - Mm-hmm. 201 00:18:02,958 --> 00:18:05,290 And how many houses could we reach? 202 00:18:05,375 --> 00:18:08,162 I suppose all of them. What about the bulbs? 203 00:18:08,250 --> 00:18:10,206 Hiram's agreed to license me his. 204 00:18:10,292 --> 00:18:13,455 If you're gonna rip off Edison, rip him off right. They glow bright gray. 205 00:18:13,542 --> 00:18:16,249 I just want to do a demonstration for Edison. 206 00:18:16,333 --> 00:18:18,540 Somewhere small. Small town. Rural. 207 00:18:18,625 --> 00:18:22,117 And then he'll see alternating is possible, 208 00:18:22,208 --> 00:18:24,574 and we partner... our system, his bulbs. 209 00:18:24,667 --> 00:18:28,831 In my opinion, which I will admit is based solely on physics and reality, 210 00:18:28,917 --> 00:18:31,078 what you want to do is fun to talk about. 211 00:18:31,167 --> 00:18:33,123 I really don't think it can be done. 212 00:18:33,208 --> 00:18:35,449 - Why? - Because he would've already done it. 213 00:19:05,917 --> 00:19:09,535 My Paris office seems to think you may be the only man on Earth to rival me. 214 00:19:09,625 --> 00:19:12,822 - How would you like to work for me? - Very much. 215 00:19:12,917 --> 00:19:16,205 I'm expanding to 12 cities, building direct-current systems... 216 00:19:16,292 --> 00:19:17,623 Direct current? 217 00:19:19,833 --> 00:19:21,744 Alternating current is far more efficient. 218 00:19:21,833 --> 00:19:24,415 - Hickory, dickory dock... - Higher voltage, 219 00:19:24,500 --> 00:19:26,220 greater distance. Less copper conductors... 220 00:19:26,292 --> 00:19:29,284 It's lethal, and it's too much power for a motor to handle. 221 00:19:29,375 --> 00:19:31,115 I'm going to start you on $100 a month 222 00:19:31,208 --> 00:19:33,699 until you prove yourself worth more or less. 223 00:19:33,792 --> 00:19:35,976 - A hundred dollars? - If you can solve five things I can't, 224 00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:38,537 I'll pay you $50,000, and then I'll have to fire you. 225 00:19:39,542 --> 00:19:41,498 Mr. Tesla, welcome to Edison Electric. 226 00:19:41,583 --> 00:19:43,665 We make a minor invention every ten days 227 00:19:43,750 --> 00:19:45,911 and a major one every six months or so. 228 00:19:49,583 --> 00:19:52,103 I have a suspicion that though your husband's lab is but 229 00:19:52,167 --> 00:19:55,864 a hundred yards from your house, it must seem sometimes like a hundred miles. 230 00:19:55,958 --> 00:19:57,448 No, a million. 231 00:19:58,333 --> 00:20:01,700 I've tried to find a way to stop his brain, but it just runs and runs. 232 00:20:06,500 --> 00:20:10,038 I've heard Mr. Edison called "the worst husband in America" 233 00:20:10,125 --> 00:20:13,083 on account of him sleeping in his lab on your wedding night. 234 00:20:13,167 --> 00:20:15,078 I've heard the story myself. 235 00:20:18,917 --> 00:20:21,078 Well, on our wedding night, 236 00:20:21,167 --> 00:20:23,749 Tom and I left on the Albany, uh... 237 00:20:25,500 --> 00:20:27,036 boat. 238 00:20:27,125 --> 00:20:30,538 We spent a week in Niagara Falls. 239 00:20:30,625 --> 00:20:32,832 I thought that one week of happiness would be enough 240 00:20:32,917 --> 00:20:35,784 to illuminate an entire lifetime. 241 00:20:35,875 --> 00:20:38,912 He was a dashing inventor, and I worked for him. 242 00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:40,581 You know. I was a... 243 00:20:42,333 --> 00:20:43,994 H was a... 244 00:20:45,333 --> 00:20:46,368 uh... 245 00:20:48,875 --> 00:20:50,365 Uh... 246 00:20:50,458 --> 00:20:51,618 H was a... 247 00:20:53,042 --> 00:20:54,157 Yes? 248 00:20:55,542 --> 00:20:57,999 Um... 249 00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:00,865 I'm sorry. 250 00:21:00,958 --> 00:21:02,698 L-I operated the... 251 00:21:08,083 --> 00:21:10,165 - Telegraph? - Yes. 252 00:21:10,250 --> 00:21:12,286 Yes. Telegraph. 253 00:21:14,667 --> 00:21:16,373 Forgive me. 254 00:21:20,250 --> 00:21:22,332 Does he have any hobbies? 255 00:21:33,333 --> 00:21:35,619 You promised them Coney Island. 256 00:21:35,708 --> 00:21:37,494 At the very least, a walk. 257 00:21:38,292 --> 00:21:40,578 We'll go on three walks tomorrow, I promise. 258 00:21:43,917 --> 00:21:45,782 Here, why don't you take a picture? 259 00:22:04,667 --> 00:22:06,032 Slow down! 260 00:22:21,833 --> 00:22:25,155 It's neuralgia, brought on by eye strain. 261 00:22:25,250 --> 00:22:27,832 A good pair of spectacles is all that's required. 262 00:22:27,917 --> 00:22:30,033 Oh, no. I'll look awful. 263 00:22:30,125 --> 00:22:32,867 No, no. No, you won't. That's impossible. 264 00:22:32,958 --> 00:22:36,405 Are you sure that's all? She's been having terrible headaches. 265 00:22:36,500 --> 00:22:39,572 I'll leave her a vial of laudanum until her eyes adjust. 266 00:22:39,667 --> 00:22:41,623 Thank you. 267 00:22:41,708 --> 00:22:43,198 Can you... 268 00:22:43,292 --> 00:22:46,204 Would you mind delaying the bill for this visit? 269 00:22:47,125 --> 00:22:51,164 Well, my son would love an autograph. 270 00:23:19,542 --> 00:23:21,328 Christ, it's primitive. 271 00:23:23,417 --> 00:23:24,998 How much did this cost? 272 00:23:25,083 --> 00:23:27,324 - He won't tell me. - What we need is here. 273 00:23:28,208 --> 00:23:31,245 Edison '3 current can't travel more than one mile, Frank. 274 00:23:31,333 --> 00:23:34,655 It peters out. He'll have to build so many DC motors 275 00:23:34,750 --> 00:23:37,537 and bury all his copper just to power one town. 276 00:23:37,625 --> 00:23:40,822 This country will look like a checkerboard of power plants. 277 00:23:40,917 --> 00:23:44,705 But with one AC dynamo, we can step-up the voltage 278 00:23:44,792 --> 00:23:46,999 and reach as far as the eye can see. 279 00:23:47,083 --> 00:23:49,449 We string the wires overhead on poles. 280 00:23:49,542 --> 00:23:51,703 Less copper, more electricity. 281 00:23:51,792 --> 00:23:54,078 We're 75 percent cheaper. 282 00:23:54,167 --> 00:23:57,284 The only thing that matters here is distance. 283 00:24:44,625 --> 00:24:48,163 Frank, this is as much yours as it is mine. 284 00:24:48,250 --> 00:24:50,707 - I'd be proud if you'd flip the... - I couldn't possibly. 285 00:24:50,792 --> 00:24:52,828 - Oh, don't be ridiculous. - No, it belongs to you. 286 00:24:52,917 --> 00:24:54,957 - But you spent hours... - George, it was your idea. 287 00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:56,490 You were the instigator. 288 00:24:56,583 --> 00:24:59,120 Shall we go for a ride? 289 00:25:07,958 --> 00:25:11,075 "To the Wizard of Menlo Park." 290 00:25:12,125 --> 00:25:14,867 As it seems your brakes have issues, 291 00:25:14,958 --> 00:25:18,701 I would be delighted to send my car to deliver you 292 00:25:18,792 --> 00:25:21,750 to Great Barrington, Massachusetts... 293 00:25:22,875 --> 00:25:26,948 "where I have successfully transmitted current one full mile." 294 00:25:30,625 --> 00:25:32,240 No! 295 00:25:32,333 --> 00:25:34,198 How did he get the bulbs? 296 00:25:36,417 --> 00:25:39,375 What a roaring silence from the brightest minds of America. 297 00:25:39,458 --> 00:25:43,997 - He's using Hiram's design. - Which Hiram stole from me! 298 00:25:46,292 --> 00:25:49,034 - Sue him. - We did. The court upheld his patent. 299 00:25:49,125 --> 00:25:50,851 I'm talking about Westinghouse. Find an angle. 300 00:25:50,875 --> 00:25:53,161 Take a trip to Barrington and see for yourself. 301 00:25:53,250 --> 00:25:55,582 Is anyone even slightly irked that 15 years of work 302 00:25:55,667 --> 00:25:57,498 is being filched from right under your eyes? 303 00:25:58,208 --> 00:25:59,414 Not again! 304 00:25:59,500 --> 00:26:02,947 I built a system here, and he goes shopping for patents 305 00:26:03,042 --> 00:26:06,079 to cobble together something to legally steal what is mine. 306 00:26:07,167 --> 00:26:10,614 If the bulbs are a battle, then nail him on the dynamos. 307 00:26:10,708 --> 00:26:12,039 We can't. 308 00:26:13,833 --> 00:26:15,744 He's not even using direct current, sir. 309 00:26:17,917 --> 00:26:19,703 He's using alternating? 310 00:26:33,333 --> 00:26:34,573 Mary? 311 00:26:35,167 --> 00:26:36,532 Mary? 312 00:26:36,625 --> 00:26:38,661 Yes, I think we should have some more tea. 313 00:26:38,750 --> 00:26:40,581 Patricia? 314 00:26:57,500 --> 00:26:58,990 George Westinghouse? 315 00:26:59,875 --> 00:27:02,617 - Can we help you? - I came from Thomas Edison. 316 00:27:03,542 --> 00:27:06,079 He wants me to buy one generator per mile. 317 00:27:09,750 --> 00:27:13,868 Your electricity would save 66 percent on Edison's. 318 00:27:15,750 --> 00:27:17,832 Well, it's a proposed saving. 319 00:27:18,417 --> 00:27:21,989 And it's not "my electricity." It's "electricity." 320 00:27:22,625 --> 00:27:25,162 I think it makes much more sense for the taxpayers of Columbus 321 00:27:25,250 --> 00:27:27,286 to go with Westinghouse Electric. 322 00:27:28,708 --> 00:27:31,905 I don't want to compete. I only intend to license my system. 323 00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:34,161 - He's got the better bulbs. - Why not compete? 324 00:27:34,250 --> 00:27:36,411 By now he knows. Edison knows, I promise you. 325 00:27:36,500 --> 00:27:39,992 The man doesn't care about getting it right, just about getting it. 326 00:27:40,083 --> 00:27:41,518 But he doesn't respond. 327 00:27:41,542 --> 00:27:43,999 Look, Westinghouse will never have a complete system. 328 00:27:44,083 --> 00:27:46,726 - He can't even power a sewing machine. - But I can solve that problem. 329 00:27:46,750 --> 00:27:49,913 Instead of again converting the currents to work with a commutator, 330 00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:52,366 I would pass alternating current differing in phase 331 00:27:52,458 --> 00:27:54,119 through two or more energizing circuits. 332 00:27:54,208 --> 00:27:56,995 You're supposed to be working on commutators with DC dynamos. 333 00:27:57,083 --> 00:27:58,539 Well, I have. 334 00:27:58,625 --> 00:28:01,393 Look, I have done everything you have asked, but you are making a mistake. 335 00:28:01,417 --> 00:28:03,874 - What? - Direct current may be fine for cities 336 00:28:03,958 --> 00:28:07,746 when the buildings are close together, but most of your country is empty spaces. 337 00:28:07,833 --> 00:28:10,791 Only high voltage can span the distance. You are not thinking long-term. 338 00:28:10,875 --> 00:28:14,823 This technology is within your grasp. I can build you an efficient motor. 339 00:28:14,917 --> 00:28:16,202 Have you tried it? 340 00:28:16,292 --> 00:28:17,407 No. 341 00:28:18,500 --> 00:28:20,707 Look, in my head, it is nearly completed. 342 00:28:20,792 --> 00:28:22,952 Men claim to have heads full of sonnets and symphonies, 343 00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:25,912 but their only problem seems to be they can't quite write it down. 344 00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:29,663 - Let me try. - No, because I can't start again! 345 00:28:29,750 --> 00:28:32,184 I got orders from Michigan. I got a roomful of press waiting for me. 346 00:28:32,208 --> 00:28:33,914 Do what you were hired to do. 347 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:36,207 So, you will not honor your word about the remuneration? 348 00:28:36,292 --> 00:28:38,453 - What are you talking about? - Well, you said $50,000. 349 00:28:38,542 --> 00:28:41,784 - Are you unhappy with my contributions? - I'm not paying you $50,000. 350 00:28:41,875 --> 00:28:43,285 That was a joke. 351 00:28:46,792 --> 00:28:48,908 Coconut fibers and horn shavings, and fishing lines 352 00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:51,241 and cork and celluloid and flax 353 00:28:51,333 --> 00:28:53,540 and platinum, iron, nickel, copper, steel. 354 00:28:53,625 --> 00:28:55,991 We scoured the earth, years and years, 355 00:28:56,083 --> 00:28:59,120 trying thousands, 10,000 different combinations. 356 00:28:59,208 --> 00:29:03,030 Then George Westinghouse saw howl did it and put on a pirate hat. 357 00:29:03,125 --> 00:29:05,616 You get vultures in every venture, 358 00:29:05,708 --> 00:29:07,414 but you've just got to keep them away. 359 00:29:07,500 --> 00:29:10,663 - So this is just how it works? - Map-makers include mistakes in their work 360 00:29:10,750 --> 00:29:13,036 to see if anyone else is copying them. 361 00:29:13,125 --> 00:29:16,083 I don't have that luxury. I can't invent streets to lead the world down. 362 00:29:16,167 --> 00:29:18,533 OthenNise we all end up in the dark. 363 00:29:18,625 --> 00:29:21,788 Good, and remember, write as much as you can about how he's infringing. 364 00:29:22,542 --> 00:29:24,908 Thank you, Mr. Edison, and thanks for this. 365 00:29:31,667 --> 00:29:33,828 Did I mention that his system's lethal? 366 00:29:34,542 --> 00:29:36,624 You reach out and touch 367 00:29:36,708 --> 00:29:40,075 a doorknob or a rail, and, well, you become the circuit. 368 00:29:40,792 --> 00:29:43,124 Just to be clear on that point... 369 00:29:45,125 --> 00:29:46,535 Well, you die. 370 00:29:47,750 --> 00:29:50,241 With DC current, you can reach out and touch anything 371 00:29:50,333 --> 00:29:52,995 at any stage of the line with your bare hands. 372 00:29:53,083 --> 00:29:56,200 It's safe. It works. And it bears the name of Edison, so it's pretty. 373 00:29:57,542 --> 00:30:01,364 Our government has been trying for some time now to get me to invent a weapon, 374 00:30:01,458 --> 00:30:04,450 but I won't use this brain to invent anything that hurts people. 375 00:30:04,542 --> 00:30:07,033 For that, you can shop in Pittsburgh. 376 00:30:07,125 --> 00:30:09,491 So you say Westinghouse wants to hurt people? 377 00:30:09,583 --> 00:30:12,996 No. I can't say that. But you can. 378 00:30:24,750 --> 00:30:26,911 This is what he thinks of you. 379 00:30:28,083 --> 00:30:31,951 Issue a statement to the papers today. Refute his charges. 380 00:30:32,042 --> 00:30:33,828 I'm not going to engage with this. 381 00:30:33,917 --> 00:30:36,659 We have the better system. That speaks loudest. 382 00:30:42,833 --> 00:30:47,281 Westinghouse Electric Company was founded at a quarter past 9:00. 383 00:30:48,917 --> 00:30:51,374 Hello. I'm George Westinghouse. Do we have an appointment? 384 00:30:51,875 --> 00:30:53,206 North Dakota. 385 00:30:53,292 --> 00:30:54,577 New Orleans. 386 00:30:54,667 --> 00:30:55,952 Fort Worth. 387 00:30:56,042 --> 00:30:57,157 Sioux City. 388 00:30:57,250 --> 00:30:59,286 You want the good news or the good news? 389 00:30:59,375 --> 00:31:02,367 J' Hurrah, boys, hurrah J' 390 00:31:04,167 --> 00:31:06,434 We've been spending all our time trying to nab him 391 00:31:06,458 --> 00:31:08,938 on what's in the glass bubble when we should've been looking at 392 00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:11,241 is the clear opposite end of the bulb, the corkscrew. 393 00:31:11,333 --> 00:31:12,994 - I own that. - That you do. 394 00:31:14,375 --> 00:31:15,911 He's suing you. 395 00:31:16,583 --> 00:31:18,289 This is a massive lawsuit. 396 00:31:18,375 --> 00:31:20,616 This is Edison and Morgan. 397 00:31:20,708 --> 00:31:23,370 Is there any way that you can think of 398 00:31:23,458 --> 00:31:25,369 to beat gravity other than a corkscrew? 399 00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:30,742 Westinghouse designed a stopper to get around your corkscrew. 400 00:31:30,833 --> 00:31:32,913 It's only a matter of time before they're everywhere. 401 00:31:34,375 --> 00:31:38,243 To tell you the truth, I am mostly looking fonNard to using it at the lumber mills. 402 00:31:38,333 --> 00:31:40,745 Well, at the moment, we offer only light. 403 00:31:40,833 --> 00:31:44,451 In time, we'll move on to motorized tools and appliances. 404 00:31:44,542 --> 00:31:47,124 When? I don't care what light costs. 405 00:31:48,083 --> 00:31:52,031 My home's on gas. I'm after productivity. I don't understand. 406 00:31:52,125 --> 00:31:55,663 Edison said that electricity can already be used in factories. 407 00:31:56,958 --> 00:31:58,494 Well, his can. 408 00:32:02,125 --> 00:32:04,116 I need to see this needle move. 409 00:32:04,208 --> 00:32:06,893 I can't step the voltage down without blowing the whole thing to pieces. 410 00:32:06,917 --> 00:32:08,873 Come on. You must've made some progress. 411 00:32:08,958 --> 00:32:10,073 It's just not ready. 412 00:32:33,208 --> 00:32:35,119 Kill it. Kill it! 413 00:32:42,625 --> 00:32:44,665 There has to be a solution out there. 414 00:32:49,792 --> 00:32:53,705 The Nikola Tesla Electric Light Company. How does that sound? 415 00:32:53,792 --> 00:32:56,534 - When can you bring arcs to production? - Arc lighting? 416 00:32:56,625 --> 00:33:00,038 I believe we agreed to compete for incandescents, motors and distribution. 417 00:33:00,125 --> 00:33:01,615 Leave that to Edison. 418 00:33:01,708 --> 00:33:04,370 I am working on advanced methods to surpass him. 419 00:33:04,458 --> 00:33:08,121 - To beat Edison? How soon? - Only a few years. 420 00:33:08,208 --> 00:33:10,290 I need a lab, engineers, supplies. 421 00:33:10,375 --> 00:33:12,036 There are, of course, expenses. 422 00:33:12,125 --> 00:33:14,662 Oh, where do you get the cash for those fancy silks? 423 00:33:14,750 --> 00:33:16,957 How I spend my income is my concern. 424 00:33:17,042 --> 00:33:21,035 Look, Mr. Tesla, if you need cash now, you should sell us your patents. 425 00:33:22,000 --> 00:33:23,786 And what would I receive? 426 00:33:23,875 --> 00:33:25,035 Stock. 427 00:33:25,125 --> 00:33:27,832 And later, if you succeed, you can sell it for a killing. 428 00:33:27,917 --> 00:33:29,578 That means a fortune. 429 00:33:29,667 --> 00:33:33,285 - Yes, I know what an idiom is. - We'll take on two-thirds of the risk. 430 00:33:33,375 --> 00:33:36,117 It's a good price for the only thing you have to sell. 431 00:33:39,250 --> 00:33:42,572 Congestion of the brain? What does that even mean? 432 00:33:42,667 --> 00:33:46,364 There's a... an occlusion hidden, 433 00:33:46,458 --> 00:33:48,744 and it expands. 434 00:33:48,833 --> 00:33:51,165 Her eyesight will likely go first, 435 00:33:51,250 --> 00:33:53,662 and then her vocabulary will fall away. 436 00:33:53,750 --> 00:33:55,206 I can't lose her. 437 00:33:57,917 --> 00:34:01,080 Working on a raised alphabet, I'll make her a dictionary. 438 00:34:01,167 --> 00:34:03,954 She'll gradually lose her mobility. 439 00:34:04,042 --> 00:34:05,703 I'll build her an elevator. 440 00:34:06,708 --> 00:34:07,743 Mr. Edison, 441 00:34:08,708 --> 00:34:10,619 what your wife needs... 442 00:34:11,708 --> 00:34:13,494 no man can build. 443 00:34:14,333 --> 00:34:16,244 What my wife needs, according to you, 444 00:34:16,958 --> 00:34:18,744 is a simple pair of spectacles. 445 00:34:20,500 --> 00:34:22,331 Nature will take its course. 446 00:34:25,583 --> 00:34:26,618 I, uh... 447 00:34:28,042 --> 00:34:30,408 I have to leave for New York tonight. 448 00:34:31,292 --> 00:34:32,998 It can't be avoided. 449 00:34:34,667 --> 00:34:37,864 I will attend to her while you're away, but... 450 00:34:39,458 --> 00:34:40,664 dontfingen 451 00:34:55,708 --> 00:34:57,348 Ohio is going with Westinghouse. 452 00:34:57,375 --> 00:35:00,538 - Columbus. Zanesville. - Zanesville? Give it to him. 453 00:35:00,625 --> 00:35:01,740 That isn't funny. 454 00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:05,787 We don't know something is a pattern till it happens again, 455 00:35:05,875 --> 00:35:07,911 which I sincerely hope it does not. 456 00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:11,663 Now, you tell me, what is he doing right that you're doing wrong? 457 00:35:11,750 --> 00:35:14,617 He is successfully selling machines that will result 458 00:35:14,708 --> 00:35:17,165 in the accidental deaths of human beings. 459 00:35:17,250 --> 00:35:19,309 - And where are these deaths? - Where are these deaths? 460 00:35:19,333 --> 00:35:20,448 Why don't we switch now, 461 00:35:20,542 --> 00:35:22,726 and then you get to shoulder the inevitable suits of manslaughter. 462 00:35:22,750 --> 00:35:26,743 I think that people aren't dying because it's not as dangerous as you wish it were. 463 00:35:28,708 --> 00:35:31,620 All right, he's beating us on costs, but that is a temporary advantage. 464 00:35:31,708 --> 00:35:33,664 You give me enough time, I'll make ours so cheap 465 00:35:33,750 --> 00:35:35,832 that only the rich will burn candles. 466 00:35:35,917 --> 00:35:38,750 And until then, you bleed cities to Westinghouse. I'm not a bank. 467 00:35:38,833 --> 00:35:40,789 That is exactly what you are. 468 00:35:40,875 --> 00:35:44,493 We could've had this conversation by telephone instead of you wasting my time. 469 00:35:44,583 --> 00:35:47,541 When I want to see someone, he comes. Eye to eye. That's how it works. 470 00:35:47,625 --> 00:35:49,536 No. Here's how it works. 471 00:35:49,625 --> 00:35:53,538 I build miracles, and you continue to give me as much goddamn money as I want. 472 00:35:54,292 --> 00:35:56,453 Oh, what? Did I squander another town? 473 00:35:58,333 --> 00:36:00,073 All right, what did I lose? 474 00:37:57,250 --> 00:38:00,322 Say something. 475 00:38:00,417 --> 00:38:03,909 Can [get you to promise on here that you'll build me a fence? 476 00:38:05,292 --> 00:38:07,453 Ground's frozen. Needs to thaw. 477 00:38:09,292 --> 00:38:10,953 Look! You're missing it! 478 00:38:21,000 --> 00:38:23,960 Say something. 479 00:38:24,042 --> 00:38:27,455 Can [get you to promise on here that you'll build me a fence? 480 00:38:27,542 --> 00:38:29,783 Ground's frozen. Needs to thaw. 481 00:38:31,292 --> 00:38:33,078 Look! You're missing it! 482 00:38:35,542 --> 00:38:38,158 No. Now we move on to my motor, as agreed... 483 00:38:38,250 --> 00:38:40,832 Look, we don't... We don't want any of that. 484 00:38:40,917 --> 00:38:42,782 The arcs you built aren't selling anymore. 485 00:38:42,875 --> 00:38:45,116 We can't compete with Edison and Westinghouse! 486 00:38:45,208 --> 00:38:48,200 Then I will take my patents and wish you both a great misfortune. 487 00:38:48,292 --> 00:38:50,783 - Your patents? - Yes. My patents. 488 00:39:00,042 --> 00:39:01,907 Can I get you anything, sir? 489 00:39:03,167 --> 00:39:04,748 A time machine. 490 00:39:05,250 --> 00:39:08,572 Well, if! Ever find one, I'll travel back to this moment and give it to you. 491 00:39:09,833 --> 00:39:11,414 Did you read over the proposal? 492 00:39:11,500 --> 00:39:15,163 I'm not diverting what I've got left of my resources in lighting up a fair. 493 00:39:15,250 --> 00:39:17,866 It's much more than a fair, sir. A third of this country 494 00:39:17,958 --> 00:39:22,281 will get on trains to Chicago to try and see this City of Light. 495 00:39:22,792 --> 00:39:25,283 Every window, every streetlamp, a sign that says, 496 00:39:25,375 --> 00:39:27,240 "The race is over, and we won." 497 00:39:28,000 --> 00:39:30,116 Why spend your final dollars traveling this country 498 00:39:30,208 --> 00:39:32,790 to show everyone your electricity when they're all 499 00:39:32,875 --> 00:39:35,366 traveling to the same place to try to see it anyway? 500 00:39:35,458 --> 00:39:36,976 Because in a year, they'll rip it down. 501 00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:39,616 Only after 30 million people have seen it, yes. 502 00:39:46,833 --> 00:39:48,619 Westinghouse is placing a bid. 503 00:40:03,167 --> 00:40:05,783 Nice hat. Looks expensive. 504 00:40:05,875 --> 00:40:08,207 I owned this before I worked for you, Mr. Edison. 505 00:40:08,292 --> 00:40:11,614 I don't think you are working for me. He's still using my bulbs. 506 00:40:11,708 --> 00:40:13,949 His patents are in order. 507 00:40:14,042 --> 00:40:15,578 Do you want my advice? 508 00:40:16,042 --> 00:40:18,454 You keep saying Westinghouse's current will kill people, 509 00:40:18,542 --> 00:40:21,739 so in lieu of evidence, why don't you provide it? 510 00:40:31,042 --> 00:40:34,614 We're doing this because when we have a complete system, 511 00:40:34,708 --> 00:40:37,871 it works, and it's Edison. 512 00:40:37,958 --> 00:40:39,368 Poor bastard. 513 00:40:40,333 --> 00:40:44,656 Well, he was gonna be slaughtered anyway. He's not going to feel any pain, right? 514 00:40:44,750 --> 00:40:47,082 At 3,000 volts, it'll be over before it begins. 515 00:40:47,167 --> 00:40:48,828 So there's nothing to worry about? 516 00:40:49,750 --> 00:40:52,537 But these are reporters, so you might want to liven up a little bit. 517 00:40:57,125 --> 00:40:59,832 Welcome to Menlo Park. 518 00:40:59,917 --> 00:41:02,203 Thank you for coming out on this cold morning. 519 00:41:02,292 --> 00:41:04,908 - Good to see you again. - Good morning. 520 00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:07,036 - I'm Southwick Brown. - A pleasure. 521 00:41:07,125 --> 00:41:09,582 Now you, uh, you might all want to stand back a little bit. 522 00:41:09,667 --> 00:41:11,749 Gus is being connected to the same current 523 00:41:11,833 --> 00:41:14,199 that Westinghouse uses from his generator. 524 00:41:14,292 --> 00:41:17,989 But there's no word yet coined to define death by electricity, 525 00:41:18,083 --> 00:41:20,745 so I asked the men who write the dictionaries, and I heard back 526 00:41:20,833 --> 00:41:24,405 "electro-dite," "electro-cremate" and "dyna-mort." 527 00:41:24,500 --> 00:41:28,413 Butjust as Joe Guillotine got his name on his invention, 528 00:41:29,083 --> 00:41:32,246 how could we rob the rightful inventor of death by electricity 529 00:41:32,333 --> 00:41:34,619 of his due credit? 530 00:41:34,708 --> 00:41:38,530 I ask you to please be respectful as we Westinghouse this horse. 531 00:42:08,458 --> 00:42:11,825 Mr. Edison, Southwick Brown, Capital Punishment Commission. 532 00:42:11,917 --> 00:42:14,954 You've read, no doubt, of the botched hangings throughout the Northeast. 533 00:42:15,042 --> 00:42:17,309 The prisoners either choke to death... 534 00:42:17,333 --> 00:42:19,369 Or are violently decapitated. 535 00:42:19,458 --> 00:42:21,289 The spectacle is inhumane. 536 00:42:21,375 --> 00:42:25,163 But the horse... his death was so calm, you could call it... 537 00:42:27,458 --> 00:42:28,868 poetic. 538 00:42:32,125 --> 00:42:35,447 The governor of New York, upon my personal recommendation, 539 00:42:35,542 --> 00:42:37,624 would like to explore a death device 540 00:42:37,708 --> 00:42:40,199 which uses electricity on a human being. 541 00:42:40,833 --> 00:42:44,371 It would be our honor to award you the contract. 542 00:42:45,542 --> 00:42:47,999 - If nothing else, a pleasure. - I beg your pardon? 543 00:42:48,083 --> 00:42:52,497 To kill a human being under the guise of justice is... is cockeyed. 544 00:42:52,583 --> 00:42:55,040 There's a big difference between a horse and a person. 545 00:42:55,125 --> 00:42:58,242 God humanely brings us into this world. 546 00:42:58,833 --> 00:43:02,280 Why would you reject the opportunity to be the first man 547 00:43:02,375 --> 00:43:04,787 to humanely take us out of it? 548 00:44:04,917 --> 00:44:06,373 William. 549 00:44:08,583 --> 00:44:10,244 I killed my wife. 550 00:44:22,125 --> 00:44:24,207 I'm turning the handle. 551 00:44:25,167 --> 00:44:27,078 Maybe there's more to it than that. 552 00:44:28,083 --> 00:44:30,495 If I'm doing it wrong, you'll never know I was fooling around 553 00:44:30,583 --> 00:44:33,370 with your phonograph or gramophone, 554 00:44:33,458 --> 00:44:35,540 whatever you end up calling it. 555 00:44:35,625 --> 00:44:37,707 And what is this thing really? 556 00:44:38,500 --> 00:44:42,072 Today's Mary is speaking to tomorrow's Thomas. 557 00:44:42,167 --> 00:44:43,498 Or from where you sit, 558 00:44:43,583 --> 00:44:46,040 today's Tom is listening to yesterday's Mary. 559 00:44:48,917 --> 00:44:51,283 I wonder what else you can do with it. 560 00:44:59,542 --> 00:45:01,203 Mr. Tesla, 561 00:45:01,292 --> 00:45:04,268 my son and his idiot friend tell me you don't want to make arc lights anymore. 562 00:45:04,292 --> 00:45:05,828 Is that true? 563 00:45:05,917 --> 00:45:08,329 Don't look at him, look at me. I'm your primary shareholder. 564 00:45:08,417 --> 00:45:10,954 No. I already completed the arc light project. 565 00:45:11,042 --> 00:45:14,785 Completed? You covered one city: Rahway, New Jersey. 566 00:45:14,875 --> 00:45:17,708 For the love of God, think bigger. Philadelphia. 567 00:45:17,792 --> 00:45:20,909 You design arc lights to outfit cities. That was your only job. 568 00:45:21,000 --> 00:45:24,072 No. My AC motor. Okay? We agreed... 569 00:45:24,167 --> 00:45:26,658 - No, I never agreed to anything. - In this office, you said... 570 00:45:26,750 --> 00:45:27,865 Uh! 571 00:45:27,958 --> 00:45:30,290 Lane, could you wait outside for a moment? 572 00:45:37,208 --> 00:45:39,699 I'm sorry. Don't you realize you're being fired here? 573 00:45:41,833 --> 00:45:45,621 No. Please, let me work through what I have in my head. 574 00:45:45,708 --> 00:45:48,871 I will make you the greatest provider of electrical power in the world. 575 00:45:48,958 --> 00:45:50,744 Better than Edison. 576 00:45:50,833 --> 00:45:53,165 I'm-I'm so close. Just a few months. 577 00:45:57,875 --> 00:46:00,662 You drop in here like you're from Neptune, 578 00:46:00,750 --> 00:46:03,492 like you got a great vision of the future 579 00:46:03,583 --> 00:46:05,684 - that no one understands but you. - No, please don't touch. 580 00:46:05,708 --> 00:46:07,744 But you're just an immigrant. 581 00:46:08,583 --> 00:46:11,541 Head full of notions, looking for a handout. You're not Edison. 582 00:46:11,625 --> 00:46:14,742 There's only one Edison. That's why he's in. There's millions of you. 583 00:46:14,833 --> 00:46:18,951 Big ideas, but you can't see the real force that moves things. 584 00:46:19,042 --> 00:46:22,000 And it's not AC/DC, it's not currents. 585 00:46:22,667 --> 00:46:24,032 It's currency. 586 00:46:24,625 --> 00:46:26,707 And that's the only motor I'm interested in. 587 00:46:29,833 --> 00:46:33,576 These patents belong to the Tesla Electric Light Company. 588 00:46:33,667 --> 00:46:37,239 This is now the Union Electric and Manufacturing Company, 589 00:46:37,333 --> 00:46:39,369 and I own everything in this office. 590 00:46:40,000 --> 00:46:43,322 Patents, designs, engineers, all mine. 591 00:46:44,583 --> 00:46:47,245 Never going to be anything named Tesla ever again. 592 00:46:48,625 --> 00:46:52,823 You take your notions and go back where you came from. 593 00:47:05,333 --> 00:47:07,324 He's snapping up town after town. 594 00:47:08,292 --> 00:47:11,830 Cats, dogs, sheep, 11 horses... What more do people need to see? 595 00:47:11,917 --> 00:47:14,329 The problem is, no one's actually dying from alternating, 596 00:47:14,417 --> 00:47:17,375 apart from your cats, dogs, sheep and 11 horses. 597 00:47:18,667 --> 00:47:21,374 - Sir, I realize I'm only your secretary... - Just say it. 598 00:47:21,458 --> 00:47:24,325 Bring the phonograph to market. You can make your own money. 599 00:47:24,417 --> 00:47:27,124 - No, it needs too many improvements. - Make them. Sir. 600 00:47:28,167 --> 00:47:31,159 - Bell is ripping you off. - Graphophone? He just switched the name. 601 00:47:31,250 --> 00:47:34,226 Direct me to a store where I can buy yours, and I won't give him the business. 602 00:47:34,250 --> 00:47:36,366 You have a real offer on the table here. 603 00:47:37,042 --> 00:47:40,330 Half a million dollars. Sir, take the money. You need it. 604 00:47:41,458 --> 00:47:43,449 If Bell ripped you off with the telephone, 605 00:47:43,542 --> 00:47:45,533 he'll do it again with the graphophone. 606 00:47:45,625 --> 00:47:47,786 Did you just misspeak intentionally? 607 00:47:47,875 --> 00:47:49,866 Do you want Chicago? 608 00:47:54,250 --> 00:47:55,740 All right, I'm ready. 609 00:48:16,958 --> 00:48:18,323 A dollar a ball? 610 00:48:19,125 --> 00:48:20,786 So, what's your trade? 611 00:48:20,875 --> 00:48:24,197 Inventor. I fix problems for idiots. 612 00:48:25,292 --> 00:48:28,364 Imagine dictation without the aid of a stenographer. 613 00:48:30,125 --> 00:48:32,992 Phonographic books that will speak to blind people. 614 00:48:33,083 --> 00:48:35,665 Reproduction of music. Talking toys. 615 00:48:36,167 --> 00:48:39,000 Clocks that will announce the time. 616 00:48:39,083 --> 00:48:41,324 The preservation of dying languages. 617 00:48:41,417 --> 00:48:43,282 Teaching of elocution. 618 00:48:43,375 --> 00:48:45,912 - You hustled us. - Yes. No. 619 00:48:46,833 --> 00:48:48,226 I didn't come all this way to lose. 620 00:48:48,250 --> 00:48:51,572 The final capturing of the dying words of your loved ones. 621 00:48:55,500 --> 00:48:58,572 Mary had a little lamb, his fleece was white as snow, 622 00:48:58,667 --> 00:49:01,784 and everywhere that Mary went, the lamb was sure to go. 623 00:49:07,708 --> 00:49:11,997 Well, it's either not possible, or I'm not the engineer I thought I was. 624 00:49:14,208 --> 00:49:17,746 And he's traveling around the country, cooking up cats. 625 00:49:17,833 --> 00:49:20,870 George, he's playing dirty. You can too. 626 00:49:20,958 --> 00:49:21,993 Mm. 627 00:49:23,625 --> 00:49:26,082 You know, when I was a boy, my father... 628 00:49:27,333 --> 00:49:29,324 tried to whip me with a branch. 629 00:49:30,375 --> 00:49:34,288 But after the first hit, it broke into three little pieces. 630 00:49:35,917 --> 00:49:39,239 And we just stood there, looking at this shattered stick on the ground. 631 00:49:40,875 --> 00:49:44,413 And then I noticed there was a leather strap hanging on the wall, 632 00:49:44,500 --> 00:49:46,707 so I pointed to it and said, 633 00:49:46,792 --> 00:49:50,205 "Look. That's the better one." 634 00:49:51,417 --> 00:49:52,873 And he stopped. 635 00:49:57,375 --> 00:50:02,039 I can take a beating, but I have no patience for shoddy craftsmanship. 636 00:50:04,667 --> 00:50:08,455 You are gonna have a working motor sitting next to your display in Chicago, 637 00:50:08,542 --> 00:50:11,784 come hell, high water, or the Wizard of Menlo Park. 638 00:50:18,542 --> 00:50:20,248 - Good night, Frank. - Good night. 639 00:51:19,375 --> 00:51:21,366 So you admit Edison was right? 640 00:51:49,875 --> 00:51:52,161 We will remember Franklin Pope... 641 00:51:53,083 --> 00:51:55,870 for his fearless dedication to moving us fonrvard. 642 00:51:56,625 --> 00:51:59,742 He tried to see what was hiding in plain sight. 643 00:52:05,500 --> 00:52:07,161 Today, I am... 644 00:52:09,000 --> 00:52:10,956 filled less with grief than anger, 645 00:52:11,042 --> 00:52:13,499 because what happened could've been avoided. 646 00:52:15,917 --> 00:52:18,784 Hear me now as you have never heard me before. 647 00:52:19,625 --> 00:52:21,206 As I breathe... 648 00:52:22,792 --> 00:52:24,953 as long as Westinghouse stays in business... 649 00:52:26,375 --> 00:52:28,411 more people will die. 650 00:52:48,542 --> 00:52:50,282 My condolences. 651 00:52:52,625 --> 00:52:55,082 Sounds like he was more than just an employee. 652 00:53:00,167 --> 00:53:02,374 What was his name? Franklin Popes? 653 00:53:03,542 --> 00:53:05,624 Pope. Just one. 654 00:53:06,875 --> 00:53:08,957 - It's a shame. - Mm. 655 00:53:09,042 --> 00:53:10,578 But I'm here to help. 656 00:53:11,333 --> 00:53:13,198 Now, I know that you, uh, 657 00:53:13,292 --> 00:53:15,328 you wish Edison to quiet down. 658 00:53:18,083 --> 00:53:21,575 So let me combine your companies. Let me clean up the mess. 659 00:53:25,542 --> 00:53:29,364 You really think Westinghouse Electric is worth $5 million? 660 00:53:29,458 --> 00:53:32,746 The value of something is the highest number someone else is willing to pay. 661 00:53:32,833 --> 00:53:36,405 But 800 men will lose their livelihoods. 662 00:53:36,500 --> 00:53:38,661 I will keep your workers. 663 00:53:38,750 --> 00:53:42,288 I will not make the same promise for your five-day work week. 664 00:53:42,375 --> 00:53:43,410 Mm. 665 00:53:44,917 --> 00:53:46,999 Seems like you're amenable. 666 00:53:49,667 --> 00:53:50,747 Mm. 667 00:53:57,667 --> 00:53:59,623 Which current will you use? 668 00:54:01,125 --> 00:54:03,366 Whichever Edison selects, I suppose. 669 00:54:13,250 --> 00:54:14,581 Absurdity. 670 00:54:15,208 --> 00:54:17,119 You think I'm being absurd? 671 00:54:18,292 --> 00:54:20,157 Yes, I do. 672 00:54:20,250 --> 00:54:22,457 We're overextended, Marguerite. 673 00:54:23,583 --> 00:54:25,494 There's no shame in selling. 674 00:54:29,375 --> 00:54:32,538 What I was always after was to partner with Edison... 675 00:54:33,583 --> 00:54:35,665 and I have the chance to do that now. 676 00:54:36,875 --> 00:54:40,823 We have no motor, so we're a train into a mountainside anyway. It's impossible. 677 00:54:40,917 --> 00:54:43,954 I thought "impossible" wasn't a word in your vocabulary. 678 00:54:50,083 --> 00:54:52,119 I am dissolving Westinghouse Electric. 679 00:54:52,208 --> 00:54:56,406 The proceeds will go to preserve our other failing enterprises, 680 00:54:56,500 --> 00:55:00,573 and time itself will mend Edison's mistakes. 681 00:55:00,667 --> 00:55:04,615 You are not a captain who changes his course with the sea. 682 00:55:04,708 --> 00:55:06,619 We are not on a course! 683 00:55:07,208 --> 00:55:09,039 We're drowning! 684 00:55:09,125 --> 00:55:12,037 This whole thing is costing us a fortune! 685 00:55:12,125 --> 00:55:14,662 - You don't care about money. - A fortune! 686 00:55:16,000 --> 00:55:19,163 I lived in your parents' house while you went door-to-door. 687 00:55:19,792 --> 00:55:22,864 Do you want people saying you stand for everything you don't? 688 00:55:22,958 --> 00:55:25,040 Using your last name as a verb? 689 00:55:25,125 --> 00:55:28,413 Well, how exactly do you suggest I correct that, dear? 690 00:55:29,875 --> 00:55:32,992 I have you, and I had Frank. 691 00:55:34,583 --> 00:55:35,663 That's it. 692 00:55:36,917 --> 00:55:38,498 I loved the man. 693 00:55:40,292 --> 00:55:44,706 This is really nothing but a sensible business decision. 694 00:55:46,125 --> 00:55:48,161 - George... - That's all. 695 00:55:52,750 --> 00:55:53,990 That's all. 696 00:56:00,708 --> 00:56:03,620 Say what you will about George Westinghouse, he sure is nice. 697 00:56:39,625 --> 00:56:42,867 You've crossed into territory for the Confederacy. 698 00:56:44,875 --> 00:56:47,912 No, I, uh, I think you're mistaken. 699 00:56:48,458 --> 00:56:50,744 According to my map here... 700 00:57:01,917 --> 00:57:06,581 Though I mourn the loss of my colleague, misfortune does not trump progress. 701 00:57:08,792 --> 00:57:13,115 Now, it seems to me that Mr. Edison puts his name on everything 702 00:57:13,208 --> 00:57:16,120 because he's terrified of being forgotten. 703 00:57:17,292 --> 00:57:20,284 IF YOU WANT TO BE REMEMBERED, IT'S SIMPLE: Shoot a president. 704 00:57:21,250 --> 00:57:24,413 But if you prefer to have what I call a legacy, 705 00:57:24,500 --> 00:57:27,367 you leave the world a better place than you found it. 706 00:57:28,417 --> 00:57:31,739 Thomas Alva Edison is a charlatan 707 00:57:31,833 --> 00:57:35,496 who preys on the fears of the common man 708 00:57:35,583 --> 00:57:37,699 because I have the better system. 709 00:57:39,125 --> 00:57:44,199 And because I do have the better system, Westinghouse Electric shall endure. 710 00:57:44,292 --> 00:57:45,372 Good day. 711 00:57:46,625 --> 00:57:50,072 Westinghouse has taken the lead. He's not going away. 712 00:57:50,167 --> 00:57:53,910 And while I appreciate your lights, Mr. Edison, I'm also your customer. 713 00:57:54,500 --> 00:57:57,242 If something comes to my door and offers me something that I need 714 00:57:57,333 --> 00:58:00,496 that is better than what I have now, at a cheaper price, 715 00:58:00,583 --> 00:58:03,655 why, I'd be a tool not to invite him in for tea. 716 00:58:03,750 --> 00:58:06,662 - Is this an ultimatum? - More of a threat. 717 00:58:06,750 --> 00:58:08,786 If you maintain that fear is the best strategy, 718 00:58:08,875 --> 00:58:10,957 then you'd better hurry up and try harder. 719 00:58:12,542 --> 00:58:13,577 Time's up. 720 00:58:17,167 --> 00:58:19,249 Man who was handsome and clever 721 00:58:19,333 --> 00:58:21,824 built a box with a crank and a lever 722 00:58:21,917 --> 00:58:25,409 to store his wife's voice, though he made a poor choice, 723 00:58:25,500 --> 00:58:29,163 because now she can tease him forever. 724 00:58:31,625 --> 00:58:35,038 I couldn't stop it if I wanted to, 725 00:58:35,542 --> 00:58:37,282 which I don't, 726 00:58:37,375 --> 00:58:40,822 because I... I think it's a remarkable gift. 727 00:58:42,292 --> 00:58:46,205 Electricity will kill that man in Buffalo. 728 00:58:46,292 --> 00:58:49,079 We don't know the voltage. 729 00:58:49,167 --> 00:58:52,864 Too much, and he ignites. Too little, and he's still alive. 730 00:58:53,458 --> 00:58:55,824 All we need is your advice. 731 00:58:55,917 --> 00:58:59,284 How much is humane? Where to put the electrode? 732 00:58:59,375 --> 00:59:04,244 And in exchange, I will promise you something that I know you want. 733 00:59:06,250 --> 00:59:10,573 I will put the Westinghouse name right out front 734 00:59:10,667 --> 00:59:14,615 as the official electricity used to kill human beings. 735 00:59:17,000 --> 00:59:20,993 I even think we can get this chair on display at the Chicago World's Fair. 736 00:59:22,708 --> 00:59:24,369 The future. 737 00:59:32,375 --> 00:59:34,457 My name must never be associated with this. 738 00:59:34,542 --> 00:59:37,375 I did not provide any consultation, and you will advertise 739 00:59:37,458 --> 00:59:40,416 that Westinghouse is the best way to take a human life. 740 00:59:41,500 --> 00:59:43,161 You guarantee your assistance? 741 00:59:45,125 --> 00:59:47,491 You ask a question, and I'll reply. 742 00:59:51,208 --> 00:59:52,789 Burn the correspondence. 743 00:59:54,250 --> 00:59:55,786 Absolutely. 744 00:59:58,958 --> 01:00:02,280 Fauteuils and blue painted bergere. 745 01:00:02,375 --> 01:00:04,707 I sold three sets of these last week alone. 746 01:00:07,083 --> 01:00:09,870 Oh, uh, this is your classic spindle back. 747 01:00:09,958 --> 01:00:12,870 Oh, yes. And these are framed cockpen. 748 01:00:12,958 --> 01:00:14,619 Quite popular. 749 01:00:20,958 --> 01:00:23,040 Oh, deportment style. 750 01:00:25,875 --> 01:00:28,708 Would you like four, six, eight, 12? 751 01:00:28,792 --> 01:00:29,827 Just one. 752 01:00:31,583 --> 01:00:35,451 Mr. Brown, the apparatus consists of a stationary engine, 753 01:00:35,542 --> 01:00:39,364 a Westinghouse alternating dynamo capable of generating 3, 000 volts, 754 01:00:39,458 --> 01:00:42,871 wood chair with headrest, binding straps and adjustable electrodes. 755 01:00:42,958 --> 01:00:45,165 Burn. TAE. 756 01:00:53,667 --> 01:00:56,158 The voltmeter, ammeter and switchboard controlling the current 757 01:00:56,250 --> 01:00:59,242 should be located in the execution room for monitoring. 758 01:00:59,333 --> 01:01:00,914 Burn. TAE. 759 01:01:01,000 --> 01:01:04,447 The dynamo room is communicated by electric signals. Burn. TAE. 760 01:01:04,542 --> 01:01:07,989 The most effective machines manufactured by Westinghouse... Burn. TAE. 761 01:01:08,083 --> 01:01:12,156 I authorize payment of $3, 600 for your efforts. 762 01:01:12,250 --> 01:01:13,865 Burn. TAE. 763 01:01:13,958 --> 01:01:17,075 The only argument which can be urged against "Westinghousing" 764 01:01:17,167 --> 01:01:19,249 on the score of cruel punishment is that 765 01:01:19,333 --> 01:01:21,449 the flesh may burn at the points of contact, 766 01:01:21,542 --> 01:01:24,222 and the amount of current which can be given without such mutilation 767 01:01:24,292 --> 01:01:26,157 is not yet known. 768 01:01:26,250 --> 01:01:28,491 Burn. TAE. 769 01:01:38,708 --> 01:01:40,948 For someone who's trying to compete for the World's Fair, 770 01:01:41,000 --> 01:01:42,706 this death-trap business doesn't look good. 771 01:01:42,792 --> 01:01:47,035 Yeah, I know. It's just Edison trying to smear me, as usual. 772 01:01:47,125 --> 01:01:49,036 - Can you prove it? - No. 773 01:01:49,125 --> 01:01:51,582 But I was thinking maybe I could stop it. 774 01:01:52,375 --> 01:01:53,740 You mean me? 775 01:01:54,875 --> 01:01:57,992 You want my advice? Don't hire me. Save your money. 776 01:01:59,000 --> 01:02:02,242 But I do know a man who could determine 777 01:02:02,333 --> 01:02:05,575 whether Edison has an exploitable connection with the death chair. 778 01:02:05,667 --> 01:02:09,034 No, I was thinking we could stop him via legal means. 779 01:02:10,292 --> 01:02:12,749 - You want me to put Edison on trial? - No. 780 01:02:12,833 --> 01:02:15,165 The chair itself. The Eighth Amendment. 781 01:02:15,250 --> 01:02:17,707 So I'm to get an ax murderer 782 01:02:17,792 --> 01:02:20,329 who readily admits he slaughtered his wife 783 01:02:20,417 --> 01:02:22,248 a what... a sustainment? 784 01:02:22,333 --> 01:02:24,164 This is about showing, 785 01:02:24,250 --> 01:02:26,992 what kind of a man is Thomas Edison? 786 01:02:29,000 --> 01:02:31,116 You just keep my name out of it. 787 01:02:31,208 --> 01:02:33,415 Does your wife know you're paying for this? 788 01:02:33,500 --> 01:02:35,331 It was her idea. 789 01:02:38,833 --> 01:02:42,246 What precisely makes electricity not cruel and not inhumane? 790 01:02:42,333 --> 01:02:44,369 The velocity of the current is so great 791 01:02:44,458 --> 01:02:47,495 that the brain is instantaneously paralyzed. 792 01:02:47,583 --> 01:02:49,289 The subject is dead 793 01:02:49,375 --> 01:02:51,991 before the nerves can communicate any shock. 794 01:02:52,083 --> 01:02:53,948 How can you know if you haven't proof? 795 01:02:54,042 --> 01:02:55,327 I tested it... 796 01:02:56,083 --> 01:02:58,290 on a gorilla from London Zoo. 797 01:02:58,375 --> 01:03:01,913 Are you connected in any way with any of the electric lighting companies? 798 01:03:02,000 --> 01:03:03,536 No, sir. 799 01:03:03,625 --> 01:03:07,197 The State calls Thomas Alva Edison. 800 01:03:07,292 --> 01:03:09,704 Will you explain generally 801 01:03:09,792 --> 01:03:12,283 the difference between your continuous current 802 01:03:12,375 --> 01:03:16,072 and Mr. Westinghouse's alternating electricity? 803 01:03:16,667 --> 01:03:19,909 A continuous current flows like water through a pipe, 804 01:03:20,000 --> 01:03:22,207 and alternating current flows in both directions. 805 01:03:22,292 --> 01:03:24,157 Water. That doesn't sound so dangerous. 806 01:03:24,250 --> 01:03:26,115 Not until you drown. 807 01:03:26,208 --> 01:03:28,995 Why don't you use Mr. Westinghouse's current? 808 01:03:29,083 --> 01:03:31,415 - I don't like it. - You think it's dangerous. 809 01:03:31,500 --> 01:03:32,706 Yes, I do. 810 01:03:32,792 --> 01:03:35,033 Suppose you took this... 811 01:03:36,083 --> 01:03:38,495 wicked Westinghouse current... 812 01:03:38,583 --> 01:03:41,325 the one that is going to be used on Mr. Kemmler here... 813 01:03:42,292 --> 01:03:45,455 now, suppose you kept it up for five or six minutes. 814 01:03:46,250 --> 01:03:48,707 At 1,500 volts, 815 01:03:48,792 --> 01:03:51,283 how long would it take before he would feel the heat? 816 01:03:51,375 --> 01:03:54,492 Well, the temperature might rise 817 01:03:54,583 --> 01:03:56,619 four or five degrees above normal 818 01:03:56,708 --> 01:03:59,415 and continue until he was mummified. 819 01:04:00,167 --> 01:04:02,533 And this wouldn't cause considerable pain? 820 01:04:02,625 --> 01:04:04,286 - It would not. - How do you know? 821 01:04:04,375 --> 01:04:06,741 Because I personally observed such electricity 822 01:04:06,833 --> 01:04:08,869 being used to execute a thousand-pound horse. 823 01:04:08,958 --> 01:04:11,518 - And did the horse feel pain? - If he did, he didn't mention it. 824 01:04:14,167 --> 01:04:16,624 Now, Mr. Edison, there is a great degree of feeling 825 01:04:16,708 --> 01:04:18,699 between you and Mr. Westinghouse. 826 01:04:18,792 --> 01:04:21,625 I do not dislike Mr. Westinghouse. 827 01:04:21,708 --> 01:04:23,828 There is a contest between you two, isn't there? 828 01:04:23,917 --> 01:04:25,873 That is not what this is about. 829 01:04:27,083 --> 01:04:29,244 I've been asked as a dispassionate scientist 830 01:04:29,333 --> 01:04:32,370 to advise on the simple question of whether death by electricity 831 01:04:32,458 --> 01:04:35,245 is a violation of the Eighth Amendment and is cruel and unusual. 832 01:04:35,333 --> 01:04:38,655 In my expert opinion, the only humane method of execution 833 01:04:38,750 --> 01:04:40,741 is Westinghouse alternating current. 834 01:04:40,833 --> 01:04:43,184 Your Honor, Mr. Edison knows that any current over 30 amperes... 835 01:04:43,208 --> 01:04:46,746 Milliamperes. If you're gonna interrupt, do so in the proper denominations. 836 01:04:49,333 --> 01:04:50,789 Oh, thank you, Your Honor. 837 01:04:50,875 --> 01:04:52,351 It's my honor. 838 01:04:52,375 --> 01:04:54,707 All right, that's all I need to hear. 839 01:05:05,708 --> 01:05:07,869 What do you two lowlifes want, huh? 840 01:05:07,958 --> 01:05:09,823 Mr. Edison. Mr. Edison. 841 01:05:09,917 --> 01:05:10,952 Huh? 842 01:05:14,208 --> 01:05:15,368 Now look... 843 01:05:15,458 --> 01:05:17,351 I thought you were gonna leave before I had a chance. 844 01:05:17,375 --> 01:05:21,038 - Mr. Edison, can I get your autograph? - Uh, yeah, sure, I... 845 01:05:21,125 --> 01:05:23,116 William, do you mind? 846 01:05:34,000 --> 01:05:37,367 I should warn you, there's one thing that always beats justice. 847 01:05:37,458 --> 01:05:38,573 Money? 848 01:05:38,667 --> 01:05:39,702 Fame. 849 01:06:00,833 --> 01:06:03,324 Oh, is that a New Model Army revolver? 850 01:06:04,000 --> 01:06:06,241 What a lovely machine that is. 851 01:06:07,167 --> 01:06:09,624 - Do you know how it works? - You want me to show you? 852 01:06:09,708 --> 01:06:13,246 Oh, I didn't mean how it fires. I simply meant how it works. 853 01:06:14,000 --> 01:06:16,457 It's quite a device. You should have a look. 854 01:06:16,542 --> 01:06:19,784 You see, they designed the cylinder so the hammer 855 01:06:19,875 --> 01:06:22,241 doesn't have to sit in an empty chamber. 856 01:06:22,333 --> 01:06:25,200 So I could shoot you six times instead of five. 857 01:06:25,292 --> 01:06:28,079 Well, I suppose. 858 01:06:29,542 --> 01:06:31,749 They both lied on the stand. 859 01:06:32,667 --> 01:06:36,239 If you're gonna take your shot, now is the last time to fire. 860 01:06:36,333 --> 01:06:39,530 Sometimes we have to work outside of the rules to get what's right. 861 01:06:41,542 --> 01:06:43,533 It would be nice if we didn't have to. 862 01:06:45,250 --> 01:06:46,330 Wouldn't it? 863 01:06:47,583 --> 01:06:50,199 - This doesn't make you like him. - Mm. 864 01:06:53,167 --> 01:06:54,577 So, what will it be? 865 01:07:52,750 --> 01:07:55,241 In my bad ear, it sounded extraordinary. 866 01:07:55,333 --> 01:07:56,493 Father... 867 01:08:00,042 --> 01:08:01,077 Hello. 868 01:08:01,167 --> 01:08:04,000 The apparatus consists of a stationary engine, 869 01:08:04,083 --> 01:08:06,540 a Westinghouse alternating dynamo 870 01:08:06,625 --> 01:08:09,082 capable of generating 3, 000 volts. 871 01:08:09,167 --> 01:08:11,203 Wood chair with headrest, 872 01:08:11,292 --> 01:08:14,079 - Where did you get that? - I'm sending them to the paper. 873 01:08:14,167 --> 01:08:17,239 Those letters are stolen. You can't publish them. 874 01:08:17,333 --> 01:08:19,790 - Why not? - Because they're private correspondences. 875 01:08:19,875 --> 01:08:23,663 Mr. Edison, if you say something about me or my company again, 876 01:08:23,750 --> 01:08:25,911 I would ask that you tell the truth. 877 01:08:27,458 --> 01:08:29,790 That would be the decent thing to do. 878 01:08:31,750 --> 01:08:32,865 Wouldn't it? 879 01:08:35,250 --> 01:08:38,947 - Why didn't you burn the letters? - They were from Thomas Edison. 880 01:08:39,042 --> 01:08:41,829 I don't think you appreciate that this chair is something 881 01:08:41,917 --> 01:08:44,158 to be proud of and remembered for. 882 01:08:44,250 --> 01:08:46,536 I don't even know how much electricity you need to use. 883 01:08:46,625 --> 01:08:50,243 - You said 1,500 volts. - I said I think 1,500 volts. 884 01:08:50,333 --> 01:08:52,995 But if all the water in his body evaporates, then he may ignite. 885 01:08:53,083 --> 01:08:55,790 - So we lower the amount. - Then you slowly roast him to death. 886 01:08:55,875 --> 01:08:59,413 Listen. You must listen to me. What you're going to do is wrong. 887 01:08:59,500 --> 01:09:02,287 Now you said that it's inevitable and somebody else will do it. 888 01:09:02,375 --> 01:09:05,617 But just because somebody else is gonna do it doesn't mean that you have to. 889 01:09:06,667 --> 01:09:10,865 The State thanks you for your expert opinion and your help. 890 01:09:30,375 --> 01:09:31,455 What? 891 01:09:34,458 --> 01:09:36,540 - It's not my place to say. - Say it. 892 01:09:37,292 --> 01:09:39,999 You said you'd never build a device that would kill anyone. 893 01:09:49,292 --> 01:09:52,204 I make something impossible, and they rip it away from me, 894 01:09:52,292 --> 01:09:54,578 so I do it again and they do it again. 895 01:09:54,667 --> 01:09:56,908 And again. And again. 896 01:09:59,333 --> 01:10:01,164 This isn't like everything else. 897 01:10:02,917 --> 01:10:04,623 This is everything else. 898 01:10:05,917 --> 01:10:09,785 Our future is not gonna be paved with bricks but with copper. 899 01:10:11,667 --> 01:10:15,740 Automation, transportation, communication, and the man that controls that current 900 01:10:15,833 --> 01:10:17,789 controls that future. 901 01:10:18,958 --> 01:10:20,914 But you know Westinghouse is right. 902 01:10:22,625 --> 01:10:24,616 You don't actually believe that a few accidents 903 01:10:24,708 --> 01:10:26,619 rule out the viability of his current. 904 01:10:26,708 --> 01:10:28,851 - You just don't want to lose. - I have merely amplified 905 01:10:28,875 --> 01:10:30,957 what no one else was willing to take seriously. 906 01:10:31,042 --> 01:10:33,374 No, what you did was run him over with a 12-ton train. 907 01:10:33,458 --> 01:10:35,768 Oh, well, he's the one that's supposed to only make brakes, 908 01:10:35,792 --> 01:10:37,783 so, who's to blame here? 909 01:10:40,458 --> 01:10:42,619 Switch tonight, and you win. 910 01:10:42,708 --> 01:10:44,790 His current kills people. 911 01:10:44,875 --> 01:10:46,240 Only because you said it will! 912 01:10:46,333 --> 01:10:49,120 Listen, I either stop complaining about the scavengers in my garden 913 01:10:49,208 --> 01:10:52,746 or build a wall so damn high that people will never even dare to scale it. 914 01:10:52,833 --> 01:10:54,664 You are the smartest man I know. 915 01:10:54,750 --> 01:10:57,992 Beyond building miracles out of thin air, 916 01:10:58,083 --> 01:11:00,495 I was most impressed by your principles. 917 01:11:02,458 --> 01:11:05,825 You didn't invent the incandescent. People just think you did. 918 01:11:13,125 --> 01:11:17,915 Let me welcome you to the reality of how things come into existence. 919 01:11:18,000 --> 01:11:21,037 We all contribute. That's what invention is. 920 01:11:21,125 --> 01:11:24,913 The salt. The grain. The heat. The heart. 921 01:11:25,000 --> 01:11:28,538 But only one man makes the bread rise. 922 01:11:30,500 --> 01:11:33,037 That's the one that puts it all together 923 01:11:33,125 --> 01:11:36,037 and makes it taste so damn good that people will go out there 924 01:11:36,125 --> 01:11:40,368 and hand over their hard-won dollars to buy it. 925 01:11:40,458 --> 01:11:43,450 Mr. Edison, I want you to succeed. I do. 926 01:11:45,750 --> 01:11:48,742 But you have to switch tonight, or you'll die as PT Barnum 927 01:11:48,833 --> 01:11:50,789 rather than Sir Isaac Newton. 928 01:12:15,542 --> 01:12:17,999 Though he may be unfamiliar to you, 929 01:12:18,083 --> 01:12:21,871 his studies have demonstrated an understanding of electrical matters 930 01:12:21,958 --> 01:12:25,951 unlike anyone I have ever known, with respect to the assembled. 931 01:12:26,042 --> 01:12:29,580 Gentlemen and lady, Nikola Tesla. 932 01:12:33,042 --> 01:12:35,579 Straight to our ultimate question, 933 01:12:36,333 --> 01:12:37,823 yes or no-... 934 01:12:38,667 --> 01:12:41,374 Can alternating currents operate a motor? 935 01:12:43,125 --> 01:12:44,365 Yes. 936 01:12:46,042 --> 01:12:48,158 Now anyone who builds an alternating system 937 01:12:48,250 --> 01:12:51,663 will be able to do what Edison can for only a third of the cost. 938 01:12:51,750 --> 01:12:53,991 In figure two of my polyphase system, the armature coils 939 01:12:54,083 --> 01:12:55,948 are shown in a more advanced position. 940 01:12:56,042 --> 01:12:58,249 2-A illustrates the corresponding magnetic condition... 941 01:12:58,333 --> 01:13:00,268 Synchronous motor obtained by winding a laminated ring 942 01:13:00,292 --> 01:13:01,601 provided with pole projections... 943 01:13:01,625 --> 01:13:03,456 The induction is of an ideal character, 944 01:13:03,542 --> 01:13:05,908 being always maintained at its maximum action. 945 01:13:06,000 --> 01:13:09,492 Mr. Tesla, have you actually built the motor to test your theories? 946 01:13:09,583 --> 01:13:12,495 But they are not theories. No, I have not built it. 947 01:13:12,583 --> 01:13:14,448 But that would prove your beliefs. 948 01:13:14,542 --> 01:13:17,375 But they are not beliefs, and it is absolutely immaterial to me 949 01:13:17,458 --> 01:13:19,449 whether I run the motor in my mind or in a shop, 950 01:13:19,542 --> 01:13:22,375 for I have built it already in my imagination, and it is perfect. 951 01:13:22,458 --> 01:13:24,699 - Are you serious? - Almost always. 952 01:13:34,083 --> 01:13:36,574 Hello. I'm George Westinghouse. 953 01:13:46,667 --> 01:13:48,373 - George Westinghouse? - Mm-hmm. 954 01:13:48,458 --> 01:13:51,165 An engine that compresses air into a tank 955 01:13:51,250 --> 01:13:54,322 which is taken via pipe to each brake on the train, 956 01:13:54,417 --> 01:13:56,703 allowing them to operate simultaneously. 957 01:14:00,375 --> 01:14:01,581 Thank you. 958 01:14:09,958 --> 01:14:11,198 Please. 959 01:14:26,750 --> 01:14:29,332 I think this entire room is slanted two degrees. 960 01:14:33,625 --> 01:14:37,573 I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to meet with me. 961 01:14:37,667 --> 01:14:40,033 Are-Are you going somewhere? 962 01:14:51,667 --> 01:14:52,702 Oh. 963 01:14:54,625 --> 01:14:56,866 - This is it? - It's Niagara Falls. 964 01:14:56,958 --> 01:14:58,118 Yeah. 965 01:14:58,208 --> 01:15:01,200 And ever since my school days, I have pictured in my imagination 966 01:15:01,292 --> 01:15:03,624 a big wheel spinning out lightning. 967 01:15:05,292 --> 01:15:08,534 Did you know that when I first came to this country, I worked for Mr. Edison? 968 01:15:08,625 --> 01:15:10,456 - I did not. - Tea? 969 01:15:10,542 --> 01:15:12,078 Sure. 970 01:15:12,917 --> 01:15:15,829 I fixed two of his DC generators in one night, 971 01:15:15,917 --> 01:15:18,033 and he called me a damn good man. 972 01:15:19,125 --> 01:15:21,241 So, why did he not treat me that way? 973 01:15:21,333 --> 01:15:24,496 I quit. Tried my own company and was deceived. 974 01:15:24,583 --> 01:15:26,869 Who was I? Some immigrant. 975 01:15:27,917 --> 01:15:30,579 SO I TOOK THE ONLYJOB I COULD fiND: Digging a ditch. 976 01:15:31,917 --> 01:15:35,455 The men laughed at my fine clothes, but at the end of the day, I had $2. 977 01:15:38,458 --> 01:15:40,870 What was the ditch to be used for? 978 01:15:41,875 --> 01:15:43,615 Edison Electric. 979 01:15:44,958 --> 01:15:46,823 It felt like digging my own grave. 980 01:15:48,458 --> 01:15:52,406 If Mr. Edison succeeds, he will set us back so far, we may never recover. 981 01:15:52,500 --> 01:15:54,832 The Fair must be alternating. 982 01:15:54,917 --> 01:15:56,498 It must be my motor. 983 01:15:57,208 --> 01:15:59,950 I have watched as the world talks of Chicago as a symbol, 984 01:16:00,042 --> 01:16:01,407 a City of Light. 985 01:16:02,250 --> 01:16:05,413 All cities will have light in your lifetime, 986 01:16:05,500 --> 01:16:10,039 but harnessing the power of Niagara, that is to see our future. 987 01:16:10,125 --> 01:16:13,788 The Falls? I'm here to talk about Chicago. 988 01:16:13,875 --> 01:16:15,285 Think beyond Chicago. 989 01:16:15,375 --> 01:16:19,072 Energy is as fundamental as food, as water, as air. 990 01:16:19,167 --> 01:16:22,284 You can... You cannot say that only those with money can eat 991 01:16:22,375 --> 01:16:24,081 or can breathe. 992 01:16:24,167 --> 01:16:25,976 Yes, the Falls will light up the Eastern Seaboard. 993 01:16:26,000 --> 01:16:28,893 Yes, there is a great fortune to be made, and I covet a very nice walking stick 994 01:16:28,917 --> 01:16:31,249 I saw on 63rd and Madison, but Niagara is the proof 995 01:16:31,333 --> 01:16:33,369 that one day we may detach power from profit. 996 01:16:33,458 --> 01:16:35,995 - That is how you truly win. - Mm. 997 01:16:36,917 --> 01:16:41,081 - How do I know you will not cheat me? - Well, you don't. 998 01:16:43,625 --> 01:16:46,367 But the fact is, Mr. Tesla, I need your motor. 999 01:16:46,458 --> 01:16:49,905 I may be able to light up the Fair, but I still can't move a machine. 1000 01:16:50,000 --> 01:16:53,413 If we cannot reach an agreement today, my company will die 1001 01:16:53,500 --> 01:16:55,365 right here in your hotel room. 1002 01:16:57,875 --> 01:17:01,618 But if it does perish, so might your dream of harnessing power from Niagara. 1003 01:17:06,083 --> 01:17:08,074 So, do we have a deal? 1004 01:17:09,958 --> 01:17:11,323 Five thousand. 1005 01:17:19,083 --> 01:17:20,368 One thousand. 1006 01:17:32,375 --> 01:17:33,410 Yeah. 1007 01:17:36,167 --> 01:17:38,249 I'll give you $2.50... 1008 01:17:42,708 --> 01:17:44,073 per horsepower. 1009 01:17:45,583 --> 01:17:49,405 I'm no genius myself, but that should be millions. 1010 01:17:52,333 --> 01:17:54,699 May I treat you to dinner at Delmonico's? 1011 01:17:56,125 --> 01:17:58,036 All right, Mr. Tesla, time to go. 1012 01:17:58,125 --> 01:18:01,445 - No, I will not leave your slanted room. - He hasn't paid his bill in over a month. 1013 01:18:01,500 --> 01:18:04,788 Well, how much would it cost to keep him here for the year? 1014 01:18:09,750 --> 01:18:12,787 I need to shed 300 men from the gas company. 1015 01:18:16,042 --> 01:18:18,124 There's no way around it. 1016 01:18:18,917 --> 01:18:21,717 So we pay their salaries and move them to the electricity. 1017 01:18:21,792 --> 01:18:23,783 We can't keep doing this. 1018 01:18:24,833 --> 01:18:27,040 If we win, we won't have to. 1019 01:18:29,083 --> 01:18:30,914 You have truth on your side. 1020 01:18:33,125 --> 01:18:37,243 And whatever happens, you'll know you never did anything but play fair. 1021 01:18:49,208 --> 01:18:50,823 I stole the letters 1022 01:18:50,917 --> 01:18:53,283 linking Edison to the death chair. 1023 01:18:54,667 --> 01:18:56,999 I gave them to the papers to smudge him. 1024 01:18:59,750 --> 01:19:01,615 I know you're disappointed in me. 1025 01:19:31,958 --> 01:19:33,789 What am I looking at here? 1026 01:19:33,875 --> 01:19:37,288 An 80-foot tall tower covered with 16,000 Edison bulbs, 1027 01:19:37,375 --> 01:19:39,206 topped with an eight-foot lighthouse. 1028 01:19:39,292 --> 01:19:41,499 That signals to the world that we are the victors. 1029 01:19:41,583 --> 01:19:43,619 Otherwise, how will people know that we won? 1030 01:19:44,333 --> 01:19:45,664 It's an idol. 1031 01:19:46,583 --> 01:19:48,289 It's a... signature. 1032 01:19:49,708 --> 01:19:53,030 And you'll get something that no one's ever received from Thomas Edison before. 1033 01:19:53,125 --> 01:19:55,332 - Oh, yes? What's that? - An apology. 1034 01:19:55,417 --> 01:19:59,456 I admit that spending has been, well, more than anticipated, 1035 01:19:59,542 --> 01:20:02,705 but now, more than ever, it's important you must push through. 1036 01:20:02,792 --> 01:20:06,580 Whatever Westinghouse is bidding for the Fair, we... you must bid more. 1037 01:20:06,667 --> 01:20:07,873 I must. 1038 01:20:09,333 --> 01:20:10,368 "Must." 1039 01:20:12,625 --> 01:20:14,035 Who's Nikola Tesla? 1040 01:20:17,042 --> 01:20:18,157 What about him? 1041 01:20:18,250 --> 01:20:20,662 Well, he gave a talk at Columbia. 1042 01:20:20,750 --> 01:20:24,948 Word is, the Serb is building Westinghouse a polyphase motor. 1043 01:20:25,542 --> 01:20:29,364 Light and power. You can do both. He now may as well. 1044 01:20:29,458 --> 01:20:32,143 Who even knows how long it'll take them to build a functioning model... 1045 01:20:32,167 --> 01:20:35,409 As of this morning, you have ceded, I have here, 1046 01:20:35,500 --> 01:20:37,957 nine more cities to Westinghouse. 1047 01:20:38,042 --> 01:20:40,158 So, here's what's happening. 1048 01:20:41,208 --> 01:20:45,281 I am merging Edison Electric with some of the other ankle-biters. 1049 01:20:45,750 --> 01:20:47,741 You are out. 1050 01:20:48,667 --> 01:20:49,873 You know why. 1051 01:20:50,750 --> 01:20:54,288 And I'm happy to tell you, if you require this moment to be even more unpleasant. 1052 01:20:54,375 --> 01:20:56,582 You will receive stock, 1053 01:20:56,667 --> 01:20:59,033 and you will retain a seat on the board. 1054 01:21:05,708 --> 01:21:07,073 Who's gonna present? You? 1055 01:21:07,167 --> 01:21:09,783 - Good God, no. - You tell me now? 1056 01:21:09,875 --> 01:21:11,976 I was here. I thought you deserved to hear it face-to-face. 1057 01:21:12,000 --> 01:21:15,117 No, you didn't. You just wanted to waste my time 1058 01:21:15,208 --> 01:21:17,324 and get me to sign autographs for children. 1059 01:21:18,458 --> 01:21:20,601 - What are you going to call it then? - That's your concern? 1060 01:21:20,625 --> 01:21:22,286 Edison Electric. It has to be. 1061 01:21:22,375 --> 01:21:25,867 Edison and electricity are synonymous, Morgan. The bulb... 1062 01:21:25,958 --> 01:21:28,870 I do not attach a losing name to a fledgling enterprise. 1063 01:21:28,958 --> 01:21:31,324 Now that your letters have leaked, you've lost credibility. 1064 01:21:31,417 --> 01:21:32,537 - So, what is it? - The name? 1065 01:21:32,583 --> 01:21:34,198 Yes, the goddamn name! 1066 01:21:34,292 --> 01:21:37,079 The contractjust says General Electric, but I'll think of something. 1067 01:21:37,167 --> 01:21:38,282 I can be creative too. 1068 01:21:43,958 --> 01:21:45,038 Yeah. 1069 01:21:47,875 --> 01:21:48,955 Mr. lnsull. 1070 01:21:51,292 --> 01:21:52,407 A moment. 1071 01:22:31,708 --> 01:22:34,666 He said they'd keep your name attached as long as you didn't pursue action 1072 01:22:34,750 --> 01:22:36,911 or speak negatively to the press about the merger. 1073 01:22:37,000 --> 01:22:38,331 What did he offer you? 1074 01:22:39,458 --> 01:22:41,418 - Tell me. - Vice president, but I turned it down. 1075 01:22:41,458 --> 01:22:42,618 - You should take it. - Why? 1076 01:22:42,708 --> 01:22:44,601 Alternating current... What's the transmission voltage? 1077 01:22:44,625 --> 01:22:45,831 230,000 volts. 1078 01:22:45,917 --> 01:22:47,657 What's the filament on a 12,000-hour lamp? 1079 01:22:47,750 --> 01:22:49,851 - Carbonized Japanese bamboo. - What do I eat for breakfast? 1080 01:22:49,875 --> 01:22:51,101 - Pie. - So, what's the surprise? 1081 01:22:51,125 --> 01:22:53,958 Of course he needs you. You're me, but a human being. 1082 01:23:02,958 --> 01:23:04,619 Look around the room. 1083 01:23:04,708 --> 01:23:06,118 - Hmm? - Who's missing? 1084 01:23:08,208 --> 01:23:11,405 Edison General Electric Company, please. 1085 01:23:11,500 --> 01:23:13,240 General Electric? 1086 01:23:13,333 --> 01:23:15,949 - Edison General Electric Company. - Yes. 1087 01:23:16,042 --> 01:23:17,873 Ah! 1088 01:23:31,083 --> 01:23:32,323 He's 12. 1089 01:23:32,417 --> 01:23:35,955 Mr. Insull, these are the committee members of... 1090 01:23:36,042 --> 01:23:38,579 Listen closely. Focus on the quality of the light. 1091 01:23:38,667 --> 01:23:40,749 I don't care what the courts say. 1092 01:23:40,833 --> 01:23:42,414 Westinghouse ripped off my bulbs, 1093 01:23:42,500 --> 01:23:45,116 and the good news for you is he did a terrible job. 1094 01:23:45,208 --> 01:23:48,405 They are outdoor bulbs, so they have a life of about two hours. 1095 01:23:48,500 --> 01:23:50,411 So focus on the replacement time. 1096 01:23:51,500 --> 01:23:55,163 Talk about the superiority of ours, as if there's no competition. 1097 01:23:55,750 --> 01:23:58,287 Use terms like "standard," "purest," 1098 01:23:58,375 --> 01:24:00,366 "the most beautiful light," et cetera. 1099 01:24:00,458 --> 01:24:03,101 Find out what kind of men they are. There are really only two types. 1100 01:24:03,125 --> 01:24:06,538 The first believe themselves to be practical, but they're secret dreamers. 1101 01:24:06,625 --> 01:24:08,536 They're the ones who'll take the risks. 1102 01:24:08,625 --> 01:24:11,037 The second, well, they'll smile and thank you for the show, 1103 01:24:11,125 --> 01:24:12,831 but they'll vote with their wallets. 1104 01:24:12,917 --> 01:24:16,705 Unless Westinghouse is mortgaging everything he's worth on this bid, 1105 01:24:16,792 --> 01:24:18,748 Morgan has you in good stead with the money men. 1106 01:24:18,833 --> 01:24:21,449 So your only real job is to look the dreamers in the eye 1107 01:24:21,542 --> 01:24:23,248 and promise them magic. 1108 01:24:23,333 --> 01:24:26,370 Now, explain back to me everything that you remember about a parallel 1109 01:24:26,458 --> 01:24:29,138 and series of electric circuits using none of the words I just said. 1110 01:24:30,833 --> 01:24:33,495 Though I am young, I am an expert in these matters, 1111 01:24:33,583 --> 01:24:36,575 rivaled only really by Mr. Edison himself. 1112 01:24:36,667 --> 01:24:39,374 Should you choose Westinghouse, then... 1113 01:24:39,458 --> 01:24:41,949 then yes, there is a possibility 1114 01:24:42,042 --> 01:24:45,079 you'll be putting in jeopardy the lives of 28 million people. 1115 01:24:46,333 --> 01:24:50,246 Even if Westinghouse were to make even the smallest of errors, 1116 01:24:50,333 --> 01:24:52,574 unintentional, of course, 1117 01:24:52,667 --> 01:24:54,658 a visiting politician, a wife, 1118 01:24:54,750 --> 01:24:56,991 even a seven-year-old girl may lean against a lamppost 1119 01:24:57,083 --> 01:24:58,994 and be struck dead immediately. 1120 01:24:59,667 --> 01:25:00,998 There you have it. 1121 01:25:01,083 --> 01:25:04,325 Mr. Westinghouse's brand of electricity is fatal. 1122 01:25:04,417 --> 01:25:06,829 Thank you, Mr. lnsull. 1123 01:25:06,917 --> 01:25:08,498 Just to be clear, sir, 1124 01:25:08,583 --> 01:25:11,746 any electrical current over 200 milliamperes can be deadly. 1125 01:25:11,833 --> 01:25:13,243 Even yours? 1126 01:25:21,208 --> 01:25:23,290 Mr. Westinghouse, these are the committee members. 1127 01:25:23,375 --> 01:25:25,115 OF GROUNDS AND BUILDINGS: 1128 01:25:25,208 --> 01:25:27,790 Charles Schwab, Craig Cannon, 1129 01:25:27,875 --> 01:25:29,991 - Mayor Cregier, of course. - Oh, of course. 1130 01:25:30,083 --> 01:25:32,540 Victor Lawson of the Chicago Daily News, 1131 01:25:32,625 --> 01:25:34,957 and the Honorable Judge Tree. 1132 01:25:35,042 --> 01:25:36,452 I'm Daniel Burnham. 1133 01:25:36,542 --> 01:25:40,740 Respectfully, we ask that you please keep your remarks to one hour. 1134 01:25:40,833 --> 01:25:42,494 That won't be necessary. 1135 01:25:43,208 --> 01:25:45,449 - Here you go. Sir. - Thank you. 1136 01:25:47,042 --> 01:25:48,202 Hmm. 1137 01:25:50,833 --> 01:25:52,573 My bid. 1138 01:25:52,667 --> 01:25:54,373 These are all your figures? 1139 01:25:54,458 --> 01:25:56,699 Yes, sir. Independent estimates. 1140 01:25:56,792 --> 01:26:00,114 Before we, uh, get into the messy business, 1141 01:26:00,208 --> 01:26:03,325 let us begin with this most general question: 1142 01:26:03,417 --> 01:26:08,207 Why should we grant Westinghouse Electric the contract for the World's Fair? 1143 01:26:08,292 --> 01:26:12,956 Well, I guess because our system works significantly better, 1144 01:26:13,042 --> 01:26:14,202 and, uh... 1145 01:26:16,542 --> 01:26:19,579 because our system is significantly cheaper. 1146 01:26:24,750 --> 01:26:27,617 Mr. Schwab, Mr. Higinbotham, Mr. Cannon, 1147 01:26:27,708 --> 01:26:30,905 Mayor Cregier, Mr. Lawson, Judge Tree, 1148 01:26:31,000 --> 01:26:32,285 and Mr. Burnham, 1149 01:26:33,042 --> 01:26:35,954 thank you very much for your time and your consideration. 1150 01:26:49,875 --> 01:26:52,207 Financially, it's clear. We just take the better bid. 1151 01:26:52,292 --> 01:26:55,204 - Look, Westinghouse is dangerous. - Potentially dangerous. 1152 01:26:55,292 --> 01:26:57,283 You even printed it in your own paper. 1153 01:26:57,375 --> 01:27:00,788 Alternating will be used to kill that man in Buffalo. 1154 01:27:13,042 --> 01:27:14,828 They both light up lights, right? 1155 01:27:14,917 --> 01:27:17,909 Westinghouse saves us some money. Thomas Edison sells tickets. 1156 01:27:21,375 --> 01:27:24,208 What I wouldn't give to flip through that. 1157 01:27:24,292 --> 01:27:26,954 It's like a handbook to the future, isn't it? 1158 01:27:30,833 --> 01:27:33,666 - We need a clear majority, gentlemen. - Don't you have stock in GE? 1159 01:27:33,750 --> 01:27:35,115 That's irrelevant. 1160 01:27:36,667 --> 01:27:39,579 No one has ever done what you have done for me. 1161 01:27:39,667 --> 01:27:43,114 The value of something isn't what someone's willing to pay, 1162 01:27:43,208 --> 01:27:46,371 but the value of something is what it contributes. 1163 01:27:46,458 --> 01:27:50,076 When we vote again, Burnham, you can telephone the winner tonight. 1164 01:27:54,625 --> 01:27:57,116 Is it true you were born during a lightning storm? 1165 01:27:58,208 --> 01:27:59,823 It is true. 1166 01:28:02,000 --> 01:28:04,412 All right. Tell me one thing in that book. 1167 01:28:06,792 --> 01:28:09,909 Look, you and Mr. Edison, you spend all your time on either end of the system, 1168 01:28:10,000 --> 01:28:11,911 the dynamos and the lamps. 1169 01:28:12,000 --> 01:28:14,082 But what about what is in between? 1170 01:28:14,167 --> 01:28:15,577 - The wires? - Mm. 1171 01:28:16,667 --> 01:28:19,374 Do we need them? 1172 01:28:34,583 --> 01:28:38,576 The problem is, despite all the advantages of the Remington... 1173 01:28:43,000 --> 01:28:46,413 it doesn't fix the fact that you just dampened the gunpowder. 1174 01:29:18,417 --> 01:29:19,953 What's this? 1175 01:29:22,833 --> 01:29:26,451 This is gonna do for the eye what the phonograph did for the ear. 1176 01:29:32,875 --> 01:29:33,955 Dot? 1177 01:29:50,542 --> 01:29:51,577 Again. 1178 01:29:54,958 --> 01:29:56,038 Again! 1179 01:31:28,833 --> 01:31:30,744 Do you have any final words? 1180 01:31:33,042 --> 01:31:35,408 I believe I'm going to a better place. 1181 01:31:37,792 --> 01:31:39,202 Goodbye, William. 1182 01:31:47,750 --> 01:31:51,197 We live in a higher civilization... 1183 01:31:52,167 --> 01:31:53,623 from this day. 1184 01:33:12,000 --> 01:33:15,413 "An awful spectacle, far worse than hanging." 1185 01:33:15,500 --> 01:33:19,618 'They would have done better with an ax.' 1186 01:33:19,708 --> 01:33:21,824 Sizzling sound. A billow of smoke 1187 01:33:21,917 --> 01:33:24,249 "that filled the room with the odor of burning hair." 1188 01:33:25,750 --> 01:33:27,832 Well, at least it happened to a murderer. 1189 01:33:29,708 --> 01:33:32,324 At least they'll never use it again to kill anyone. 1190 01:33:39,917 --> 01:33:41,908 Soon all these people will have electric light, 1191 01:33:42,000 --> 01:33:44,286 and no one will even remember it ever happened. 1192 01:33:45,833 --> 01:33:48,074 I have books so full of ideas 1193 01:33:48,167 --> 01:33:51,239 it would take me more than 12 lifetimes to execute them. 1194 01:33:52,750 --> 01:33:55,116 So let the man have his fair and waterfall. 1195 01:34:00,417 --> 01:34:02,032 Well, for what's it's worth, 1196 01:34:02,583 --> 01:34:06,121 I'd much rather have worked for you than Westinghouse any day. 1197 01:34:06,208 --> 01:34:07,368 Why is that? 1198 01:34:08,292 --> 01:34:10,578 Well, I wouldn't have had as much fun, would I? 1199 01:35:11,708 --> 01:35:13,824 Have you seen much of the fair? 1200 01:35:13,917 --> 01:35:17,159 - A Muybridge lecture, Little Egypt. - Oh, the dancer. 1201 01:35:17,250 --> 01:35:18,615 - You saw her? - No. 1202 01:35:19,500 --> 01:35:22,617 Well, she was... If you get the time. 1203 01:35:23,542 --> 01:35:24,577 Hmm. 1204 01:35:29,583 --> 01:35:32,245 Don't you think a fence is a unique creation? 1205 01:35:34,042 --> 01:35:37,079 Your neighbor puts one up, and suddenly one becomes two. 1206 01:35:38,000 --> 01:35:41,413 You also have a fence. There's only one problem. 1207 01:35:41,500 --> 01:35:44,742 You see, one person on one side of the fence designed it, 1208 01:35:44,833 --> 01:35:47,040 one person on one side built it, 1209 01:35:47,125 --> 01:35:49,286 and one person paid for it, 1210 01:35:49,375 --> 01:35:53,118 and yet the other person receives a fine, free fence. 1211 01:35:55,833 --> 01:35:57,789 I didn't take your ideas. 1212 01:35:58,625 --> 01:35:59,865 Mr. Edison? 1213 01:36:01,125 --> 01:36:02,160 Sure. 1214 01:36:04,000 --> 01:36:05,115 Thank you. 1215 01:36:06,125 --> 01:36:09,242 - I was wondering about one thing. - Oh, I'm sure there were many. 1216 01:36:09,333 --> 01:36:13,201 I was gonna invite you to dinner again, 1217 01:36:13,292 --> 01:36:15,704 but I suppose now is as good a time as any. 1218 01:36:15,792 --> 01:36:17,268 You want to know what was in the 13-hour bulb? 1219 01:36:17,292 --> 01:36:19,453 - I know how it works. - Yeah, I know you do. 1220 01:36:19,542 --> 01:36:21,533 I only wondered what it felt like. 1221 01:36:23,583 --> 01:36:24,948 - Pardon? - The bulb. 1222 01:36:25,958 --> 01:36:27,323 When you knew. 1223 01:36:27,875 --> 01:36:30,241 What was the feeling in that moment? 1224 01:36:38,667 --> 01:36:40,282 I can't tell you. I mean... 1225 01:36:42,125 --> 01:36:46,824 It's impossible to describe the feeling because it was impossible. 1226 01:36:47,750 --> 01:36:50,708 Years of work. Ten thousand different filaments. 1227 01:36:51,208 --> 01:36:53,494 When the thread went in the bulb, as usual, 1228 01:36:53,583 --> 01:36:56,495 we placed our bets and the generator sputtered to life 1229 01:36:56,583 --> 01:37:00,326 and the ball began to glow, we didn't expect anything but another failure. 1230 01:37:02,458 --> 01:37:04,414 Then something started to happen. 1231 01:37:08,083 --> 01:37:10,870 See, our best filament only lasted ten minutes, 1232 01:37:11,583 --> 01:37:14,700 and this fluke was rounding 20, 1233 01:37:14,792 --> 01:37:16,953 so people started to chatter. 1234 01:37:17,042 --> 01:37:20,830 And 30 minutes, 40 minutes, an hour, two hours. 1235 01:37:20,917 --> 01:37:23,033 Then people started to shout. 1236 01:37:23,125 --> 01:37:25,787 And remember, we hadn't got past ten minutes. 1237 01:37:26,583 --> 01:37:29,871 The boys were climbing up the walls, tearing their hair out, and... 1238 01:37:31,708 --> 01:37:33,573 because it was impossible. 1239 01:37:34,625 --> 01:37:37,992 Seven hours. Eight hours. Nine. 1240 01:37:39,500 --> 01:37:41,331 We were silent when we hit ten. 1241 01:37:43,667 --> 01:37:46,033 Just sat around that glowing bubble, 1242 01:37:46,125 --> 01:37:49,197 drunk on our own magic, staring at it like it... 1243 01:37:49,292 --> 01:37:52,329 I don't know, like it was the baby Jesus playing Mozart. 1244 01:37:56,000 --> 01:37:59,322 After 13 and a half hours, the glass cracked, and I knew it. 1245 01:38:01,667 --> 01:38:03,532 The world would never be the same. 1246 01:38:05,667 --> 01:38:08,739 I'm working on something now, something so new that... 1247 01:38:10,375 --> 01:38:14,118 people will forget that my name was ever associated with electricity. 1248 01:38:14,208 --> 01:38:16,324 I wonder if you know what it is yet. 1249 01:38:22,500 --> 01:38:24,582 You know, I think the solution is... 1250 01:38:25,250 --> 01:38:27,286 to divide the cost of the fence. 1251 01:38:29,708 --> 01:38:32,825 Or you cannot build a fence at all. 1252 01:38:35,708 --> 01:38:37,744 Your garden would be twice as big. 1253 01:38:38,500 --> 01:38:40,491 Wouldn't it, Tom? 1254 01:38:47,958 --> 01:38:49,914 If nothing else, a pleasure. 1255 01:38:52,167 --> 01:38:53,703 Enjoy the fair, George. 1256 01:39:11,792 --> 01:39:15,489 We build monuments to speak to the future, to say, "We were here." 1257 01:39:17,208 --> 01:39:18,664 "We have lived." 1258 01:39:20,000 --> 01:39:23,743 A true legacy isn't what we build up to the heavens 1259 01:39:23,833 --> 01:39:25,915 or carve deep into stone. 1260 01:39:27,083 --> 01:39:29,244 Rocks will crumble, 1261 01:39:29,333 --> 01:39:30,948 paper disintegrates, 1262 01:39:35,458 --> 01:39:38,416 Only that which isn't in the physical realm 1263 01:39:38,500 --> 01:39:41,037 and reaches in both directions can be eternal. 1264 01:39:42,875 --> 01:39:44,285 Our ideas. 1265 01:39:46,250 --> 01:39:48,241 They are what we leave behind. 1266 01:39:49,708 --> 01:39:52,120 And only they are what can push us forward.