The Time Machine (1978 film)

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The Time Machine
Weena
Based onThe Time Machine
1895 novel
by H.G. Wells
Written byWallace C. Bennett
Directed byHenning Schellerup
StarringJohn Beck
Priscilla Barnes
Whit Bissell
Rosemary DeCamp
Music byJohn Cacavas
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producerCharles E. Sellier Jr.
ProducerJames Simmons
CinematographyStephen W. Gray
EditorTrevor Jolly
Running time95 minutes
Production companySunn Classic Pictures
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseNovember 5, 1978 (1978-11-05)

The Time Machine is a 1978 American

November Sweeps on NBC
.

Plot

The film is a modernization of the Wells' story, making the Time Traveller a 1970s scientist working for a fictional US

defense contractor, "the Mega Corporation". Dr. Neil Perry, the Time Traveller, is described as one of Mega's most reliable contributors by his senior co-worker Branly. Perry's skill is demonstrated by his rapid reprogramming of an off-course satellite, averting a disaster that could have destroyed Los Angeles
. His reputation had secured a grant of $20 million for his time machine project. A month from completion, the corporation wants Perry to put his project on hold so that he can begin work on a new weapons project, the "anti-matter bomb." The unexpectedly early completion of the power module that Perry needed to complete the time machine permits him to test his creation the weekend before he is set to begin work on the anti-matter bomb.

Perry time travels twice over the course of the weekend, and reports to Haverson, Branley, and J.R. Worthington, chairman of the board of Mega Corporation. As Perry tells the story of his travels, reversed

California Gold Rush, where he is shot at by miners who thinks that he is trying to steal their gold shipment and is arrested. Perry's ingenuity and the distraction of a bank robbery
allow him to escape.

When Perry returns to his lab in the present, he receives a chilling report of the environmental impact of Mega Corporation's latest weapons. Perry then travels into the future to supply proof for the report's projections and convince Haverson that Mega's current agenda will lead to global devastation. Perry witnesses the fiery destruction of civilization, but also the re-emergence of nature from the wasteland. During the devastation humanity retreated underground. Eventually some decided to return to the surface. Those who did so became the

Weena, who explains how the Eloi-Morlock world came to be. A special museum
of technology, showcasing weapons from Perry's era, includes Perry's name on a card identifying a weapon he designed. A video and audio presentation in the museum reveals that Perry's new assignment at Mega Corporation will be directly responsible for the world's destruction. Before he returns to his own time, Perry and Ariel, the male Eloi, use plastic explosives found in the museum to seal off the Morlocks' three entrances to the Eloi habitat.

Perry gives his report to Haverson and Worthington, and discovers they are uninterested in saving the world from destruction. Instead, they are interested in using the time machine to gain a military advantage over other world powers. Perry leaves them and returns to Weena and the Eloi, who are now free of the Morlocks.

Cast

Critical response

Film critic David Sindelar defends the film against the accusation that it departs entirely from the novel. He states that the film's anti-war message was done better and more subtly by the George Pal film. Sindelar pokes fun at Perry's adventures in colonial America and the California Gold Rush and feels the Eloi appear and act too much like contemporary American young people.[1]

Shooting locations

The Collier & Heins Financial Consultants building complex in Salt Lake City, Utah was used for some of the modern era scenes. James Collier was president of the company in the late 1970s, and his office was used as Haverson's office. The Morlock scenes were shot in Park City, Utah - in at least the Silver King Mine[2] - and around other mines.[3] Parts of the film were also shot in Kamas, Utah[4] and also inside the Timpanogos Caves in American Fork, Utah (Section VII of article cited, Per #49).[5]

Cast note

John Zaremba and Whit Bissell were cast regulars in The Time Tunnel, regularly working together on the tunnel set. Bissell also appeared in the 1960 film adaptation of H.G. Wells' novel.

References

  1. ^ The Time Machine (1978)
  2. ^ "Movies on Main". Park City Museum. 2020-11-04. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
  3. ^ "Time machine TV movie from 70's - Time Machine, The (1960, 1978, 2002) [original and re-adaptations] Forums". Forums.sciflicks.com. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
  4. ISBN 9781423605874
    .
  5. ^ NPS.gov, Mailing Address: 2038 W. Alpine Loop Road American; Us, UT 84003 Phone:756-5239 Contact. "Heart of the Mountain - Timpanogos Cave National Monument (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2023-09-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

External links

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