Earthbound (1940 film)
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Irving Pichel |
| Produced by | Sol M. Wurtzel |
| Written by |
John Howard Lawson Samuel G. Engel |
| Based on | Earthbound by Basil King |
| Starring |
Warner Baxter Andrea Leeds Lynn Bari |
| Music by | Alfred Newman |
| Cinematography | Lucien Andriot |
| Edited by |
Louis Loeffler Nick DeMaggio |
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Release date
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Running time
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67 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Earthbound is a 1940 film directed by Irving Pichel. It stars Warner Baxter and Andrea Leeds. It is a remake of the 1920 silent film of the same name, Earthbound. Critical reception to the film was generally negative.
Nick (Warner Baxter) and Ellen (Andrea Leeds) are celebrating their fifth wedding anniversary by going mountain climbing in Switzerland when Nick receives a telegram asking him to go back to Paris to assist friend Jeffrey Reynolds (Henry Wilcoxon) in setting up a new laboratory. After telling Ellen that he will return in a couple of days, he goes. On the train, Nick encounters an elderly stranger named Whimser (Charley Grapewin) who warns him that he will not live much longer. In Paris, Nick goes to the laboratory, where he discovers that it was Linda Reynolds (Lynn Bari), Jeff's wife, who sent the telegram, as the two are in a secret relationship and Linda has decided to leave her husband for Nick. Nick tells Linda he wishes to end their affair because he loves his wife Ellen, not Linda.
That night, Linda visits Nick's apartment and confronts him again. When Nick sees that Jeff also has arrived at the apartment, Nick sends Linda to his study to hide from Jeff. Jeff tells Nick that Linda has deserted him, and asks Nick to help him regain her love. He also tells Nick that he needs some more money for his laboratory. When Nick goes to his study to write a cheque for Jeff, Linda appears with a gun. Nick struggles over the gun, which fires, shooting him dead. Jeff finds Linda and takes her away, and Nick becomes a ghost. As a ghost, Nick goes to his own funeral, where Whimser appears again and tells him that his ghost is in an "earthbound" state and will remain in that state until he corrects his misdoings. Later, Jeff is taken to court, charged with Nick's death. In court, an elevator operator named Almette (Christian Rub) testifies about seeing Nick and Linda together, prompting Ellen to try to defend her husband. Jeff then fabricates a confession, saying that he killed Nick by accident after Nick refused to give him the money for his laboratory.
Jeff, now in prison, is visited by Ellen, who informs him was aware of the affair and requests he stop protecting his wife. As Ellen leaves, Nick and Whimser follow her to a cafe, where Ellen and Linda have a talk. Ellen learns that Linda intends to run away to America. Linda discovers that Ellen knows she was the one that murdered Nick. Nick talks to Ellen, and requests that she go to his apartment and find the gun. She locates it and returns to Linda's apartment; however, Linda has left for the train. They manage to get to her train, where Ellen confronts her. Linda admits that she killed Nick after Nick tried to end their affair. She also tells Ellen that it was because he admitted that he was only in love with his wife. When Nick's ghost leaves the "earthbound" state, he returns to the park, where he can rest in peace.
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