The Secret of Nikola Tesla Reviews

This screen biography of great electrician and inventor Nikola Tesla didn't find its way to American screens until 1985 when it received a scant release. A Yugoslavian, Tesla (Bozovic) made great strides in electrical engineering, having discovered the principles of rotating magnetic fields that form the basis of alternating current. Bozovic emigrates to the US in 1884 and finds work with Thomas Edison (Patric), who proves to be a tyrant. When he prevents Bozovic from getting the recognition he deserves for his work with alternating current, Bozovic leaves Patric and heads out on his own. He finds a benefactor in George Westinghouse (Martin), and the two develop a mutually agreeable working relationship. Highlighted in the film are Tesla's eccentricities, including his disdain of physical contact and his obsession with outer space and its potential for new energy sources. Welles makes a cameo appearance as the powerful financier J.P. Morgan. Though the film sheds some light on the life of an important man whose genius was overshadowed by the likes of Thomas Edison, there is little insight into Tesla's character. The picture plays like a history lesson instead of a character study.