The Time Machine (1960)

Director:

George Pal

Writers:

David Duncan (screenplay)
H.G. Wells (novel)

Release Date:

17 August 1960 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Romance | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

You Will Orbit into the Fantastic Future!

Plot:

A Victorian Englishman travels to the far future and finds that humanity has divided into two hostile species.

Plot Keywords:

Future | Time Machine | River | Air Raid | Stop Motion Animation

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Rod Taylor	...	H. George Wells
Alan Young	...	David Filby / James Filby
Yvette Mimieux	...	Weena
Sebastian Cabot	...	Dr. Philip Hillyer
Tom Helmore	...	Anthony Bridewell
Whit Bissell	...	Walter Kemp
Doris Lloyd	...	Mrs. Watchett

Also Known As:

H.G. Wells' The Time Machine (UK) (complete title) (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

103 min | Australia:89 min (video version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (35 mm optical prints) | 4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System) (35 mm magnetic prints)

Certification:

Norway:16 (1960) | Iceland:12 | USA:G (re-rating) (1972) | Netherlands:AL | Australia:G (alternate rating) | Australia:PG (original rating) | Canada:PG | Finland:K-12 | Germany:12 | Norway:11 | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Culver City, California, USA

Company:

George Pal Productions

Trivia:

This was the last film to be shown on New York station WNBC-TV's (Channel 4) afternoon movie showcase, "Movie 4", on 26 April 1974.

Goofs:

Continuity: When George is arriving in the future land of the Eloi, we see the Pyramid rising behind his left shoulder. The time machine is originally facing the street and Filby's store, so the Pyramid would be in the space occupied by George's house. However, after returning from the future from inside the Pyramid, the time machine lands in the garden. George then drags the time machine back into his laboratory so that "he may return to Weena standing outside the Pyramid". This would not be necessary because the space of the garden is actually further away from the Pyramid than the laboratory.

Quotes:

Filby: Which three books would you have taken?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Challenge of the SuperFriends: Conquerors of the Future (#1.11)" (1978)

Journey into the far future and danger

I first saw The Time Machine when I was young and is one of my favourite sci-fi movies.

An inventor, George develops a machine that can travel through time and he shows the model version of this to his friends to prove it. Despite it disappearing, they don't believe him. He then starts time travelling and first stops off during World War One, then briefly World War Two and then arrives in 1966 and discovers a nuclear war in progress (which never happened of cause). After the nuclear bombs have dropped, causing a volcanic eruption, he travels to the far future where he ends up in the world of the Eloi and the Morlocks, cannibalistic mutations. After meeting Weena and falling in love with her, George helps to defeat the Morlocks and then returns to his own time. After saying goodbye to his friends, he returns to the far future.

This has great special effects and a good music score.

The excellent cast includes Rod Taylor (The Birds), Yvette Mimieux as Weena, Alan Young, Sebastian Cabot, Tom Helmore, sci-fi regular Whit Bissell (Creature From the Black Lagoon, I Was A Teenage Frankenstein) and Doris Lloyd as housekeeper Mrs Watchett. Taylor and Mimieux were to be reunited in 1968's Dark of the Sun.

The Time Machine is a must see movie for all movie fans. Fantastic.

Rating: 5 stars out of 5.