The Time Machine (1960)

The Time Machine
(1960)

Contents:

Information | Wars | Evolution | Communism & Capitalism |  Links

"It seems people aren't dying fast enough these days; they call upon science to invent new, more efficient weapons to depopulate the Earth."

"Thousands of years of building and rebuilding, creating and recreating..."

"At last I had found a paradise, but it would be no paradise if it belonged to me alone."

"Can man control his destiny? Can he change the shape of things to come?"

Information

The Time Machine was written by British novelist H. G. (Herbert George) Wells in 1895.  The short story was originally published as a series of articles for a magazine. To read H. G. Wells' novel, go to Internet Public Library.

H. G. Wells was a prophet. He foretold many advancements in technology. He was also the first to think an idea of a "time machine." He believed that people would bring about their own deaths and destruction. Wells agreed on using science to help mankind, but he was against using science for war. For more information, go to CrystalLinks.

Views about war and about humankind were clearly expressed in the film, The Time Machine (1960). These views played an important part in the film because of the Cold War and the threat of a possible nuclear war in the 1950s/1960s.

The Time Machine was directed by George Pal and released in 1960.

The Time Machine takes place during the turn of the century (1899) in London, England.

The plot of the film focuses on a mechanic (played by Rod Taylor) who becomes obsessed with time travel, and he journeys to the year 800,000 and falls in love. The time traveler's professional friends believe that the time traveler is foolish to create such a machine, and they want him to use his talent to create weapons for the military. Despite their suggestions, the time traveler travels into the future to the year 800,000 where he finds Weena (played by Yvette Mimieux) and falls in love. The time traveler becomes the hero of the film by helping Weena and the other Eloi destroy the wicked cannibals (the Morlocks). At the end of the film, however, the time traveler is forced to return to his own time. After speaking briefly to his professional friends, who do not believe him, he leaves on the time machine again. The film ends with the time traveler's friend Filby and maid wondering if he will ever return. We never do learn what became of the time traveler. We do not know if he made it back to the year 800,000 or if things were the way that he had left them in 800,000. However, we do know that the time traveler took three books with him to help him rebuild the society of the Eloi. One of the best and last lines in the film is spoken by Filby: "Which books would you have taken?"

The book gives an even darker tale. The book describes the last days on earth. The novel also does not portray the romance between the time traveler and Weena, and Weena dies.

This movie reflects the ideas of the people during the 1950s and 1960s during the "Cold War."

Wars

War is an important part of this film. Remember, it was filmed in 1960, during the Cold War.
The Time Machine views war as destructive and views humans as warlike.

the wars that are mentioned in the film include:

Boer War: The time traveler's professional friends believe that the time traveler should use his talents for the war effort. However, the time traveler does not agree that people should use science to "depopulate the Earth."
"It seems people aren't dying fast enough these days; they call upon science to invent new, more efficient weapons to depopulate the Earth."
World War I: The time traveler learns that his friend Filby was killed in this war. When we last saw Filby, he wanted the time traveler to invest in the Boer War.
World War II: The time traveler stops the time machine because he feels the bombs dropping around him and sees planes in the sky above him. He is experiencing the bombing raids of London by German aircraft during World War II. In this war, the time traveler's house is destroyed. However, the time traveler feels that hope for humankind is not lost when he sees the reconstruction.
The "Cold War:" This "war" marks the series of tensions between the communists and the capitalists (the east verses the west). The Time Machine was filmed in the time of the "Cold War." This war, in respect to the film, is the destruction of humankind.
"The labor of centuries, gone in an instant."
This nuclear war fictionally happened in 1966. As Londoners hurry into underground shelters to wait for the signal "all clear" and to avoid the "mushroom cloud," a nuclear bomb is dropped upon the city. Within seconds, London is reduced to ash. The special effects in this scene are amazing for their time.
War Between the East and the West: This is another fictional war, or it may be the "Cold War." This war is mentioned in the "talking rings." The "talking rings" say that this "war between the east and west" lasted 326 years and that, by this time, "there is nothing to fight with" and that the oxygen supply is almost gone. It is this war that brings about the evolution of humankind and produces the Eloi and the Morlock.

Evolution

H. G. Wells was a believer in evolution. The idea of evolution (Darwinism) was famous during the time when Wells wrote the book. The idea of evolution is present in the novel and in the film.

After the war, the environment becomes poluted. Humankind has caused their own destruction. Those who survive the war are forced to make a decision to live in caverns or to live in the sunlight. Those who chose their refuge in the caves because the Morlocks, hairy cannibal beasts. Those who chose to remain in the sunlight evolved into the Eloi, human creatures with blond hair. The peace-loving Eloi, however, are under the control of the Morlocks.

Communism & Capitalism

Socialism (Communism) was a popular topic during the time when H. G. Wells wrote The Time Machine. It was also a popular topic when The Time Machine was filmed. Wells was a Socialist. His parents were not wealthy, and he faced many problems in his childhood. In one of his works of literature, he wrote about loving a wealthy girl, but this girl only used him caused him misery. I think that Wells wanted to create a utopian society by writing fiction, and he wanted his readers to see the problems in society.

The idea of communism takes place in the future. The Eloi are a communist society. The land is a paradise, a utopia.
"But it would be no paradise if it belonged to me alone."
The people in the future (Eloi) do not work. The Morlocks do all of the work; they feed and butcher the Eloi as if they were cattle.

When the time traveler asks the Eloi what kind of government they have and what laws they have, the Eloi respond:
"There is no government...there are no laws."

The time traveler becomes angry at the people in the future because they are wasting their lives away, and they are not educated.

In this film, the time traveler is the hero who brings about the change from communism to capitalism. The film tells us that the world of communism is a terrible world because the leaders (Morlocks) are evil cannibals. They do not even look human! The time traveler saves the vulnerable Eloi by destroying the Morlocks and their government.

The Time Machine Links:

Literature of H. G. Wells: a collection of the literature works, including The Time Machine, of H. G. Wells that you can read on the internet
George Pal: information about the director of The Time Machine and War of the Worlds
H. G. Wells: a biography
H. G. Wells: some of H. G. Wells' prophecies

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-- The material on this web site was written in 1998/1999. This is only a review and analysis of the film and the book/movie belongs to their respective copyright-holders.

© Jenn L. Siegrist, 1998/1999. jenikya@medialondon.co.uk