Believing this is really from Richard Lyford, then an amateur in Washington state, I rate this an A- for effort.
The directing was ambitious but either it or the editing was lacking. Or both.
The special effects too often looked like something from Columbia.
The story was reminiscent of "Things To Come," perhaps, and had a similar premise to the much later "The Day the Earth Stool Still," and probably many other movies and books.
But whatever flaws might be noted, again I praise the effort.
Hundreds of miles away from Hollywood and its expertise and labs and stunt people, 20-year-old Richard Lyford created something pretty admirable. And he got enough attention for his body of work he was invited to Hollywood, worked for Disney, and earned an Academy Award.
I don't know why IMDb lists its date as 2019. That is bad mislabeling, very misleading. Yes, the finding and re-scoring are recent, but the creation was 1937 with the release in 1938.
TCM deserves our thanks for presenting this on Hallowe'en night of 2021, and I hope it will be shown again soon, and that there is enough advance notice everyone will get the chance to watch.