The Time Machine (1960) on Netflix
G19601h 43mAdventureFantasyRomanceSci-FiThriller
In 1900 London, the inventor George builds a machine that carries him forward through time. In the year 802,701 he meets the Eloi and rescues Weena from the river.
- Netflix3.8/5
- IMDb7.5/1047,807 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes77%
Trailer
Plot summary
On New Year's Eve in 1900, the inventor George tells his dinner guests David Filby, Dr. Philip Hillyer, Walter Kemp and Anthony Bridewell that time is a fourth dimension, and shows them a small model machine. When its lever is pressed the model disappears, and George says it has gone forward in time. The guests are skeptical. That night, in his laboratory, George boards a full-size machine and rides it forward, halting in 1917, 1940 and 1966. He goes on to October 12, 802,701, where the Eloi, a passive people in simple clothing, gather by a stream near a sphinx. George rescues Weena when the current carries her off and her companions do nothing.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Time Machine (1960)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- For shots of lava overrunning London streets onto a miniature replica set, the production used oatmeal as a stand-in; it had been cooked days earlier, sat out over a weekend in high heat, fermented, and released a foul stench when it was dumped.
- MGM turned Yvette Mimieux down for Weena even though George Pal wanted her, and Rod Taylor preferred Shirley Knight, but Pal insisted and a second screen test won her the part; she told Pal she was 18, though she was 17 when filming began.
- George Pal first considered casting a middle-aged British actor such as David Niven or James Mason as the time traveler, then chose the younger Australian Rod Taylor for a more athletic fighter in the Morlock scenes; it was Taylor's first lead role in a feature film.
- To keep costs down, the domed habitat of the Eloi was built with no ceiling at all, so natural sunlight could illuminate the set instead of expensive artificial lighting.
- Costumes and props were carried over from Forbidden Planet (1956): the Civil Defence air raid officer's uniform was the C-57-D crew uniform, and the big acrylic sphere in the talking rings room came from that ship's control bridge.
