In the year 2015, we brought to your attention The Strange Case of the Cosmic Rays, a captivating 1957 educational science film that has largely been forgotten. What makes this production stand out is the fact that it was directed by the influential filmmaker, Frank Capra, a three-time Oscar winner for best director. Additionally, the film featured puppets modeled after literary giants like Fyodor Dostoevsky, Charles Dickens, and Edgar Allan Poe. Still not convinced? Watch the film here.
However, today’s spotlight is on another gem from Capra’s collection – “The Unchained Goddess,” one of the four films he created for “The Bell Laboratory Science Series.” This film delves into the intricacies of weather phenomena and also addresses the looming threat of man-made climate change as early as 1958.
One of the narrators in the film makes a startling statement:
“Even now, man may be unwittingly changing the world’s climate through the waste products of its civilization. Due to our releases in factories and automobiles every year of more than six billion tons of carbon dioxide, which helps the air absorb heat from the sun, our atmosphere may be getting warmer.”
The dialogue continues with a warning about the consequences of a few degrees rise in Earth’s temperature, highlighting the potential melting of polar ice caps and the subsequent flooding of regions like the Mississippi Valley and Miami.
What’s even more intriguing is the fact that Frank Capra, known for his conservative views, co-wrote the script for this enlightening film. Despite his political leanings, Capra, who studied chemical engineering at Caltech, believed in the importance of scientific research long before it became a divisive issue.
You can watch the pivotal climate change scene from “The Unchained Goddess” above and view the full film below. It has also been included in our vast collection of over 4,000 Free Movies Online, featuring great classics, indies, noirs, westerns, documentaries, and more.
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