Rod Taylor Warps to the Past and Future via The Time Machine

 

              Bringing sci-fi movies into the 1960s with verve and distinction, MGM’s class 1960 production of The Time Machine faithfully transfers the imaginative 1895 H.G. Wells novella to the screen with a vivid sense of time and place, whether it be 1900 when the story begins, or any other period the inventive hero H. George Wells traverses to during the film’s exciting 103 minutes. Directed and produced with the care and creativity that made him a master of the genre, George Pal adapts the smart, involving screenplay by David Duncan with a skill and precision that allows a viewer to suspend disbelief and be completely drawn into the fantastic premise, while showcasing the wonderful special effects, including a terrific model of the title vessel designed by Bill Ferrari and built by Wah Chang, with atmospheric panache. Top lensing by cinematographer Paul C. Vogel, ace editing by George Tomasini and a riveting score by Russell Garcia further enhance the film’s quality, along with a first-rate cast featuring the virile, handsome Rod Taylor, Alan Young, Sebastian Cabot and the awesomely named newcomer Yvette Mimieux, whom under Pal’s supervision bring more conviction and charisma than normally found in movies of a similarly surrealistic ilk.

                Pal, after assuring his place in sci-fi history as producer of early top cinematic efforts, including 1950’s Destination Moon, When Worlds Collide and War of the Worlds, moved into a role as director/producer starting with 1958’s fanciful Tom Thumb before helming the project perfectly suited to talents Pal had been honing since his initial days in the 1930s and 1940s as the creative force behind his patented Puppetoons (aka Pal-Doll) animation technique, for which Pal won a special Oscar in 1944. In detailing the series of incredible misadventures George finds himself in as he moves back and ahead in time, Pal appears to relish the opportunity to put startling Wells-inspired imagery on film, specifically once the intrepid inventor goes for broke and moves far ahead into the future, to find a civilization unlike any other seen before in movies, with Pal picturesquely depicting an idyllic environ wherein the simple Eloi race, a kind of forerunner to the flower children movement and “Summer of Love” found later in the 1960s, coexist in harmony,  save for the underground Morlocks, who rise at night to wreak havoc on the Eloi people. After his resounding accomplishment with Time, Pal would continue in the Sci-fi/fantasy realm with 1961’s Atlantis, the Lost Continent, experimenting with the massive Cinerama filming technique for 1962’s The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, then do his final film as producer/director, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao. In the ultimate tribute, Pal found himself being immortalized (along with When Worlds Collide) in the opening of 1975’s The Rocky Horror Picture Show before his 1980 passing.

                For star Rod Taylor, Time would mark the Australian’s entry into leading man roles, after debuting on screen in his native land in 1954’s King of the Coral Sea, then establishing himself in Hollywood as a young actor of considerable merit via such significant productions as Giant, particularly appealing as Debbie Reynold’s fiancé in The Catered Affair, Raintree County and Separate Tables, as well as his first excursion into the sci-fi realm, 1956’s World Without End. As George, Taylor lends conviction and a low-key affable touch to the film, allowing an audience to quickly get on the adventurer’s side and willingly go along for the wild ride with George as he unorthodoxly plunges through time. Taylor does a great job of bringing focus and purpose to his playing, while also maintaining a genial tone at times to prevent the character from becoming too heavy or stiff, making George one of the most relatable heroes found in sci-fi films. Post-Time, Taylor made a major career mis-step by turning down the role of James Bond he could have been a great fit for, but quickly rebounded by bringing humor and magnetism to possibly his most widely-known role as the hero fighting off the pesky title figures in Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds. The handsome, adept Taylor would become a fixture as a robust, reliable star presence for the rest of his career, specifically during the 1960s, wherein he found success in such various projects as the voice of Pongo in Disney’s One Hundred and One Dalmatians, having a great 1963 with, in addition to The Birds, playing opposite Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in 1963’s The V.I.P.s and an extremely attractive pairing with Jane Fonda in the underrated romantic comedy Sunday in New York, then giving perhaps his most effective performance as the complex title character in 1965’s Young Cassidy, and again lending his sly, calm, confident comic gifts as Doris Day’s romantic leading man in Do Not Disturb and The Glass-Bottom Boat. After this richly rewarding 1960’s heyday onscreen, Taylor would alternate between films and television in often less-substantial work, but end his career on a terrific high note, playing Winston Churchill with elan and a twinkle in his eye in Quentin Tarantino’s exciting 2009 action-adventure Inglourious Basterds, before his death in 2015 at age 84.

                The lovely Yvette Mimieux gained her place among Hollywood’s top ingenues with her touching work as the childlike Weena, whom George meets after the title figure takes him to the year 802,701. Although inexperienced as a performer prior to her big breakthrough in Time, Mimieux possesses a perfect faraway, otherworldly screen presence and an intuitive, subtle acting style well-suited for the camera’s knowing gaze, allowing one to identify with Weena as a believable naïve figure, and feel protective towards her and George as they face underworld adversaries in the grotesque form of the Morlock race. Following her success in Time, Mimieux would solidify her place as a top young talent of depth and sensitivity with her emotionally compelling work in another 1960 hit, Where the Boys Are, then in 1962’s A Light in the Piazza, wherein she is endearingly teamed with George Hamilton, at his most charming, and sporting a fine Italian accent. Mimieux would continue as a leading lady in films and television for the next few decades, including reteaming with Pal for Brothers Grimm and with Charlton Heston in the hit melodrama Diamond Head, followed by 1970’s offerings such as Skyjacked, Jackson Country Jail and her last high-profile movie project in (fittingly) another opulent sci-fi opus, Disney’s 1979 The Black Hole, then focused on television (The Love Boat, Perry Mason) before early retirement from the screen in 1992, passing at age 80 in 2022.

                Alan Young, in between his great success on television via his Emmy-winning self-titled show from the early 1950s and the iconic Mr. Ed to follow just after Time, has possibly his best film role as David Filby, the supportive friend who is intrigued and befuddled by George’s fascination and experiments with time travel. Young gives depth, warmth and, when appropriate, a jovial air to his portrayal, while also sporting a convincing accent, and also expands his range by playing David’s son James, whom George meets twice during his journeys. Based on his work in Time, Young demonstrates acting chops worthy of a much richer film career, but Mr. Ed and ongoing television fame awaited instead. Another top t.v. name from the 1960s, Sebastian Cabot, makes a nice impression as one of George’s colleagues who is shown an example of what the invention can do in miniature form at the movie’s outset, before going on to major renown as the urbane Giles French on Family Affair. Others bringing persuasion to the story include Tom Helmore, a couple years after his duplicitous work in Vertigo, Doris Lloyd as George’s housekeeper, Mrs. Watchett and the inescapable presence of Whit Bissell, who seemingly appeared in every other movie during the period, and here shows up as part of the group George entertains with his new innovation.

Released in August of 1960, The Time Machine proved itself to be the perfect late-summertime diversion for audiences, including a wealth of baby boomers who would be the first to embrace the film as a childhood favorite, gaining subsequent generations of fans young and old from television airings and cinematic re-releases, with Time becoming a standard feature on the kiddie matinee circuit, wherein the thrilling tale and those creepy Morlocks kept adolescents in rap attention, including this author on several occasions. During awards season the Academy Awards came through, with Time winning the Best Special Effects award for Gene Warren and Tim Baar, thereby granting the movie warranted distinction as an Oscar-winning film. The lasting reputation of Time as a chief sci-fi classic has assured the movie a place in pop culture, with the imposing title creation cleverly turning up in 1984’s Gremlins and the story retold via a 2002 remake starring Guy Pearce (with a cameo by Young) that failed to capture the of the original. However, those looking for a transfixing, visionary sci-fi experience need only travel back to 1960 to discover the dazzling escapades awaiting them as they hop onboard George Pal’s singular production of The Time Machine.