Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
      • Playlists
    • Television
      • TV by Decade
        • TV – 1950s
        • TV – 1960s
        • TV – 1970s
        • TV – 1980s
        • TV – 1990s
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Kids TV
      • Variety
      • News & Sport
      • Advertisements
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • Music – 1950s
        • Music – 1960s
        • Music – 1970s
        • Music – 1980s
        • Music – 1990s
      • Artists – A to K
        • Artists – A
        • Artists – B
        • Artists – C
        • Artists – D
        • Artists – E
        • Artists – F
        • Artists – G
        • Artists – H
        • Artists – I
        • Artists – J
        • Artists – K
      • Artists – L to Z
        • Artists – L
        • Artists – M
        • Artists – N
        • Artists – O
        • Artists – P
        • Artists – Q
        • Artists – R
        • Artists – S
        • Artists – T
        • Artists – U
        • Artists – V
        • Artists – W
        • Artists – X
        • Artists – Y
        • Artists – Z
      • Artists – 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • Movies – 1950s
        • Movies – 1960s
        • Movies – 1970s
        • Movies – 1980s
        • Movies – 1990s
      • Movies – 0 to 9
      • Movies – A to K
        • Movies – A
        • Movies – B
        • Movies – C
        • Movies – D
        • Movies – E
        • Movies – F
        • Movies – G
        • Movies – H
        • Movies – I
        • Movies – J
        • Movies – K
      • Movies – L to Z
        • Movies – L
        • Movies – M
        • Movies – N
        • Movies – O
        • Movies – P
        • Movies – Q
        • Movies – R
        • Movies – S
        • Movies – T
        • Movies – U
        • Movies – V
        • Movies – W
        • Movies – X
        • Movies – Y
        • Movies – Z
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Movies»Movies by Decade»Movies - 1980s
    Movies - 1980s Movies - S 4 Mins Read

    Somewhere in Time (1980)

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    It’s 1980 and famous young Chicago playwright Richard Collier (Christopher Reeve) finds himself drawn to a 68-year-old photograph of a beautiful young actress whose career reached its zenith in 1912.

    The portrait hangs in the red-velvet ‘Hall of History’ in the Grand Hotel on Michigan’s Mackinac Island where he has sought respite from the pressures of trying to write a play that just won’t come.

    As Collier investigates the actress, whose name was Elise McKenna, at the local library, he recognises that, incredibly, she is the same stranger who approached him after the performance of one of his works back in 1972, pressed a gold pocket-watch into his hand and whispered: “Come back to me”.

    In the best romantic hero tradition, Collier (who is now convinced that he and a young Elise had a transplendent dalliance at this very Grand Hotel in 1912) vows to accomplish the impossible and travel through time to reclaim his lady love.

    He succeeds, of course – by dint of a poetic Little Engine That Could approach and sheer brainpower – and, presto, here he is wearing a foppish Edwardian suit and prowling about the hotel grounds like a euphoric sleepwalker.

    His initial encounter with the enchantress is suitably mystical; he comes upon her as she strolls by the shores of a nearby lake. Her first words – “Is it you?”

    Indeed it is, and although the two are plagued by the obligatory obstacles (including Elise’s latent suspicion of this fervent stranger), they arrange a rendezvous for one glorious hazy afternoon.

    They discover that they are Meant For Each Other™ and McKenna (Jane Seymour) injects an impassioned, impromptu declaration of love into that night’s performance at the hotel theatre – a speech that the audience accepts as part of her role – thereby incurring the wrath of her cold-hearted manager, William Fawcett Robinson (Christopher Plumber).

    The dastardly Robinson arranges to have Collier spirited away and imprisoned in a stable whilst he makes away with the fair Elise, who is scheduled to depart with her touring company.

    The lovers overcome that snafu (and others) and consummate the relationship in a soaring candlelit encounter informed by all the raunchiness one might expect from Mr and Mrs Donny Osmond . . .

    But prurience isn’t the point: even though there’s a post-coital picnic-on-the-carpet that echoes stronger stuff like the fig-eating scene in Women In Love, there is nary a bump or a grind to break the spell of this magnificent infatuation.

    The rending does occur though – as we know it will – and the moment when Collier is wrenched back to 1980 is absolutely piercing.

    The real miracle in all of this is that director Jeannot Szwarc – for the most part – managed to keep the film from descending into utter bathos. Only one or two scenes are real groaners, and – unfortunately – the very last shot is one of them.

    We see Collier ascending into some amorphous realm that looks like Warren Beatty’s version of the afterworld in Heaven Can Wait; before him is Elise, who looks just as she did in 1912. The two join hands and walk off into the clouds in a scene that resembles nothing so much as an animated greeting card.

    Reeve lends just the right combination of ardour and innocence to the character of Collier; he fairly trails clouds of glory as he carries out his improbable quest.

    And the endearing comic touches that distinguished his performance in Superman surface in this film as well – he aces several clumsily written scenes that could have been tinnily unfunny.

    Jane Seymour is alluring as Elise McKenna, but she somehow fails to convince us that she is a woman who has spent her career under the domination of a steely creep like William Robinson. Despite the soft period costumes, she has an air of assurance that seems oddly anachronistic.

    Somewhere In Time is a film to see when one is willing to suspend one’s disbelief and, most importantly, when one can corral a companion who is willing to do the same.

    Richard Collier
    Christopher Reeve
    Elise McKenna
    Jane Seymour
    William Fawcett Robinson
    Christopher Plummer
    Laura Roberts
    Teresa Wright
    Arthur Biehl
    Bill Erwin
    Dr Gerald Finney
    George Voskovec
    Older Elise
    Susan French
    Arthur’s Father
    John Alvin
    Genevieve
    Eddra Gale
    Richard’s Date
    Audrey Bennett
    Penelope
    Susan Bugg
    Beverly
    Christy Michaels
    Maude
    Victoria Michaels
    Rollo
    William P. O’Hagan
    Marie
    Maud Strand
    Arthur in 1912
    Sean Hayden
    Bones in 1912
    Bruce Jarchow
    Fisher in 1912
    Ed Meekin
    Miss Hammond in 1912
    Erin Tomcheff
    Diamond Jim in 1912
    Don Melvoin

    Director
    Jeannot Szwarc

    Related Posts

    • Skyward (1980)
      Skyward (1980)
      This made-for-TV movie was the first major behind-the-camera venture for Happy Days stars Anson Williams (writer and producer) and Ron…
    • Sword and the Sorcerer, The (1982)
      Sword and the Sorcerer, The (1982)
      Long, long, long ago - "at a time when the earth was young" - an awesome arch-villain named Titus Cromwell…
    • Sisters (1972)
      Sisters (1972)
      Arguably Brian De Palma's most bonkers thriller, Sisters is essentially two movies for the price of one. Depending on your experience watching…
    • Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
      Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
      Despite the return of Gene Hackman as the evil Lex Luthor, this creaky, tired third sequel sounded the final death…
    • Baby Boom (1987)
      Baby Boom (1987)
      Diane Keaton is JC Wiatt, the quintessential Ms. magazine career girl - married to her job, working twelve hours a day,…
    • Superman III (1983)
      Superman III (1983)
      Having thwarted Lex Luthor and three Kryptonian supervillains in Superman II (1981), the Man of Steel now battled his greatest foe yet:…
    • Summer Magic (1963)
      Summer Magic (1963)
      When recently-widowed Margaret Carey (Dorothy McGuire) gets into money trouble, her teenage daughter, Nancy (Hayley Mills), devises a plan to…
    • Author! Author! (1982)
      Author! Author! (1982)
      An ill-cast but effective Al Pacino is having a host of domestic troubles as playwright Ivan Travalian. His wife has…

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleTrancers (1984)
    Next Article Coast to Coast (1980)

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    You May Also Like
    • Lost In Space
      1 9 6 5 – 1 9 6 8 (USA) 83 x 50 minute episodes Lost in […]
    • Hamburger Hill (1987)
      On 10 May 1969, men of the 101st Airborne Division are ordered […]
    • Yakuza, The (1975)
      Retired detective and ex-serviceman, Harry Kilmer (Robert […]
    • New Model Army
      New Model Army formed in Bradford, Yorkshire, in 1980 and […]
    • Something Wild (1986)
      A seductive woman proceeds to turn a strait-laced […]
    • Extremities (1986)
      Is Extremities controversial or exploitative? There’s a […]
    Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons

    OUR LATEST FACEBOOK POSTS

    edition.cnn.com/2023/01/30/entertainment/cindy-williams-dead/index.html

    More sad news 😢
    ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    'Laverne & Shirley' star Cindy Williams dead at 75 | CNN

    edition.cnn.com

    Cindy Williams, the dynamic actress known best for playing the bubbly Shirley Feeney on the beloved sitcom "Laverne & Shirley," has died, according to a statement from her family, provided to CNN by a...
    19 hours ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 0
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64442824 ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    Television frontman Tom Verlaine dies at 73

    www.bbc.co.uk

    His band rose to fame in the 1970s New York punk scene, scoring UK hits including Marquee Moon.
    3 days ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 0
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64418847 ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    Mr Blobby costume sells for more than £62,000 on eBay

    www.bbc.co.uk

    The character, made famous by BBC show Noel's House Party, had been in storage since the 1990s.
    4 days ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 0
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    Put some beefiness into your mid-week menu with these recipe ideas published in a Birds Eye advertisement from the Radio Times on 30 September 1965.

    Put some "beefiness into your mid-week menu" with these recipe ideas published in a Birds Eye advertisement from the "Radio Times" on 30 September 1965. ... See MoreSee Less

    1 week ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 3
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 1

    Comment on Facebook

    They were awful. An overpowering savoury flavour that lingered in your mouth for hours. Heaven knows what unmentionable parts of a bull went into making them 😳

    More sad news 😪

    ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    US rock legend David Crosby dies aged 81

    www.bbc.co.uk

    Crosby, who co-founded both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills and Nash, had been ill for some time.
    2 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 0
    • Shares: 1
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    This is what they promised us when I was a kid. What happened? 

All I have is 700 channels of rubbish on the TV in High Def, TikTok, Facebook and a phone I can take photographs with . . .

    This is what they promised us when I was a kid. What happened?

    All I have is 700 channels of rubbish on the TV in High Def, TikTok, Facebook and a phone I can take photographs with . . .
    ... See MoreSee Less

    2 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 54
    • Shares: 22
    • Comments: 7

    Comment on Facebook

    I thought we would have moving pavements by now when I was a kid 😂

    Totally agree!!!

    The new Tesla, 4.6 next century.

    We got transvestite story hour instead

    We appear to be going backwards

    There's actually a very good David Graeber essay on this very topic: thebaffler.com/salvos/of-flying-cars-and-the-declining-rate-of-profit

    The Jetsons strike again.

    View more comments

    Renowned Australian singer Renee Geyer is dead at 69 following complications from hip surgery. Such a fabulous voice. RIP😢

https://nostalgiacentral.com/music/artists-l-to-z/artists-r/renee-geyer/

    Renowned Australian singer Renee Geyer is dead at 69 following complications from hip surgery. Such a fabulous voice. RIP😢

    nostalgiacentral.com/music/artists-l-to-z/artists-r/renee-geyer/
    ... See MoreSee Less

    2 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 0
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 1

    Comment on Facebook

    That is so sad to hear 😥 rest in peace 🙏 🕊 xx

    Gina Lollobrigida: Italian screen star dies at 95
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64292026

    Gina Lollobrigida: Italian screen star dies at 95
    www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64292026
    ... See MoreSee Less

    2 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 4
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 1

    Comment on Facebook

    😍😍😍😍

    Vale Jeff Beck. Dead at 78. 😢

    ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    Jeff Beck: British guitar legend dies aged 78

    www.bbc.co.uk

    One of rock's most influential guitarists, he was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice.
    3 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 1
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    Hi everyone. Were in the process of moving www.nostalgiacentral.com to new dedicated servers to better cope with the volumes of traffic. Please ignore any SSL security errors you may receive when visiting the site over the next 24 hours while the move completes.

    Hi everyone. We're in the process of moving www.nostalgiacentral.com to new dedicated servers to better cope with the volumes of traffic. Please ignore any SSL security errors you may receive when visiting the site over the next 24 hours while the move completes. ... See MoreSee Less

    3 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 5
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 2

    Comment on Facebook

    Ironically, this post has jumped off the page at me. You'll probably get most traffic today because everyone will want to see what they might be missing!

    Martin Platt

    Load more
    Please note


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Popular Tags
    1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games Britpop Canada Crime Disney Doo-Wop Elvis Presley Girl groups Glam Goth Hammer Heavy Metal Irwin Allen Labels Merseybeat Mod revival Motown New Romantic New Wave NWOBHM Oi! One-hit wonders Power Pop Pub rock Punk Radio Scotland Ska Soul music Sport Surf music
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Copyright © 1998, 2023 Nostalgia Central
    • About Nostalgia Central
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.