That would be charging up the spring to throw the breaker. High voltage breakers need to switch on (or off) very quickly, to avoid damage from arcing. It's common for them to have some kind of spring or gas piston arrangement that you pump up first to give them enough energy to do that quickly.
No, he's winding up a spring to close the circuit breaker quicker than a human hand could, which reduces/prevents and arc from forming as the electrical contacts close.
If you were the right age when it came out in theaters in '93 (roughly between 11-15), Jurassic Park was a huge deal. Titanic was another of those in that era (although mainly to certain females).
Is that what Dr. Sattler is doing in this scene from Jurassic Park?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoW4vXnkhJw