The Time Machine (1960)

Director:

George Pal

Writers:

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

Release Date:

17 August 1960 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Sci-Fi

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:

Post Apocalyptic | Corpse | Time Travel Romance | Alternate History | Explosion

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 (USA) (complete title)
Machine à explorer le temps, La (France) (France) (video title) [fr]
Zeitmaschine, Die (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
A Máquina do Tempo (Brazil) [pt]
Aikakone (Finland) [fi]
Rædselsrejsen (Denmark) [da]
Tidsmaskinen (Sweden) [sv]
Tiempo en sus manos, El (Spain) [es]
Uomo che visse nel futuro, L' (Italy) [it]
Vremeplov (Serbia) [sr]

Runtime:

103 min | Australia:89 min (video version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

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

Certification:

Iceland:12 | USA:Approved (original rating) | Norway:16 (1960) | USA:G (re-rating) (1972) | 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:

The "lava" in the volcano scene in downtown was actually oatmeal with orange and red food coloring spilled onto a platform and slowly moved down the miniature set.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the traveler rescues Weena from drowning, the current at the large rock is rushing and torrid but as he is pulling her to safety in the next shot on the other side of the same rock, the water is very calm.

Quotes:

Filby: Take your journey on your contraption. What would you become? A Greek, a Roman, one of the pharaohs?

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "The Big Bang Theory: The Nerdvana Annihilation (#1.14)" (2008)

It fired the imagination of a 10 year old boy for a lifetime

OK, so some people are intent on pointing out factual or historical inaccuracies. Some people ridicule the costumes and accents, but what's important is the spirit of the film. I sincerely doubt anyone made the same kind of comments back in 1960. It was a seminal film and must have inspired a generation of film makers. You don't need CGI to make a good film. It's all about the story and the ingenuity of having to make do with the things you've got to hand. This film exemplifies that attitude.

I first saw The Time Machine as a 10 year old in 1970 and was utterly captivated. The stop-motion photography was spell-binding to me; particularly when George kills one of the attacking Morlocks. The gory footage of the body decomposing will abide with me forever. More importantly, and for the first time in my life, I was completely swept away with the concept of time travel. This film was unlike anything I had ever seen before and sowed seeds of profound thought for many years after.

This film may not be for everyone, but it was for a certain 10 year-old boy all those years ago. How I wish I could go back and recapture those moments...