Timestalkers (1987)

Scott McKenzie, a history professor, becomes involved with two time travelers from the year 2586 after making a discovery in an old photograph from 1886.

Director:

Michael Schultz

Writers:

Brian Clemens (teleplay), Ray Brown (story)

Stars:

William Devane, Lauren Hutton, John Ratzenberger

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
William Devane	...	Scott McKenzie
Lauren Hutton	...	Georgia Crawford
John Ratzenberger	...	General Joe Brodsky
Forrest Tucker	...	Texas John Cody
Klaus Kinski	...	Dr. Joseph Cole
Tracey Walter	...	Sam
James Avery	...	Blacksmith
R.D. Call	...	Bart
John Considine	...	Doctor Crawford / Matthew Crawford
Danny Pintauro	...	Billy McKenzie
Gail Youngs	...	Laurie McKenzie
Patrik Baldauff	...	Callan
Ritch Brinkley	...	Barman
J. Michael Flynn	...	Michael
A.J. Freeman	...	Grover Cleveland

Storyline

Scott, a history professor, becomes involved with two time travellers from the year 2586 after making a discovery in an old photograph. One of the time travellers is determined to change the course of history, the other to stop him. Scott's fascination with the Old West comes in handy when they all return to 1886.

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Plot Keywords:

time traveller | year 2586 | history professor | old photograph | professor | 

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Taglines:

From the Wild West to the 26th century... a chase through the past to the future!

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller | Western

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 March 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Time Stalkers

Filming Locations:

3491 Tapo Street, Simi Valley, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Newland/Raynor Productions Inc., Fries Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono Mono (Ryder Sound Services)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The final TV project of Forrest Tucker.

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Goofs

When looking up the song about the Star Handled Stranger, Dr McKenzie and his colleague comment that not many people could read back in those days (the late 19th century). In fact, literacy rates for white Americans were very high in the mid and late 19th century. At the time of the Civil War, somewhere around 90% of white men could read and write. Literacy rates on the frontier a generation later would have likely been somewhat lower but literacy for whites would have been the rule, not the exception.

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Connections

Featured in Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003)

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Soundtracks

The Star-Handled Stranger
Music by Craig Safan
Lyrics by Brian Clemens

User Reviews

More than just a hobby.

Time travelling with a gun slinging Klaus Kinski and western memorabilia nut William Devane? I won't have it any other way. "Timestalkers" is a playfully modest little made-for-TV production that's full of warmth and covers an interestingly ambitious concept.

The story follows Professor Scott McKenzie (William Devane), an old western memorabilia collector discovers in a photograph from 1866 a 20th century .357 Magnum revolver in the hands of a cowboy (Klaus Kinski). Scott soon starts questioning the possibility of time-travel and writes a paper on it. Then strangely a lady appears who claims that she believes him and he soon discovers that she's a time-traveller too. She wants him help her find out why this time-traveller has gone back to the old-west and eventually stop him from changing the face of history.

Early on the plot moves back and forth between the past and present. Some of the items that Devane's character looks at or purchases at an auction have a history that involves the magnum-toting gunman. Some foreseeable plot-holes creep in, but it's inventively told and works well with its collective gimmicks. The chintzy special effects create some charm, and so does the cheesy igniting sparks cutaways. The uncanny music is whimsically scored. There's a nice sense of humour in the script. Devane gives a winning performance and Kinski's glazed turn offers that venomously cold tinge. Lauren Hutton is fetchingly palatable. John Ratzenburger and Forest Tucker pop in with fun support parts. It looks cheap, but it's actually better than its limitations allow it to be. A smart, enjoyably harmless sci-fi yarn.