As the Earth Turns (1938 film)
As the Earth Turns is a 1938 American science-fiction silent film directed by Richard Lyford. Lyford was 20 years old when he directed As the Earth Turns and the film is one of many avant-garde films that he made in Seattle, Washington, before finding success with Walt Disney in the 1940s.[1] He portrays a central character in the film, Pax, "who attempts to persuade the world to put down its weapons by inducing extreme climate change".[2]
Like most of Lyford's early films, it was presumed lost until it was discovered in his former Seattle home over 80 years later.[3] KING-TV reported that the film may have never left Lyford's basement, which he would use as an auditorium to show his films.[4] After the rediscovery, Lyford's family asked Seattle composer Ed Hartman to create a score for the film.[4] As the Earth Turns made its theatrical premiere at the Seattle International Film Festival in 2019.[5] LA Weekly wrote that by October 2019, the rediscovered film "played at over 100 film festivals worldwide and garnered many awards along the way".[1] It made its television debut on Turner Classic Movies on October 31, 2021.[5]
References
- ^ a b Bell, Nathaniel (October 17, 2019). "Movie Pick: As the Earth Turns". LA Weekly. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
- ^ Rechtshaffen, Michael (October 17, 2019). "Review: Unreleased 1938 silent sci-fi film 'As the Earth Turns' boasts analog ingenuity". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
- ^ LePire, Bobby (June 17, 2020). "As The Earth Turns". Film Threat. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
- ^ a b Denver, Jim (May 31, 2019). "An 80-year-old film shot in Seattle is finding new life". KING-TV. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
- ^ a b Macdonald, Moira (October 27, 2021). "A 20-year-old made a movie in Seattle in the 1930s. This week, it finally makes its TV debut". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
External links
- Official website
- As the Earth Turns at IMDb
- As the Earth Turns at Rotten Tomatoes
- As the Earth Turns at the Seattle International Film Festival
- 1930s rediscovered films
- 1930s science fiction films
- 1938 films
- American black-and-white films
- American silent feature films
- Climate change films
- Films directed by Richard Lyford
- Films shot in Seattle
- Mad scientist films
- Rediscovered American films
- 1930s American films
- Silent horror films
- 1930s American film stubs