The Time Travelers (1964)

In 1964, a group of scientists create a portal that takes them to a barren, mutant inhabited, Earth in the year 2071.

Director:

Ib Melchior

Writers:

Ib Melchior (screenplay), Ib Melchior (story)

Stars:

Preston Foster, Philip Carey, Merry Anders

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Preston Foster	...	Dr. Erik von Steiner
Philip Carey	...	Steve Connors
Merry Anders	...	Carol White
John Hoyt	...	Varno
Dennis Patrick	...	Councilman Willard
Joan Woodbury	...	Gadra
Delores Wells	...	Reena
Steve Franken	...	Danny McKee
Berry Kroeger	...	Preston
Gloria Leslie	...	Councilwoman
Molly Glessing	...	Android
Peter Strudwick	...	The Mutant
J. Edward McKinley	...	Raymond
Margaret Seldeen	...	Miss Hollister
Forrest J. Ackerman	...	Square-frame technician

Storyline

In 1964, a team of scientists is trying to develop a view screen into the future. What they in fact get is a portal and they soon find themselves on the other side, 107 years into the future in the year 2071, when the portal collapses. The Earth of the future is barren and they are soon attacked by mutated humans but rescued by a group of scientists who are building a spaceship to take them to a new planet. They learn that much of Earth was destroyed as the result of a nuclear war. When it's determined that the visitors from the past cannot be included in the planned voyage, they work furiously to rebuild the portal and return to their own time before departure day. Meanwhile, always under the threat of attack from the mutants , friendships are formed and they learn of life in the future including the use of robots for menial tasks.

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Plot Keywords:

mutant | year 2071 | post thermonuclear war | nuclear explosion | hydroponics | 

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Taglines:

You are in the Future before it happens!

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Genres:

Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 October 1964 (USA)

Also Known As:

Depths of the Unknown

Filming Locations:

Alpha Omega Studios - 821 Glendale Avenue, Glendale, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$250,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cal Cine, Dobil Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Pathécolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Production started in 1963, with the working title Time Trap. Ib Melchior's story line couldn't withstand the meager budget. Later reviewers regarded the production as secondary. "In spite of the low budget, this still looks pretty good thanks to intelligent use of the resources available. The portal the scientists create, as Danny discovers, is more than a mere window on the coming years, because they can actually walk through it and pass through the decades to exist in the future."

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Goofs

When the characters return to their lab they find they are unable to move any matter. Yet the characters are still able to move and breathe. If they were actually unable to affect any matter, as they clearly establish and go to lengths to explain, the air would not move out of the way when they walked nor would it move in/out of their lungs.

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Quotes

Dr. Varno: We have been constantly surveying every possible planetary body in our solar system. Every planet. Every one of their moons. Even some of the smaller asteroids, but... This is the last; Titan, one of Saturn's largest atmosphere-carrying moons.
Dr. Erik von Steiner: Robot surveyors?
Dr. Varno: Yes.
Dr. Erik von Steiner: You don't seem encouraged.
Dr. Varno: The analysis shows a complete negative response. I'd expected it.
Dr. Erik von Steiner: But you still maintain surveillance. Why?
Dr. Varno: Information, Dr. Von Steiner. Knowledge. We feel we can never have enough of that in the new world...

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Connections

Remade as Journey to the Center of Time (1967)

User Reviews

Highly imaginative time travel saga from the Sixties

Three scientists and the inevitable everyday Joe are catapulted over a hundred years into the future by a lab accident, into a post-apocalyptic nightmare in which atomic war has devastated the planet. Pursued by a band of savage mutants, they're rescued by the last few humans, a small group of scientists and technicians engaged in a race against time to construct a starship and get away before the more numerous mutants can break through their defenses.

None of these elements is particularly new to the genre, but writer/director Ib Melchior manages to combine them into a fairly entertaining and occasionally original piece of "upper low-budget" sf cinema. This isn't to say that the pace doesn't occasionally lag a bit toward the middle, with some sequences feeling like they were inserted just to pad out the running time. (Like a totally unnecessary scene devoted to what's supposed to be a demonstration of their futuristic "matter transmitter", which is clearly just a stage magician's prop.)

Mostly, though, there's scarcely a moment wasted in exposition or character development, as the story barrels along to its truly unique conclusion.

Set design, miniatures, costuming and makeup -- particularly the androids -- are surprisingly good, for its budget. The optical effects are sparse but imaginative. Though it's early in his distinguished career, having Vilmos Zsigmond behind the camera also contributes considerably to making this a much more polished and expensive-looking production than you'd normally expect to see from American International.