As the Earth Turns

Recovered from the home of director and Seattle native Richard Lyford, As the Earth Turns is a 1938 sci-fi thriller that cleverly foreshadows many things still relevant to us, among them the U.S.'s involvement in war and global warming. Young news reporter Julie Weston (Barbara Berger) is eager for a big break, so when her boss sends her to a naval radio base she promises to bring back a story that will "rock the Earth." What she doesn't realize is she's about to come face-to-face with a mysterious peace activist named PAX (played by Lyford), who will stop at nothing to stop global war - even if it means destroying everything in his path. Filmed in and around the Pacific Northwest - including shots at Boeing Field and Gas Works Park (back when it was still an operating gasification plant) - As the Earth Turns is a low-budget indie before being a low-budget indie was a thing. Lyford was only 19 when he filmed this spec-fic adventure - mastering miniatures, DIY explosions, unusual camera angles, and triple-exposures for a jaw-dropping array of ahead-of-its-time practical effects. (Seattle International Film Festival)