Legend has it that Richard Lyford has put on his first play at age seven, had written 54 stageplays before age 20, and had also directed, written and produced 9 short films. Many of these films, like The Scalpel or As the Earth Turns, had fantastical themes, and thus involved quite an array of special effects. And these special effects were really top notch for their time (the latter part of the 1930s), so it's all the more surprising that these films were all independently produced, with no studio backing. This all led to the almost inevitable move to Hollywood, employment at Disney, deployment during World War II, a career in corporate and documentary filmmaking (that involved an Oscar), and another sting at Disney - so pretty much a vibrant career as is. But it stands to wonder what heights Lyford could have climbed had his first handful of shorts ever gained the recognition they in hindsight deserved ...

... and that's really a fitting way to close off this documentary, made by the man who single-handedly has done more for the rediscovery of Richard Lyford's early work than anyone else, composer-turned-filmmaker Ed Hartman, who's clearly enough not only a fan of Lyford's movies but also well-versed in the history of cinema as such, so as to remain objective enough in his treatment of the subject - and the result is just a fascinating documentary not to be missed by fans of (especially) 1930s cinema.

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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