Sky Splitter, The
Entry updated 6 July 2026. Tagged: Film.
US silent short film (1923). J R Bray Studios. Directed by Ashley Miller and John Norling. Presumably circa 10 minutes (a one-reel film). Black and white.
The Sky Splitter was a short film intended as a supporting feature. Its IMDb entry [see under links below] classifies it as of "Animation" as well as sf interest, presumably referring to the special effects for the Spaceship scenes. Contemporary sources include an article on the film in the February 1923 issue of Hugo Gernsback's Science and Invention (Vol X No.10, whole no. 118, p.953-953) written by Charles Frederick Carter and titled "Navigating Interstellar Space". There is also part of an advertisement for J R Bray Studio's one-reel films that includes The Sky Splitter, its summary reading: "the astounding adventure of the Scientist who outdistanced the speed of light itself! He travelled so fast and so far that he looked back on his own boyhood, and lived over again the events of fifty years ago!" (see Faster Than Light; Relativity; Time Viewer) and can be seen in the film's IMDb entry along with a relevant page from Moving Picture World (9 December 1922). The film itself does not appear to survive.
To summarize Carter: astronomer Professor Adam Cooley builds a "Projectocar" powered by "atomic force" (see Nuclear Energy; Power Sources) which is launched by running down a steep metal slide. Once in space he is overwhelmed, faints but recovers, and is soon passing Saturn (see Outer Planets); later, noticing an unfamiliar planet, he lands and is met by friendly locals (see Aliens). There are Communication problems, but Cooley uses their astronomical maps to indicate he is from Earth, then trains one of their powerful telescopes on our planet. He locates his home town, but realizes he is seeing it as it was 50 years ago, a consequence of travelling faster than light; he calculates the distance between the two planets is 293,994,584,070,194½ miles, about right for 50 light years. From what Carter says, Cooley now has to rush home to arrive in time for his daughter's wedding.
The Science and Invention article also has six stills from the film. It can be seen that, despite the name, the Projectocar is a familiar Spaceship shape, with a rounded front end and narrowing towards the rear, which includes engine-like structures; on entering an atmosphere, telescopic wings are extended (see Moving Picture World). Though the image in which they are shown is unclear, it seems an attempt was made to make the aliens look interesting: though humanoid, their attire is different and the actors appear to be wearing masks. Carter does not say whether Cooley actually sees his younger self through the telescope, but the Bray Studio advert suggests he does.
There had been earlier films about Space Flight within the Solar System (though usually flippant and not always by scientific means), but this might be the first to go beyond it. The focus of the film is on Faster Than Light travel and its consequences; Carter does not criticize the science, which – given the publication – suggests it is reasonably sound for the time; it seems fair to argue that The Sky Splitter was an important film in the history of sf Cinema, but with the qualification that our knowledge (apart from a few images), derives only from secondary sources. Film adverts have been known to mislead. [SP]
links
- Internet Movie Database
- Internet Movie Database – Advertisement for The Sky Splitter and other one-reel films, titled "Bray Romances and Bray Comedies in one reel"
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