Time After Time (1979)
A sandy-haired, mustachioed Malcolm McDowell is none other than H.G. Wells in this clunky, often painful gem of a bad movie. Mr. Wells is throwing a dinner party for smug Victorian know-it-alls, but his good friend Dr. Stevenson (played by David Warner) is running late. Turns out his buddy couldn’t resist murdering a prostitute on his way because, yes, he’s actually Jack the Ripper. When the police come calling, Stevenson, (who left a knife dripping with blood in his doctor’s bag, you know, like you do sometimes) disappears. Slow-on-the-uptake Wells finally realizes that Stevenson has stolen his time machine. Because...it’s real? Really? Yeah!! That’s right. Long story short, Wells follows Stevenson to our time, which in this case means 1979...um, America? Painful, eye-watering, embarrassing 1979, yes, America. While Stevenson evidently blends in like nobody’s business, (giving audiences the treat of a very fashion-forward David Warner rockin’ those 70s styles), Wells needs all the help he can get from bank teller/love interest Amy (Mary Steenburger) before his bumbling reaches terminal levels.
Will they be able to stop Stevenson, maybe, just maybe with that special little piece of the time machine that is mentioned over and over and over again? Will your head explode worrying about a myriad of little details the movie presents before quickly distracting you with something shiny? Will all that polyester make your skin break out in a sympathetic rash? In any case, I’d love to see this movie riffed because it’s got a charm despite itself which riffing could only enhance. My favorite riffs you guys have done are always the kind where the jokes are more than just survival, where the characters get a kind of second life that in turn makes a slightly different story worth watching more than once. If that makes any sense! It’s also got some wonderfully bad special effects, really dumb gags, long chase scenes and MALCOM MCDOWELL IN A MUSTACHE FOR PETE’S SAKE! Ahem. Anyway, I had a lot of fun watching this movie recently (and for the first time) and think you could have a blast, too.
Imdb entry:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080025/
Trailer:
Pics:
https://goo.gl/images/bdA6J1
https://goo.gl/images/utfF4d
https://goo.gl/images/uzsuHG
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tsarstepan commented
In the same year that Starcrash was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Foreign Feature, I suspect this multiple Saturn nominee hassn't age very well.
I can imagine it Riffs very well.