Time After Time (1979)

H.G. Wells pursues Jack the Ripper to the 20th Century when the serial murderer uses the future writer's time machine to escape his time period.

Director:

Nicholas Meyer

Writers:

Karl Alexander (story), Steve Hayes (story),

Stars:

Malcolm McDowell, David Warner, Mary Steenburgen

6 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Malcolm McDowell	...	H.G. Wells
David Warner	...	Stevenson
Mary Steenburgen	...	Amy
Charles Cioffi	...	Lt. Mitchell
Kent Williams	...	Assistant
Andonia Katsaros	...	Mrs. Turner
Patti D'Arbanville	...	Shirley
James Garrett	...	Edwards
Keith McConnell	...	Harding
Leo Lewis	...	Richardson
Byron Webster	...	McKay
Karin de la Penha	...	Jenny (as Karin Mary Shea)
Geraldine Baron	...	Carol
Laurie Main	...	Inspector Gregson
Joseph Maher	...	Adams

Storyline

It's 1893 London. Futurist H.G. Wells believes that the future holds a Utopian society. He also believes in time travel. He has just built a time machine which he is displaying to a group of skeptical friends, including surgeon Dr. John Leslie Stevenson. Unbeknown to Wells or anyone else among that circle, Stevenson is better known to the public as Jack the Ripper. Just as the police are about to capture Stevenson, he uses the time machine to escape, with Wells being the only one who knows what happened to him. Not telling anyone except his trusting housekeeper, Wells follows Stevenson in order to capture and bring him back to face justice. Where Stevenson has gone is 1979 San Francisco. There, Wells is dismayed to find that the future is not Utopia as he had predicted. But Wells is also picked up by a young woman named Amy Robbins. As Wells and Amy search for Stevenson, Stevenson conversely is after Wells to obtain the master key to the time machine. As Stevenson continues his ...

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Plot Keywords:

time machine | h.g. wells | jack the ripper | friend | bank | 

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Taglines:

The Wildest Chase of the Century!

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Romance | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 August 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tidsjakten

Filming Locations:

1800 Block of Union Street, Cow Hollow, San Francisco, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Orion Pictures Corporation, Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Wells's landlady is named "Mrs. Turner." Sherlock Holmes refers to his landlady as "Mrs. Turner" once (in "A Scandal in Bohemia") even though her name is "Mrs. Hudson" in all the other stories. Nicholas Meyer, a Holmes aficionado and author of three well-known Holmes pastiches, is familiar with this inconsistency in the Holmes canon (he even mentions it at one point in his DVD commentary on Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan) and apparently included it as an inside joke, along with the several other Holmes references in the film.

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Goofs

During the scene where H.G. Wells is in McDonald's and sits down to eat the food he comments: "Pomme frites...fries are pomme frites." However, it is clear Malcolm McDowell says the British term "chips" which is later dubbed to "fries" in post production.

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Quotes

H.G. Wells: The first man to raise a fist is the man who's run out of ideas.
Amy Robbins: I love you.

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Connections

References What's Up, Doc? (1972)

User Reviews

A film to be watched as its title thus dictates ..........

I have watched this film many tens of times because I am amazed by its construction and try to find ( unsuccessfully ) flaws in its time logic. The first time I saw it, I was in a state of unhealthy tension during the last half hour, wandering whether they were going to get out of it alive. David Warner was a good actor for the baddie as he has that evil glint in his eye. I learnt many years after that the two protagonists, McDowell & Steenburgen actually got married in real life after making the film. This didn't surprise me at all, I could tell by watching the film, no matter how good their acting was that they were really, really in love. So when I learn't later that they were married, this confirmed what I had sensed on watching the film. The plot is well made, and although fictional is quite logical and everything fits together at the end. The way Jack the Ripper finds himself " in his own element " by zapping through the Tv channels and finding violence on almost every one is also quite impressive. There are also some hilarious moments during the first half, when Mc Dowell walked in to a McDonalds hamburger shop starts feeling the counter and then mechanically orders the same " burger and fries " as the person before him. His experience with a motor car was also very amusing. To summarize, one of my favourite films which I watch over and over again, time after time so to speak and about which I have only one question : why on earth cannot it be found on DVD ??????????