Blueghost The first time I saw this movie was on a weekend afternoon on one of the UHF stations out of Sacramento. I only saw the first five minutes or so. Up to the part where the characters actually take their first steps forward, and then the family had to go somewhere.Throughout the years I'd catch the same beginning time and again, but was always drawn away from it.Well, I finally saw it all last year, and where it wasn't sterling scifi fare, it was decent for a 1960s reminisce-blast from scifi film making of days of yore. Finally being able to see this full film in its entirety put a smile on my face. The same kind of feeling I got when I saw other films that I had often heard about, but had never fully seen, just bits and pieces here and there on broadcast TV back in the 70s and 80s.But, to the movie; it's standard science fiction time travel stuff. Throw in a few mutants, some robots, and you got yourself a movie. There's a romantic subplot of sorts, some rocket ships, a fight for survival, a battle of good and evil, all the things that make great science fiction great. Only this film isn't exactly the greatest thing ever, it's just decent enough to be watchable.Lots of basic shots, mostly standard master shots and two shots to push the narrative forward. There are no or few dramatic closeups, no rapid machinegun editing, and a score that's your standard "danger of the unknown" music so prominent of scifi of the 50s and 60s.It's the kind of movie that someone thought would be a good thing for people to see, and that scifi aficionados like myself thought would be worth seeing once or twice. And the film delivers on that account.I'm so glad I finally saw it after decades of just catching snippits of it. I'm not sure I'll buy the DVD or bluray to add to my collection, but I'm glad it's out there for all to see.If you're a scifi fan, then maybe give this film a chance on the player of your choice. Enjoy.

Edgar Soberon Torchia Danish filmmaker Ib Melchior is a good example of a man's determination to entertain audiences with stories that played with his vision of things to come (in the early 1960s), but the quality of his work only moderately justifies the effort. He was a counter-intelligence volunteer for the Americans during II World War, relocated to the United States, and at the peak of his career wrote for television series and science-fiction films (including a couple of contributions to the "red menace" trend, and "Death Race 2000", "Reptilicus" and "Robinson Crusoe on Mars") and directed two features. Considering the poor results of "The Angry Red Planet" that he made in 1959, "The Time Travelers" is his greatest achievement: the film has a lot of admirers, but it is quite telling of his capacity as director. Compare it with Edgar G. Ulmer's "Beyond the Time Barrier", a drama with a similar plot, made four years before with half the budget of "Travelers", and one can perceive the difference between an inspired filmmaker as Ulmer and a less gifted director as Melchior. More akin to "Queen of the Outer Space" (1958) without the campiness, "The Time Travelers" is also visually strident (cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond was still years away from the mastery he demonstrated in a long list of classics, including "McCabe & Mrs. Miller", "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and "Deliverance"), the rhythm is pompous and slow, and leading man Philip Carey is as good an actor as Zsa Zsa Gabor. His character of a scientist (or the way he plays it, I really cannot tell) is too much of a ruffian, and he does not have much support from Steve Franken's comic relief interventions, Delores Wells' "Playmate of the Month" attitude, or Dennis Patrick's expressions to convey a dogmatic soldier. Merry Anders and Preston Foster are wasted, and only John Hoyt and Joan Woodbury maintain the impassivity and good judgment that their parts as regents demand. The script is one of those that give too many explanations while telling something far from original and, although it has occasional "intelligent" sparkles here and there (as the ending) to please the science-fiction audience, it does not prevent the film from being an average product.

frncsbrennan I first saw this movie back in 1965 or 1966, when I was 5 or 6 years old. The mutants really scared me, and I had some bad nightmares. So I would not recommend this film for small children. I recently re watched this and found it not too scary (for adults) but still a good, thought-provoking film. It is a low budget film so some of the special effects and script are obviously dated, but this film heavily influenced Star Trek, and The Time Tunnel was also a spin-off. The scene where Dr White first encounters a half-mutant/half human is still kind of creepy. And the doomsday scenario and the race against time and the mutants lends some good suspense. This film deserves a wider audience, and would be a good candidate for a serious-minded remake.

copper1963 Working secretly from a basement in an U.S.C. science building, a trio of scientists crack open a window into the future. Endeavoring to open their portal can be a tricky proposition: in light that it is next to scientifically impossible to pull off. Accidentally, the two-dimensional view screen gives way to an actual exit to another world. Danny, the meddlesome errand boy, takes the initiative and vaults himself into a devastated, futuristic time zone. (A neat special effects trick is employed here: when an actor, entering the portal, steps off to the right side of the window, disappearing for a few moments, only to reemerge, with the help of rear projection, back into the background of the scene.) The two male scientists soon follow. Mutants respond to their intrusion as only mutants can: they attack. Two of the disfigured fellows even attempt to leap into the lab, but the female scientist repels them with a handy fire extinguisher. Smashing good tactic. In the nick of time, and just before the portal closes, she also takes the plunge into the future. This is a surprisingly good special effect. It works so well that they utilize it again, later on in the movie. The rugged terrain is photographed by the legendary cinematographer, Vilmos Zsigmond, but, at the time of filming, a new comer. He renders off some excellent tracking shots through barren canyons. High shots. Long shots. And even some shots that follow directly behind our group as they search for missing Danny. Confrontation ensues. Mutants don't like stone throwers so they retreat. When Danny is found up ahead, they take sanctuary in a cave protected by an invisible force field. The tunnel dwellers soon arrive and escort them to more comfortable surroundings for some well-needed answers. John Hoyt, the leader of the council, and looking fit and dapper, gives them some answers and asks them some questions of his own. For a movie geared to kids, the film has some frank talk about sex. Reyna, Danny's girl, is a looker and has the right amount of sweetness for us to buy her as Danny's girl. There are many bright touches along the way, and an ingenious time-loop that makes sense for a change. The battle sequences between the mutants, humans and worker-androids, are violent and fiery. Blood flows. Some androids and mutants lose limbs. Rightfully so. Terrific movie to watch with the kids on a lazy afternoon in the summer. Show them how things used to be. They'll be stunned. Trust me. I was.