Song of the Land
Cast & Crew
Henry S. Kesler
David Chudnow
Serge Dupré
Dr. William R. Fish
Ed N. Harrison
Guy Haselton
Film Details
Synopsis
This documentary depicts the cycle of constant renewal of a continent's land, an event that has occurred countless times in the earth's two billion year existence. A volcanic eruption devastates the land, leaving it stark and lifeless until rains and melting snows prompt the vegetation to grow again and birds to return. Winds and birds distribute seeds, which contribute to the rebirth of the land. Gradually, many species of mammals and birds reinhabit the land and live in relative peace for centuries until the approach of another cataclysmic event, heralded by submarine volcanic action, tidal waves and forest fires caused by lightning. Another volcanic eruption spews fumes, dust and lava onto the land and again it is left barren and abandoned, but the land will once more renew itself. The film illustrates its theme with footage of predominantly North American and Hawaiian flora and fauna. A significant ten-minute sequence is devoted to unique footage of the life cycle of the California Condor, an endangered species.
Director
Henry S. Kesler
Crew
David Chudnow
Serge Dupré
Dr. William R. Fish
Ed N. Harrison
Guy Haselton
F. Herrick Herrick
F. Herrick Herrick
Claude Jendrusch
Henry S. Kesler
Henry S. Kesler
J. R. Pemberton
Ted Phillips
Frances Roberts
Ormond B. Ruthven
Film Details
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The following written prolgue is included in the film's opening credits: "The picture you are about to see was 17 years in the making. Months of patient waiting in camouflaged blinds-weeks of trudging hidden trails, and climbing where no trails had ever been before. The story it tells might well be the story of 2 billion years." F. Herrick Herrick's onscreen credit reads: "Special photography, original story."
A Hollywood Reporter news item of March 3, 1953 reported that United Artists would be distributing Song of the Land, shot by nature photographers Ed N. Harrison and Frances Roberts. The item also reported that the film's cost was $200,000 and that negotiations were underway to have John Nesbitt do the narration. Other contemporary press releases stated that producer Henry S. Kesler, in collaboration with Harrison and Roberts, had culled footage from their extensive library of natural history subjects to create the new film. The footage was blown up from 16mm Kodachrome to 35mm Cinecolor for theatrical release. Song of the Land was reissued later in the 1950s as Thunder from the Skies
