1 00:03:19,580 --> 00:03:20,945 Boys! 2 00:03:32,455 --> 00:03:34,537 I hope you brought your Checkbooks. 3 00:03:56,996 --> 00:03:59,658 The air brakes pay for George's latest obsession. 4 00:03:59,746 --> 00:04:02,203 By changing the dimensions of his pipes, 5 00:04:02,288 --> 00:04:05,860 George can move natural gas over 20 miles from the well. 6 00:04:05,955 --> 00:04:07,695 Shooting, like a gun. 7 00:04:07,788 --> 00:04:10,495 Is that good or bad, Mrs. Westinghouse? 8 00:04:11,955 --> 00:04:14,617 - How is your daughter, Gladys? - Oh, quite well, thank you. 9 00:04:14,705 --> 00:04:16,570 She's met a financier. 10 00:04:16,663 --> 00:04:18,949 The beading on your dress is exquisite. 11 00:04:20,038 --> 00:04:24,361 Mr. Westinghouse, I saw in The World Mr. Edison's new electric system 12 00:04:24,455 --> 00:04:27,071 is significantly cheaper than gas. 13 00:04:27,163 --> 00:04:29,404 Does that keep you up at night? 14 00:04:29,496 --> 00:04:31,487 There's always more to see. 15 00:04:32,455 --> 00:04:35,162 Mr. and Mrs. Worthington, Mr. Manesberg, 16 00:04:35,246 --> 00:04:38,534 Dr. and Mrs. Burton, Reverend Vincent, Mr. McCoy, 17 00:04:38,621 --> 00:04:40,907 Mr. Faulk, Miss Faulk, enjoy your evening. 18 00:04:53,871 --> 00:04:57,568 Edison says he's months away from lighting up the world. 19 00:04:57,663 --> 00:05:01,576 It's impressive, but trust me, it's ten years away from being practical. 20 00:05:02,663 --> 00:05:05,621 The papers make it sound as though this is something different. 21 00:05:06,955 --> 00:05:08,320 A miracle. 22 00:05:09,246 --> 00:05:11,862 As if you started to levitate off the carpet. 23 00:05:13,455 --> 00:05:15,696 I'd love to meet him. Could you arrange it? 24 00:05:15,788 --> 00:05:17,028 It's been several years... 25 00:05:17,121 --> 00:05:19,362 A dinner. Comfortable. Elegant. Substantive. 26 00:05:19,455 --> 00:05:23,073 Edison can't be bothered to tie his shoes, let alone attend a social event. 27 00:05:23,163 --> 00:05:25,950 Perhaps you're right. But try anyway. 28 00:05:29,538 --> 00:05:31,699 Anything fascinating? 29 00:05:31,788 --> 00:05:35,360 Mr. Pennoyer has found a bargain on a Beaux Arts shack in Newport. 30 00:05:35,455 --> 00:05:38,492 Mrs. Abernathy's mother has passed, and apparently Edison believes 31 00:05:38,580 --> 00:05:40,696 it may never be nighttime again. 32 00:05:43,788 --> 00:05:46,120 - Are you excited to meet the President? - Yes. 33 00:05:46,205 --> 00:05:48,241 Don't say a thing about JP. Morgan's nose. 34 00:05:48,330 --> 00:05:49,945 - What's wrong with his nose? - Nothing. 35 00:05:50,038 --> 00:05:53,485 - What's wrong with his nose? - It's huge. Huge! 36 00:05:53,580 --> 00:05:56,196 It's like someone took a hammer and slammed it into his face. 37 00:05:56,288 --> 00:05:57,931 I thought you already got the money. 38 00:05:57,955 --> 00:05:59,286 I only got half. 39 00:05:59,371 --> 00:06:00,972 Does Morgan even know that you're coming? 40 00:06:00,996 --> 00:06:02,861 He'll invest as always. I hate this. 41 00:06:02,955 --> 00:06:04,715 - Mr. Edison, you have dinner with... - What? 42 00:06:04,788 --> 00:06:06,619 Dinner with Westinghouse. On your return. 43 00:06:06,705 --> 00:06:07,945 Why are barns red? 44 00:06:08,038 --> 00:06:09,722 Maybe so you can see them in the snow. 45 00:06:09,746 --> 00:06:11,556 - It's 'cause red paint's cheapest. - What happened to your shoes? 46 00:06:11,580 --> 00:06:13,946 Morgan will want to know the practicality of your system. 47 00:06:14,038 --> 00:06:15,198 I have money. 48 00:06:15,288 --> 00:06:17,404 Enough for two small buildings in Manhattan? 49 00:06:17,496 --> 00:06:18,531 Yes. 50 00:06:18,621 --> 00:06:19,656 Oh, good. 51 00:06:33,413 --> 00:06:35,199 This was intended to be my lunch. 52 00:06:35,288 --> 00:06:37,620 The President has asked to see the phonograph in person. 53 00:06:37,705 --> 00:06:40,538 - I had no idea you'd be here. - Mrs. Edison. 54 00:06:40,621 --> 00:06:42,236 Mr. Morgan. These are our children. 55 00:06:42,330 --> 00:06:45,037 Dot and Dash. Delightful. I know what you're doing. 56 00:06:45,121 --> 00:06:48,238 How much are you short? Just how much of my money do you want to wash away? 57 00:06:48,330 --> 00:06:50,742 Oh, as very, very much as possible. 58 00:06:50,830 --> 00:06:52,536 - Who's this? - Samuel lnsull. 59 00:06:52,621 --> 00:06:55,283 Mr. Edison's personal secretary. 60 00:06:55,371 --> 00:06:58,693 - Mr. Morgan, Mr. Edison. - Which one? He's also Mr. Edison. 61 00:06:58,788 --> 00:07:00,494 The President will see you now. 62 00:07:06,913 --> 00:07:08,073 Now. 63 00:07:08,163 --> 00:07:11,405 On top of the Crumpetty Tree the Quangle Wangle sat, 64 00:07:11,496 --> 00:07:15,159 but his face you could not see, on account of his beaver hat. 65 00:07:15,788 --> 00:07:17,619 This is the sound of your voice. 66 00:07:20,205 --> 00:07:23,197 On top of the Crumpetty Tree the Quangle Wangle sat, 67 00:07:23,288 --> 00:07:25,495 but his face you could not see, 68 00:07:25,580 --> 00:07:28,322 - on account of his Beaver Hat. - Is that what I sound like? 69 00:07:30,205 --> 00:07:32,571 My men tell me you're turning down $5 million. 70 00:07:32,663 --> 00:07:34,222 I'm grateful for the offer, Mr. President, 71 00:07:34,246 --> 00:07:37,784 but it's the type of science you're after that I find objectionable. 72 00:07:37,871 --> 00:07:40,264 - There's always money in guns. - The one device I shall never build 73 00:07:40,288 --> 00:07:42,404 is that which takes the life of another man. 74 00:07:42,496 --> 00:07:43,611 It's barbaric. 75 00:07:44,830 --> 00:07:47,537 But... take a look at this. 76 00:07:47,621 --> 00:07:50,818 One square mile of Manhattan, the First District. 77 00:07:50,913 --> 00:07:53,154 - And I'm gonna light it up. - Then you have done it. 78 00:07:53,246 --> 00:07:55,612 A star in a jar. It's a warm glow. 79 00:07:55,705 --> 00:07:58,993 No smell. No poison. Thirteen hours of light per globe. 80 00:07:59,080 --> 00:08:00,911 And it's cheaper than gas. Safer too. 81 00:08:00,996 --> 00:08:02,952 We bury the wires using my DC current, 82 00:08:03,038 --> 00:08:06,656 and those same wires will bring you energy and heat. 83 00:08:07,538 --> 00:08:10,496 I need two buildings to house six dynamos of my own construction. 84 00:08:10,580 --> 00:08:12,571 This won't even reach my house. 85 00:08:12,663 --> 00:08:15,405 Morgan, let me make you so rich 86 00:08:15,496 --> 00:08:17,389 that you will look back at this moment and wonder, 87 00:08:17,413 --> 00:08:19,654 "Why was I ever so disgustingly poor?" 88 00:08:22,121 --> 00:08:24,161 It's all right there. Ferry to Wall Street. 89 00:08:24,246 --> 00:08:26,056 In case you missed my scribble, that's a big old circle 90 00:08:26,080 --> 00:08:28,116 around the New York Times... Free advertising. 91 00:08:28,205 --> 00:08:30,321 - One hundred fifty. - Half a million. 92 00:08:30,413 --> 00:08:33,530 I'm talking about $500,000, you buy the next century. 93 00:08:34,121 --> 00:08:35,531 Brighter, safer, yours. 94 00:08:35,621 --> 00:08:38,389 Sounds rather grand to me, Pierpont. If I had your fortune... 95 00:08:38,413 --> 00:08:40,745 With respect, you don't, Mr. President. 96 00:08:44,621 --> 00:08:46,577 - What is that? - That's not very nice. 97 00:08:46,663 --> 00:08:48,949 Morse code. 98 00:08:49,705 --> 00:08:51,115 What did the boy say? 99 00:08:51,205 --> 00:08:52,639 - What did the boy say? - If there's nothing else, 100 00:08:52,663 --> 00:08:55,103 - it's been a pleasure, Mr. President. - What did the boy say? 101 00:08:56,996 --> 00:08:58,657 Do you know what you've done? 102 00:08:59,746 --> 00:09:01,737 I always receive more by saying no. 103 00:09:03,788 --> 00:09:06,825 Set up the Manhattan offices and make them look professional. 104 00:09:06,913 --> 00:09:08,995 - What does that mean? - Oh, I don't know. Carpets. 105 00:09:10,371 --> 00:09:12,908 I don't know. Carpets. 106 00:09:12,996 --> 00:09:14,406 And the name? 107 00:09:16,163 --> 00:09:19,485 Edison Electric, of course. Sir, why not build munitions? 108 00:09:19,580 --> 00:09:21,389 Five million dollars. It's hard to say no to... 109 00:09:21,413 --> 00:09:23,119 No. 110 00:09:23,205 --> 00:09:24,661 If it's Edison, it works. 111 00:09:24,746 --> 00:09:27,533 If it works, I'd strongly prefer it not kill anybody. 112 00:09:29,038 --> 00:09:30,118 Right. 113 00:09:59,038 --> 00:10:03,031 Thomas Edison has an unfavorable opinion of college graduates seeking employment 114 00:10:03,121 --> 00:10:06,193 because they cannot answer his examination questions. 115 00:10:07,038 --> 00:10:08,744 "Who composed ll Trovatore?" 116 00:10:08,830 --> 00:10:10,161 Verdi. 117 00:10:10,246 --> 00:10:11,966 "What is the speed of sound?" 118 00:10:11,996 --> 00:10:13,139 Oh, a trick question. 119 00:10:13,163 --> 00:10:16,155 Sound travels at a constantly diminishing rate of speed. 120 00:10:16,246 --> 00:10:21,946 But I believe the fastest rate on record is 11,463 feet per second. 121 00:10:22,038 --> 00:10:23,699 How do you know all this? 122 00:10:23,788 --> 00:10:25,244 I read that this morning. 123 00:10:29,955 --> 00:10:31,286 This is different. 124 00:10:33,121 --> 00:10:34,611 I can feel it. 125 00:10:35,746 --> 00:10:38,158 You never requested a house guest before. 126 00:10:39,205 --> 00:10:40,285 Really? 127 00:10:42,038 --> 00:10:43,198 Hmm. 128 00:10:50,830 --> 00:10:53,617 - Eight minutes from the junction, sir. - Hmm? 129 00:10:53,705 --> 00:10:55,445 The Westinghouse dinner. 130 00:10:55,538 --> 00:10:59,326 We're going home. They're tired. I already shook enough hands today. 131 00:11:02,913 --> 00:11:04,653 Evening, Frank. 132 00:11:04,746 --> 00:11:06,327 George. 133 00:11:07,496 --> 00:11:08,531 Pardon? 134 00:11:09,580 --> 00:11:10,945 I'm not stopping. 135 00:11:12,955 --> 00:11:14,035 Right. 136 00:11:25,996 --> 00:11:27,987 Maybe the brakes are busted. 137 00:11:29,913 --> 00:11:31,528 I doubt that. 138 00:11:57,746 --> 00:11:59,702 An emergency came up in New York. 139 00:12:21,371 --> 00:12:23,236 Don't let him agitate you. 140 00:12:23,996 --> 00:12:25,486 This is how he is. 141 00:12:26,621 --> 00:12:29,454 Before he was a wizard, I let him live in my basement. 142 00:12:30,413 --> 00:12:33,264 My wife wouldn't have him at the table with us unless he cleaned himself. 143 00:12:33,288 --> 00:12:35,825 And boy, given the ultimatum, the man ate alone. 144 00:12:35,913 --> 00:12:37,369 How does he work? 145 00:12:39,455 --> 00:12:42,743 You want to know his secret? He engineers his own reality, 146 00:12:42,830 --> 00:12:45,196 and he looks for needles in haystacks. 147 00:12:46,121 --> 00:12:48,908 But how does he know there's a needle in the hay to begin with? 148 00:12:48,996 --> 00:12:50,907 He doesn't. Neither do you. 149 00:12:50,996 --> 00:12:53,612 But he's so determined not to be the second person to find it, 150 00:12:53,705 --> 00:12:56,287 he'll go stalk by stalk, on a "what-do-you-know." 151 00:12:56,371 --> 00:12:59,613 He could be the richest man on earth, 152 00:12:59,705 --> 00:13:01,946 but he doesn't give a damn about money. 153 00:13:04,538 --> 00:13:06,779 What does he give a damn about? 154 00:13:10,871 --> 00:13:12,862 Mary? Talk. 155 00:13:12,955 --> 00:13:15,139 - I just want to test the resistance... - Where's my barrette? 156 00:13:15,163 --> 00:13:17,074 - On top of your bureau. - What's a bureau? 157 00:13:17,163 --> 00:13:18,949 It's what's under your barrette. 158 00:13:19,038 --> 00:13:22,075 Can I get you to promise on here that you'll build me a fence? 159 00:13:22,163 --> 00:13:24,404 Ground's frozen. Needs to thaw. 160 00:13:27,288 --> 00:13:28,903 Look, you're missing it! 161 00:13:29,871 --> 00:13:32,283 It's a baby! Still has her spots! 162 00:13:37,871 --> 00:13:39,486 Tom, come see this. 163 00:13:42,621 --> 00:13:45,033 Tom? Tom? 164 00:13:46,621 --> 00:13:49,693 You want half a million dollars, make me something with your name on it 165 00:13:49,788 --> 00:13:51,824 that I can sell to General Sherman. 166 00:13:51,913 --> 00:13:54,245 Counteroffer. How about I don't give you what you want, 167 00:13:54,330 --> 00:13:56,070 but you give me everything I want? 168 00:13:59,413 --> 00:14:03,156 We are gonna be big, big, big! 169 00:14:03,246 --> 00:14:06,363 - Bigger than an elephant! - And no one stops an elephant! 170 00:14:06,455 --> 00:14:08,195 Whoo! 171 00:15:49,413 --> 00:15:50,653 It'll work. 172 00:16:03,455 --> 00:16:06,071 Look, I've got to be honest. This might not work. 173 00:16:07,996 --> 00:16:11,614 Conventional wisdom has it, if you think you're gonna fall flat on your face, 174 00:16:11,705 --> 00:16:13,445 better not do it in front of a crowd. 175 00:16:16,871 --> 00:16:19,032 Tonight, things could change. 176 00:16:19,705 --> 00:16:21,570 I hope they do. 177 00:16:22,246 --> 00:16:23,782 And if they do... 178 00:16:25,163 --> 00:16:27,119 they'll change there... 179 00:16:28,121 --> 00:16:29,577 and there. 180 00:16:31,413 --> 00:16:33,825 My boys and I caught in a jar 181 00:16:33,913 --> 00:16:37,235 what before now has only flashed across the night sky. 182 00:16:38,996 --> 00:16:41,908 What say we unscrew the lid and see what happens? 183 00:16:41,996 --> 00:16:44,703 You ready? 184 00:16:45,913 --> 00:16:48,950 - Three, two... - Two, one! 185 00:17:47,371 --> 00:17:51,319 The man has 100,000 feet of copper for 87 customers. 186 00:17:51,413 --> 00:17:53,404 It will never be profitable. 187 00:17:54,288 --> 00:17:57,610 It's a hobby for the rich. Something to show off. 188 00:17:57,705 --> 00:17:59,320 It doesn't have to be. 189 00:18:01,788 --> 00:18:05,531 I'm securing patents on the Siemens dynamo and the Gaulard-Gibbs transformer. 190 00:18:05,621 --> 00:18:08,078 Transformer? That's more like a metal suitcase. 191 00:18:08,163 --> 00:18:10,529 How much did that cost? 192 00:18:10,621 --> 00:18:13,158 Edison, he picked the wrong horse. 193 00:18:14,163 --> 00:18:16,575 His current is like a hose with a knot in it. 194 00:18:16,663 --> 00:18:18,699 He needs to sell one generator per mile. 195 00:18:18,788 --> 00:18:22,235 You want to build an AC system. That's too powerful for motors. 196 00:18:22,330 --> 00:18:25,288 Put doubt out of your mind for one moment and tell me, 197 00:18:25,371 --> 00:18:27,657 what distance do you estimate one could get 198 00:18:27,746 --> 00:18:29,577 with a single alternating dynamo? 199 00:18:29,663 --> 00:18:31,119 - A few thousand. - Yards? 200 00:18:31,205 --> 00:18:32,536 - Miles. - Mm-hmm. 201 00:18:32,621 --> 00:18:34,953 And how many houses could we reach? 202 00:18:35,038 --> 00:18:37,825 I suppose all of them. What about the bulbs? 203 00:18:37,913 --> 00:18:39,869 Hiram's agreed to license me his. 204 00:18:39,955 --> 00:18:43,118 If you're gonna rip off Edison, rip him off right. They glow bright gray. 205 00:18:43,205 --> 00:18:45,912 I just want to do a demonstration for Edison. 206 00:18:45,996 --> 00:18:48,203 Somewhere small. Small town. Rural. 207 00:18:48,288 --> 00:18:51,780 And then he'll see alternating is possible, 208 00:18:51,871 --> 00:18:54,237 and we partner... our system, his bulbs. 209 00:18:54,330 --> 00:18:58,494 In my opinion, which I will admit is based solely on physics and reality, 210 00:18:58,580 --> 00:19:00,741 what you want to do is fun to talk about. 211 00:19:00,830 --> 00:19:02,786 I really don't think it can be done. 212 00:19:02,871 --> 00:19:05,112 - Why? - Because he would've already done it. 213 00:19:35,580 --> 00:19:39,198 My Paris office seems to think you may be the only man on Earth to rival me. 214 00:19:39,288 --> 00:19:42,485 - How would you like to work for me? - Very much. 215 00:19:42,580 --> 00:19:45,868 I'm expanding to 12 cities, building direct-current systems... 216 00:19:45,955 --> 00:19:47,286 Direct current? 217 00:19:49,496 --> 00:19:51,407 Alternating current is far more efficient. 218 00:19:51,496 --> 00:19:54,078 - Hickory, dickory dock... - Higher voltage, 219 00:19:54,163 --> 00:19:55,883 greater distance. Less copper conductors... 220 00:19:55,955 --> 00:19:58,947 It's lethal, and it's too much power for a motor to handle. 221 00:19:59,038 --> 00:20:00,778 I'm going to start you on $100 a month 222 00:20:00,871 --> 00:20:03,362 until you prove yourself worth more or less. 223 00:20:03,455 --> 00:20:05,639 - A hundred dollars? - If you can solve five things I can't, 224 00:20:05,663 --> 00:20:08,200 I'll pay you $50,000, and then I'll have to fire you. 225 00:20:09,205 --> 00:20:11,161 Mr. Tesla, welcome to Edison Electric. 226 00:20:11,246 --> 00:20:13,328 We make a minor invention every ten days 227 00:20:13,413 --> 00:20:15,574 and a major one every six months or so. 228 00:20:19,246 --> 00:20:21,766 I have a suspicion that though your husband's lab is but 229 00:20:21,830 --> 00:20:25,527 a hundred yards from your house, it must seem sometimes like a hundred miles. 230 00:20:25,621 --> 00:20:27,111 No, a million. 231 00:20:27,996 --> 00:20:31,363 I've tried to find a way to stop his brain, but it just runs and runs. 232 00:20:36,163 --> 00:20:39,701 I've heard Mr. Edison called "the worst husband in America" 233 00:20:39,788 --> 00:20:42,746 on account of him sleeping in his lab on your wedding night. 234 00:20:42,830 --> 00:20:44,741 I've heard the story myself. 235 00:20:48,580 --> 00:20:50,741 Well, on our wedding night, 236 00:20:50,830 --> 00:20:53,412 Tom and I left on the Albany, uh... 237 00:20:55,163 --> 00:20:56,699 boat. 238 00:20:56,788 --> 00:21:00,201 We spent a week in Niagara Falls. 239 00:21:00,288 --> 00:21:02,495 I thought that one week of happiness would be enough 240 00:21:02,580 --> 00:21:05,447 to illuminate an entire lifetime. 241 00:21:05,538 --> 00:21:08,575 He was a dashing inventor, and I worked for him. 242 00:21:08,663 --> 00:21:10,244 You know. I was a... 243 00:21:11,996 --> 00:21:13,657 H was a... 244 00:21:14,996 --> 00:21:16,031 uh... 245 00:21:18,538 --> 00:21:20,028 Uh... 246 00:21:20,121 --> 00:21:21,281 H was a... 247 00:21:22,705 --> 00:21:23,820 Yes? 248 00:21:25,205 --> 00:21:27,662 Um... 249 00:21:28,663 --> 00:21:30,528 I'm sorry. 250 00:21:30,621 --> 00:21:32,361 L-I operated the... 251 00:21:37,746 --> 00:21:39,828 - Telegraph? - Yes. 252 00:21:39,913 --> 00:21:41,949 Yes. Telegraph. 253 00:21:44,330 --> 00:21:46,036 Forgive me. 254 00:21:49,913 --> 00:21:51,995 Does he have any hobbies? 255 00:22:02,996 --> 00:22:05,282 You promised them Coney Island. 256 00:22:05,371 --> 00:22:07,157 At the very least, a walk. 257 00:22:07,955 --> 00:22:10,241 We'll go on three walks tomorrow, I promise. 258 00:22:13,580 --> 00:22:15,445 Here, why don't you take a picture? 259 00:22:34,330 --> 00:22:35,695 Slow down! 260 00:22:51,496 --> 00:22:54,818 It's neuralgia, brought on by eye strain. 261 00:22:54,913 --> 00:22:57,495 A good pair of spectacles is all that's required. 262 00:22:57,580 --> 00:22:59,696 Oh, no. I'll look awful. 263 00:22:59,788 --> 00:23:02,530 No, no. No, you won't. That's impossible. 264 00:23:02,621 --> 00:23:06,068 Are you sure that's all? She's been having terrible headaches. 265 00:23:06,163 --> 00:23:09,235 I'll leave her a vial of laudanum until her eyes adjust. 266 00:23:09,330 --> 00:23:11,286 Thank you. 267 00:23:11,371 --> 00:23:12,861 Can you... 268 00:23:12,955 --> 00:23:15,867 Would you mind delaying the bill for this visit? 269 00:23:16,788 --> 00:23:20,827 Well, my son would love an autograph. 270 00:23:49,205 --> 00:23:50,991 Christ, it's primitive. 271 00:23:53,080 --> 00:23:54,661 How much did this cost? 272 00:23:54,746 --> 00:23:56,987 - He won't tell me. - What we need is here. 273 00:23:57,871 --> 00:24:00,908 Edison '3 current can't travel more than one mile, Frank. 274 00:24:00,996 --> 00:24:04,318 It peters out. He'll have to build so many DC motors 275 00:24:04,413 --> 00:24:07,200 and bury all his copper just to power one town. 276 00:24:07,288 --> 00:24:10,485 This country will look like a checkerboard of power plants. 277 00:24:10,580 --> 00:24:14,368 But with one AC dynamo, we can step-up the voltage 278 00:24:14,455 --> 00:24:16,662 and reach as far as the eye can see. 279 00:24:16,746 --> 00:24:19,112 We string the wires overhead on poles. 280 00:24:19,205 --> 00:24:21,366 Less copper, more electricity. 281 00:24:21,455 --> 00:24:23,741 We're 75 percent cheaper. 282 00:24:23,830 --> 00:24:26,947 The only thing that matters here is distance. 283 00:25:14,288 --> 00:25:17,826 Frank, this is as much yours as it is mine. 284 00:25:17,913 --> 00:25:20,370 - I'd be proud if you'd flip the... - I couldn't possibly. 285 00:25:20,455 --> 00:25:22,491 - Oh, don't be ridiculous. - No, it belongs to you. 286 00:25:22,580 --> 00:25:24,620 - But you spent hours... - George, it was your idea. 287 00:25:24,663 --> 00:25:26,153 You were the instigator. 288 00:25:26,246 --> 00:25:28,783 Shall we go for a ride? 289 00:25:37,621 --> 00:25:40,738 "To the Wizard of Menlo Park." 290 00:25:41,788 --> 00:25:44,530 As it seems your brakes have issues, 291 00:25:44,621 --> 00:25:48,364 I would be delighted to send my car to deliver you 292 00:25:48,455 --> 00:25:51,413 to Great Barrington, Massachusetts... 293 00:25:52,538 --> 00:25:56,611 "where I have successfully transmitted current one full mile." 294 00:26:00,288 --> 00:26:01,903 No! 295 00:26:01,996 --> 00:26:03,861 How did he get the bulbs? 296 00:26:06,080 --> 00:26:09,038 What a roaring silence from the brightest minds of America. 297 00:26:09,121 --> 00:26:13,660 - He's using Hiram's design. - Which Hiram stole from me! 298 00:26:15,955 --> 00:26:18,697 - Sue him. - We did. The court upheld his patent. 299 00:26:18,788 --> 00:26:20,514 I'm talking about Westinghouse. Find an angle. 300 00:26:20,538 --> 00:26:22,824 Take a trip to Barrington and see for yourself. 301 00:26:22,913 --> 00:26:25,245 Is anyone even slightly irked that 15 years of work 302 00:26:25,330 --> 00:26:27,161 is being filched from right under your eyes? 303 00:26:27,871 --> 00:26:29,077 Not again! 304 00:26:29,163 --> 00:26:32,610 I built a system here, and he goes shopping for patents 305 00:26:32,705 --> 00:26:35,742 to cobble together something to legally steal what is mine. 306 00:26:36,830 --> 00:26:40,277 If the bulbs are a battle, then nail him on the dynamos. 307 00:26:40,371 --> 00:26:41,702 We can't. 308 00:26:43,496 --> 00:26:45,407 He's not even using direct current, sir. 309 00:26:47,580 --> 00:26:49,366 He's using alternating? 310 00:27:02,996 --> 00:27:04,236 Mary? 311 00:27:04,830 --> 00:27:06,195 Mary? 312 00:27:06,288 --> 00:27:08,324 Yes, I think we should have some more tea. 313 00:27:08,413 --> 00:27:10,244 Patricia? 314 00:27:27,163 --> 00:27:28,653 George Westinghouse? 315 00:27:29,538 --> 00:27:32,280 - Can we help you? - I came from Thomas Edison. 316 00:27:33,205 --> 00:27:35,742 He wants me to buy one generator per mile. 317 00:27:39,413 --> 00:27:43,531 Your electricity would save 66 percent on Edison's. 318 00:27:45,413 --> 00:27:47,495 Well, it's a proposed saving. 319 00:27:48,080 --> 00:27:51,652 And it's not "my electricity." It's "electricity." 320 00:27:52,288 --> 00:27:54,825 I think it makes much more sense for the taxpayers of Columbus 321 00:27:54,913 --> 00:27:56,949 to go with Westinghouse Electric. 322 00:27:58,371 --> 00:28:01,568 I don't want to compete. I only intend to license my system. 323 00:28:01,663 --> 00:28:03,824 - He's got the better bulbs. - Why not compete? 324 00:28:03,913 --> 00:28:06,074 By now he knows. Edison knows, I promise you. 325 00:28:06,163 --> 00:28:09,655 The man doesn't care about getting it right, just about getting it. 326 00:28:09,746 --> 00:28:11,181 But he doesn't respond. 327 00:28:11,205 --> 00:28:13,662 Look, Westinghouse will never have a complete system. 328 00:28:13,746 --> 00:28:16,389 - He can't even power a sewing machine. - But I can solve that problem. 329 00:28:16,413 --> 00:28:19,576 Instead of again converting the currents to work with a commutator, 330 00:28:19,663 --> 00:28:22,029 I would pass alternating current differing in phase 331 00:28:22,121 --> 00:28:23,782 through two or more energizing circuits. 332 00:28:23,871 --> 00:28:26,658 You're supposed to be working on commutators with DC dynamos. 333 00:28:26,746 --> 00:28:28,202 Well, I have. 334 00:28:28,288 --> 00:28:31,056 Look, I have done everything you have asked, but you are making a mistake. 335 00:28:31,080 --> 00:28:33,537 - What? - Direct current may be fine for cities 336 00:28:33,621 --> 00:28:37,409 when the buildings are close together, but most of your country is empty spaces. 337 00:28:37,496 --> 00:28:40,454 Only high voltage can span the distance. You are not thinking long-term. 338 00:28:40,538 --> 00:28:44,486 This technology is within your grasp. I can build you an efficient motor. 339 00:28:44,580 --> 00:28:45,865 Have you tried it? 340 00:28:45,955 --> 00:28:47,070 No. 341 00:28:48,163 --> 00:28:50,370 Look, in my head, it is nearly completed. 342 00:28:50,455 --> 00:28:52,615 Men claim to have heads full of sonnets and symphonies, 343 00:28:52,663 --> 00:28:55,575 but their only problem seems to be they can't quite write it down. 344 00:28:55,663 --> 00:28:59,326 - Let me try. - No, because I can't start again! 345 00:28:59,413 --> 00:29:01,847 I got orders from Michigan. I got a roomful of press waiting for me. 346 00:29:01,871 --> 00:29:03,577 Do what you were hired to do. 347 00:29:03,663 --> 00:29:05,870 So, you will not honor your word about the remuneration? 348 00:29:05,955 --> 00:29:08,116 - What are you talking about? - Well, you said $50,000. 349 00:29:08,205 --> 00:29:11,447 - Are you unhappy with my contributions? - I'm not paying you $50,000. 350 00:29:11,538 --> 00:29:12,948 That was a joke. 351 00:29:16,455 --> 00:29:18,571 Coconut fibers and horn shavings, and fishing lines 352 00:29:18,663 --> 00:29:20,904 and cork and celluloid and flax 353 00:29:20,996 --> 00:29:23,203 and platinum, iron, nickel, copper, steel. 354 00:29:23,288 --> 00:29:25,654 We scoured the earth, years and years, 355 00:29:25,746 --> 00:29:28,783 trying thousands, 10,000 different combinations. 356 00:29:28,871 --> 00:29:32,693 Then George Westinghouse saw howl did it and put on a pirate hat. 357 00:29:32,788 --> 00:29:35,279 You get vultures in every venture, 358 00:29:35,371 --> 00:29:37,077 but you've just got to keep them away. 359 00:29:37,163 --> 00:29:40,326 - So this is just how it works? - Map-makers include mistakes in their work 360 00:29:40,413 --> 00:29:42,699 to see if anyone else is copying them. 361 00:29:42,788 --> 00:29:45,746 I don't have that luxury. I can't invent streets to lead the world down. 362 00:29:45,830 --> 00:29:48,196 OthenNise we all end up in the dark. 363 00:29:48,288 --> 00:29:51,451 Good, and remember, write as much as you can about how he's infringing. 364 00:29:52,205 --> 00:29:54,571 Thank you, Mr. Edison, and thanks for this. 365 00:30:01,330 --> 00:30:03,491 Did I mention that his system's lethal? 366 00:30:04,205 --> 00:30:06,287 You reach out and touch 367 00:30:06,371 --> 00:30:09,738 a doorknob or a rail, and, well, you become the circuit. 368 00:30:10,455 --> 00:30:12,787 Just to be clear on that point... 369 00:30:14,788 --> 00:30:16,198 Well, you die. 370 00:30:17,413 --> 00:30:19,904 With DC current, you can reach out and touch anything 371 00:30:19,996 --> 00:30:22,658 at any stage of the line with your bare hands. 372 00:30:22,746 --> 00:30:25,863 It's safe. It works. And it bears the name of Edison, so it's pretty. 373 00:30:27,205 --> 00:30:31,027 Our government has been trying for some time now to get me to invent a weapon, 374 00:30:31,121 --> 00:30:34,113 but I won't use this brain to invent anything that hurts people. 375 00:30:34,205 --> 00:30:36,696 For that, you can shop in Pittsburgh. 376 00:30:36,788 --> 00:30:39,154 So you say Westinghouse wants to hurt people? 377 00:30:39,246 --> 00:30:42,659 No. I can't say that. But you can. 378 00:30:54,413 --> 00:30:56,574 This is what he thinks of you. 379 00:30:57,746 --> 00:31:01,614 Issue a statement to the papers today. Refute his charges. 380 00:31:01,705 --> 00:31:03,491 I'm not going to engage with this. 381 00:31:03,580 --> 00:31:06,322 We have the better system. That speaks loudest. 382 00:31:12,496 --> 00:31:16,944 Westinghouse Electric Company was founded at a quarter past 9:00. 383 00:31:18,580 --> 00:31:21,037 Hello. I'm George Westinghouse. Do we have an appointment? 384 00:31:21,538 --> 00:31:22,869 North Dakota. 385 00:31:22,955 --> 00:31:24,240 New Orleans. 386 00:31:24,330 --> 00:31:25,615 Fort Worth. 387 00:31:25,705 --> 00:31:26,820 Sioux City. 388 00:31:26,913 --> 00:31:28,949 You want the good news or the good news? 389 00:31:29,038 --> 00:31:32,030 J' Hurrah, boys, hurrah J' 390 00:31:33,830 --> 00:31:36,097 We've been spending all our time trying to nab him 391 00:31:36,121 --> 00:31:38,601 on what's in the glass bubble when we should've been looking at 392 00:31:38,663 --> 00:31:40,904 is the clear opposite end of the bulb, the corkscrew. 393 00:31:40,996 --> 00:31:42,657 - I own that. - That you do. 394 00:31:44,038 --> 00:31:45,574 He's suing you. 395 00:31:46,246 --> 00:31:47,952 This is a massive lawsuit. 396 00:31:48,038 --> 00:31:50,279 This is Edison and Morgan. 397 00:31:50,371 --> 00:31:53,033 Is there any way that you can think of 398 00:31:53,121 --> 00:31:55,032 to beat gravity other than a corkscrew? 399 00:31:57,663 --> 00:32:00,405 Westinghouse designed a stopper to get around your corkscrew. 400 00:32:00,496 --> 00:32:02,576 It's only a matter of time before they're everywhere. 401 00:32:04,038 --> 00:32:07,906 To tell you the truth, I am mostly looking fonNard to using it at the lumber mills. 402 00:32:07,996 --> 00:32:10,408 Well, at the moment, we offer only light. 403 00:32:10,496 --> 00:32:14,114 In time, we'll move on to motorized tools and appliances. 404 00:32:14,205 --> 00:32:16,787 When? I don't care what light costs. 405 00:32:17,746 --> 00:32:21,694 My home's on gas. I'm after productivity. I don't understand. 406 00:32:21,788 --> 00:32:25,326 Edison said that electricity can already be used in factories. 407 00:32:26,621 --> 00:32:28,157 Well, his can. 408 00:32:31,788 --> 00:32:33,779 I need to see this needle move. 409 00:32:33,871 --> 00:32:36,556 I can't step the voltage down without blowing the whole thing to pieces. 410 00:32:36,580 --> 00:32:38,536 Come on. You must've made some progress. 411 00:32:38,621 --> 00:32:39,736 It's just not ready. 412 00:33:02,871 --> 00:33:04,782 Kill it. Kill it! 413 00:33:12,288 --> 00:33:14,328 There has to be a solution out there. 414 00:33:19,455 --> 00:33:23,368 The Nikola Tesla Electric Light Company. How does that sound? 415 00:33:23,455 --> 00:33:26,197 - When can you bring arcs to production? - Arc lighting? 416 00:33:26,288 --> 00:33:29,701 I believe we agreed to compete for incandescents, motors and distribution. 417 00:33:29,788 --> 00:33:31,278 Leave that to Edison. 418 00:33:31,371 --> 00:33:34,033 I am working on advanced methods to surpass him. 419 00:33:34,121 --> 00:33:37,784 - To beat Edison? How soon? - Only a few years. 420 00:33:37,871 --> 00:33:39,953 I need a lab, engineers, supplies. 421 00:33:40,038 --> 00:33:41,699 There are, of course, expenses. 422 00:33:41,788 --> 00:33:44,325 Oh, where do you get the cash for those fancy silks? 423 00:33:44,413 --> 00:33:46,620 How I spend my income is my concern. 424 00:33:46,705 --> 00:33:50,698 Look, Mr. Tesla, if you need cash now, you should sell us your patents. 425 00:33:51,663 --> 00:33:53,449 And what would I receive? 426 00:33:53,538 --> 00:33:54,698 Stock. 427 00:33:54,788 --> 00:33:57,495 And later, if you succeed, you can sell it for a killing. 428 00:33:57,580 --> 00:33:59,241 That means a fortune. 429 00:33:59,330 --> 00:34:02,948 - Yes, I know what an idiom is. - We'll take on two-thirds of the risk. 430 00:34:03,038 --> 00:34:05,780 It's a good price for the only thing you have to sell. 431 00:34:08,913 --> 00:34:12,235 Congestion of the brain? What does that even mean? 432 00:34:12,330 --> 00:34:16,027 There's a... an occlusion hidden, 433 00:34:16,121 --> 00:34:18,407 and it expands. 434 00:34:18,496 --> 00:34:20,828 Her eyesight will likely go first, 435 00:34:20,913 --> 00:34:23,325 and then her vocabulary will fall away. 436 00:34:23,413 --> 00:34:24,869 I can't lose her. 437 00:34:27,580 --> 00:34:30,743 Working on a raised alphabet, I'll make her a dictionary. 438 00:34:30,830 --> 00:34:33,617 She'll gradually lose her mobility. 439 00:34:33,705 --> 00:34:35,366 I'll build her an elevator. 440 00:34:36,371 --> 00:34:37,406 Mr. Edison, 441 00:34:38,371 --> 00:34:40,282 what your wife needs... 442 00:34:41,371 --> 00:34:43,157 no man can build. 443 00:34:43,996 --> 00:34:45,907 What my wife needs, according to you, 444 00:34:46,621 --> 00:34:48,407 is a simple pair of spectacles. 445 00:34:50,163 --> 00:34:51,994 Nature will take its course. 446 00:34:55,246 --> 00:34:56,281 I, uh... 447 00:34:57,705 --> 00:35:00,071 I have to leave for New York tonight. 448 00:35:00,955 --> 00:35:02,661 It can't be avoided. 449 00:35:04,330 --> 00:35:07,527 I will attend to her while you're away, but... 450 00:35:09,121 --> 00:35:10,327 dontfingen 451 00:35:25,371 --> 00:35:27,011 Ohio is going with Westinghouse. 452 00:35:27,038 --> 00:35:30,201 - Columbus. Zanesville. - Zanesville? Give it to him. 453 00:35:30,288 --> 00:35:31,403 That isn't funny. 454 00:35:32,663 --> 00:35:35,450 We don't know something is a pattern till it happens again, 455 00:35:35,538 --> 00:35:37,574 which I sincerely hope it does not. 456 00:35:37,663 --> 00:35:41,326 Now, you tell me, what is he doing right that you're doing wrong? 457 00:35:41,413 --> 00:35:44,280 He is successfully selling machines that will result 458 00:35:44,371 --> 00:35:46,828 in the accidental deaths of human beings. 459 00:35:46,913 --> 00:35:48,972 - And where are these deaths? - Where are these deaths? 460 00:35:48,996 --> 00:35:50,111 Why don't we switch now, 461 00:35:50,205 --> 00:35:52,389 and then you get to shoulder the inevitable suits of manslaughter. 462 00:35:52,413 --> 00:35:56,406 I think that people aren't dying because it's not as dangerous as you wish it were. 463 00:35:58,371 --> 00:36:01,283 All right, he's beating us on costs, but that is a temporary advantage. 464 00:36:01,371 --> 00:36:03,327 You give me enough time, I'll make ours so cheap 465 00:36:03,413 --> 00:36:05,495 that only the rich will burn candles. 466 00:36:05,580 --> 00:36:08,413 And until then, you bleed cities to Westinghouse. I'm not a bank. 467 00:36:08,496 --> 00:36:10,452 That is exactly what you are. 468 00:36:10,538 --> 00:36:14,156 We could've had this conversation by telephone instead of you wasting my time. 469 00:36:14,246 --> 00:36:17,204 When I want to see someone, he comes. Eye to eye. That's how it works. 470 00:36:17,288 --> 00:36:19,199 No. Here's how it works. 471 00:36:19,288 --> 00:36:23,201 I build miracles, and you continue to give me as much goddamn money as I want. 472 00:36:23,955 --> 00:36:26,116 Oh, what? Did I squander another town? 473 00:36:27,996 --> 00:36:29,736 All right, what did I lose? 474 00:38:26,913 --> 00:38:29,985 Say something. 475 00:38:30,080 --> 00:38:33,572 Can [get you to promise on here that you'll build me a fence? 476 00:38:34,955 --> 00:38:37,116 Ground's frozen. Needs to thaw. 477 00:38:38,955 --> 00:38:40,616 Look! You're missing it! 478 00:38:50,663 --> 00:38:53,623 Say something. 479 00:38:53,705 --> 00:38:57,118 Can [get you to promise on here that you'll build me a fence? 480 00:38:57,205 --> 00:38:59,446 Ground's frozen. Needs to thaw. 481 00:39:00,955 --> 00:39:02,741 Look! You're missing it! 482 00:39:05,205 --> 00:39:07,821 No. Now we move on to my motor, as agreed... 483 00:39:07,913 --> 00:39:10,495 Look, we don't... We don't want any of that. 484 00:39:10,580 --> 00:39:12,445 The arcs you built aren't selling anymore. 485 00:39:12,538 --> 00:39:14,779 We can't compete with Edison and Westinghouse! 486 00:39:14,871 --> 00:39:17,863 Then I will take my patents and wish you both a great misfortune. 487 00:39:17,955 --> 00:39:20,446 - Your patents? - Yes. My patents. 488 00:39:29,705 --> 00:39:31,570 Can I get you anything, sir? 489 00:39:32,830 --> 00:39:34,411 A time machine. 490 00:39:34,913 --> 00:39:38,235 Well, if! Ever find one, I'll travel back to this moment and give it to you. 491 00:39:39,496 --> 00:39:41,077 Did you read over the proposal? 492 00:39:41,163 --> 00:39:44,826 I'm not diverting what I've got left of my resources in lighting up a fair. 493 00:39:44,913 --> 00:39:47,529 It's much more than a fair, sir. A third of this country 494 00:39:47,621 --> 00:39:51,944 will get on trains to Chicago to try and see this City of Light. 495 00:39:52,455 --> 00:39:54,946 Every window, every streetlamp, a sign that says, 496 00:39:55,038 --> 00:39:56,903 "The race is over, and we won." 497 00:39:57,663 --> 00:39:59,779 Why spend your final dollars traveling this country 498 00:39:59,871 --> 00:40:02,453 to show everyone your electricity when they're all 499 00:40:02,538 --> 00:40:05,029 traveling to the same place to try to see it anyway? 500 00:40:05,121 --> 00:40:06,639 Because in a year, they'll rip it down. 501 00:40:06,663 --> 00:40:09,279 Only after 30 million people have seen it, yes. 502 00:40:16,496 --> 00:40:18,282 Westinghouse is placing a bid. 503 00:40:32,830 --> 00:40:35,446 Nice hat. Looks expensive. 504 00:40:35,538 --> 00:40:37,870 I owned this before I worked for you, Mr. Edison. 505 00:40:37,955 --> 00:40:41,277 I don't think you are working for me. He's still using my bulbs. 506 00:40:41,371 --> 00:40:43,612 His patents are in order. 507 00:40:43,705 --> 00:40:45,241 Do you want my advice? 508 00:40:45,705 --> 00:40:48,117 You keep saying Westinghouse's current will kill people, 509 00:40:48,205 --> 00:40:51,402 so in lieu of evidence, why don't you provide it? 510 00:41:00,705 --> 00:41:04,277 We're doing this because when we have a complete system, 511 00:41:04,371 --> 00:41:07,534 it works, and it's Edison. 512 00:41:07,621 --> 00:41:09,031 Poor bastard. 513 00:41:09,996 --> 00:41:14,319 Well, he was gonna be slaughtered anyway. He's not going to feel any pain, right? 514 00:41:14,413 --> 00:41:16,745 At 3,000 volts, it'll be over before it begins. 515 00:41:16,830 --> 00:41:18,491 So there's nothing to worry about? 516 00:41:19,413 --> 00:41:22,200 But these are reporters, so you might want to liven up a little bit. 517 00:41:26,788 --> 00:41:29,495 Welcome to Menlo Park. 518 00:41:29,580 --> 00:41:31,866 Thank you for coming out on this cold morning. 519 00:41:31,955 --> 00:41:34,571 - Good to see you again. - Good morning. 520 00:41:34,663 --> 00:41:36,699 - I'm Southwick Brown. - A pleasure. 521 00:41:36,788 --> 00:41:39,245 Now you, uh, you might all want to stand back a little bit. 522 00:41:39,330 --> 00:41:41,412 Gus is being connected to the same current 523 00:41:41,496 --> 00:41:43,862 that Westinghouse uses from his generator. 524 00:41:43,955 --> 00:41:47,652 But there's no word yet coined to define death by electricity, 525 00:41:47,746 --> 00:41:50,408 so I asked the men who write the dictionaries, and I heard back 526 00:41:50,496 --> 00:41:54,068 "electro-dite," "electro-cremate" and "dyna-mort." 527 00:41:54,163 --> 00:41:58,076 Butjust as Joe Guillotine got his name on his invention, 528 00:41:58,746 --> 00:42:01,909 how could we rob the rightful inventor of death by electricity 529 00:42:01,996 --> 00:42:04,282 of his due credit? 530 00:42:04,371 --> 00:42:08,193 I ask you to please be respectful as we Westinghouse this horse. 531 00:42:38,121 --> 00:42:41,488 Mr. Edison, Southwick Brown, Capital Punishment Commission. 532 00:42:41,580 --> 00:42:44,617 You've read, no doubt, of the botched hangings throughout the Northeast. 533 00:42:44,705 --> 00:42:46,972 The prisoners either choke to death... 534 00:42:46,996 --> 00:42:49,032 Or are violently decapitated. 535 00:42:49,121 --> 00:42:50,952 The spectacle is inhumane. 536 00:42:51,038 --> 00:42:54,826 But the horse... his death was so calm, you could call it... 537 00:42:57,121 --> 00:42:58,531 poetic. 538 00:43:01,788 --> 00:43:05,110 The governor of New York, upon my personal recommendation, 539 00:43:05,205 --> 00:43:07,287 would like to explore a death device 540 00:43:07,371 --> 00:43:09,862 which uses electricity on a human being. 541 00:43:10,496 --> 00:43:14,034 It would be our honor to award you the contract. 542 00:43:15,205 --> 00:43:17,662 - If nothing else, a pleasure. - I beg your pardon? 543 00:43:17,746 --> 00:43:22,160 To kill a human being under the guise of justice is... is cockeyed. 544 00:43:22,246 --> 00:43:24,703 There's a big difference between a horse and a person. 545 00:43:24,788 --> 00:43:27,905 God humanely brings us into this world. 546 00:43:28,496 --> 00:43:31,943 Why would you reject the opportunity to be the first man 547 00:43:32,038 --> 00:43:34,450 to humanely take us out of it? 548 00:44:34,580 --> 00:44:36,036 William. 549 00:44:38,246 --> 00:44:39,907 I killed my wife. 550 00:44:51,788 --> 00:44:53,870 I'm turning the handle. 551 00:44:54,830 --> 00:44:56,741 Maybe there's more to it than that. 552 00:44:57,746 --> 00:45:00,158 If I'm doing it wrong, you'll never know I was fooling around 553 00:45:00,246 --> 00:45:03,033 with your phonograph or gramophone, 554 00:45:03,121 --> 00:45:05,203 whatever you end up calling it. 555 00:45:05,288 --> 00:45:07,370 And what is this thing really? 556 00:45:08,163 --> 00:45:11,735 Today's Mary is speaking to tomorrow's Thomas. 557 00:45:11,830 --> 00:45:13,161 Or from where you sit, 558 00:45:13,246 --> 00:45:15,703 today's Tom is listening to yesterday's Mary. 559 00:45:18,580 --> 00:45:20,946 I wonder what else you can do with it. 560 00:45:29,205 --> 00:45:30,866 Mr. Tesla, 561 00:45:30,955 --> 00:45:33,931 my son and his idiot friend tell me you don't want to make arc lights anymore. 562 00:45:33,955 --> 00:45:35,491 Is that true? 563 00:45:35,580 --> 00:45:37,992 Don't look at him, look at me. I'm your primary shareholder. 564 00:45:38,080 --> 00:45:40,617 No. I already completed the arc light project. 565 00:45:40,705 --> 00:45:44,448 Completed? You covered one city: Rahway, New Jersey. 566 00:45:44,538 --> 00:45:47,371 For the love of God, think bigger. Philadelphia. 567 00:45:47,455 --> 00:45:50,572 You design arc lights to outfit cities. That was your only job. 568 00:45:50,663 --> 00:45:53,735 No. My AC motor. Okay? We agreed... 569 00:45:53,830 --> 00:45:56,321 - No, I never agreed to anything. - In this office, you said... 570 00:45:56,413 --> 00:45:57,528 Uh! 571 00:45:57,621 --> 00:45:59,953 Lane, could you wait outside for a moment? 572 00:46:06,871 --> 00:46:09,362 I'm sorry. Don't you realize you're being fired here? 573 00:46:11,496 --> 00:46:15,284 No. Please, let me work through what I have in my head. 574 00:46:15,371 --> 00:46:18,534 I will make you the greatest provider of electrical power in the world. 575 00:46:18,621 --> 00:46:20,407 Better than Edison. 576 00:46:20,496 --> 00:46:22,828 I'm-I'm so close. Just a few months. 577 00:46:27,538 --> 00:46:30,325 You drop in here like you're from Neptune, 578 00:46:30,413 --> 00:46:33,155 like you got a great vision of the future 579 00:46:33,246 --> 00:46:35,347 - that no one understands but you. - No, please don't touch. 580 00:46:35,371 --> 00:46:37,407 But you're just an immigrant. 581 00:46:38,246 --> 00:46:41,204 Head full of notions, looking for a handout. You're not Edison. 582 00:46:41,288 --> 00:46:44,405 There's only one Edison. That's why he's in. There's millions of you. 583 00:46:44,496 --> 00:46:48,614 Big ideas, but you can't see the real force that moves things. 584 00:46:48,705 --> 00:46:51,663 And it's not AC/DC, it's not currents. 585 00:46:52,330 --> 00:46:53,695 It's currency. 586 00:46:54,288 --> 00:46:56,370 And that's the only motor I'm interested in. 587 00:46:59,496 --> 00:47:03,239 These patents belong to the Tesla Electric Light Company. 588 00:47:03,330 --> 00:47:06,902 This is now the Union Electric and Manufacturing Company, 589 00:47:06,996 --> 00:47:09,032 and I own everything in this office. 590 00:47:09,663 --> 00:47:12,985 Patents, designs, engineers, all mine. 591 00:47:14,246 --> 00:47:16,908 Never going to be anything named Tesla ever again. 592 00:47:18,288 --> 00:47:22,486 You take your notions and go back where you came from. 593 00:47:34,996 --> 00:47:36,987 He's snapping up town after town. 594 00:47:37,955 --> 00:47:41,493 Cats, dogs, sheep, 11 horses... What more do people need to see? 595 00:47:41,580 --> 00:47:43,992 The problem is, no one's actually dying from alternating, 596 00:47:44,080 --> 00:47:47,038 apart from your cats, dogs, sheep and 11 horses. 597 00:47:48,330 --> 00:47:51,037 - Sir, I realize I'm only your secretary... - Just say it. 598 00:47:51,121 --> 00:47:53,988 Bring the phonograph to market. You can make your own money. 599 00:47:54,080 --> 00:47:56,787 - No, it needs too many improvements. - Make them. Sir. 600 00:47:57,830 --> 00:48:00,822 - Bell is ripping you off. - Graphophone? He just switched the name. 601 00:48:00,913 --> 00:48:03,889 Direct me to a store where I can buy yours, and I won't give him the business. 602 00:48:03,913 --> 00:48:06,029 You have a real offer on the table here. 603 00:48:06,705 --> 00:48:09,993 Half a million dollars. Sir, take the money. You need it. 604 00:48:11,121 --> 00:48:13,112 If Bell ripped you off with the telephone, 605 00:48:13,205 --> 00:48:15,196 he'll do it again with the graphophone. 606 00:48:15,288 --> 00:48:17,449 Did you just misspeak intentionally? 607 00:48:17,538 --> 00:48:19,529 Do you want Chicago? 608 00:48:23,913 --> 00:48:25,403 All right, I'm ready. 609 00:48:46,621 --> 00:48:47,986 A dollar a ball? 610 00:48:48,788 --> 00:48:50,449 So, what's your trade? 611 00:48:50,538 --> 00:48:53,860 Inventor. I fix problems for idiots. 612 00:48:54,955 --> 00:48:58,027 Imagine dictation without the aid of a stenographer. 613 00:48:59,788 --> 00:49:02,655 Phonographic books that will speak to blind people. 614 00:49:02,746 --> 00:49:05,328 Reproduction of music. Talking toys. 615 00:49:05,830 --> 00:49:08,663 Clocks that will announce the time. 616 00:49:08,746 --> 00:49:10,987 The preservation of dying languages. 617 00:49:11,080 --> 00:49:12,945 Teaching of elocution. 618 00:49:13,038 --> 00:49:15,575 - You hustled us. - Yes. No. 619 00:49:16,496 --> 00:49:17,889 I didn't come all this way to lose. 620 00:49:17,913 --> 00:49:21,235 The final capturing of the dying words of your loved ones. 621 00:49:25,163 --> 00:49:28,235 Mary had a little lamb, his fleece was white as snow, 622 00:49:28,330 --> 00:49:31,447 and everywhere that Mary went, the lamb was sure to go. 623 00:49:37,371 --> 00:49:41,660 Well, it's either not possible, or I'm not the engineer I thought I was. 624 00:49:43,871 --> 00:49:47,409 And he's traveling around the country, cooking up cats. 625 00:49:47,496 --> 00:49:50,533 George, he's playing dirty. You can too. 626 00:49:50,621 --> 00:49:51,656 Mm. 627 00:49:53,288 --> 00:49:55,745 You know, when I was a boy, my father... 628 00:49:56,996 --> 00:49:58,987 tried to whip me with a branch. 629 00:50:00,038 --> 00:50:03,951 But after the first hit, it broke into three little pieces. 630 00:50:05,580 --> 00:50:08,902 And we just stood there, looking at this shattered stick on the ground. 631 00:50:10,538 --> 00:50:14,076 And then I noticed there was a leather strap hanging on the wall, 632 00:50:14,163 --> 00:50:16,370 so I pointed to it and said, 633 00:50:16,455 --> 00:50:19,868 "Look. That's the better one." 634 00:50:21,080 --> 00:50:22,536 And he stopped. 635 00:50:27,038 --> 00:50:31,702 I can take a beating, but I have no patience for shoddy craftsmanship. 636 00:50:34,330 --> 00:50:38,118 You are gonna have a working motor sitting next to your display in Chicago, 637 00:50:38,205 --> 00:50:41,447 come hell, high water, or the Wizard of Menlo Park. 638 00:50:48,205 --> 00:50:49,911 - Good night, Frank. - Good night. 639 00:51:49,038 --> 00:51:51,029 So you admit Edison was right? 640 00:52:19,538 --> 00:52:21,824 We will remember Franklin Pope... 641 00:52:22,746 --> 00:52:25,533 for his fearless dedication to moving us fonrvard. 642 00:52:26,288 --> 00:52:29,405 He tried to see what was hiding in plain sight. 643 00:52:35,163 --> 00:52:36,824 Today, I am... 644 00:52:38,663 --> 00:52:40,619 filled less with grief than anger, 645 00:52:40,705 --> 00:52:43,162 because what happened could've been avoided. 646 00:52:45,580 --> 00:52:48,447 Hear me now as you have never heard me before. 647 00:52:49,288 --> 00:52:50,869 As I breathe... 648 00:52:52,455 --> 00:52:54,616 as long as Westinghouse stays in business... 649 00:52:56,038 --> 00:52:58,074 more people will die. 650 00:53:18,205 --> 00:53:19,945 My condolences. 651 00:53:22,288 --> 00:53:24,745 Sounds like he was more than just an employee. 652 00:53:29,830 --> 00:53:32,037 What was his name? Franklin Popes? 653 00:53:33,205 --> 00:53:35,287 Pope. Just one. 654 00:53:36,538 --> 00:53:38,620 - It's a shame. - Mm. 655 00:53:38,705 --> 00:53:40,241 But I'm here to help. 656 00:53:40,996 --> 00:53:42,861 Now, I know that you, uh, 657 00:53:42,955 --> 00:53:44,991 you wish Edison to quiet down. 658 00:53:47,746 --> 00:53:51,238 So let me combine your companies. Let me clean up the mess. 659 00:53:55,205 --> 00:53:59,027 You really think Westinghouse Electric is worth $5 million? 660 00:53:59,121 --> 00:54:02,409 The value of something is the highest number someone else is willing to pay. 661 00:54:02,496 --> 00:54:06,068 But 800 men will lose their livelihoods. 662 00:54:06,163 --> 00:54:08,324 I will keep your workers. 663 00:54:08,413 --> 00:54:11,951 I will not make the same promise for your five-day work week. 664 00:54:12,038 --> 00:54:13,073 Mm. 665 00:54:14,580 --> 00:54:16,662 Seems like you're amenable. 666 00:54:19,330 --> 00:54:20,410 Mm. 667 00:54:27,330 --> 00:54:29,286 Which current will you use? 668 00:54:30,788 --> 00:54:33,029 Whichever Edison selects, I suppose. 669 00:54:42,913 --> 00:54:44,244 Absurdity. 670 00:54:44,871 --> 00:54:46,782 You think I'm being absurd? 671 00:54:47,955 --> 00:54:49,820 Yes, I do. 672 00:54:49,913 --> 00:54:52,120 We're overextended, Marguerite. 673 00:54:53,246 --> 00:54:55,157 There's no shame in selling. 674 00:54:59,038 --> 00:55:02,201 What I was always after was to partner with Edison... 675 00:55:03,246 --> 00:55:05,328 and I have the chance to do that now. 676 00:55:06,538 --> 00:55:10,486 We have no motor, so we're a train into a mountainside anyway. It's impossible. 677 00:55:10,580 --> 00:55:13,617 I thought "impossible" wasn't a word in your vocabulary. 678 00:55:19,746 --> 00:55:21,782 I am dissolving Westinghouse Electric. 679 00:55:21,871 --> 00:55:26,069 The proceeds will go to preserve our other failing enterprises, 680 00:55:26,163 --> 00:55:30,236 and time itself will mend Edison's mistakes. 681 00:55:30,330 --> 00:55:34,278 You are not a captain who changes his course with the sea. 682 00:55:34,371 --> 00:55:36,282 We are not on a course! 683 00:55:36,871 --> 00:55:38,702 We're drowning! 684 00:55:38,788 --> 00:55:41,700 This whole thing is costing us a fortune! 685 00:55:41,788 --> 00:55:44,325 - You don't care about money. - A fortune! 686 00:55:45,663 --> 00:55:48,826 I lived in your parents' house while you went door-to-door. 687 00:55:49,455 --> 00:55:52,527 Do you want people saying you stand for everything you don't? 688 00:55:52,621 --> 00:55:54,703 Using your last name as a verb? 689 00:55:54,788 --> 00:55:58,076 Well, how exactly do you suggest I correct that, dear? 690 00:55:59,538 --> 00:56:02,655 I have you, and I had Frank. 691 00:56:04,246 --> 00:56:05,326 That's it. 692 00:56:06,580 --> 00:56:08,161 I loved the man. 693 00:56:09,955 --> 00:56:14,369 This is really nothing but a sensible business decision. 694 00:56:15,788 --> 00:56:17,824 - George... - That's all. 695 00:56:22,413 --> 00:56:23,653 That's all. 696 00:56:30,371 --> 00:56:33,283 Say what you will about George Westinghouse, he sure is nice. 697 00:57:09,288 --> 00:57:12,530 You've crossed into territory for the Confederacy. 698 00:57:14,538 --> 00:57:17,575 No, I, uh, I think you're mistaken. 699 00:57:18,121 --> 00:57:20,407 According to my map here... 700 00:57:31,580 --> 00:57:36,244 Though I mourn the loss of my colleague, misfortune does not trump progress. 701 00:57:38,455 --> 00:57:42,778 Now, it seems to me that Mr. Edison puts his name on everything 702 00:57:42,871 --> 00:57:45,783 because he's terrified of being forgotten. 703 00:57:46,955 --> 00:57:49,947 IF YOU WANT TO BE REMEMBERED, IT'S SIMPLE: Shoot a president. 704 00:57:50,913 --> 00:57:54,076 But if you prefer to have what I call a legacy, 705 00:57:54,163 --> 00:57:57,030 you leave the world a better place than you found it. 706 00:57:58,080 --> 00:58:01,402 Thomas Alva Edison is a charlatan 707 00:58:01,496 --> 00:58:05,159 who preys on the fears of the common man 708 00:58:05,246 --> 00:58:07,362 because I have the better system. 709 00:58:08,788 --> 00:58:13,862 And because I do have the better system, Westinghouse Electric shall endure. 710 00:58:13,955 --> 00:58:15,035 Good day. 711 00:58:16,288 --> 00:58:19,735 Westinghouse has taken the lead. He's not going away. 712 00:58:19,830 --> 00:58:23,573 And while I appreciate your lights, Mr. Edison, I'm also your customer. 713 00:58:24,163 --> 00:58:26,905 If something comes to my door and offers me something that I need 714 00:58:26,996 --> 00:58:30,159 that is better than what I have now, at a cheaper price, 715 00:58:30,246 --> 00:58:33,318 why, I'd be a tool not to invite him in for tea. 716 00:58:33,413 --> 00:58:36,325 - Is this an ultimatum? - More of a threat. 717 00:58:36,413 --> 00:58:38,449 If you maintain that fear is the best strategy, 718 00:58:38,538 --> 00:58:40,620 then you'd better hurry up and try harder. 719 00:58:42,205 --> 00:58:43,240 Time's up. 720 00:58:46,830 --> 00:58:48,912 Man who was handsome and clever 721 00:58:48,996 --> 00:58:51,487 built a box with a crank and a lever 722 00:58:51,580 --> 00:58:55,072 to store his wife's voice, though he made a poor choice, 723 00:58:55,163 --> 00:58:58,826 because now she can tease him forever. 724 00:59:01,288 --> 00:59:04,701 I couldn't stop it if I wanted to, 725 00:59:05,205 --> 00:59:06,945 which I don't, 726 00:59:07,038 --> 00:59:10,485 because I... I think it's a remarkable gift. 727 00:59:11,955 --> 00:59:15,868 Electricity will kill that man in Buffalo. 728 00:59:15,955 --> 00:59:18,742 We don't know the voltage. 729 00:59:18,830 --> 00:59:22,527 Too much, and he ignites. Too little, and he's still alive. 730 00:59:23,121 --> 00:59:25,487 All we need is your advice. 731 00:59:25,580 --> 00:59:28,947 How much is humane? Where to put the electrode? 732 00:59:29,038 --> 00:59:33,907 And in exchange, I will promise you something that I know you want. 733 00:59:35,913 --> 00:59:40,236 I will put the Westinghouse name right out front 734 00:59:40,330 --> 00:59:44,278 as the official electricity used to kill human beings. 735 00:59:46,663 --> 00:59:50,656 I even think we can get this chair on display at the Chicago World's Fair. 736 00:59:52,371 --> 00:59:54,032 The future. 737 01:00:02,038 --> 01:00:04,120 My name must never be associated with this. 738 01:00:04,205 --> 01:00:07,038 I did not provide any consultation, and you will advertise 739 01:00:07,121 --> 01:00:10,079 that Westinghouse is the best way to take a human life. 740 01:00:11,163 --> 01:00:12,824 You guarantee your assistance? 741 01:00:14,788 --> 01:00:17,154 You ask a question, and I'll reply. 742 01:00:20,871 --> 01:00:22,452 Burn the correspondence. 743 01:00:23,913 --> 01:00:25,449 Absolutely. 744 01:00:28,621 --> 01:00:31,943 Fauteuils and blue painted bergere. 745 01:00:32,038 --> 01:00:34,370 I sold three sets of these last week alone. 746 01:00:36,746 --> 01:00:39,533 Oh, uh, this is your classic spindle back. 747 01:00:39,621 --> 01:00:42,533 Oh, yes. And these are framed cockpen. 748 01:00:42,621 --> 01:00:44,282 Quite popular. 749 01:00:50,621 --> 01:00:52,703 Oh, deportment style. 750 01:00:55,538 --> 01:00:58,371 Would you like four, six, eight, 12? 751 01:00:58,455 --> 01:00:59,490 Just one. 752 01:01:01,246 --> 01:01:05,114 Mr. Brown, the apparatus consists of a stationary engine, 753 01:01:05,205 --> 01:01:09,027 a Westinghouse alternating dynamo capable of generating 3, 000 volts, 754 01:01:09,121 --> 01:01:12,534 wood chair with headrest, binding straps and adjustable electrodes. 755 01:01:12,621 --> 01:01:14,828 Burn. TAE. 756 01:01:23,330 --> 01:01:25,821 The voltmeter, ammeter and switchboard controlling the current 757 01:01:25,913 --> 01:01:28,905 should be located in the execution room for monitoring. 758 01:01:28,996 --> 01:01:30,577 Burn. TAE. 759 01:01:30,663 --> 01:01:34,110 The dynamo room is communicated by electric signals. Burn. TAE. 760 01:01:34,205 --> 01:01:37,652 The most effective machines manufactured by Westinghouse... Burn. TAE. 761 01:01:37,746 --> 01:01:41,819 I authorize payment of $3, 600 for your efforts. 762 01:01:41,913 --> 01:01:43,528 Burn. TAE. 763 01:01:43,621 --> 01:01:46,738 The only argument which can be urged against "Westinghousing" 764 01:01:46,830 --> 01:01:48,912 on the score of cruel punishment is that 765 01:01:48,996 --> 01:01:51,112 the flesh may burn at the points of contact, 766 01:01:51,205 --> 01:01:53,885 and the amount of current which can be given without such mutilation 767 01:01:53,955 --> 01:01:55,820 is not yet known. 768 01:01:55,913 --> 01:01:58,154 Burn. TAE. 769 01:02:08,371 --> 01:02:10,611 For someone who's trying to compete for the World's Fair, 770 01:02:10,663 --> 01:02:12,369 this death-trap business doesn't look good. 771 01:02:12,455 --> 01:02:16,698 Yeah, I know. It's just Edison trying to smear me, as usual. 772 01:02:16,788 --> 01:02:18,699 - Can you prove it? - No. 773 01:02:18,788 --> 01:02:21,245 But I was thinking maybe I could stop it. 774 01:02:22,038 --> 01:02:23,403 You mean me? 775 01:02:24,538 --> 01:02:27,655 You want my advice? Don't hire me. Save your money. 776 01:02:28,663 --> 01:02:31,905 But I do know a man who could determine 777 01:02:31,996 --> 01:02:35,238 whether Edison has an exploitable connection with the death chair. 778 01:02:35,330 --> 01:02:38,697 No, I was thinking we could stop him via legal means. 779 01:02:39,955 --> 01:02:42,412 - You want me to put Edison on trial? - No. 780 01:02:42,496 --> 01:02:44,828 The chair itself. The Eighth Amendment. 781 01:02:44,913 --> 01:02:47,370 So I'm to get an ax murderer 782 01:02:47,455 --> 01:02:49,992 who readily admits he slaughtered his wife 783 01:02:50,080 --> 01:02:51,911 a what... a sustainment? 784 01:02:51,996 --> 01:02:53,827 This is about showing, 785 01:02:53,913 --> 01:02:56,655 what kind of a man is Thomas Edison? 786 01:02:58,663 --> 01:03:00,779 You just keep my name out of it. 787 01:03:00,871 --> 01:03:03,078 Does your wife know you're paying for this? 788 01:03:03,163 --> 01:03:04,994 It was her idea. 789 01:03:08,496 --> 01:03:11,909 What precisely makes electricity not cruel and not inhumane? 790 01:03:11,996 --> 01:03:14,032 The velocity of the current is so great 791 01:03:14,121 --> 01:03:17,158 that the brain is instantaneously paralyzed. 792 01:03:17,246 --> 01:03:18,952 The subject is dead 793 01:03:19,038 --> 01:03:21,654 before the nerves can communicate any shock. 794 01:03:21,746 --> 01:03:23,611 How can you know if you haven't proof? 795 01:03:23,705 --> 01:03:24,990 I tested it... 796 01:03:25,746 --> 01:03:27,953 on a gorilla from London Zoo. 797 01:03:28,038 --> 01:03:31,576 Are you connected in any way with any of the electric lighting companies? 798 01:03:31,663 --> 01:03:33,199 No, sir. 799 01:03:33,288 --> 01:03:36,860 The State calls Thomas Alva Edison. 800 01:03:36,955 --> 01:03:39,367 Will you explain generally 801 01:03:39,455 --> 01:03:41,946 the difference between your continuous current 802 01:03:42,038 --> 01:03:45,735 and Mr. Westinghouse's alternating electricity? 803 01:03:46,330 --> 01:03:49,572 A continuous current flows like water through a pipe, 804 01:03:49,663 --> 01:03:51,870 and alternating current flows in both directions. 805 01:03:51,955 --> 01:03:53,820 Water. That doesn't sound so dangerous. 806 01:03:53,913 --> 01:03:55,778 Not until you drown. 807 01:03:55,871 --> 01:03:58,658 Why don't you use Mr. Westinghouse's current? 808 01:03:58,746 --> 01:04:01,078 - I don't like it. - You think it's dangerous. 809 01:04:01,163 --> 01:04:02,369 Yes, I do. 810 01:04:02,455 --> 01:04:04,696 Suppose you took this... 811 01:04:05,746 --> 01:04:08,158 wicked Westinghouse current... 812 01:04:08,246 --> 01:04:10,988 the one that is going to be used on Mr. Kemmler here... 813 01:04:11,955 --> 01:04:15,118 now, suppose you kept it up for five or six minutes. 814 01:04:15,913 --> 01:04:18,370 At 1,500 volts, 815 01:04:18,455 --> 01:04:20,946 how long would it take before he would feel the heat? 816 01:04:21,038 --> 01:04:24,155 Well, the temperature might rise 817 01:04:24,246 --> 01:04:26,282 four or five degrees above normal 818 01:04:26,371 --> 01:04:29,078 and continue until he was mummified. 819 01:04:29,830 --> 01:04:32,196 And this wouldn't cause considerable pain? 820 01:04:32,288 --> 01:04:33,949 - It would not. - How do you know? 821 01:04:34,038 --> 01:04:36,404 Because I personally observed such electricity 822 01:04:36,496 --> 01:04:38,532 being used to execute a thousand-pound horse. 823 01:04:38,621 --> 01:04:41,181 - And did the horse feel pain? - If he did, he didn't mention it. 824 01:04:43,830 --> 01:04:46,287 Now, Mr. Edison, there is a great degree of feeling 825 01:04:46,371 --> 01:04:48,362 between you and Mr. Westinghouse. 826 01:04:48,455 --> 01:04:51,288 I do not dislike Mr. Westinghouse. 827 01:04:51,371 --> 01:04:53,491 There is a contest between you two, isn't there? 828 01:04:53,580 --> 01:04:55,536 That is not what this is about. 829 01:04:56,746 --> 01:04:58,907 I've been asked as a dispassionate scientist 830 01:04:58,996 --> 01:05:02,033 to advise on the simple question of whether death by electricity 831 01:05:02,121 --> 01:05:04,908 is a violation of the Eighth Amendment and is cruel and unusual. 832 01:05:04,996 --> 01:05:08,318 In my expert opinion, the only humane method of execution 833 01:05:08,413 --> 01:05:10,404 is Westinghouse alternating current. 834 01:05:10,496 --> 01:05:12,847 Your Honor, Mr. Edison knows that any current over 30 amperes... 835 01:05:12,871 --> 01:05:16,409 Milliamperes. If you're gonna interrupt, do so in the proper denominations. 836 01:05:18,996 --> 01:05:20,452 Oh, thank you, Your Honor. 837 01:05:20,538 --> 01:05:22,014 It's my honor. 838 01:05:22,038 --> 01:05:24,370 All right, that's all I need to hear. 839 01:05:35,371 --> 01:05:37,532 What do you two lowlifes want, huh? 840 01:05:37,621 --> 01:05:39,486 Mr. Edison. Mr. Edison. 841 01:05:39,580 --> 01:05:40,615 Huh? 842 01:05:43,871 --> 01:05:45,031 Now look... 843 01:05:45,121 --> 01:05:47,014 I thought you were gonna leave before I had a chance. 844 01:05:47,038 --> 01:05:50,701 - Mr. Edison, can I get your autograph? - Uh, yeah, sure, I... 845 01:05:50,788 --> 01:05:52,779 William, do you mind? 846 01:06:03,663 --> 01:06:07,030 I should warn you, there's one thing that always beats justice. 847 01:06:07,121 --> 01:06:08,236 Money? 848 01:06:08,330 --> 01:06:09,365 Fame. 849 01:06:30,496 --> 01:06:32,987 Oh, is that a New Model Army revolver? 850 01:06:33,663 --> 01:06:35,904 What a lovely machine that is. 851 01:06:36,830 --> 01:06:39,287 - Do you know how it works? - You want me to show you? 852 01:06:39,371 --> 01:06:42,909 Oh, I didn't mean how it fires. I simply meant how it works. 853 01:06:43,663 --> 01:06:46,120 It's quite a device. You should have a look. 854 01:06:46,205 --> 01:06:49,447 You see, they designed the cylinder so the hammer 855 01:06:49,538 --> 01:06:51,904 doesn't have to sit in an empty chamber. 856 01:06:51,996 --> 01:06:54,863 So I could shoot you six times instead of five. 857 01:06:54,955 --> 01:06:57,742 Well, I suppose. 858 01:06:59,205 --> 01:07:01,412 They both lied on the stand. 859 01:07:02,330 --> 01:07:05,902 If you're gonna take your shot, now is the last time to fire. 860 01:07:05,996 --> 01:07:09,193 Sometimes we have to work outside of the rules to get what's right. 861 01:07:11,205 --> 01:07:13,196 It would be nice if we didn't have to. 862 01:07:14,913 --> 01:07:15,993 Wouldn't it? 863 01:07:17,246 --> 01:07:19,862 - This doesn't make you like him. - Mm. 864 01:07:22,830 --> 01:07:24,240 So, what will it be? 865 01:08:22,413 --> 01:08:24,904 In my bad ear, it sounded extraordinary. 866 01:08:24,996 --> 01:08:26,156 Father... 867 01:08:29,705 --> 01:08:30,740 Hello. 868 01:08:30,830 --> 01:08:33,663 The apparatus consists of a stationary engine, 869 01:08:33,746 --> 01:08:36,203 a Westinghouse alternating dynamo 870 01:08:36,288 --> 01:08:38,745 capable of generating 3, 000 volts. 871 01:08:38,830 --> 01:08:40,866 Wood chair with headrest, 872 01:08:40,955 --> 01:08:43,742 - Where did you get that? - I'm sending them to the paper. 873 01:08:43,830 --> 01:08:46,902 Those letters are stolen. You can't publish them. 874 01:08:46,996 --> 01:08:49,453 - Why not? - Because they're private correspondences. 875 01:08:49,538 --> 01:08:53,326 Mr. Edison, if you say something about me or my company again, 876 01:08:53,413 --> 01:08:55,574 I would ask that you tell the truth. 877 01:08:57,121 --> 01:08:59,453 That would be the decent thing to do. 878 01:09:01,413 --> 01:09:02,528 Wouldn't it? 879 01:09:04,913 --> 01:09:08,610 - Why didn't you burn the letters? - They were from Thomas Edison. 880 01:09:08,705 --> 01:09:11,492 I don't think you appreciate that this chair is something 881 01:09:11,580 --> 01:09:13,821 to be proud of and remembered for. 882 01:09:13,913 --> 01:09:16,199 I don't even know how much electricity you need to use. 883 01:09:16,288 --> 01:09:19,906 - You said 1,500 volts. - I said I think 1,500 volts. 884 01:09:19,996 --> 01:09:22,658 But if all the water in his body evaporates, then he may ignite. 885 01:09:22,746 --> 01:09:25,453 - So we lower the amount. - Then you slowly roast him to death. 886 01:09:25,538 --> 01:09:29,076 Listen. You must listen to me. What you're going to do is wrong. 887 01:09:29,163 --> 01:09:31,950 Now you said that it's inevitable and somebody else will do it. 888 01:09:32,038 --> 01:09:35,280 But just because somebody else is gonna do it doesn't mean that you have to. 889 01:09:36,330 --> 01:09:40,528 The State thanks you for your expert opinion and your help. 890 01:10:00,038 --> 01:10:01,118 What? 891 01:10:04,121 --> 01:10:06,203 - It's not my place to say. - Say it. 892 01:10:06,955 --> 01:10:09,662 You said you'd never build a device that would kill anyone. 893 01:10:18,955 --> 01:10:21,867 I make something impossible, and they rip it away from me, 894 01:10:21,955 --> 01:10:24,241 so I do it again and they do it again. 895 01:10:24,330 --> 01:10:26,571 And again. And again. 896 01:10:28,996 --> 01:10:30,827 This isn't like everything else. 897 01:10:32,580 --> 01:10:34,286 This is everything else. 898 01:10:35,580 --> 01:10:39,448 Our future is not gonna be paved with bricks but with copper. 899 01:10:41,330 --> 01:10:45,403 Automation, transportation, communication, and the man that controls that current 900 01:10:45,496 --> 01:10:47,452 controls that future. 901 01:10:48,621 --> 01:10:50,577 But you know Westinghouse is right. 902 01:10:52,288 --> 01:10:54,279 You don't actually believe that a few accidents 903 01:10:54,371 --> 01:10:56,282 rule out the viability of his current. 904 01:10:56,371 --> 01:10:58,514 - You just don't want to lose. - I have merely amplified 905 01:10:58,538 --> 01:11:00,620 what no one else was willing to take seriously. 906 01:11:00,705 --> 01:11:03,037 No, what you did was run him over with a 12-ton train. 907 01:11:03,121 --> 01:11:05,431 Oh, well, he's the one that's supposed to only make brakes, 908 01:11:05,455 --> 01:11:07,446 so, who's to blame here? 909 01:11:10,121 --> 01:11:12,282 Switch tonight, and you win. 910 01:11:12,371 --> 01:11:14,453 His current kills people. 911 01:11:14,538 --> 01:11:15,903 Only because you said it will! 912 01:11:15,996 --> 01:11:18,783 Listen, I either stop complaining about the scavengers in my garden 913 01:11:18,871 --> 01:11:22,409 or build a wall so damn high that people will never even dare to scale it. 914 01:11:22,496 --> 01:11:24,327 You are the smartest man I know. 915 01:11:24,413 --> 01:11:27,655 Beyond building miracles out of thin air, 916 01:11:27,746 --> 01:11:30,158 I was most impressed by your principles. 917 01:11:32,121 --> 01:11:35,488 You didn't invent the incandescent. People just think you did. 918 01:11:42,788 --> 01:11:47,578 Let me welcome you to the reality of how things come into existence. 919 01:11:47,663 --> 01:11:50,700 We all contribute. That's what invention is. 920 01:11:50,788 --> 01:11:54,576 The salt. The grain. The heat. The heart. 921 01:11:54,663 --> 01:11:58,201 But only one man makes the bread rise. 922 01:12:00,163 --> 01:12:02,700 That's the one that puts it all together 923 01:12:02,788 --> 01:12:05,700 and makes it taste so damn good that people will go out there 924 01:12:05,788 --> 01:12:10,031 and hand over their hard-won dollars to buy it. 925 01:12:10,121 --> 01:12:13,113 Mr. Edison, I want you to succeed. I do. 926 01:12:15,413 --> 01:12:18,405 But you have to switch tonight, or you'll die as PT Barnum 927 01:12:18,496 --> 01:12:20,452 rather than Sir Isaac Newton. 928 01:12:45,205 --> 01:12:47,662 Though he may be unfamiliar to you, 929 01:12:47,746 --> 01:12:51,534 his studies have demonstrated an understanding of electrical matters 930 01:12:51,621 --> 01:12:55,614 unlike anyone I have ever known, with respect to the assembled. 931 01:12:55,705 --> 01:12:59,243 Gentlemen and lady, Nikola Tesla. 932 01:13:02,705 --> 01:13:05,242 Straight to our ultimate question, 933 01:13:05,996 --> 01:13:07,486 yes or no-... 934 01:13:08,330 --> 01:13:11,037 Can alternating currents operate a motor? 935 01:13:12,788 --> 01:13:14,028 Yes. 936 01:13:15,705 --> 01:13:17,821 Now anyone who builds an alternating system 937 01:13:17,913 --> 01:13:21,326 will be able to do what Edison can for only a third of the cost. 938 01:13:21,413 --> 01:13:23,654 In figure two of my polyphase system, the armature coils 939 01:13:23,746 --> 01:13:25,611 are shown in a more advanced position. 940 01:13:25,705 --> 01:13:27,912 2-A illustrates the corresponding magnetic condition... 941 01:13:27,996 --> 01:13:29,931 Synchronous motor obtained by winding a laminated ring 942 01:13:29,955 --> 01:13:31,264 provided with pole projections... 943 01:13:31,288 --> 01:13:33,119 The induction is of an ideal character, 944 01:13:33,205 --> 01:13:35,571 being always maintained at its maximum action. 945 01:13:35,663 --> 01:13:39,155 Mr. Tesla, have you actually built the motor to test your theories? 946 01:13:39,246 --> 01:13:42,158 But they are not theories. No, I have not built it. 947 01:13:42,246 --> 01:13:44,111 But that would prove your beliefs. 948 01:13:44,205 --> 01:13:47,038 But they are not beliefs, and it is absolutely immaterial to me 949 01:13:47,121 --> 01:13:49,112 whether I run the motor in my mind or in a shop, 950 01:13:49,205 --> 01:13:52,038 for I have built it already in my imagination, and it is perfect. 951 01:13:52,121 --> 01:13:54,362 - Are you serious? - Almost always. 952 01:14:03,746 --> 01:14:06,237 Hello. I'm George Westinghouse. 953 01:14:16,330 --> 01:14:18,036 - George Westinghouse? - Mm-hmm. 954 01:14:18,121 --> 01:14:20,828 An engine that compresses air into a tank 955 01:14:20,913 --> 01:14:23,985 which is taken via pipe to each brake on the train, 956 01:14:24,080 --> 01:14:26,366 allowing them to operate simultaneously. 957 01:14:30,038 --> 01:14:31,244 Thank you. 958 01:14:39,621 --> 01:14:40,861 Please. 959 01:14:56,413 --> 01:14:58,995 I think this entire room is slanted two degrees. 960 01:15:03,288 --> 01:15:07,236 I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to meet with me. 961 01:15:07,330 --> 01:15:09,696 Are-Are you going somewhere? 962 01:15:21,330 --> 01:15:22,365 Oh. 963 01:15:24,288 --> 01:15:26,529 - This is it? - It's Niagara Falls. 964 01:15:26,621 --> 01:15:27,781 Yeah. 965 01:15:27,871 --> 01:15:30,863 And ever since my school days, I have pictured in my imagination 966 01:15:30,955 --> 01:15:33,287 a big wheel spinning out lightning. 967 01:15:34,955 --> 01:15:38,197 Did you know that when I first came to this country, I worked for Mr. Edison? 968 01:15:38,288 --> 01:15:40,119 - I did not. - Tea? 969 01:15:40,205 --> 01:15:41,741 Sure. 970 01:15:42,580 --> 01:15:45,492 I fixed two of his DC generators in one night, 971 01:15:45,580 --> 01:15:47,696 and he called me a damn good man. 972 01:15:48,788 --> 01:15:50,904 So, why did he not treat me that way? 973 01:15:50,996 --> 01:15:54,159 I quit. Tried my own company and was deceived. 974 01:15:54,246 --> 01:15:56,532 Who was I? Some immigrant. 975 01:15:57,580 --> 01:16:00,242 SO I TOOK THE ONLYJOB I COULD fiND: Digging a ditch. 976 01:16:01,580 --> 01:16:05,118 The men laughed at my fine clothes, but at the end of the day, I had $2. 977 01:16:08,121 --> 01:16:10,533 What was the ditch to be used for? 978 01:16:11,538 --> 01:16:13,278 Edison Electric. 979 01:16:14,621 --> 01:16:16,486 It felt like digging my own grave. 980 01:16:18,121 --> 01:16:22,069 If Mr. Edison succeeds, he will set us back so far, we may never recover. 981 01:16:22,163 --> 01:16:24,495 The Fair must be alternating. 982 01:16:24,580 --> 01:16:26,161 It must be my motor. 983 01:16:26,871 --> 01:16:29,613 I have watched as the world talks of Chicago as a symbol, 984 01:16:29,705 --> 01:16:31,070 a City of Light. 985 01:16:31,913 --> 01:16:35,076 All cities will have light in your lifetime, 986 01:16:35,163 --> 01:16:39,702 but harnessing the power of Niagara, that is to see our future. 987 01:16:39,788 --> 01:16:43,451 The Falls? I'm here to talk about Chicago. 988 01:16:43,538 --> 01:16:44,948 Think beyond Chicago. 989 01:16:45,038 --> 01:16:48,735 Energy is as fundamental as food, as water, as air. 990 01:16:48,830 --> 01:16:51,947 You can... You cannot say that only those with money can eat 991 01:16:52,038 --> 01:16:53,744 or can breathe. 992 01:16:53,830 --> 01:16:55,639 Yes, the Falls will light up the Eastern Seaboard. 993 01:16:55,663 --> 01:16:58,556 Yes, there is a great fortune to be made, and I covet a very nice walking stick 994 01:16:58,580 --> 01:17:00,912 I saw on 63rd and Madison, but Niagara is the proof 995 01:17:00,996 --> 01:17:03,032 that one day we may detach power from profit. 996 01:17:03,121 --> 01:17:05,658 - That is how you truly win. - Mm. 997 01:17:06,580 --> 01:17:10,744 - How do I know you will not cheat me? - Well, you don't. 998 01:17:13,288 --> 01:17:16,030 But the fact is, Mr. Tesla, I need your motor. 999 01:17:16,121 --> 01:17:19,568 I may be able to light up the Fair, but I still can't move a machine. 1000 01:17:19,663 --> 01:17:23,076 If we cannot reach an agreement today, my company will die 1001 01:17:23,163 --> 01:17:25,028 right here in your hotel room. 1002 01:17:27,538 --> 01:17:31,281 But if it does perish, so might your dream of harnessing power from Niagara. 1003 01:17:35,746 --> 01:17:37,737 So, do we have a deal? 1004 01:17:39,621 --> 01:17:40,986 Five thousand. 1005 01:17:48,746 --> 01:17:50,031 One thousand. 1006 01:18:02,038 --> 01:18:03,073 Yeah. 1007 01:18:05,830 --> 01:18:07,912 I'll give you $2.50... 1008 01:18:12,371 --> 01:18:13,736 per horsepower. 1009 01:18:15,246 --> 01:18:19,068 I'm no genius myself, but that should be millions. 1010 01:18:21,996 --> 01:18:24,362 May I treat you to dinner at Delmonico's? 1011 01:18:25,788 --> 01:18:27,699 All right, Mr. Tesla, time to go. 1012 01:18:27,788 --> 01:18:31,108 - No, I will not leave your slanted room. - He hasn't paid his bill in over a month. 1013 01:18:31,163 --> 01:18:34,451 Well, how much would it cost to keep him here for the year? 1014 01:18:39,413 --> 01:18:42,450 I need to shed 300 men from the gas company. 1015 01:18:45,705 --> 01:18:47,787 There's no way around it. 1016 01:18:48,580 --> 01:18:51,380 So we pay their salaries and move them to the electricity. 1017 01:18:51,455 --> 01:18:53,446 We can't keep doing this. 1018 01:18:54,496 --> 01:18:56,703 If we win, we won't have to. 1019 01:18:58,746 --> 01:19:00,577 You have truth on your side. 1020 01:19:02,788 --> 01:19:06,906 And whatever happens, you'll know you never did anything but play fair. 1021 01:19:18,871 --> 01:19:20,486 I stole the letters 1022 01:19:20,580 --> 01:19:22,946 linking Edison to the death chair. 1023 01:19:24,330 --> 01:19:26,662 I gave them to the papers to smudge him. 1024 01:19:29,413 --> 01:19:31,278 I know you're disappointed in me. 1025 01:20:01,621 --> 01:20:03,452 What am I looking at here? 1026 01:20:03,538 --> 01:20:06,951 An 80-foot tall tower covered with 16,000 Edison bulbs, 1027 01:20:07,038 --> 01:20:08,869 topped with an eight-foot lighthouse. 1028 01:20:08,955 --> 01:20:11,162 That signals to the world that we are the victors. 1029 01:20:11,246 --> 01:20:13,282 Otherwise, how will people know that we won? 1030 01:20:13,996 --> 01:20:15,327 It's an idol. 1031 01:20:16,246 --> 01:20:17,952 It's a... signature. 1032 01:20:19,371 --> 01:20:22,693 And you'll get something that no one's ever received from Thomas Edison before. 1033 01:20:22,788 --> 01:20:24,995 - Oh, yes? What's that? - An apology. 1034 01:20:25,080 --> 01:20:29,119 I admit that spending has been, well, more than anticipated, 1035 01:20:29,205 --> 01:20:32,368 but now, more than ever, it's important you must push through. 1036 01:20:32,455 --> 01:20:36,243 Whatever Westinghouse is bidding for the Fair, we... you must bid more. 1037 01:20:36,330 --> 01:20:37,536 I must. 1038 01:20:38,996 --> 01:20:40,031 "Must." 1039 01:20:42,288 --> 01:20:43,698 Who's Nikola Tesla? 1040 01:20:46,705 --> 01:20:47,820 What about him? 1041 01:20:47,913 --> 01:20:50,325 Well, he gave a talk at Columbia. 1042 01:20:50,413 --> 01:20:54,611 Word is, the Serb is building Westinghouse a polyphase motor. 1043 01:20:55,205 --> 01:20:59,027 Light and power. You can do both. He now may as well. 1044 01:20:59,121 --> 01:21:01,806 Who even knows how long it'll take them to build a functioning model... 1045 01:21:01,830 --> 01:21:05,072 As of this morning, you have ceded, I have here, 1046 01:21:05,163 --> 01:21:07,620 nine more cities to Westinghouse. 1047 01:21:07,705 --> 01:21:09,821 So, here's what's happening. 1048 01:21:10,871 --> 01:21:14,944 I am merging Edison Electric with some of the other ankle-biters. 1049 01:21:15,413 --> 01:21:17,404 You are out. 1050 01:21:18,330 --> 01:21:19,536 You know why. 1051 01:21:20,413 --> 01:21:23,951 And I'm happy to tell you, if you require this moment to be even more unpleasant. 1052 01:21:24,038 --> 01:21:26,245 You will receive stock, 1053 01:21:26,330 --> 01:21:28,696 and you will retain a seat on the board. 1054 01:21:35,371 --> 01:21:36,736 Who's gonna present? You? 1055 01:21:36,830 --> 01:21:39,446 - Good God, no. - You tell me now? 1056 01:21:39,538 --> 01:21:41,639 I was here. I thought you deserved to hear it face-to-face. 1057 01:21:41,663 --> 01:21:44,780 No, you didn't. You just wanted to waste my time 1058 01:21:44,871 --> 01:21:46,987 and get me to sign autographs for children. 1059 01:21:48,121 --> 01:21:50,264 - What are you going to call it then? - That's your concern? 1060 01:21:50,288 --> 01:21:51,949 Edison Electric. It has to be. 1061 01:21:52,038 --> 01:21:55,530 Edison and electricity are synonymous, Morgan. The bulb... 1062 01:21:55,621 --> 01:21:58,533 I do not attach a losing name to a fledgling enterprise. 1063 01:21:58,621 --> 01:22:00,987 Now that your letters have leaked, you've lost credibility. 1064 01:22:01,080 --> 01:22:02,200 - So, what is it? - The name? 1065 01:22:02,246 --> 01:22:03,861 Yes, the goddamn name! 1066 01:22:03,955 --> 01:22:06,742 The contractjust says General Electric, but I'll think of something. 1067 01:22:06,830 --> 01:22:07,945 I can be creative too. 1068 01:22:13,621 --> 01:22:14,701 Yeah. 1069 01:22:17,538 --> 01:22:18,618 Mr. lnsull. 1070 01:22:20,955 --> 01:22:22,070 A moment. 1071 01:23:01,371 --> 01:23:04,329 He said they'd keep your name attached as long as you didn't pursue action 1072 01:23:04,413 --> 01:23:06,574 or speak negatively to the press about the merger. 1073 01:23:06,663 --> 01:23:07,994 What did he offer you? 1074 01:23:09,121 --> 01:23:11,081 - Tell me. - Vice president, but I turned it down. 1075 01:23:11,121 --> 01:23:12,281 - You should take it. - Why? 1076 01:23:12,371 --> 01:23:14,264 Alternating current... What's the transmission voltage? 1077 01:23:14,288 --> 01:23:15,494 230,000 volts. 1078 01:23:15,580 --> 01:23:17,320 What's the filament on a 12,000-hour lamp? 1079 01:23:17,413 --> 01:23:19,514 - Carbonized Japanese bamboo. - What do I eat for breakfast? 1080 01:23:19,538 --> 01:23:20,764 - Pie. - So, what's the surprise? 1081 01:23:20,788 --> 01:23:23,621 Of course he needs you. You're me, but a human being. 1082 01:23:32,621 --> 01:23:34,282 Look around the room. 1083 01:23:34,371 --> 01:23:35,781 - Hmm? - Who's missing? 1084 01:23:37,871 --> 01:23:41,068 Edison General Electric Company, please. 1085 01:23:41,163 --> 01:23:42,903 General Electric? 1086 01:23:42,996 --> 01:23:45,612 - Edison General Electric Company. - Yes. 1087 01:23:45,705 --> 01:23:47,536 Ah! 1088 01:24:00,746 --> 01:24:01,986 He's 12. 1089 01:24:02,080 --> 01:24:05,618 Mr. Insull, these are the committee members of... 1090 01:24:05,705 --> 01:24:08,242 Listen closely. Focus on the quality of the light. 1091 01:24:08,330 --> 01:24:10,412 I don't care what the courts say. 1092 01:24:10,496 --> 01:24:12,077 Westinghouse ripped off my bulbs, 1093 01:24:12,163 --> 01:24:14,779 and the good news for you is he did a terrible job. 1094 01:24:14,871 --> 01:24:18,068 They are outdoor bulbs, so they have a life of about two hours. 1095 01:24:18,163 --> 01:24:20,074 So focus on the replacement time. 1096 01:24:21,163 --> 01:24:24,826 Talk about the superiority of ours, as if there's no competition. 1097 01:24:25,413 --> 01:24:27,950 Use terms like "standard," "purest," 1098 01:24:28,038 --> 01:24:30,029 "the most beautiful light," et cetera. 1099 01:24:30,121 --> 01:24:32,764 Find out what kind of men they are. There are really only two types. 1100 01:24:32,788 --> 01:24:36,201 The first believe themselves to be practical, but they're secret dreamers. 1101 01:24:36,288 --> 01:24:38,199 They're the ones who'll take the risks. 1102 01:24:38,288 --> 01:24:40,700 The second, well, they'll smile and thank you for the show, 1103 01:24:40,788 --> 01:24:42,494 but they'll vote with their wallets. 1104 01:24:42,580 --> 01:24:46,368 Unless Westinghouse is mortgaging everything he's worth on this bid, 1105 01:24:46,455 --> 01:24:48,411 Morgan has you in good stead with the money men. 1106 01:24:48,496 --> 01:24:51,112 So your only real job is to look the dreamers in the eye 1107 01:24:51,205 --> 01:24:52,911 and promise them magic. 1108 01:24:52,996 --> 01:24:56,033 Now, explain back to me everything that you remember about a parallel 1109 01:24:56,121 --> 01:24:58,801 and series of electric circuits using none of the words I just said. 1110 01:25:00,496 --> 01:25:03,158 Though I am young, I am an expert in these matters, 1111 01:25:03,246 --> 01:25:06,238 rivaled only really by Mr. Edison himself. 1112 01:25:06,330 --> 01:25:09,037 Should you choose Westinghouse, then... 1113 01:25:09,121 --> 01:25:11,612 then yes, there is a possibility 1114 01:25:11,705 --> 01:25:14,742 you'll be putting in jeopardy the lives of 28 million people. 1115 01:25:15,996 --> 01:25:19,909 Even if Westinghouse were to make even the smallest of errors, 1116 01:25:19,996 --> 01:25:22,237 unintentional, of course, 1117 01:25:22,330 --> 01:25:24,321 a visiting politician, a wife, 1118 01:25:24,413 --> 01:25:26,654 even a seven-year-old girl may lean against a lamppost 1119 01:25:26,746 --> 01:25:28,657 and be struck dead immediately. 1120 01:25:29,330 --> 01:25:30,661 There you have it. 1121 01:25:30,746 --> 01:25:33,988 Mr. Westinghouse's brand of electricity is fatal. 1122 01:25:34,080 --> 01:25:36,492 Thank you, Mr. lnsull. 1123 01:25:36,580 --> 01:25:38,161 Just to be clear, sir, 1124 01:25:38,246 --> 01:25:41,409 any electrical current over 200 milliamperes can be deadly. 1125 01:25:41,496 --> 01:25:42,906 Even yours? 1126 01:25:50,871 --> 01:25:52,953 Mr. Westinghouse, these are the committee members. 1127 01:25:53,038 --> 01:25:54,778 OF GROUNDS AND BUILDINGS: 1128 01:25:54,871 --> 01:25:57,453 Charles Schwab, Craig Cannon, 1129 01:25:57,538 --> 01:25:59,654 - Mayor Cregier, of course. - Oh, of course. 1130 01:25:59,746 --> 01:26:02,203 Victor Lawson of the Chicago Daily News, 1131 01:26:02,288 --> 01:26:04,620 and the Honorable Judge Tree. 1132 01:26:04,705 --> 01:26:06,115 I'm Daniel Burnham. 1133 01:26:06,205 --> 01:26:10,403 Respectfully, we ask that you please keep your remarks to one hour. 1134 01:26:10,496 --> 01:26:12,157 That won't be necessary. 1135 01:26:12,871 --> 01:26:15,112 - Here you go. Sir. - Thank you. 1136 01:26:16,705 --> 01:26:17,865 Hmm. 1137 01:26:20,496 --> 01:26:22,236 My bid. 1138 01:26:22,330 --> 01:26:24,036 These are all your figures? 1139 01:26:24,121 --> 01:26:26,362 Yes, sir. Independent estimates. 1140 01:26:26,455 --> 01:26:29,777 Before we, uh, get into the messy business, 1141 01:26:29,871 --> 01:26:32,988 let us begin with this most general question: 1142 01:26:33,080 --> 01:26:37,870 Why should we grant Westinghouse Electric the contract for the World's Fair? 1143 01:26:37,955 --> 01:26:42,619 Well, I guess because our system works significantly better, 1144 01:26:42,705 --> 01:26:43,865 and, uh... 1145 01:26:46,205 --> 01:26:49,242 because our system is significantly cheaper. 1146 01:26:54,413 --> 01:26:57,280 Mr. Schwab, Mr. Higinbotham, Mr. Cannon, 1147 01:26:57,371 --> 01:27:00,568 Mayor Cregier, Mr. Lawson, Judge Tree, 1148 01:27:00,663 --> 01:27:01,948 and Mr. Burnham, 1149 01:27:02,705 --> 01:27:05,617 thank you very much for your time and your consideration. 1150 01:27:19,538 --> 01:27:21,870 Financially, it's clear. We just take the better bid. 1151 01:27:21,955 --> 01:27:24,867 - Look, Westinghouse is dangerous. - Potentially dangerous. 1152 01:27:24,955 --> 01:27:26,946 You even printed it in your own paper. 1153 01:27:27,038 --> 01:27:30,451 Alternating will be used to kill that man in Buffalo. 1154 01:27:42,705 --> 01:27:44,491 They both light up lights, right? 1155 01:27:44,580 --> 01:27:47,572 Westinghouse saves us some money. Thomas Edison sells tickets. 1156 01:27:51,038 --> 01:27:53,871 What I wouldn't give to flip through that. 1157 01:27:53,955 --> 01:27:56,617 It's like a handbook to the future, isn't it? 1158 01:28:00,496 --> 01:28:03,329 - We need a clear majority, gentlemen. - Don't you have stock in GE? 1159 01:28:03,413 --> 01:28:04,778 That's irrelevant. 1160 01:28:06,330 --> 01:28:09,242 No one has ever done what you have done for me. 1161 01:28:09,330 --> 01:28:12,777 The value of something isn't what someone's willing to pay, 1162 01:28:12,871 --> 01:28:16,034 but the value of something is what it contributes. 1163 01:28:16,121 --> 01:28:19,739 When we vote again, Burnham, you can telephone the winner tonight. 1164 01:28:24,288 --> 01:28:26,779 Is it true you were born during a lightning storm? 1165 01:28:27,871 --> 01:28:29,486 It is true. 1166 01:28:31,663 --> 01:28:34,075 All right. Tell me one thing in that book. 1167 01:28:36,455 --> 01:28:39,572 Look, you and Mr. Edison, you spend all your time on either end of the system, 1168 01:28:39,663 --> 01:28:41,574 the dynamos and the lamps. 1169 01:28:41,663 --> 01:28:43,745 But what about what is in between? 1170 01:28:43,830 --> 01:28:45,240 - The wires? - Mm. 1171 01:28:46,330 --> 01:28:49,037 Do we need them? 1172 01:29:04,246 --> 01:29:08,239 The problem is, despite all the advantages of the Remington... 1173 01:29:12,663 --> 01:29:16,076 it doesn't fix the fact that you just dampened the gunpowder. 1174 01:29:48,080 --> 01:29:49,616 What's this? 1175 01:29:52,496 --> 01:29:56,114 This is gonna do for the eye what the phonograph did for the ear. 1176 01:30:02,538 --> 01:30:03,618 Dot? 1177 01:30:20,205 --> 01:30:21,240 Again. 1178 01:30:24,621 --> 01:30:25,701 Again! 1179 01:31:58,496 --> 01:32:00,407 Do you have any final words? 1180 01:32:02,705 --> 01:32:05,071 I believe I'm going to a better place. 1181 01:32:07,455 --> 01:32:08,865 Goodbye, William. 1182 01:32:17,413 --> 01:32:20,860 We live in a higher civilization... 1183 01:32:21,830 --> 01:32:23,286 from this day. 1184 01:33:41,663 --> 01:33:45,076 "An awful spectacle, far worse than hanging." 1185 01:33:45,163 --> 01:33:49,281 'They would have done better with an ax.' 1186 01:33:49,371 --> 01:33:51,487 Sizzling sound. A billow of smoke 1187 01:33:51,580 --> 01:33:53,912 "that filled the room with the odor of burning hair." 1188 01:33:55,413 --> 01:33:57,495 Well, at least it happened to a murderer. 1189 01:33:59,371 --> 01:34:01,987 At least they'll never use it again to kill anyone. 1190 01:34:09,580 --> 01:34:11,571 Soon all these people will have electric light, 1191 01:34:11,663 --> 01:34:13,949 and no one will even remember it ever happened. 1192 01:34:15,496 --> 01:34:17,737 I have books so full of ideas 1193 01:34:17,830 --> 01:34:20,902 it would take me more than 12 lifetimes to execute them. 1194 01:34:22,413 --> 01:34:24,779 So let the man have his fair and waterfall. 1195 01:34:30,080 --> 01:34:31,695 Well, for what's it's worth, 1196 01:34:32,246 --> 01:34:35,784 I'd much rather have worked for you than Westinghouse any day. 1197 01:34:35,871 --> 01:34:37,031 Why is that? 1198 01:34:37,955 --> 01:34:40,241 Well, I wouldn't have had as much fun, would I? 1199 01:35:41,371 --> 01:35:43,487 Have you seen much of the fair? 1200 01:35:43,580 --> 01:35:46,822 - A Muybridge lecture, Little Egypt. - Oh, the dancer. 1201 01:35:46,913 --> 01:35:48,278 - You saw her? - No. 1202 01:35:49,163 --> 01:35:52,280 Well, she was... If you get the time. 1203 01:35:53,205 --> 01:35:54,240 Hmm. 1204 01:35:59,246 --> 01:36:01,908 Don't you think a fence is a unique creation? 1205 01:36:03,705 --> 01:36:06,742 Your neighbor puts one up, and suddenly one becomes two. 1206 01:36:07,663 --> 01:36:11,076 You also have a fence. There's only one problem. 1207 01:36:11,163 --> 01:36:14,405 You see, one person on one side of the fence designed it, 1208 01:36:14,496 --> 01:36:16,703 one person on one side built it, 1209 01:36:16,788 --> 01:36:18,949 and one person paid for it, 1210 01:36:19,038 --> 01:36:22,781 and yet the other person receives a fine, free fence. 1211 01:36:25,496 --> 01:36:27,452 I didn't take your ideas. 1212 01:36:28,288 --> 01:36:29,528 Mr. Edison? 1213 01:36:30,788 --> 01:36:31,823 Sure. 1214 01:36:33,663 --> 01:36:34,778 Thank you. 1215 01:36:35,788 --> 01:36:38,905 - I was wondering about one thing. - Oh, I'm sure there were many. 1216 01:36:38,996 --> 01:36:42,864 I was gonna invite you to dinner again, 1217 01:36:42,955 --> 01:36:45,367 but I suppose now is as good a time as any. 1218 01:36:45,455 --> 01:36:46,931 You want to know what was in the 13-hour bulb? 1219 01:36:46,955 --> 01:36:49,116 - I know how it works. - Yeah, I know you do. 1220 01:36:49,205 --> 01:36:51,196 I only wondered what it felt like. 1221 01:36:53,246 --> 01:36:54,611 - Pardon? - The bulb. 1222 01:36:55,621 --> 01:36:56,986 When you knew. 1223 01:36:57,538 --> 01:36:59,904 What was the feeling in that moment? 1224 01:37:08,330 --> 01:37:09,945 I can't tell you. I mean... 1225 01:37:11,788 --> 01:37:16,487 It's impossible to describe the feeling because it was impossible. 1226 01:37:17,413 --> 01:37:20,371 Years of work. Ten thousand different filaments. 1227 01:37:20,871 --> 01:37:23,157 When the thread went in the bulb, as usual, 1228 01:37:23,246 --> 01:37:26,158 we placed our bets and the generator sputtered to life 1229 01:37:26,246 --> 01:37:29,989 and the ball began to glow, we didn't expect anything but another failure. 1230 01:37:32,121 --> 01:37:34,077 Then something started to happen. 1231 01:37:37,746 --> 01:37:40,533 See, our best filament only lasted ten minutes, 1232 01:37:41,246 --> 01:37:44,363 and this fluke was rounding 20, 1233 01:37:44,455 --> 01:37:46,616 so people started to chatter. 1234 01:37:46,705 --> 01:37:50,493 And 30 minutes, 40 minutes, an hour, two hours. 1235 01:37:50,580 --> 01:37:52,696 Then people started to shout. 1236 01:37:52,788 --> 01:37:55,450 And remember, we hadn't got past ten minutes. 1237 01:37:56,246 --> 01:37:59,534 The boys were climbing up the walls, tearing their hair out, and... 1238 01:38:01,371 --> 01:38:03,236 because it was impossible. 1239 01:38:04,288 --> 01:38:07,655 Seven hours. Eight hours. Nine. 1240 01:38:09,163 --> 01:38:10,994 We were silent when we hit ten. 1241 01:38:13,330 --> 01:38:15,696 Just sat around that glowing bubble, 1242 01:38:15,788 --> 01:38:18,860 drunk on our own magic, staring at it like it... 1243 01:38:18,955 --> 01:38:21,992 I don't know, like it was the baby Jesus playing Mozart. 1244 01:38:25,663 --> 01:38:28,985 After 13 and a half hours, the glass cracked, and I knew it. 1245 01:38:31,330 --> 01:38:33,195 The world would never be the same. 1246 01:38:35,330 --> 01:38:38,402 I'm working on something now, something so new that... 1247 01:38:40,038 --> 01:38:43,781 people will forget that my name was ever associated with electricity. 1248 01:38:43,871 --> 01:38:45,987 I wonder if you know what it is yet. 1249 01:38:52,163 --> 01:38:54,245 You know, I think the solution is... 1250 01:38:54,913 --> 01:38:56,949 to divide the cost of the fence. 1251 01:38:59,371 --> 01:39:02,488 Or you cannot build a fence at all. 1252 01:39:05,371 --> 01:39:07,407 Your garden would be twice as big. 1253 01:39:08,163 --> 01:39:10,154 Wouldn't it, Tom? 1254 01:39:17,621 --> 01:39:19,577 If nothing else, a pleasure. 1255 01:39:21,830 --> 01:39:23,366 Enjoy the fair, George. 1256 01:39:41,455 --> 01:39:45,152 We build monuments to speak to the future, to say, "We were here." 1257 01:39:46,871 --> 01:39:48,327 "We have lived." 1258 01:39:49,663 --> 01:39:53,406 A true legacy isn't what we build up to the heavens 1259 01:39:53,496 --> 01:39:55,578 or carve deep into stone. 1260 01:39:56,746 --> 01:39:58,907 Rocks will crumble, 1261 01:39:58,996 --> 01:40:00,611 paper disintegrates, 1262 01:40:05,121 --> 01:40:08,079 Only that which isn't in the physical realm 1263 01:40:08,163 --> 01:40:10,700 and reaches in both directions can be eternal. 1264 01:40:12,538 --> 01:40:13,948 Our ideas. 1265 01:40:15,913 --> 01:40:17,904 They are what we leave behind. 1266 01:40:19,371 --> 01:40:21,783 And only they are what can push us forward.