Before directing Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn(1982) and causing outrage in the US with his post-apocalyptic tele-feature The Day After(1983), novelist Nicholas Meyer directed this clever piece about a guilt-ridden HG Wells (Malcolm McDowell) pursuing Dr John Lesley Stevenson – aka Jack the Ripper (David Warner) – from London in 1893 to San Francisco in 1979 when the killer steals Wells’ time machine.
The modern city’s loose morals are just what the Ripper ordered, but come as something of a shock to the bewildered Wells, who (in a notable detour from biographical fact) falls in love with a timid bank clerk (Mary Steenburgen, who McDowell began dating during the film and would ultimately marry) and settles down back in the 19th century.
It’s a sometimes gruesome experience that’s wittily aware of anachronisms, as the blood-steeped Ripper, warped in nature as well as time, becomes gratefully aware that the present-day has many more killing devices.
It’s an advancement Wells was always pessimistically aware of when he contemplated the future, and it’s a point he would have relished being made in a film that never down-markets his genius even though it up-markets the action.
The film was the darling of the critics but failed to set the box office on fire. The studio (Warner Bros.) considered the film a flop but it was licensed to HBO for home viewing, repeated several times a day for months, and a strong viewership made the pay channel executives take notice. The film was moved to late-night time slots, where it continued to do well.
Then the home-video revolution began in earnest. The film was released on videocassette and became a steady rental for many early video stores, prompting them to buy more copies so it would be available on shelves when customers asked for it. This, in turn, prompted Warner Home Video to produce more copies, keeping the title in print for years.
As a result, the film became a well-loved favourite, spawning a fan base of giant proportions.
In 2017, ABC-TV aired a short-lived weekly series based on Time After Time.
Herbert G Wells
Malcolm McDowell Dr John Lesley Stevenson
David Warner Amy Robbins
Mary Steenburgen Lieutenant Mitchell
Charles Cioffi Inspector Gregson
Laurie Main Mrs Turner
Andonia Katsaros Shirley
Patti D’Arbanville Harding
Keith McConnell Carol
Geraldine Baron Edwards
James Garrett McKay
Byron Webster Richardson
Leo Lewis
Director Nicholas Meyer
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The modern city’s loose morals are just what the Ripper ordered, but come as something of a shock to the bewildered Wells, who (in a notable detour from biographical fact) falls in love with a timid bank clerk (Mary Steenburgen, who McDowell began dating during the film and would ultimately marry) and settles down back in the 19th century.
