I can remember the first time I saw the movie THE TIME TRAVELERS. The movie aired on TV in Cleveland on the Ghoulardi show, the late night Friday horror host. The images from the movie as well as the inserted scenes of the host into the film left an impression on me. In later years I’d forgotten the movie but eventually found out what it was and saw it again. Now it’s being released on blu-ray by Kino Lorber.
The movie is about a group of scientists trying to create a machine that will allow them to take a glimpse at the future through a large screen. Dr. Erik von Steiner (Preston Foster), Dr. Steve Connors (Philip Carey), and Carol White (Merry Anders) are working hard on the project when technician Danny McKee (Steve Franken) comes in from the power plant to let them know the project has been canceled and he needs to shut everything down. Letting them take one more crack at it they succeed but not quite what they had hoped for.
Instead of a screen viewing they future they’ve created a portal that they can step through. Danny goes in first as the others keep the screen stabilized. When they see a group heading out after him, they follow through. With no one at the controls the screen closes and the four are trapped in the future with a group of mutated humans chasing them. Taking refuge in a cave the mutants stop. Why? Because this is an entrance into an underground city where the normal humans remain.
Meeting Dr. Varno (John Hoyt) they learn it’s the year 2071 and the Earth can no longer support human life. What they experienced outside was what was left of most humankind. Those that were unaffected have built this location for themselves and protect it. But with food and more dwindling the outsiders are more insistent on getting in. Varno and the other scientists are working on a spaceship that will take them to another planet. To handle things on the ship while they are in suspended animation, they’ve created androids to take care of them.
The four agree to help but it isn’t long before they realize that there is no room for them on the ship. With only days left they begin working to recreate the screen that brought them here. Will they make it? If they do will they be able to help prevent nuclear holocaust? And what about the spaceship or the mutants?
Made in 1964 on a small budget the movie packs a punch for every dollar that went into it. This is a classic science fiction tale that fit right into the genre of the time. That should be expected because the director and writer of the film was Ib Melchior. Melchior was an author of science fiction novels as well as screenwriter for some of the best in the genre like JOURNEY TO THE SEVENTH PLANET and ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS. His own story is fascinating as well. Melchior was served in the counterintelligence corps during WWII going so far as to win a Bronze Star for his efforts. Film fans will remember him more for his movies though.
The acting in this film is far better than one would expect from a movie made for such a small budget. Carey had been featured in a number of TV series and ended up playing Asa Buchanan on the soap opera ONE LIFE TO LIVE. Foster, Anders and Franken all had long careers in in various television series. And Hoyt was one of those actors you’d see and say “I recognize that guy from something”.
The effects while mild by today’s standards were also well done. The big screen, the underworld city, the androids, the spaceship all matched some of the best coming from these genre films at the time. The work to make a believable story and film.
The quality of the upgrade to blu-ray here by Kino is top notch. They’ve made the movie look as good if not better than when it was originally released. I was surprised to learn while watching the film that the cinematography was done by Vilmos Zsigmond who later went on to do CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND and THE DEER HUNTER. While this film offers nothing as spectacular as those you can tell it was above most films of this sort.
The big question though is does the
movie stand the test of time? Is it entertaining? Is it worth watching? I’d
have to give that an emphatic yes. I was stunned at how much I enjoyed it after
all these years. So much so that I know I’d have no trouble watching it again.
If you like science fiction and especially those movies in the genre made in
the 50s and 60s, this one is worth picking up.
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