This film is out on you tube now including the trailer. I recommend that it is watched as it presents the story of how Reuters News Service started. The original story of Reuters might be a bit changed to account for Robinson playing him, but his acting here dominates this film despite a talented supporting cast.
Reuters was set up in 1851 by Paul Julius Reuter, a German-born immigrant. He opened an office in the City of London which transmitted stock market quotations between London and Paris via the new Calais-Dover cable. Two years earlier he had used pigeons to fly stock prices between Aachen and Brussels. So the film starts out with the pigeons which seem to have brought together Reuter and his wife. Then it goes through the story from there until the Ford Theater event of 1865 where this movie ends. The story goes through how technology grew during this 16 years.
Robinson plays Reuter as a hero who even when his company was attacked by foes without scruples that he would be honest and righteous always in gambling his company to survive the rapid development of technology. The film makes a powerful message about freedom of the press at the end. Still it is quite a ride.
Eddie Albert is Reuters partner, but other than 1 scene he really gets very little to do. It's very much the same with the rest of the cast. There are many excellent supporting people here out of Warner's assembly line of players but this Bio was set up for Robinson who is at his best in this one. Looking for Nigel Bruce, Otto Hruger, and the rest gets difficult but it's a pleasure to see all the Warner's players, great music from Max Steiner, and the sets that get lots of use in their films being used again as Europe locales.
Robinson is no doubt one of the great actors and proves here he doesn't need the mob to pull off a great performance. Entertainment matters and this one, while a little sentimental with the pigeons early on, really does the job of telling the story of how Reuters was really started.
Reuters was set up in 1851 by Paul Julius Reuter, a German-born immigrant. He opened an office in the City of London which transmitted stock market quotations between London and Paris via the new Calais-Dover cable. Two years earlier he had used pigeons to fly stock prices between Aachen and Brussels. So the film starts out with the pigeons which seem to have brought together Reuter and his wife. Then it goes through the story from there until the Ford Theater event of 1865 where this movie ends. The story goes through how technology grew during this 16 years.
Robinson plays Reuter as a hero who even when his company was attacked by foes without scruples that he would be honest and righteous always in gambling his company to survive the rapid development of technology. The film makes a powerful message about freedom of the press at the end. Still it is quite a ride.
Eddie Albert is Reuters partner, but other than 1 scene he really gets very little to do. It's very much the same with the rest of the cast. There are many excellent supporting people here out of Warner's assembly line of players but this Bio was set up for Robinson who is at his best in this one. Looking for Nigel Bruce, Otto Hruger, and the rest gets difficult but it's a pleasure to see all the Warner's players, great music from Max Steiner, and the sets that get lots of use in their films being used again as Europe locales.
Robinson is no doubt one of the great actors and proves here he doesn't need the mob to pull off a great performance. Entertainment matters and this one, while a little sentimental with the pigeons early on, really does the job of telling the story of how Reuters was really started.