Idaho Transfer (1973)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Peter Fonda

Writers:

Thomas Matthiesen (story)
Thomas Matthiesen (screenplay)

Release Date:

15 June 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Adventure | Drama

Tagline:

"Can the future be saved by the ideals of the past?"

Plot:

A crew of young researchers escape into the future to avoid the shutdown of their project. They find...

Plot Keywords:

Future | Exploration | Murder | Government Interference | Experimental Photography

Cast

Kelly Bohanon	...	Karen Braden
Kevin Hearst	...	Ronald
Caroline Hildebrand	...	Isa Braden
Keith Carradine	...	Arthur
Dale Hopkins	...	Leslie
Fred Seagraves	...	Dr. Lewis
Ted D'Arms	...	George Braden
Joe Newman	...	Cleve
Susan Kelly	...	Nurse Nora
Meredith Hull	...	Jennifer
Roy B. Ayers	...	Elgin (as Roy Ayers)
Judy Motulsky	...	Judy (as Judy Motolsky)
Kim Casper	...	Anne
Debbie Scott	...	Joanna
Devin Burke	...	Michael

Also Known As:

Deranged (UK) (video title)

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Craters of the Moon National Monument - Highway 20, near, Arco, Idaho, USA

Company:

Kathleen Film Prod. Co.

Trivia:

A long strip of red Dymo tape runs across the transfer control box. At one point late in the film, the camera gets close enough that part of it is legible. It says: "...LASSES,RINGS,WATCHES,BRACELETS, ETC USE MAT..." This apparently refers to the compartment box in the transfer station in which all metal objects must be placed.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Karen returns to the camp to find everyone dead, in the establishing shot, her face is caked with dirt, but in subsequent close-ups, and all other shots, her face is clean.

Quotes:

Karen Braden: Ronald, I have something to tell you.
Ronald: Really?

Movie Connections:

References Frankenstein (1931)

A cross between a mess and a masterpiece!

"Idaho Transfer" takes an extraordinary premise and places it in a nonchalant story line. Almost everything seems pedestrian and laid-back, as if time travel could be as common and ordinary as hopping on the log flume at Six Flags. The dialogue is so "wild" and "far out" that one can feel one's self transported back to 1973 (the year Peter Fonda directed this cult classic) -- I could sense my hair follicles growing longer as I watched the film. Yet, this is a movie about people traveling into the future.

"Idaho Transfer" is riveting because it is filled with unpredictable and unexpected moments. It is a cross between an idiotic mess and a brilliant masterpiece (a veritable vision). Personally, I thought it was one of the most realistic time travel flicks I have seen. I give it high praise for bringing believability to the time travel concept. The time machine itself was designed by scientists and created in a realistic-looking laboratory environment. Traveling through time in said machine was not "smooth sailing" -- there were bugs in the machinery (it was the '73 Chevy Nova of time machines), but bugs there SHOULD be in such a complex machine! Fascinating is the quick transformation from advanced civilization to the primal lava/desert future. Intense was the ending, with a final few minutes so much more exciting and interesting than the ending to a low budget flick has a right to be. The final scene brings the whole idiotic mess/brilliant vision together in a way that nobody could possibly expect. Then, just when you wonder if the ending is one of the stupidest you've ever seen to a film, you give it a second thought and realize -- "Hey, what a 'wild' and 'far out' ending! We've not come too far since caveman days, and we've not too far to go to get to the point where we will think that 1973 was prehistoric times." Maybe we are already at that point?

When I sat myself down to watch "Idaho Transfer" my expectations were very low -- I expected to be left with an empty feeling. This film far exceeded my expectations and was literally fueled with dynamism right up to the bitter end.