Personally, I'm not an Objectivist nor a Randian; but I've always enjoyed Ayn Rand's novels. She captured human psychology in a brilliant way. And as long time readers also know, I like classic films. In fact, we used to do a weekly review of vintage films and TV series and we're considering bringing it back, BTW.
How these two subjects connect is here. Ayn Rand worked in Hollywood during its glory days. On January 1st, 1930 the first full-sound serial was released by a small production studio called the Hollywood Pictures Corporation. The serial was titled The Voice from the Sky. For many years, the serial was believed lost, and some film historians questioned whether or not it even ever existed. It had a very limited run and didn't serve all parts of the U.S.
However, the serial was recently rediscovered and at last report was in the process of restoration. After seeing a few clips and reading a synopsis of the story, I theorized that The Voice from the Sky was the inspiration for Atlas Shrugged.
Basically the plot of The Voice from the Sky was this: a mad scientist operating out of a secret base in a hidden valley develops a transmitter which overrides the world's radio signals and issues an ultimatum. He claims to possess a type of ray which can shut down all the motors of the world and grind industry to a halt. Secret Agent Jack Deering is dispatched to ferret out the base before the madman delivers on his threat. There is also an interesting character in disguise called The Man From Nowhere (c.f. 'Who is John Galt?) who weaves in and out of the film.
So what do the Randians among our readers think? There certainly are a lot of parallels between the serial and Ayn Rand's epic. Feel free to write your thoughts in the comments.
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