The time machine ( 1960 film ) - wikipedia The time machine ( 1960 film ) The Time Machine Theatrical release half - sheet display poster by Reynold Brown Directed by George Pal Produced by George Pal Screenplay by David Duncan Based on The Time Machine by H.G. Wells Starring Rod Taylor Alan Young Yvette Mimieux Sebastian Cabot Whit Bissell Narrated by Rod Taylor Music by Russell Garcia Cinematography Paul Vogel Edited by George Tomasini Production company Metro - Goldwyn - Mayer Galaxy Films Distributed by Loew 's Release date July 22, 1960 ( 1960 - 07 - 22 ) ( Chicago ) Running time 103 minutes Country United States Language English Budget $829,000 or $872,000 Box office $2.61 million The Time Machine ( also known promotionally as H.G. Wells ' The Time Machine ) is a 1960 American science fiction film in Metrocolor from Metro - Goldwyn - Mayer, produced and directed by George Pal, that stars Rod Taylor, Yvette Mimieux, and Alan Young. The film was based on the 1895 novella of the same name by H.G. Wells that was influential on the development of science fiction. An inventor in Victorian England constructs a machine that enables him to travel into the distant future ; once there, he discovers that mankind 's descendants have divided into two species, the passive, childlike, and vegetarian Eloi and the underground - dwelling Morlocks, who feed on the Eloi. George Pal, who had made the first film version of Wells ' The War of the Worlds ( 1953 ), always intended to make a sequel to The Time Machine, but he died before it could be produced ; the end of Time Machine : The Journey Back functions as a sequel of sorts. In 1985 elements of this film were incorporated into the documentary The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal. The Time Machine received an Oscar for its time - lapse photographic effects, which show the world changing rapidly as the time traveler journeys into the future. Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Home media releases 5 Soundtrack 6 Critical reception 7 Box office 8 Awards and honors 9 Comic book adaption 10 1993 sequel / documentary 11 See also 12 References 12.1 Bibliography 13 External links Plot On January 5, 1900, four friends arrive for a dinner at the London home of their inventor friend George, but he is not there. Suddenly, he arrives, bedraggled and exhausted, and begins to describe the strange experiences he has had since the group last met. At their earlier dinner on New Year 's Eve, George described time as `` the fourth dimension '' to David Filby, Dr. Philip Hillyer, Anthony Bridewell, and Walter Kemp. He shows them a small model time machine and asks a guest to press a tiny lever. The device disappears, validating his claim, but his friends remain unconvinced ; their reactions vary from curiosity to frank dismissal. George bids his guests a good evening, then heads downstairs where his full - size time machine awaits. He presses a lever and moves forward through time 17 years into the future to September 15, 1917. He meets Filby 's son, James, who tells him of Filby 's death in a war. Saddened, he resumes his journey, stopping on June 19, 1940 during The Blitz, finding himself in the midst of `` a new war '' ; George resumes his journey and his house is hit by a bomb and is destroyed. George stops in August 20, 1966 finding his neighborhood now part of a futuristic metropolis. People are hurrying into a nearby fallout shelter amid the blare of air raid sirens. An elderly James Filby urges George to immediately take cover. Moments later, a nuclear explosion destroys London, causing a volcanic eruption around him. George narrowly makes it back to his machine and continues his journey forward as the lava rapidly cools and hardens, trapping him inside. He travels much farther into the future until the rock eventually erodes away, revealing a lush, green, unspoiled landscape. When George stops once again it is October 12, 802,701 and he is near the base of a towering sphinx. He goes exploring and finds a group of delicate young men and women with simple clothing gathered at a stream. One woman, carried off by the current, screams for help but none of her companions show any concern. George rescues her and is surprised when, revived, she walks away without a word ; George eats with them and tries to get information from them, but with no luck. One of the Eloi take George to a bookshelf and when George tries to read one of the books, it crumbles into dust. Later, the same girl George rescued seeks him out and gives him a flower. She says her name is Weena and tells George her people are called the Eloi. The Eloi do not operate machines, work, or read, and know little of mankind 's history. That night, George discovers that his machine has been taken into the sphinx. Weena follows, telling him `` Morlocks '', who only come out at night, have moved it. A Morlock jumps out from behind bushes and tries to drag her away, but its light - sensitive eyes are blinded by George 's fire torch. Weena has never seen fire before and nearly burns herself trying to touch the flame. The next day, Weena shows George domed, well - like structures that dot the landscape : air shafts that double as access to the Morlock underworld. She takes him to an ancient museum where `` talking rings '' tell of a war in the distant past which lasted 326 years. A reduced population fought for survival on a poisoned Earth ; many decided to live underground in permanent settlements, while some returned to the surface. George realizes this was the beginning of speciation for the Morlocks and the Eloi. He starts to climb down a shaft, but stops when sirens blare from atop the sphinx. He finds Weena gone and crowds of Eloi in a trance - like state, entering open doors at its base. The sirens stop and the doors close. George enters the Morlocks ' subterranean caverns and is horrified to see that the Eloi are the free range livestock for the Morlocks ; the Morlocks are cannibals. Finding Weena, he begins fighting the Morlocks. His efforts inspire others to defend themselves. George sets fires and urges the Eloi to climb to the surface with him. He directs them to gather dry tree branches and drop them down the shafts. The fire 's intensity increases and the subterranean cavern collapses. The next morning, George finds the sphinx in charred ruins and its doors open. His time machine is inside. He enters, the doors close, and George is attacked in the dark by Morlocks. George activates his time machine, travels into the future, and sees the dead Morlocks decay into bones. He then travels back to 1900, coming to rest on the lawn outside his home, where his journeys began. As the bedraggled George recounts his story, his friends are again skeptical. He produces Weena 's flower and Filby, an amateur botanist, says that he can not match it with any species known in the 19th century. George bids his guests a good evening. Filby steps out but returns to find George and his time machine now gone. There are drag marks which indicate that George wanted the time machine to be positioned outside the sphinx when he returned to the future. The housekeeper notes that nothing is missing except three books that she could not identify. When the housekeeper wonders if George will ever return, Filby observes that he could not say but that `` he ( George ) has all the time in the world ''. Cast Rod Taylor as H. George Wells Alan Young as David Filby / James Filby Yvette Mimieux as Weena Sebastian Cabot as Dr. Philip Hillyer Tom Helmore as Anthony Bridewell Whit Bissell as Walter Kemp Doris Lloyd as Mrs. Watchett Paul Frees as voice of the Rings ( uncredited ) Production George Pal was already known for his pioneering work with stop - motion animation, having been nominated almost yearly for an Oscar during the 1940s. Unable to sell Hollywood on the concept of the film, he found MGM 's British studio ( where he had filmed Tom Thumb ) open to his proposal. The name of the film 's main character ( alluded to in dialogue only as `` George '' ) connects him both with George Pal and with the story 's original science fiction writer H.G. ( George ) Wells. The name `` H. George Wells '' can be seen on a brass plaque on the time machine. Pal originally considered casting a middle - aged British actor like David Niven or James Mason as George. He later changed his mind and selected the younger Australian actor Rod Taylor to give the character a more athletic, idealistic dimension. It was Taylor 's first lead role in a feature film. MGM art director Bill Ferrari designed the time machine. Recognized today as a classic film property, Ferrari 's machine suggested a sled made up of a large clockwork rotating disk. The disk rotated at various speeds to indicate movement through time, evoking both a spinning clock and a solar disk. In a meta - concept touch, a brass plate on the time machine 's instrument display panel identified its inventor as `` H. George Wells '', though the Time Traveler is only, otherwise, referred to as `` George '' in the film. The charm of a fantastic technology ( time travel ), wrapped in the archaic guise of brass, rivets, Art nouveau arabesques, and crystal mechanisms, was one of influences on the later emergence of the steampunk genre. With a budget of under $1 million, the film could not be shot in London, where the plot sets the story. Thus, the live - action scenes were filmed from May 25 to June 30, 1959, in Culver City, California, with the backgrounds often filled in by virtue of matte paintings & models. Some of the costumes and set were re-used from Forbidden Planet ( 1956 ) such as the nuclear war air raid officer uniform which was the C - 57 - D crew uniform and the large acrylic sphere in the talking rings room, a prop from the C - 57 - D 's control bridge. Home Media releases Released multiple times on Beta and VHS video cassette, Capacitance Electronic Disc ( CED ), and both letterboxed and open matte LaserDisc, the film was released on DVD in October 2000 and on Blu - ray Disc in July 2014 from Warner Home Video. Soundtrack An original score CD was released in 1987. The track listing is as follows : CD cover Main Title / Credits London 1900 ( Filby 's Theme ) Time Machine Model The Time Machine Quick Trip Into The Future All The Time In The World Beautiful Forest / The Great Hall Fear Weena ( Love Theme ) Rescue Reminiscing Morlocks End Title ( Reprise ) Fight With The Morlocks Time Traveler Escape Prayer / Off Again Trapped In The Future Love And Time Return End Title Atlantis, The Lost Continent ( Overture ) : Main Title / Credits / Love Theme / Night Scene / Submarine / End Title Critical reception Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote a mixed review, praising the `` familiar polish and burnish '' of the production values but finding that `` the drama, for all its invention, is creaky and a bit passé. ( Apparently there has still been no contact with other planets in 800,000 A.D. ) And the mood, while delicately wistful, is not so flippant or droll as it might be in a fiction as fanciful and flighty as this one natually is ''. A generally positive review in Variety praised the special effects as `` fascinating '' and wrote that `` Rod Taylor definitely establishes himself as one of the premium young talents on today 's screen '', but faulted the pacing of the film, finding that `` things slow down to a walk '' once the protagonist arrives in the far distant future. Harrison 's Reports called the film `` an excellent science - fiction melodrama... jammed full of suspense, action and out - of - this - world special effects '', although the review lamented a lack of comic relief. Whitney Balliett of The New Yorker wrote in a negative review that the film `` converts this good simple - minded material into bad simple - minded material '', by including such Hollywood touches as a love interest. He was also unimpressed by the production values, writing that the model sets `` do n't touch the lowest - price Lionel train ''. Richard L. Coe of The Washington Post wrote that with the exception of the `` gooey '' love interest, `` the tale is an engrossing one, boasting adroit camera tricks by Paul C. Vogel and an exceptionally easy, likable performance of the Times Traveler by Taylor. The youngsters will like this, and their elders will be kept wide awake ''. The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote that the film was `` at its best in the scenes where George explores his new surroundings at each time stop '', but found the acting `` inadequate : Rod Taylor lacks both intellect and period sense, belonging more to an American science fiction world, and Weena is just a doll. Nevertheless, Pal 's visual flair and genuine feeling for his fantasy world help to maintain an entertaining surface for most of the time ''. The film has a score of 77 %, with an average score of 6.9, at the film review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with 27 out of 35 critics giving the film a positive review. Box office According to MGM records, the film earned $1,610,000 in the United States and Canada and $1 million elsewhere, turning a profit of $245,000. The film had admissions of 363,915 in France. Awards and honors Academy Award for Best Effects, Special Effects winner ( 1961 ) - Gene Warren and Tim Baar Hugo Award nomination ( 1961 ) Comic book adaption Dell Four Color # 1085 ( March 1960 ) 1993 sequel / documentary In 1993 a combination sequel - documentary short, Time Machine : The Journey Back, directed by Clyde Lucas, was produced. In its third section, Michael J. Fox talks about his experience with the DeLorean sports car time machine from Back to the Future. In the short 's final section, written by screenwriter David Duncan, Rod Taylor, Alan Young, and Whit Bissell reprise their roles from the original 1960 film. See also The Time Machine, a 2002 remake directed by Simon Wells and an uncredited Gore Verbinski, and starring Guy Pearce in the Taylor role. Time After Time, a 1979 science - fiction film in which H.G. Wells ( played by Malcolm McDowell ) travels to modern - day San Francisco in his time machine in pursuit of Jack the Ripper. `` The Nerdvana Annihilation '', the 14th episode of The Big Bang Theory, in which the characters purchase for $800 the film 's time machine at an online auction site only to discover when it arrives that it is not a scale model but a full - size, operating prop reproduction ; Morlocks later haunt Sheldon 's dreams of time - traveling to the far future. Quantum Leap episode `` Future Boy '' has a character who builds a time machine very similar to that used in Pal 's film. References ^ Jump up to : `` The Time Machine ( 1960 ) ''. AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved May 22, 2018. Jump up ^ `` The Time Machine - Details ''. AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved July 6, 2018. ^ Jump up to : The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles : Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study. Jump up ^ Scheuer, Philip K. ( 8 June 1970 ). `` Patience Key to Pal Success ''. Los Angeles Times. p. e19. ^ Jump up to : Hughes, Howard ( 2014 ). Outer Limits : The Filmgoers ' Guide to the Great Science - Fiction Films. I.B. Tauris. p. 69. Jump up ^ Vagg, Stephen ( 2010 ). Rod Taylor : An Aussie in Hollywood. Bear Manor Media. p. 64. Jump up ^ Crowther, Bosley ( August 18, 1960 ). `` Screen : Glimpse of Life in 800,000 A.D. ''. The New York Times : 19. Jump up ^ `` The Time Machine ''. Variety : 6. July 20, 1960. Jump up ^ `` ' The Time Machine ' with Rod Taylor, Alan Young, Yvette Mimieux and Sebastian Cabot ''. Harrison 's Reports : 118. July 23, 1960. Jump up ^ Balliett, Whitney ( August 27, 1960 ). `` The Current Cinema ''. The New Yorker : 54, 56. Jump up ^ Coe, Richard L. ( September 14, 1960 ). `` ' Time Machine ' With Tail Fins ''. The Washington Post : C10. Jump up ^ `` The Time Machine ''. The Monthly Film Bulletin. 27 ( 320 ) : 127. September 1960. Jump up ^ `` The Time Machine ''. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 6, 2018. Jump up ^ French box office for 1961 at Box Office Story Jump up ^ `` Dell Four Color # 1085 ''. Grand Comics Database. Jump up ^ Dell Four Color # 1085 at the Comic Book DB Bibliography Hickman, Gail Morgan. The Films of George Pal. South Brunswick, New Jersey : A.S. Barnes and Company, Inc., 1977. ISBN 978 - 0 - 49801 - 960 - 9. Warren, Bill. Keep Watching the Skies : American Science Fiction Films of the Fifties, 21st Century Edition. Jefferson, North Carolina : McFarland & Company, 2009 ( First Edition 1982 ). ISBN 0 - 89950 - 032 - 3. External links Wikiquote has quotations related to : The Time Machine ( 1960 film ) The Time Machine on IMDb The Time Machine at the TCM Movie Database The Time Machine at AllMovie The Time Machine at Rotten Tomatoes The Time Machine at the American Film Institute Catalog List of American films of 1960 `` Time Machine The Journey Back Official Website '' Colemanzone.com : A tribute to the classic 1960 MGM movie The Time Machine The Time Machine - synopsis of film scenes Turner Classic Movies description Script ( scifimoviepage.com ) Cinematographic analysis of The Time Machine Streaming audio The Time Machine on Favorite Story : May 28, 1949 The Time Machine on Escape : October 27, 1950 Films directed by George Pal Short films Philips Cavalcade ( 1939 ) Tulips Shall Grow ( 1942 ) Jasper and the Haunted House ( 1942 ) Jasper Goes Hunting ( 1944 ) Jasper in a Jam ( 1946 ) John Henry and the Inky - Poo ( 1946 ) Tubby the Tuba ( 1947 ) Feature films Tom Thumb ( 1958 ) The Time Machine ( 1960 ) Atlantis, the Lost Continent ( 1961 ) The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm ( 1962 ) 7 Faces of Dr. Lao ( 1964 ) Works by H.G. Wells Novels The Time Machine ( 1895 ) The Wonderful Visit ( 1895 ) The Island of Doctor Moreau ( 1896 ) The Wheels of Chance ( 1896 ) The Invisible Man ( 1897 ) The War of the Worlds ( 1898 ) When the Sleeper Wakes ( 1899 ) Love and Mr Lewisham ( 1900 ) The First Men in the Moon ( 1901 ) The Sea Lady ( 1902 ) The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth ( 1904 ) Kipps ( 1905 ) A Modern Utopia ( 1905 ) In the Days of the Comet ( 1906 ) The War in the Air ( 1908 ) Tono - Bungay ( 1909 ) Ann Veronica ( 1909 ) The History of Mr Polly ( 1910 ) The Sleeper Awakes ( 1910 ) The New Machiavelli ( 1911 ) Marriage ( 1912 ) The Passionate Friends ( 1913 ) The Wife of Sir Isaac Harman ( 1914 ) The World Set Free ( 1914 ) Bealby : A Holiday ( 1915 ) Boon ( 1915 ) The Research Magnificent ( 1915 ) Mr Britling Sees It Through ( 1916 ) The Soul of a Bishop ( 1917 ) Joan and Peter : The Story of an Education ( 1918 ) The Undying Fire ( 1919 ) The Secret Places of the Heart ( 1922 ) Men Like Gods ( 1923 ) The Dream ( 1924 ) Christina Alberta 's Father ( 1925 ) The World of William Clissold ( 1926 ) Meanwhile ( 1927 ) Mr. Blettsworthy on Rampole Island ( 1928 ) The Autocracy of Mr. Parham ( 1930 ) The Bulpington of Blup ( 1932 ) The Shape of Things to Come ( 1933 ) The Croquet Player ( 1936 ) Brynhild ( 1937 ) Star Begotten ( 1937 ) The Camford Visitation ( 1937 ) Apropos of Dolores ( 1938 ) The Brothers ( 1938 ) The Holy Terror ( 1939 ) Babes in the Darkling Wood ( 1940 ) All Aboard for Ararat ( 1940 ) You Ca n't Be Too Careful ( 1941 ) Nonfiction Anticipations Certain Personal Matters Crux Ansata The Discovery of the Future An Englishman Looks at the World ( U.S. title : Social Forces in England and America ) Experiment in Autobiography The Fate of Man First and Last Things Floor Games The Future in America : A Search After Realities God the Invisible King Great Ghost Stories ( 1998 ) In the Fourth Year Little Wars Mankind in the Making Mind at the End of Its Tether Mr. Belloc Objects to `` The Outline of History '' The New America : The New World The New World Order New Worlds for Old The Open Conspiracy The Outline of History Russia in the Shadows The Science of Life A Short History of the World The Story of a Great Schoolmaster This Misery of Boots Travels of a Republican Radical in Search of Hot Water War and the Future ( North America : Italy, France and Britain at War ) The Way the World is Going The Work, Wealth and Happiness of Mankind World Brain A Year of Prophesying Collections The Country of the Blind and Other Stories The Plattner Story and Others Select Conversations with an Uncle The Stolen Bacillus and Other Incidents Tales of Space and Time Twelve Stories and a Dream Short stories `` Æpyornis Island '' `` The Argonauts of the Air '' `` The Beautiful Suit '' `` The Chronic Argonauts '' `` The Cone '' `` The Country of the Blind '' `` The Crystal Egg '' `` A Deal in Ostriches '' `` The Diamond Maker '' `` A Dream of Armageddon '' `` The Empire of the Ants '' `` In the Abyss '' `` The Land Ironclads '' `` Mr. Ledbetter 's Vacation '' `` The Lord of the Dynamos '' `` The Man Who Could Work Miracles '' `` The New Accelerator '' `` The Pearl of Love '' `` The Queer Story of Brownlow 's Newspaper '' `` The Red Room '' `` The Sea Raiders '' `` The Star '' `` The Stolen Body '' `` A Story of the Days to Come '' `` A Story of the Stone Age '' `` Triumphs of a Taxidermist '' `` The Truth About Pyecraft '' `` A Vision of Judgment '' Screenplays Things to Come The Man Who Could Work Miracles H.G. Wells ' The Time Machine ( 1895 ) Characters Weena Film The Time Machine ( 1960 ) The Time Machine ( 1978 ) Time After Time ( 1979 ) The Time Machine ( 2002 ) Other media Escape ( radio program ) The Rook ( comic book series ) Time After Time ( TV series ) Sequels by others The Space Machine ( 1976 ) Morlock Night ( 1979 ) Time After Time ( 1979 ) The Time Ships ( 1995 ) Related works `` The Grey Man '' `` The Chronic Argonauts '' Related articles Eloi Morlock Time Machine : The Journey Back `` Allan and the Sundered Veil '' Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Time_Machine_(1960_film)&oldid=855951227 '' Categories : 1960 films English - language films 1960s science fiction films American films American science fantasy films American science fiction films Apocalyptic films Dystopian films Cultural depictions of H.G. Wells Films based on science fiction novels Films based on works by H.G. Wells Films adapted into comics Films set in the 1900s Films set in 1899 Films set in 1900 Films set in 1917 Films set in 1940 Films set in 1966 Films set in the future Films that won the Best Visual Effects Academy Award Science fiction adventure films The Time Machine Time travel films Metro - Goldwyn - Mayer films Films directed by George Pal Hidden categories : All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from February 2016 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikiquote বাংলা Català Deutsch Español Euskara فارسی Français Italiano Lëtzebuergesch Bahasa Melayu Nederlands 日本 語 Polski Português Română Русский Slovenščina Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Svenska Türkçe Українська 中文 14 more Edit links This page was last edited on 21 August 2018, at 22 : 46 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. 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Question: when did the movie the time machine come out
Answer: July 22, 1960