The Time Machine

The Time Machine (1960)

Timing: 1:43 (103 min)

7.356/10
793

7.229/10
2836

7.5/10
48000

All about film

Video 3

Photo 33

Actors and characters

Release date

1960-05-25

Country

United States

Production

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Galaxy Films Inc., George Pal Productions

Genre

Thriller, Adventure, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Romance

Budget

$750 000

Revenue

$1 615 902

Website

Director

George Pal

Actors

Rod Taylor, Alan Young, Yvette Mimieux, Sebastian Cabot, Tom Helmore, Whit Bissell, Doris Lloyd, Bob Barran, Paul Frees
All actors and roles (9)

Scenario

Producer

George Pal

Operator

Paul Vogel

Composer

Russell Garcia

Artist

Audition

Editing

George Tomasini
All team (17)

• The lava in the volcano eruption scene is made of oatmeal dyed with red and orange food coloring.
• A 32-page comic book based on the film was released in 1960.
• Yvette Mimieux turned 18 during filming, and when shooting began, she was still a minor and therefore legally unable to work full-time. However, she disregarded this restriction. Initially, she had no acting experience at all, but she gradually gained some, so by the end of the shooting period, the filmmakers even decided to reshoot some scenes with her that had been filmed at the very beginning.
• Director George Pal (1908-1980) wanted the disc on the time machine to rotate clockwise when traveling to the future, and counterclockwise when traveling to the past. The filmmakers decided that showing the machine's controls in detail would be too expensive and time-consuming.
• Director and producer George Pal kept a miniature replica of the time machine. It was destroyed in a fire at his home.
• The shape of the time machine resembles a sled – one of George Pal’s favorite means of transportation as a child. The idea was that the time traveler would simply “slide” into another time.
• Rod Taylor (1930-2015) was just over six feet tall. To make him appear even more imposing, actors of short stature were specifically chosen for the roles of the Eloi and Morlocks.
• The Time Traveler battles a Morlock right next to the time machine, and at one point sends it into the future, causing the creature's body to rapidly decompose. A wax figure of the Morlock was created, then subjected to intense heat, causing it to melt, and the film was sped up to create the impression that the flesh was decaying before their eyes.