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, Mary Steenburgen, David Warner

7 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Malcolm McDowell	...	H.G. Wells
David Warner	...	Dr. John Leslie Stevenson aka Jack the Ripper
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 Collison	...	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 | time travel | bank | culture clash | altering history | 

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Taglines:

The Wildest Chase of the Century!

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

The H.G. Wells novel "The Time Machine" was meant as a cautionary tale of social commentary. In the story, the time traveler discovers a world where the English class system has created two different sets of humans. The beautiful upper-world people are childlike with low IQs, while the workers live underground and have become cannibalistic savages. The novel prescribes socialism as the cure.

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Goofs

When Wells returns to the basement to find time machine gone, he turns on the light, which comes on instantly, but the basement lights up gradually.

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Quotes

[as Wells and Amy are kissing on Amy's couch, she begins to remove pieces of his clothing - first taking off his glasses, then unfastening his collar]
H.G. Wells: Amy, I don't want to compromise you. Are you quite certain I'm not forcing you to...
Amy Robbins: Forcing me? My God, Herbert, I'm practically raping you.
H.G. Wells: [smiles] Yeah, that's true.

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Connections

Referenced in Traceroute (2016)

User Reviews

Timely and Credible

Looking like a nerdy Richard Thomas, Malcolm McDowell plays H.G. Wells in this highly imaginative sci-fi thriller, that has Wells fast forwarded from 1893 to 1979, in a quest to find Jack the Ripper. The film's screenplay, direction, cinematography, editing, and costumes are all top notch. And Mary Steenburgen gives a fine performance in a support role.

"Time After Time" has an ever so slight comic book, tongue in cheek, feel to the plot, suggestive of Batman and Robin. Yet, right behind this entertaining, if somewhat superficial, facade is a serious message that is both timely and credible: no matter how much society advances in its technology, our world will always have two things ... violence and love.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 September 1979 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Time After Time

Filming Locations:

Trocadero Transfer, 520 Fourth Street, San Francisco, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Orion Pictures, Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1