User Reviews

Immortal Blacksmith, The (1944)

*** (out of 4)

Another entry in John Nesbitt's Passing Parade series, which took a look at important people who many might have forgotten. This episode takes a look at Tom Davenport (Chill Wills), a poor blacksmith who wound up buying an electric magnet, which eventually led to the first electric motor. This series is quickly becoming one of my favorites due to how well made the films are and how interesting the actual stories are. As with most bios, I'm sure many liberties are taken with the stories but I really don't mind that because of how well told they are here. One big difference in this entry is that the actors get to speak their own dialogue. Most of the times you had Nesbitt's narration being the only thing you heard but that's cut down this time out and we get to see some of the acting. Wills, a character actor, does a very good job here and really captures ones heart with his uneducated, down to earth performance. The supporting players are very good as well and we get Nesbitt doing a good job on the narration he does do. The story itself is one I hadn't heard about before so it was certainly educational and kept me entertained.

The Immortal Blacksmith was part of the John Nesbitt's Passing Parade series of short subjects for MGM was unusual in that Nesbitt's radio announcer voice was kept to a minimum and three players told the tale instead.

I'm surprised that this short did not gain any Oscar attention. Chill Wills who is an uneducated and poor blacksmith, but who's a bright fellow is interested in all kinds of gadgets in a world that's changing. Without a real understanding of electricity, he buys an electro-magnet, one of the first and from it develops the first electric motor.

Better that Wills's character Tom Davenport stuck to being a blacksmith because he took out a patent on the thing, but had not the funds to develop it for use. That came much later in the century and after Davenport had left this mortal coil.

Pamela Blake as his wife and Hobart Cavanaugh as his brother round out the main cast in this very nicely told tale of a forgotten and obscure American hero.