Moments of Movie Wisdom: Embracing Individuality in ‘Young Tom Edison’ (1940)

Poster for the 1940 film "Young Tom Edison." Public Domain

Commentary

According to recent statistics, 1 in every 36 children in the U.S. is diagnosed with some form of autism. It seems nearly every person you meet is “on the spectrum.” Many of these people just seem to view things a little differently or be unusually intelligent. A lot of their odd traits seem like learned behaviors. Isn’t it odd that the rates have gone up so much in the past few years? Many would argue that it just wasn’t diagnosed before. Isn’t it possible that we’re now diagnosing too much? Think of all the geniuses throughout history. Many of them seem to have been a little crazy. They saw the world differently and were often so prodigious that they struggled in school, since it was beneath their intellect. One such person was the famed inventor Thomas Edison.

Today’s moment of movie wisdom comes from “Young Tom Edison” (1940), a biopic of the inventor’s childhood, which was followed the next year by a movie about his adult life, “Edison, the Man.” The scene takes place 15 minutes into the 85-minute film. A school teacher (Eily Malyon) visits the Edisons (Fay Bainter and George Bancroft) to tell them that their son, Tom (Mickey Rooney), is being expelled from school for causing a fire panic by experimenting with chemicals. Mrs. Edison immediately jumps to her boy’s defense, telling the teacher that he’s merely inquisitive and wants to know the causes of things. When the teacher expresses the opinion that Tom is “addled,” his mother is infuriated and gives her a good tongue-lashing. She says he’s the brightest boy in the school, whom any good teacher would know how to instruct.

The Story

Everyone in the small town of Port Huron thinks young Tom Edison (Rooney) is a little strange, even his own father, Sam (Bancroft). Only his mother (Bainter) and little sister, Tannie (Virginia Weidler), truly understand Tom’s budding genius. When Tom causes a fire alarm at school with his experimenting, he is expelled, much to his father’s chagrin.

After accidentally getting caught on an outgoing train, Tom begins a business selling concessions to passengers and eventually starts printing a newssheet. However, when he unwittingly brings a bottle of nitroglycerine onto the train, subsequently starting a chemical fire in one of the cars, the conductor (Eugene Palette) forbids him from setting foot on the train again. He also boxes his ears, causing Tom permanent hearing damage. After this, everyone believes Tom is crazy, and he can’t get another job anywhere. However, when his mother falls deathly ill and needs an operation, it’s up to Tom and his ingenuity to save the day.

Lobby card for the 1940 film “Young Tom Edison.” MovieStillsDB

The Scene

When teacher Miss Howard visits the Edisons the evening of the chemical incident, she tells them that the school will no longer accept the responsibility of Tom’s education. She says they may appeal to the school board but that she will oppose any such appeal. When Mrs. Edison asks her why, she replies, “Not only because of what he did today, but because he distracts the other students, gazes out of the window, hums, drums on the desk with his fingers. The other day, he wanted to know what a cloud was!” Mrs. Edison explains, “He’s inquisitive; wants to learn things. That’s alright, isn’t it?” “In its proper place, yes,” the teacher snaps, “but not in the middle of an arithmetic lesson!” “You don’t understand him, that’s all,” Mrs. Edison reasons.

The teacher counters that no one understands him, and he should be taken to see a doctor, as she believes he’s “addled, sadly addled.” Infuriated, Mrs. Edison rises to her feet, exclaiming, “How dare you! You’re the one who’s addled!” Miss Howard tells her to control herself, but she continues, “There’s nothing the matter with my Tom that any good teacher couldn’t fix! I taught school in Canada, and I know! You haven’t the patience or understanding to be a teacher ... and he’s a good boy, and there’s not a smarter boy in the school! He’s never done anything stupid in his life! You’re the one who’s stupid ... yes, you!”

After the teacher leaves in a huff, Mrs. Edison tells her husband, “Sam, I’m surprised you didn’t defend your son. ... Saying that Tom is addled! It’s perfectly ridiculous!” “She’s not the only one,” Mr. Edison argues. “The whole town’s saying it. Everyone thinks there’s something wrong with the boy! Especially after today.” She sadly says, “I wish they understood Tom as I do! He’s different from other boys. He’s looking for causes, not effects.”

It’s Significance

This movie shows that, throughout history, geniuses have been different than most people. They are often mocked, put down, and misunderstood for a long time before proving themselves. Sadly, even in this time period, when people weren’t so quick to diagnose children with mental issues, Tom was considered a little crazy.

Throughout the film, it’s Tom’s mother who keeps him going through the tough times. As more and more evidence mounts against him, so that even he starts thinking he’s “addlepated,” she reassures him that there’s nothing wrong with him. She reminds him that there’s a whole world beyond their little town, in which he’ll one day play an important part, so they aren’t going to listen to the rumors. He’s special and brilliant and so far beyond them that they can’t fathom it.

In the end, after he helps save his mother’s life and stops a train headed for a washed-out bridge, he finally gains the acceptance of his father and the town. However, there’s still another battle ahead of him, as he has to convince the rest of the world that his ideas aren’t as wild as they sound. For the unique and brilliant, it’s a constant battle against doubters and mockers.

Insane or Intellectual?

Today’s society is doing its best to make everyone “equal” by labeling exceptional children “neurodivergent” instead of “addled.” There are precious few parents like Mrs. Edison. Most mothers will immediately believe a teacher or doctor’s opinion that there’s something wrong with their children.

I was lucky enough to be protected from such things by parents who understood the difference between being unusually gifted and being “mentally challenged.” I’m certain that, if we had gone to public school, my sister and I would have been diagnosed with something, due to our high energy and unique personality traits.

Far too many children, just like Tom, have their individuality squashed by ignorant authority figures who would rather put them on medication than nurture their gifts. If Tom Edison were living today, he would probably spend his life making excuses for his differentness and doing nothing with his natural genius and ingenuity. All parents should strive to be like Mrs. Edison and cultivate the exceptional qualities of their children.