Rediscovered

 

 (youtube)

AS THE EARTH TURNS-1938-Amateur science fiction silent film originally made in 1938 but only rediscovered in 2019. A mysterious being known as Pax (the director Richard Lyford) can control the weather and cause earthquakes. He wants the world to stop making war. A newspaper publisher and two reporters (1 male, one female) investigate. Pax plans to "rock the Earth" and seems to succeed but the story ends before we find out. 

This is a trendsetting piece and its restored version looks great but it is an amateur film done in a little by bad SFX, over the top acting and terribly made-up actors. Nice new score by Ed Hartman was added after it's restoration. Director/star Lyford made other experimental short films (most of which are lost) but later he worked for Disney Studios.

 (Los Angeles Times)

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The First Spidey Movie

SPIDER-MAN-1969-In 1957 teenager Don Glut began making amateur movies featuring the Frankenstein monster, Dracula, dinosaurs and werewolves. Because Forrest J Ackerman mentioned him many times in Famous Monsters Of Filmland, Glut became well known for his home movies even once getting Glen Strange to reprise the monster in one of his films. Eventually (and probably illegally) Glut made some featuring Superman, The Spirit and in his very last, The Amazing Spider-Man. The effects are laughable (much of his wall crawling and web swinging are a doll) but still kind of innovative and very entertaining. 

From a newspaper headline we learn "Disfigured Scientist Becomes Dr. Lightening". He wears a metallic head piece to hide his face and has his henchman kidnap his own daughter. In Bronson Canyon he and Spider-Man have a showdown. Later Spider-Man webs up his car and the doctor kills himself. Glut later became a writer and director.

You can read more about him here: https://donaldfglut.com/

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