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Time After Time (1979)

PG  |   |  Adventure, Drama, Romance  |  31 August 1979 (USA)
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Ratings: 7.2/10 from 10,714 users  
Reviews: 102 user | 61 critic

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.

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
...
Amy
Charles Cioffi ...
Lt. Mitchell
Kent Williams ...
Assistant
Andonia Katsaros ...
Mrs. Turner
...
Shirley
James Garrett ...
Edwards
Keith McConnell ...
Harding
...
Richardson
Byron Webster ...
McKay
...
Jenny (as Karin Mary Shea)
Geraldine Baron ...
Carol
Laurie Main ...
...
Adams
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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 ... Written by Huggo

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

A chase through time -- to catch Jack the Ripper! See more »


Certificate:

PG | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

31 August 1979 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Flucht in die Zukunft  »

Company Credits

Production Co:

,  »
Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Color:

(Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

When John visits Shirley's apartment, a poster from the Stephen Sondheim musical "Follies" can be seen. Stephen Sondheim had contributed an original song ("I Never Do Anything Twice") to The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976), Nicholas Meyer's previous film. See more »

Goofs

Before John Leslie Stevenson (Jack the Ripper) asks H.G. Wells for the return key for the time machine and attacks him, he locks the door to the Hotel room. A maid knocks on the door and then opens it saying, "Room service." The door should have still been locked. See more »

Quotes

[Jack the Ripper uses the Time Machine to travel to 1979]
H.G. Wells: What... have... I... done? I've turned that bloody maniac loose upon Utopia!
See more »

Connections

References The Exorcist (1973) See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

A classic Nicholas Meyer battle of wits
10 July 2003 | by (Lowell, MA) – See all my reviews

"Time after Time" is a clever battle of wits between Jack the Ripper, who has used H.G. Wells' time machine to escape to the year 1979, and H.G. Wells, who steps into the machine to get to 1979 too, and chase after the Ripper. (This kind of brain-to-brain combat between two very special people is a theme that Nicholas Meyer will return to in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.")

Particularly interesting is how Jack the Ripper, an evil serial killer, finds himself completely at home in the year 1979, while H.G. Wells, with his idealistic dreams of a perfectible society, is completely out of place in our modern era.

Malcolm McDowell is believable yet comical as the intellectual Wells, almost bird-like in his quick, darting movements. David Warner is adequate as Jack the Ripper, but you don't get enough of a feeling of the Ripper's insanity and evil. Mary Steenburgen, as Wells' newfound love interest in 1979, acts well enough, but she delivers some of her lines unconvincingly.

The lush Miklos Rosza score is a treat.

Worth seeing.


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