Little Old New York

The year is 1807 and the story is set in New York. Robert Fulton is an inventor. He has the design of a steamboat in his head. He cannot get anyone to believe in it. Pat O’Day keeps a tavern. She is one of the few people who does believe him. A shipyard worker stands with him as well. The three of them try to build the boat. Everyone in the city is against the business, though. The sailors are afraid of losing their work. One night they set the boat on fire. Everything that was built burns away. Pat’s feelings for Fulton also get in the way. That opens a rift between Charlie and Robert. In the end the boat sets out under its own steam. Alice Faye and Fred MacMurray appear in the hundred minute film, an American production Henry King finished in 1940.