Original subtitles

There are statements I made

when I believed people would listen to me,

at least as regard certain things which are important for us all,

but now it makes no difference.

But how come you are here at all?

I mean in my hotel room...

I haven't been visited by anyone for a very long time.

Which paper will you be publishing this in?

As a matter of fact, I'm a freelance reporter.

Mr. Tesla, you were once a very wealthy man.

You worked with JP Morgan, didn't you?

We were given a great opportunity.

And what was that opportunity?

It had to do with the course mankind had chosen

and the one it might have chosen,

which would have led in a very different direction.

Mr. Tesla, is it true that you once received

some unidentified signals from space in Colorado Springs?

I have already made a very full statement on that.

And when was that?

At a press conference, at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, that was in 1890.

Just one more question, if you don't mind. At one time,

you worked very closely with George Westinghouse and Thomas Edison.

Is it true that you gave up 10 million dollars owed to you by Westinghouse?

Young man, Edison and Westinghouse are very different men.

George and I still see each other often.

Mr. Tesla, George Westinghouse is dead. He died a long time ago.

I suppose you're going to tell me that Mark Twain is dead too.

He's been dead for over 30 years, Mr. Tesla.

It's 1943 now.

Well, you see, I was speaking to him just yesterday.

But the man I really want to talk to is Morgan.

And now, young man, I should be grateful if you would leave.

Than you very much, Mr. Tesla.

Morgan...

the others were always happy to speak with me, but Morgan,

after all these years, he still refuses to answer.

All these terrible things, they need never have happened. I told him that.

I showed him what the world could be.

He'd let me know, he said, when he was ready.

I'm still waiting.

Here you are, sir.

Welcome to the United States of America.

Next.

Here you are, sir. You're all set. Welcome to the United States of America.

Are all these children yours? You're their legal guardian?

(speaking Italian) All the children are healthy.

We had a check up in Italy, on the Piroska.

We are all healthy, sir.

No one in our family had ever been ill.

These are all the documents.

Thank you.

The man asked if you were responsible for all theses kids.

What a question!

Who else should be responsible for mychildren?!

We've come to America for their sake, good God.

There you are.

Welcome to the United States.

Thank you, sir.

Let's go, kids. Now we're in America.

Now we have everything.

Nikola Tesla, from Paris.

Born in Smiljan, Croatia-Austria.

And how big a family have you got, sir?

No family at all. I'm not married.

All right.

You're all set. Welcome to the United States of America, Mr. Tesla.

- Thank you very much, sir. - All right. Who's next?

It's just like magic, Tom.

Every time I hear that voice write (?) of yours

it just seems more wonderful than ever.

Yeah, thank you, Katherine.

I've got a new name for it:

a phonograph.

What do you think?

Whatever you call it, it's another one of our miracles.

- Maybe the greatest. - You know, Bob...

we're all friends, you and Katherine, I feel I can confide in you.

I got a hunch that this Niagara project

could be about as important as anything I have ever done.

You're the only man on Earth who could pull it off. We can be sure of that.

Sorry to bother you, folks.

Yes, Albert. What is it?

It's that fellow from France.

He was here yesterday, but you were too busy.

Now he's back again.

Well, I'm busy again.

Tell him to try early next week.

Poor man. Don't put him off because of us.

It seems like every inventor in Europe is heading straight for America.

He has a letter for you. From the manager of your company in Paris.

Oh...

well, ok, ok. Let him in.

Mr. Tesla, Mr. Edison will see you now.

All right, fella...

- is this the letter? - Yes, Mr. Edison.

Well, it says here, this one introduce Mr. Nikola Tesla.

Ok, Tesla, consider yourself introduced.

Mr. Tesla, welcome to America.

- Thank you, Miss. - It's Mrs.

I'm Mrs. Robert Johnson and this is my husband.

Maybe he'd rather see you alone.

Oh, no, I would be happy if you'd stay, Mrs. Johnson.

What I would like to talk about can be of benefit to the whole of humanity.

If you said that anywhere else, Mr. Tesla,

I might not be inclined to believe you,

but this is the birthplace of many wonderful things.

Here we've become accustomed to seeing the impossible come true.

Better mind your p's and q's, sonny.

This man is none other than the editor of Century Magazine.

Well, I don't suppose Mr. Tesla

has even heard of Century where he comes from.

You're French, aren't you?

I've been working there, but I was born in Lika.

Well, who knows? Maybe Lika is another birthplace of wonderful things.

- What do you say, Tom? - Never heard of the place.

It's on the border between Austria and Turkey.

Lika is the province. Smiljan is the town.

Well, you know what it says here?

This is from the manager of my company in Paris.

It says dear Mr. Edison,

I know of only two really great men in this world.

You are one of them...

and the young Nikola Tesla is the other.

Ok, Tesla, let's come down out of the clouds. You got something to show me?

Here, Mr. Edison.

As you see, this is a rotating magnetic field.

What's it for?

It cuts the coils at point A and induces a current

which flows to the contact rings at point B.

You expect that to start your motor?

Of course, and there is no waste of power from long distance transmission.

You've seem to forgotten something, sonny.

You don't have a commutator.

There's no need for one. This is alternating current, Mr. Edison.

- Alternating? - Yes.

Using direct current, you'd need over a hundred power stations

to light up the city of New York, and even then,

the outskirts are left in darkness,

because direct current cannot reach that far.

But with my system, I guarantee

that just one power station can light the whole city...

and the whole state as well.

We are throwing the power given to us by nature to the winds.

Electric power in its present form is not only imperfect,

it's unnatural. As I know you'll agree, Mr. Edison,

we are out of step with nature's harmony.

With alternating current,

we are talking about energy in an undreamt of degree.

We will built new power stations and demolish old ones.

It's a giant step forward. It will transform the whole world.

Demolish all my power stations...

just because of this little motor of yours?

But Tom...

Do you know what they call me, Tesla?

They call me the king of electricity.

I transformed the world already...

and everything I have accomplished has been based on direct electric current.

You're heading up the wrong street with this thing, believe me, it's a dead end.

Where are you going?

I'm sorry...

I'm very sorry to have taken up your time.

Well, I thought you wanted to work for me.

You have an original mind... maybe even a brilliant one.

Just because you made one little mistake, doesn't mean I

ought to throw you out on your ear.

I can use all the bright people I can get.

You be here tomorrow morning, 7 o'clock, sharp.

Thank you.

I'm so grateful.

Good-bye.

I'm sure we'll be seeing more of each other, Mr. Tesla.

I hope so.

So do I.

Tom, you're a big man.

Yes, I'm glad you were so generous.

He's a very young and interesting person

and he came all the way to America just to work with you.

I would have hated to see him lose the chance.

Well, I've got an eye for brains, Katherine.

He's a bit wrongheaded but...

got something all the same.

I will knock some sense into him, you will see.

Do you see what I see?

Mr. Tesla?

Good afternoon, Mr. Johnson.

Mrs. Johnson.

Is this some kind of a scientific experiment

or are you actually doing what it looks like you're doing?

I am digging a ditch, Mr. Johnson.

That's very obvious.

Then you must no longer be with Edison.

That's obvious too.

What happened?

There were differences between us.

I'll go see him right away, then fix it up.

Thank you, Mr. Johnson, but,

in some ways, this is better than the place I left.

If you are really through with Edison,

Bob will find something for you on the magazine, won't you, Bob?

- Yes. - Give him your card.

And please, Mr. Tesla, come up out of that ditch.

We don't stop work until 5, Mrs. Johnson.

Then 7 will be fine.

We'll see you at our house, the address is on the card.

You promise?

Yes, I promise.

Has Katherine fully explain what I had in mind for you?

It's most kind of you and indeed I'm very grateful.

You don't want the job? Is that what you're telling me?

I'm afraid so.

Do you really prefer digging those ditches

to being on the editorial staff of Century Magazine?

Anyone would be honored, Mr. Johnson.

- Bob. - Bob.

But it could only be temporary and it wouldn't be fair to you.

Well, I...

Don't go yet, Nicki.

Stay for a moment and tell Bob some of the things you've been telling me.

About that first induction motor...

About you and your family and that place where you were born.

- Lika, isn't it? - Yes.

Nicki spoke five languages when he was only a child

and his mother has invented all kinds of things too.

But she can't read or write, can you imagine?

And his father was a priest.

Of course, in the orthodox Church they're allowed to marry.

You aren't marry, are you, Nicki? Not yet?

If I ever did marry, it could only be with someone like you.

And, of course, that's impossible.

Good night.

Thank you both.

Please, see Mr. Tesla to the door.

He must be very poor.

Yet, he bought me these flowers.

- He's working in that ditch over there. - Well, let's go see him.

There, that's Tesla.

My name is Hiram Brown, president of Western Union Telegraph Company.

Nice to meet you, Mr. Brown.

I'm prepared to finance the development of your motor, Mr. Tesla.

Are you prepare to finance all further work on alternating current as well?

I hadn't really thought about that.

Let's see what happens with the motor first.

I will construct it only at my own workshop.

Would you expect me built (?) for you?

I'll built it, Mr. Brown. You just pay for it.

You're pretty cocky, aren't you, Tesla? They told me you would be.

Exactly how much would you be needing?

Thirty thousand dollars and my own workshop.

Well, then quit playing ditch digger and get up here

and I'll make out a check.

- Here, Renato. - Va Bene, Nikola.

(speaking German) Gramm's machine wastes a lot of energy.

I'm sure there must be some simpler natural principle

whereby energy may be obtained.

Go right ahead, Mr. Tesla. Nature is at your disposal.

What's stopping you? Discover your simple principle.

We'd all be delighted.

(speaking Serbian) Antal, I'll go crazy if this goes on.

I didn't sleep last night.

The slightest noise sounds like thunder to me.

Don't worry, you're just too sensitive. You'll get over it.

There's something wrong with my senses.

I hear everything louder than other people.

(speaking German) The glow retreats,

Done is the day of toil.

It yonder hastes,

New fields of life exploring.

(speaking Serbian) You must be feeling better if you can recite Faust.

Turn it back... We must turn it back.

It should flow back in order to produce light.

The magnets should rotate

like the Earth revolving around the Sun.

These are the coils.

If the reversed magnetic field moves in this direction,

the electricity will flow in this one.

There's no need for a commutator.

This is alternating current. Undreamt-of supply of energy!

I've made a discovery! I can see every little detail.

This motor is in harmony with nature. I can see it.

I can see it.

Ladies and gentlemen, to convince you that this theory will work,

I'll turn off the direct current for a moment

and will light up this hall with my system.

Turn out the lights.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is alternating current.

You see how much power was produced with this small generator.

And now imagine what would be like if we had

an enormous generator that could fill up this hall.

Well, we'd be able to light the entire state of New York,

more even than that. We could have power for the factories,

all of public transportation, all of industry.

Once we'd accomplished that, greater discoveries lie ahead,

just as long as we keep in step with nature.

Each new discovery will lead to another

and we will revolutionize life on our planet.

Look, Mr. Tesla...

can you back up your theories with a few guarantees?

You don't really believe

that we'd put out our money without knowing the results.

Can you show us evidence that this thing will work?

Gentlemen, I can make no guarantees other than my discoveries.

I am not an insurance company.

You must take my word.

You will have to rely on instinct, intuition and imagination.

And now, I shall switch back to direct current.

(indistinct conversations)

Mr. Edison, what is your opinion on Mr. Tesla?

Oh, very best. Extremely capable engineer.

What could be the practical application of his generator?

Well, I'm sorry to say it has no practical application at all.

I have said before, gentlemen,

that I do not consider fantasy to be any kind of conception,

at least of all a scientific one.

That'll be all.

Thanks, Mr. Edison. Oh, Mr. Edison, one last question, please.

Enough for today, gentlemen. Another time.

If the thing had any value, you can bet Edison would have grabbed it.

He'd bet on the wrong horse.

Mr. Tesla, Thomas Edison claims your electrical system

has no practical application. Do you have any comment?

Mr. Edison is a very practical man. I'm sorry he feels that way.

It was a real pleasure to meet you, Mr. Tesla.

Let me congratulate you once again. I wish you good luck.

Yes, so do I. Thanks for your demonstration.

It was most impressive, even if it is impractical.

Thank you, gentlemen.

Mr. Tesla, could you explain a little more clearly?

I don't think I have anything more to say.

That's all for today. Thank you, gentlemen.

Thank you.

Bye, gentlemen.

Mr. Tesla?

Allow me to introduce myself.

I'm George Westinghouse, president of Pittsburgh Electric.

How do you do?

I'd be happy if you'd have dinner with me at the Waldorf.

That would be a pleasure, Mr. Westinghouse.

Call me George.

- Call me Nikola. - Nikola.

All right... Nikola.

Delicious.

So...

to put it in a nut shell, Mr. Tesla,

I'm prepared to buy all your patents

for alternating current for a million dollars.

The important thing is that you'll be able to decide for yourself

how your invention is to be used,

while I will function as a kind of money bag.

And an open money bag. What do you think of that?

Bring me a dozen napkins, would you please?

- A dozen napkins, sir. - Thank you, that's fine.

I hope you find the dinner to your satisfaction, Mr. Tesla.

I think you are being somewhat hasty, Mr. Westinghouse.

Possibly.

There can be no scientific progress without some risk.

People have been known to risk their lives.

What then is my money to that?

Do you really sincerely believe in the project?

I wouldn't be here if I didn't.

What if, on top of that million dollar sum,

I asked you to pay me one dollar for every horsepower we produce?

I would agree.

We'll put it in the contract.

Don't be so quick to agree.

You realize that we are talking about calculess units of horsepower.

And how about Edison?

He won't take it without a fight.

As long as he is opposed to it, how do you introduce our system?

I'll be able to manage it with your patents.

The point is you have truth on your side.

Tell me the truth, Mr. Westinghouse.

Are you helping me because you believe this will be a value

to science and civilization, or are you in it for the profit?

Listen to me, my friend. I'm an inventor myself,

but I never forget that without money...

I cannot put my inventions into practice.

So, what if I do hope to make a little profit?

I'm happy you got angry, I'm beginning to believe you.

Some Swiss cheese and an apple.

And make sure the apple is washed with boiling water.

A cream caramel and... some fruit. Coffee, of course, and...

cheers, Tesla, to your health.

You seem to be drinking my wine.

You're right. I'm so sorry.

You're confusing me, Tesla.

Can I assume then that we have an agreement?

That you accept?

- I was joking. - What do you mean?

No charge for horsepower.

But I wasn't joking.

You will get a dollar for every horsepower generated.

You got to be rich, Tesla, so that you can be free and independent.

What's wrong, Tesla?

Peaches, please, take them away. They make me ill.

Waiter... Fred... Fred!

The peaches, take the peaches away!

No dessert of any kind.

Gentlemen, I would suggest a short break.

- Those in favor? - Aye (all).

I could use a break.

George, now why do you think Adams wanted a break at this point?

Come on, Billy, don't pretend such innocence.

It isn't Adams who was chairing this meeting,

but one who's more conspicuous by his absence and we all know who that is...

Oh, yes, only too well.

Can you hear me?

- Yeah, I hear you, Adams. - The preliminary is over.

- Has Edison made his speech yet? - No.

- George Westinghouse? - Not yet.

Well, call on Edison to speak first, then Westinghouse,

then put forward proposal number 2 and close the meeting, is that clear?

Yes, yes, proposal 2.

Gentlemen, we are fortunate to have Mr. Thomas Alva Edison here

in the capacity of advisor. It would be most helpful to hear his opinion.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Now, gentlemen, I'll say this: at whether we pipe water to the plant

or built the plant near Niagara Falls, is a matter to be discussed.

But there is only one system.

Direct current has already been adopted throughout the world.

- Mr. Chairman? Mr. Chairman? - Mr. Westinghouse.

Gentlemen, direct current is not the only system in existence.

There is also Mr. Nikola Tesla's alternating current.

It can guarantee the transmission of power over enormous distances.

It is simple. It is practical. It is the system

that Mr. Tesla himself has perfected along with 40 registered patents.

Now, I have here a...

Gentlemen, that system is nothing but pure fantasy,

a dangerous fantasy that...

That is a subject for discussion, Mr. Edison.

It's a subject I would be happy to discuss with you, Mr. Westinghouse.

Gentlemen, gentlemen, gentlemen!

We're discussing a matter of great importance.

I think it would be best to have an international competition.

Mr. Edison, you are the best qualified among us to name the man

who would have the panel of judges.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Gentlemen, there's only one such man in the world, I'm sure you all agree...

physicist, mathematician and great inventor, Lord Kelvin of Great Britain.

Will the International Exposition in Paris

be another triumph for you, Mr. Edison?

Well, my electrical current will light up the whole fair.

And will your principles be applied at Niagara Falls?

I was not aware of the possibility of any other principle was being applied.

Young man, the whole of Europe uses my system.

- The whole world, in fact. - Well, what about alternating current?

Oh, that system shouldn't even be considered.

Alternating current is a danger to human life.

Start the generator.

Ladies and gentlemen, you have just seen alternating current in action.

Now, it is a cruel fact that we had to kill this little dog.

But we did it as a preventive measure

in order to ensure that in the future people will not fall victim

to alternating current in the same way.

Now, we need devices to help improve humanity, not kill it.

I'm going to ask Congress to put a ban on the use of alternating current.

Thank you, thank you.

- Edison, Nick! That damned Edison! - What's happened, George?

Oh, the committee... the committee is to be chaired by Lord Kelvin.

He's Edison's stooge, that's why he picked him. But,

listen to this:

alternating current used at Sing Sing.

The condemned man William Kemmler did not have a painless death after all.

The electric current had to be switched on several times.

Those who constructed the electric chair

failed to calculate the voltage required. Now, isn't that disgusting?

Go back where you came from!

Let me take care of this, Mr. Tesla. I'll go teach them a lesson.

Let them be, Zito. It's not their fault.

George,

get together all the people you know

as quickly as possible and bring them here.

Tell them Tesla is going to torture his guests with electricity.

They will all come, you will see.

Mr. Enrico Caruso, Mr. Nikola Tesla.

(speaking Italian) Bravo, Tesla, mio caro!

- Mr. Ignas Pederesky, Mr. Nikola Tesla. - How do you do?

Mr. Samuel Clemmons, alias Mark Twain, Mr. Nikola Tesla.

What a pleasure, Mr. Tesla.

For all the pleasure you have given me in your books,

I'm very much indebted to you, Mr. Clemmons.

I'm glad to hear I have one debtor, mostly, I'm blessed with creditors.

Is there anything you need, Mr. Clemmons?

I have hoped I'd see a few of my critics here.

I was thinking I'd recommend them for the electric chair.

- Won't you sit down? - Thank you.

George.

- Katherine... Bob... - Hello, Nick.

I'm curious, Nicki. What is it that you plan to do this evening?

Katherine, I am not considered an executioner.

I've never believed that for a moment.

Well.

Mr. Jack Wilson, Mr. Nikola Tesla.

What is it, George?

Thank you.

No, thank you.

No, thank you.

No, thanks, I have mine.

Ladies and gentlemen,

here in front of me you see two electrodes.

When I switch on the electric current,

there will be a tension of 1 million volts between them.

That is alternating current.

Now, if I touched the electrodes with my hands,

what do you think would happen?

Ladies and gentlemen, if my electric current kills,

then I deserve to be its victim myself.

Nicki, don't, please, I beg you.

You adress him as commodore.

Mr. Morgan is waiting in his study.

He's here, commodore.

Bring him in.

(inaudible)

Mr. Tesla.

You don't shake hands, they tell me.

- Why? - For reasons of health, commodore.

Edison here tells you're always washing your hands 20 times a day

and every time there's gotta be a fresh towel.

I don't have to ask if you two know each other...

Oh, we know each other, all right.

He also tell me you don't take any coffee or tea,

so what can I offer you?

- Some whiskey, perhaps. - Oh...

makes you sound almost... human.

Tom, give your friend here some whiskey.

You know...

some people are sure that you're crazy...

others think you're a faker.

Now, both those things could be true and you're still could be...

some kind of a... genius.

Sit down, Mr. Tesla.

I'd like to know what makes you tick.

You know what Edison says about genius?

Yes, one his pet quotations.

Genius is 1% of inspiration and 99% of perspiration. He says you...

don't perspire enough.

And, for scientific conclusion, he says,

you don't use any brain work at all.

Instead... how did you put it, Tom?

Well, ask Tesla. According to him, he says he gets mental pictures.

Mental pictures, that's the word with everything complete

down to the smallest detail.

Is that how it happened with that

brushless, commutatorless motor of yours?

Says here, Tom, that the whole thing just... appeared to Mr. Tesla.

Some kind of vision?

It was really more like a flash of lightning.

And you got this vision or... a flash,

suddenly... in the middle of a poem

you happen to reciting out in the streets somewhere in Hungary?

Yes, it was Goethe.

A what?

He's a German author. I'll send you a translation, if you like.

Well, thank you very much, Mr. Tesla.

The motor, it was turning in a huge...

- Have your whiskey, Mr. Tesla. - Oh, thank you very much.

The motor spun in a huge whirlwind of electricity,

a rotating magnetic field.

Tremendous energy produced by a balance of alternating current.

Alternating current.

He got the patent 6 years later and every detail was just the way it

appeared to him in that first mental picture.

Adams got the whole story for me.

What is that thing you're reading there?

It's the file we put together on Mr. Tesla.

We never go into anything blind, Tom. You know me well enough to know that.

It says here, when he was still working for you,

you gave Mr. Tesla a problem to solve for you.

Well, what of it? I give my people problems all the time.

Well, this one must have been important.

Maybe something you couldn't work out for yourself?

Who says so? Where did you get that story?

We talked to people in your shop.

Oh, I could have solved that thing easily, but, as it so happens,

I was busy with all other problems of the time, like I always am.

The way we heard it, you told Mr. Tesla if he worked it out, you'd give him

50,000 dollars, then, when he did, you said he didn't...

understand the American sense of humor.

That is not the reason we quarreled.

I'm not interested in money.

Aren't you? Well, I am.

The point is that you quit working for Edison.

Now, it's been suggested that you start working for me.

Sit down, Tom, I'm not quite finished yet.

Yes, Tom?

Frankly, commodore...

I'm beginning to wonder what the hell I'm doing here.

Well, I didn't think it to be fair to hold this meeting without you.

Well, am I right? It's about the steelworks in Pittsburgh?

Well, I'm still waiting for the electric power, Tom, they can't wait forever...

Neither can I...

it's been over 5 months now since I submitted my plans to the committee.

- Mr. Tesla has some different ideas. - Different?

Well, I guess that's one word for it.

You know what he did at the Chicago World's Fair?

It's all in here.

Yes, up to that time there were no large poliphase generators in existence.

- I'd rather hear it from Mr. Tesla. - Oh, sorry.

Well, I took 24 500 horsepower generators.

Single phase generators, that is. Coupled them all in pairs

and then hooked them up so the circuits would be 90 degrees out-of-phase.

Translate that in English.

It means I made the equivalent of 12 2-phase generators,

each with a thousand horsepower.

It was the first world fair in history to be lit by electricity.

Well, wasn't that funny?

Right up to this very minute, I was always under the impression

that electric light was something that I invented.

Of course.

And now I find that Mr. Tesla here discovered it.

Where the hell you come off with a report like that

on a subject that you couldn't even begin to comprehend?

I just collected information, Mr. Edison.

I certainly don't pretend to be an educated man of science.

Educated?

Like Tesla?

You mean he is educated and I'm not?!

No, Tom, nobody said that.

Oh, you don't have to say it. Everybody knows it.

Well, we know you're a self-made man and so is Tesla, he...

came to this country with four cents and a book of poetry.

Yeah... well, I never got near a university.

I had to teach myself as I went along.

Yes, and the first thing I learned was respect for the scientific process.

Reasoning based on provable assumptions.

Controlled experimentation...

trial and error.

But... your educated man of science, he does everything by guess work.

He doesn't even have ideas, he has hunches!

No wonder he's gotten haywired over this AC business.

- AC, alternating current, right, Tom? - There's nothing right about it at all!

Mr. Edison's whole system

has been based right from the beginning on direct current.

Tesla?

Despite all evidence,

he is convinced the system of alternating current will never work.

Oh, I see...

the man of visions and lightning flashes feels that

Thomas Edison is suffering from delusions.

Simmer down, Tom. Tell us about Frankfurt.

Frankfurt, Germany, Tom. Or don't you know what happened in Frankfurt?

Adams, tell Mr. Edison what happened in Frankfurt, Germany.

A man called Dolivo... another man called...

The hell with the names. Just tell him what they did.

They've just managed to transmit electricity over a distance of 160 km.

And they were using... Tesla's system.

Who wants someone in Europe? For God's sake,

we've got Tesla right here under our noses.

You get together with General Electric. I'll take care of the financial side.

We're gonna build that power station in Niagara right away.

And... what system are you going to use?

Well, Tom... what's wrong in giving it a try?

It's a useless complication, that's what's wrong with it.

Besides, that is dangerous.

And if I haven't it my way...

I'll have the goddamned thing prohibited by law.

Hold on, I hope you aren't leaving.

We haven't finished our card game.

Just don't slam the door.

He does it every time.

My friend Edison is a stubborn man, Tesla. He's also...

the greatest inventor in the history of the world.

And if you can prove him wrong... just once, I won't say I'll be happy...

but I'll tell you this:

you and I are in business.

Incredible things are happening, Nick.

Edison has had to join up with General Electric.

But they won't swallow us up, Nick, we'll swallow them.

We got the patents, Nick.

The Niagara Project can't be started without us.

You realize that is quite possible to get a hundred thousand?

Or even a million electrical impulses per second?

Can't you see what fantastic possibilities

that could open to us for the use of energy?

Nick, did you hear what I said about General Electric,

about Edison, about Niagara?

- I know what Morgan told me. - Don't listen to him, Nick.

He plays with people like the

child playing with dolls and he breaks them like dolls.

The hell with Morgan.

A million electrical impulses per second.

All right, Nick.

All right.

Dream as much as you want to.

But just be sure you wake up in time for the opening of the power station.

After that... just let somebody try to stop you.

George, how could anything stop me?

Well, I guess I don't have an answer for that.

All the same, for a man who's that damned sure of himself,

- you don't look very happy. - How can I be?

- George? - What's wrong, Nick?

For several days now, I've been seeing pictures.

Could you please ring up Mr. Tesla, it's very urgent.

- I have to see him immediately. - I cannot disturb him.

If I wake him now, I'll hold you responsible, Mr. Zito.

Nothing can save it.

I guess we may as well let him sleep in peace while he still can.

I'll tell him later.

Can I ask what the trouble is, Mr. Zito? After all, this hotel's his home.

It'll break Mr. Tesla's heart.

His laboratory's on fire. It's gonna be completely burned.

All his work will be gone.

His inventions, his equipment, his plans, everything up in smoke.

Ladies and gentlemen, America has today put into operation

her first electric power station generating alternating current.

We must thank all those who have helped to create this power station.

However, ladies and gentlemen,

we should not forget that without Nikola Tesla,

the great visionary and inventor, none of this would exist.

The celebration I've been waiting for. Bravo, Nick, bravo.

Well, speak to them, Nick.

Your audience is waiting.

When all is said and done, this power station is not terribly important.

It simply makes practical use of theories we have long known about.

Rather than congratulate ourselves,

we should all feel ashamed that it was not built earlier.

The real work is yet to come. Now we must destroy distance.

Our senses tell us about things that are close by.

To know what is happening far away,

we must be able to transmit scenes from other places over long distances.

Pictures, the news, energy and...

why not matter too?

Now, we must liberate thought. We must set it free of limitations

that space and time impose on it.

And yet, keep its principal characteristics.

Now, and in future centuries,

here on Earth and thousands of light years into the unknown.

Excuse me, please, I...

Tesla... Tesla, what am I supposed to tell the commodore?

- Tell him that I'm going to Europe. - Europe? Who's in Europe?

My mother and sister.

(speaking Serbian) My brother!

Mother!

It's cold out tonight, I'm not kidding.

- Wanna have a smoke? - Yeah.

George?

What is it?

Thank you, Katherine.

Come.

- Yes, but... - Please... this way.

Why don't you go in?

- He won't let me. - I explained to Mr. Westinghouse.

I'm not to let anyone in the laboratory.

But this is ridiculous.

Those are Mr. Tesla's orders.

I'm desperate, Katherine. I simply got to see him.

My whole future is at stake.

But why did you send for me?

Because of Nikola. He's in a terrible state ever since his mother died.

I'm afraid he may have gone out of his mind.

I'm serious, Katherine.

Zito...

I know how much you love Mr. Tesla. So do we.

You must know that.

And don't you think he's in need of our help now?

Yes... I admit I've been worried about him, Mrs. Johnson.

Then open the door, Zito.

Attraction and repulsion, Katherine, a strange effect.

Very stimulating and exciting.

Electricity and magnetism, George, are unique forces in nature.

How are you, Nick?

Nick...

please listen to me.

I'm... well, I'm at the end of my rope.

There's nothing left for me but to ask for your help.

Nick, there's a crisis on.

Pullman has laid off 4,000 workers in Chicago.

Yesterday, the National Guard was out shooting people down in the streets.

I can't get any more credit, Nick. Everybody is pulling out.

They're charging me with a debt of over 10 million dollars.

Now, that's the money I owe you, Nick, remember?

A dollar for every horsepower? General Electric is behind it all.

Morgan wants to swallow me, so does Edison. I can't let them do it, Nick.

My company is my whole life.

And I thought, Nick, if we could share the loss... a little...?

- This is the contract, George. - Yes.

Nick, I can't let you do that! I owe you that money, it's yours!

You don't owe me anything, George.

When nobody listened, you believed in me.

You held out your hand when others turned their backs.

Thank you, Katherine.

Thank you...

my friend.

That was generous, Nicki.

Maybe a little too generous.

Of course you want to help George Westinghouse when he's in such trouble,

but how can you... just tear up 10 million dollars?

I don't have a family, Katherine.

I just need to get on with my work.

All that money would only get in my way.

Put it to the right.

Now to the left.

Can you make it go down to the end and then back toward us?

But where are the wires, Mr. Tesla?

By this time, Mr. Adams, I thought you understood.

I'm afraid I don't.

What do you want me to tell the commodore?

Just tell him what you've seen.

And about the wires... tell him there aren't any.

Tesla?

this little boat of yours...

Adams has been telling all the tricks it can do...

The same thing will work on a bigger scale, you could actually...

move energy, electrical energy from one place to another,

you can take the power, you...

harness from Niagara and move it to my steelworks in Pittsburgh?

Without any wires at all?

There is no limit to the possibilities.

Communication... over great distances?

Anywhere, Europe even and without using cables.

I didn't call you on the phone, Adams, let me hear it from Tesla.

Ships at sea, Tesla?

Everything, the human voice, pictures...

they're all just electrical impulses.

And what's this place where you wanna go and work on it?

Colorado Springs.

It's rich in natural electricity.

Look, Tesla...

you fix it so I can send words without wires...

from one city to another and over the ocean without a cable,

just give me that and you can go to...

Colorado Springs or Timbuktu.

The sooner you get started, the better.

That was Morgan... he's agreed.

This is really a turning point, Nicki, isn't it?

Pictures... and voices...

moving through the air... without wires.

Does he really want me to swallow that?

You must believe it yourself, commodore,

why else would you be investing your money?

Giving money to Tesla is like playing roulette.

It's a game I play to amuse myself and...

out of a certain... curiosity.

Is he a lunatic or a ??? artist?

He promises miracles...

We're gonna see now if he can deliver them.

If in a thunderstorm the earth is struck by lightning,

the force creates concentric waves which slowly expand to circle the world

until they come back to where they started.

This proves to us that the earth's crust is a conductor of electrical energy.

Now, if we were to produce large quantities of electrical energy

and if we directed it into the earth's crust,

then that energy would travel in concentric waves.

There were rumors you went to Colorado Springs

in order to contact Mars, is that true?

It is possible for us to send out waves which can travel around the world.

There are waves as well which can travel into space.

- How are you going to talk with them? - I never intended to.

However, I recorded certain electrical impulses of unknown origin

and these were repeated at constantly timed intervals.

It's possible they were a kind of signal from space.

And did you in turn sent them a message?

- Ask the Martians that question. - But you did send some sort of signal.

A signal which might not be received for a million years.

Therefore, Mr. Tesla, you do believe communication with distant worlds

may some day be possible?

Perhaps they've been sending us messages for ages,

but we aren't aware of it.

Mr. Tesla, what's that big pile of papers down there on the floor?

- My file on the work in Colorado Springs. - Can you tell us what's in it?

It's a new electrical system, completely different.

As yet, it hasn't been finished.

In just what way is it different? How it'll affect us?

Well, a great deal of it is merely guess work,

but it might have an important impact on the future.

I hope it will lead to a decisive answer to the problem of energy.

- Good day, gentlemen. - Mr. Tesla... (indistinct talking).

Not more today...

No more questions, please.

I can't tell you how much it means to me

that I can once again have the opportunity to see

the greatest of the great, the genius Nikola Tesla.

I'm terribly sorry, but I don't recall having met you.

Mr. Tesla, my name won't mean much to you...

I'm a humble follower of your work.

I heard your lecture in London when I was a student.

It's my greatest memory...

you've been a big influence.

Permit me to introduce myself, Marchezzi Guglielmo Marconi.

Well, I'm pleased to meet you, Marchezzi Marconi.

And how may I be of service to you?

Mr. Tesla, I perceive ideas which I know are true but I can't formulate.

You seem aware of such things.

I think I might be of some use in the field of telecommunications.

If that is what interest you, Mr. Marconi, then you've chosen wisely.

Always trust your own instincts.

Not that knowledge lead you astray, it can be deceptive.

Mr. Tesla, I came all the way to America to meet you.

Would it be possible to come and watch you while you're working?

Why, certainly. You'd be very welcome.

My laboratory and all of my notes are at your disposition.

Thank you, Mr. Tesla, it's a great honor. Thank you.

Zito, would you be please look after Mr. Marconi.

Whatever you say, Mr. Tesla.

Tell me the truth, Tesla...

does anybody really understand what this is about?

I certainly hope so, commodore.

I ought to... after all these years, let's see... energy.

According to you, energy is the big problem of the future.

A life and death problem.

And what we're using now...

the sources of energy are not inexhaustible...

And they are poisoning our planet.

I haven't noticed that.

Believe me, you will. Perhaps we can survive the poison,

but there will come a day when the sources of energy will dry up.

And then what? The whole shebang�s gonna run down like a clock?

Not with my project. I can give the world all the power it can use.

Clean power.

- I was afraid of that. - Afraid?

Yes, I was afraid that after all this time

I was really going to begin to understand what you're talking about.

But this... psychic business...

Pardon me, I don't understand.

These weird stories about you that keep getting into the papers like the...

the train wreck and this fella... what's his name?

- Brown, commodore. - Yeah, how'd that one go?

Mr. Tesla is supposed to have told him that he mustn't,

on any account, take a certain train and he didn't.

The train was wrecked and everybody on it was killed.

That really happened?

People said that it could have been a coincidence.

I don't care what it was. In the public mind,

science and the supernatural don't mix. You're either a serious inventor

or a gipsy fortuneteller with a crystal ball.

I don't presume to tell people's fortunes and I'm not an inventor.

- And what the hell are you? - I'm a discoverer.

Columbus.

Yes, I guess he must have sounded quite a bit like you

sometimes, before his discovery...

and there must have been quite a lot of Columbuses we don't know about,

who just sailed away in the wild blue yonder and never were heard of again.

Is that where you're going to go, Tesla, to get lost in the wild blue yonder or...

Mars, for God's sake? You told me I could reach a ship

by wireless and now you're telling the newspapers

that you're reaching outer space somewhere out there in the stars.

There's a strong possibility that...

The hell with your possibilities, Tesla, keep all that...

- wild guessing to yourself. - It's not just guessing, commodore.

No?

Well, as long as I am backing you,

I can't afford to let the world think I'm associated with a nut.

Ok, fellas, here comes Mr. Tesla.

Ready. Take her up.

You're having whiskey as usual, Nick?

I'll have champagne with you, Bob, with pleasure.

Good. Let's drink to this new project of yours.

We'll drink to you, Bob, our new ambassador in Rome.

(indistinct talking)

Our boat sails early tomorrow morning and I wouldn't dream

of leaving until you tell us all about it.

There isn't much to tell.

What he means is there's not much he wants to tell.

Why all the secrecy?

It's Morgan's idea.

He made it a condition.

You two are playing cat and mouse together.

- I think Morgan's afraid of you. - Afraid of Morgan? Never.

Maybe you oughta be.

I think Nick is still sure that he's going to change the world...

- and I hope he's right. - Of course I'm right.

You're an incurable optimist.

I wouldn't want to cure him.

What you mean is that you wouldn't ever want to see an end

to all those beautiful dreams of his.

But darling, you know yourself

that you're always asking him to face reality.

My tower... that is reality. You will see.

We're on the verge of world war, Nick.

War? What's all about this war?

I hope Tesla isn't concentrating on that subject. He's much too clever.

He'll invent some fool thing to blow us to kingdom come.

Just the opposite, Mr. Twain.

Instead of sending human armies marching out to the battlefields,

we could make robots to do the fighting force.

Look, Tesla, if you ever invent a robot to do our drinking force,

then I for one will fight you to the death.

Excuse me.

Do you really think that it's going to be a war?

- That doesn't have to be. - No... not if people use their heads.

And who knows?

Someday, if we are lucky and there isn't war...

perhaps we'll be able to get away for long enough to pay a visit

to that far off place where you were born...

to Lika. You see, I still remember the name...

I wish you could have known my mother.

I wish I could have known you, Nicki.

I mean in ways that haven't been possible.

There were times when I thought that everything was possible.

Remember what your mother said that time when you made yourself a pair of wings

and climbed upon the roof of your house and tried to fly?

"You're not a bird, Nikola", she told you,

"you're a man."

Don't bother me about money.

The workers should know that they'll be paid. We've got Morgan behind us.

Yes, Mr. Tesla.

Mr. Tesla, I've been instructed to show you this.

Just in case you didn't happen to see it.

Mr. Tesla... he wants to see you right away.

There was one promise,

with all the damned visions and lightning flashes of yours,

one hard promise I thought I could count on:

I was gonna be able to send messages to distant places without any wires...

and now, sure enough, the thing's been invented,

but not by you Tesla, no, by some Italian...

- Marconi. - Whatever.

Well, he's made some kind of box he's talking to England with it

and I've gotta buy patents from him!

What if he did steal it from you?

You're not the only one with ideas, you know,

there's a Jew over in Germany...

Einstein. The whole scientific world is talking about that new theory of his.

- And in Paris, what's that about Paris? - They have split the atom.

Whatever that means.

It could mean a whole new source of energy.

Such energy is created by destroying natural elements.

That is a serious crime against nature and one day

it's going to bring on catastrophe.

The world is at a crossroad right now and, if we pass up this chance,

we shall be held responsible by future generations.

Chance? Chance of what?

Commodore, we send energy...

all energy to the outer shell of the Earth, the ionosphere...

energy from the sea, the wind, energy from the sun...

we no longer need to burn or destroy anything.

We simply take what already exists

and put it to our use in unlimited quantities!

And you want me to believe all of this is possible?

But I have proved it already. Everything is in that file.

All we have to do is apply it.

- Adams... - Yes, commodore?

- You've seen all this? - Yes, commodore.

One single...

source of energy, that's what this means.

Right, Tesla?

Yes, that is right.

And anyone can draw on it anywhere in the world.

The Earth's outer shell, remember, goes around the whole planet.

Yes... power will belong to everyone,

like the air we breathe.

There's some financial details we ought to go over... Tesla...

I won't keep you any longer, I...

know how anxious you are to get back to your work, we'll...

send this stuff on to you...

I forgot you... never shake hands.

Supposing...

just supposing he isn't crazy...

that man could... turn the world upside down standing on its head.

Yes, I do believe he could. It's a wonderful prospect.

Wonderful?

Listen, if that lunatic can really do what he says he can do,

do you have any idea of what's gonna happen?

No, sir.

One source of energy, that's what's gonna happen, just one.

So anybody, anybody at all...

can just stick an antenna up in his backyard and hook into it and...

we won't have anything left to sell but antennas.

We'll be producing the power

and anyone who feels like it can milk our cow for free...

Oh, no, thank you, Mr. Tesla, I'm not contributing to that charity.

Write him a letter, Adams. Have it ready for me to sign in the morning.

Yes, commodore.

- What shall I tell him? - Tell him...

tell him goodbye.

After all these years, he still refuses to answer.

I showed him what the world could be.

He'd let me know, he said, when he was ready.

I'm still waiting.