Time After Time (1979)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Nicholas Meyer

Writers:

Karl Alexander (novel) &
Steve Hayes (story) ...

Release Date:

31 August 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller | Romance | Drama

Tagline:

H.G. Wells Races Through Time To Catch Jack The Ripper!

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Time Machine | Jack The Ripper | Bank | Writer | Bank Clerk

Awards:

5 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Malcolm McDowell	...	H. G. Wells
David Warner	...	Jack the Ripper - John Leslie Stevenson
Mary Steenburgen	...	Amy Robbins
Charles Cioffi	...	Police Lt. Mitchell
Kent Williams	...	Assistant
Andonia Katsaros	...	Mrs. Turner
Patti D'Arbanville	...	Shirley
James Garrett	...	Edwards
Leo Lewis	...	Richardson
Keith McConnell	...	Harding
Byron Webster	...	McKay
Karin de la Penha	...	Jenny (as Karin Mary Shea)
Geraldine Baron	...	Carol
Laurie Main	...	Inspector Gregson
Joseph Maher	...	Adams

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | West Germany:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 (re-rating) | Norway:16 (original rating) | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Orion Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

When Wells gives a false name to the police, he uses "Sherlock Holmes". And one of the police officers is named Inspector Gregson, a character from the original Sherlock Holmes stories. Also, director Nicholas Meyer wrote The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976), which is considered to be one of the best Sherlock Holmes story not written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Goofs:

Continuity: The cab goes up and down California Street and Nob Hill twice.

Quotes:

Jack the Ripper: Ninety years ago I was a freak. Today I'm an amateur.

Movie Connections:

References The Red Shoes (1948)

A Fascinating Time Trip

"Time After Time" is an interesting movie. It has the legendary H.G. Wells chasing Jack the Ripper through time, from London in 1893 to San Francisco in 1979. Wells is played by Malcolm McDowell, as a young idealistic visionary and scientific genius, who looks upon the future as Utopia. (How many movies can you remember where McDowell was the good guy?) Jack the Ripper is played by David Warner, who exudes something cold and frightening as the infamous killer. While the future hardly turns out to be Wells' imagined Utopia, Jack embraces the prevalent violence of the 20th century. In "From Hell," Jack the Ripper said he had invented the 20th century. "Time After Time" gives that statement a kind of significance. The movie may not offer much to the many theories surrounding the Jack the Ripper mystery, but it's still enjoyable.