Somewhere in Time
Short description
Richard Collier is a young playwright whose first play has just opened when elderly woman approaches him with an odd request and an old pocket watch. Intrigued, he later learns she was a celebrated stage actress from the early 1900s. His curiosity turns to fascination, and when he finds a photograph of her taken in 1912, he becomes determined to reach her. Using self-hypnosis, he attempts to travel back to that year, and finds himself face to face with the actress, Elise McKenna. Their growing romance draws the opposition of her manager, William Fawcett Robinson, who sees it as a threat to her career.
The 1980 film was directed by Jeannot Szwarc, its fourth feature in a run that also includes Jaws 2 and later Supergirl and Santa Claus: The Movie. Richard Matheson wrote the screenplay, and Ray Stark and Stephen Deutsch produced it for Universal Pictures and Rastar Productions. Christopher Reeve plays Richard, Jane Seymour plays Elise, and Christopher Plummer plays Robinson, with Teresa Wright, Bill Erwin and George Voskovec in supporting roles. The production had a budget of 5 million dollars.
On IMDb the film holds a critics' rating of 5.9 out of 10 from 21 reviews, while on TMDB it has 7.5 out of 10 from 687 votes, indicating that general audiences have responded far more warmly than reviewers did.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film is based on a dream of screenwriter Richard Matheson (1926-2013), in which he met the famous stage actress Maud Adams (1872-1953). In reality, they were not acquainted, but one day Matheson saw her portrait in the Virginia City Opera in Nevada and thought it would be wonderful to go back in time and meet her in person. The film's protagonist, like himself, is named Richard.
- The film takes place on May 19, 1972, in 1980, and from June 27 to 29, 1912.
- When Richard first sees Eliza's portrait, the actor who played him, Christopher Reeve, truly saw it for the first time in his life. He deliberately hadn't looked at the portrait before, so his reaction would be completely genuine, as required by the plot.
- The book on which the film is based describes the Hotel del Coronado, and initially, they planned to film there. This hotel had already appeared in the comedy 'Some Like It Hot' (Billy Wilder, 1959). However, it turned out to be impossible because the hotel had been rebuilt (antennas were installed on the roof, windows with aluminum frames were inserted, new tennis courts were built, etc.). So, they chose the 'Grand Hotel' on Mackinac Island in Michigan for filming. Now, a plaque hangs on its wall notifying that this is where Richard met Eliza. During filming, neither the actors nor the crew stayed at the hotel due to its cost. As for the Hotel del Coronado, it was filmed around the same time in Richard Rush’s 'The Stunt Man' (1980).
- Bo Derek, a sex symbol of the 1970s, was considered for the role of Eliza.
- The American flag on the Grand Hotel building in 1912 had 50 stars. In 1912, it should have had either 46 (at the beginning of the year) or 48 (after July 4th).
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
