Beyond the Time Barrier

"Beyond The Time Barrier" was the first of two features shot back to back by director Edgar G. Ulmer ("The Amazing Transparent Man" followed) in April-May 1959, at the Texas State fairgrounds at Fair Park in Dallas. Pacific International's presence meant that star Robert Clarke doubled as producer (having previously directed "The Hideous Sun Demon," the lead in Ulmer's 1951 "The Man from Planet X"), but collected only an actor's salary when the company went bankrupt after the pictures wrapped (more than a year passed before AIP picked them up for a nice profit). Scripting was Dallas native Arthur C. Pierce, author of "The Cosmic Man," "Invasion of the Animal People," "Women of the Prehistoric Planet," "Cyborg 2087," and "Dimension 5," all low budget wonders that have mostly achieved cult status. This low budget knockoff of "The Time Machine" (shooting title "The Last Barrier") was already in the can before George Pal began principal photography on his adaptation of the H.G. Wells novel, and AIP made no secret of the connection with their final title, since both pictures were essentially released the same month. Clarke's test pilot takes off for a short flight 1000 miles above the earth but lands only a few hours later in a dilapidated area which used to be the air base. It's not long before he ventures near an underground city, whose inhabitants capture and decontaminate him, as the surface of this world is covered with mutants suffering the long term effects of radiation. It takes a long while before the pilot learns that he had unknowingly passed through a bridge in time and now resides in the year 2024, his new mission to return to his own period to try to prevent the fallout from a plague caused by cosmic bombardment that have rendered this earth sterile and doomed. The footage of imprisoned mutants was taken from an earlier Ulmer production, "Journey Beneath the Desert," but the rest was rather uninspired, though the attractive presence of newcomer Darlene Tompkins makes her mute role most welcome (Ulmer's daughter Arianne has a major part as a female scientist from the year 1973). Unlike earlier forays into the future such as "World Without End" we see few members of this society and virtually nothing to indicate its supposedly vast size, and only two have the power of speech, the sympathetic Supreme (Vladimir Sokoloff) and hostile Captain (Red Morgan), who believes the incredulous pilot to be a spy. Clarke had endured a similar encounter in 1952's "Captive Women," and later entries like "The Time Travelers" and "Journey to the Center of Time" also used the same outline.

Better-than-average low-budget science-fiction from that era. Edgar Ulmer makes the most of inventive sets, some interesting low camera angles, some moments in which mid-ground objects such as pillars intercede between foreground and background during tracking shots...not the kind of effort one usually sees in movies of this kind. The whole film comes off as sincere - maybe more like 6.5 stars, but I'm rounding it up for the effort.

The acting is mixed, with some of the cast turning in competent performances, and two or three others about on par with some of Bela lugosi's most stilted performances. The story, if not original, is well-paced. What really sets this film apart from similar low-budget affairs are the aforementioned sets and camera work, and especially the unexpectedly ambiguous, perhaps even somewhat dark, conclusion of the film, which seems surprisingly in keeping with some of Ulmer's other work.

Fans of 1950s and 60s science-fiction, or of time travel flicks, should take a look.

"Major William Allison" (Robert Clarke) is a test pilot for the United States Air Force who has been assigned to fly an experimental jet into space at speeds never before attempted by mankind. Unfortunately, his mission accidentally takes him 64 years into the future to a time when a plague has decimated most of the population and created hostile mobs of mutants who seek to wreak havoc on the few less infected people living underground. Yet while these people don't quite suffer from the full ravages of the plague the disease has rendered all of them deaf, mute and completely sterile. All but one that is and the arrival of Major Allison gives them hope that perhaps he and a beautiful woman named "Trirene" (Darlene Tompkins) can offer them a chance of repopulating the human species. But there is another opportunity presented with Major Allison's arrival which another group has formulated, and it conflicts with the plans of the establishment. Now rather than reveal any more of this movie and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this was a decent science fiction film for the most part. Admittedly, being produced in 1960 it lacks the special effects of movies made during the present time and the film lacked depth and substance to a certain degree as well. But in any case, I kind of enjoyed it and so I rate this movie as about average and recommend it to fans of this particular time and genre.

After the release of 'Forbidden Planet' in 1956, and before the release of 'Planet of the Apes' in 1968, the overwhelming number of science fiction films were ultra-low budget affairs, generally produced to fill out double-bills at drive-in theaters. I would posit that this period should be called the Golden Era of Schlock.

Schlock Scifi was not all bad...in fact, some of it was actually good, and a lot of it is interesting, and sometimes fascinating. There is a certain rough and ready charm to the earnestness and creativity of the actors, writers and directors, with some Schlock films being like the experience of watching community theater.

This film contains creative usage of a derelict airfield, filmed and edited to give the impression of a future of ruin and decay. The director also made good use of some strange architecture at the Texas State Fairgrounds, allowing the audience to make believe they are in fact seeing the underground dwellings of the future.

Stock footage of the F-102 'Delta Dagger' fighter plane is used to represent an experimental rocket...and in an unusual move, the director actually had a miniature created that matched the stock footage...the FX are extremely primitive even by 1960 standards, but I have to give them credit for finding a model of an F-102, because usually these films just show stock footage of say, an A-4 rocket and then a model of a B-52 or something completely unrelated. (BTW, the F-102 is what former president George Bush flew when he was in the 'Champagne Unit' of the Texas Air National Guard, avoiding Viet Nam.)

There are some mildly scary screaming mutants here, who for some reason, the civilized people of the future keep in a huge dungeon inside their fortress, as opposed to a safer location outside the city. The mutants are bald and wear coveralls in close ups and medium shots...but when the camera looks down the stairs into the dungeon, the mutants have long hair and wear caveman clothes. Obviously, director Ulmer obtained some stock footage of the cavemen types and edited in to save money and time. The mutants yell a lot.

Robert Clarke is pretty decent as Our Hero the square jawed USAF pilot, and Darlene Tompkins is strangely charming as Tirene, the cute mute in the short skirt. In the city of the future, everyone is sterile except for Tirene...until the arrival or Our Hero. The Supreme Leader of the City of the Future, as well as Tirene, want Our Hero to impregnate Tirene so as to perpetuate the human race.

Apocalyptic Futures were in vogue during this era, but this film is unusual in that rather than forecasting an atomic war, it instead predicts Future Earth as a place where the atmosphere is gradually degraded from unrelenting atomic testing, and the human race is decimated by a series of plagues.

The idea of a time traveler visiting a post-apocalyptic future was fairly new at this point. The George Pal adaptation of The Time Machine, also released in 1960, touched on the subject, but only in passing, and was more concerned with evolutionary changes, rather than nuclear holocaust. This film certainly beat the el cheapo 'Time Travelers' (1964) as well as the big-budget 'Planet of the Apes' (1968) to the punch. Like those two films, this one also has a shock ending.

This film somehow manages to convey a mood of melancholy and anxiety, appropriate for the story of a man who learns that his world is going to hell. The subplot regarding his role as a sperm-donor, admittedly an adolescent male fantasy, is handled as plausibly as possible under the circumstances. Perhaps Gene Roddenberry was influenced by this film, since his 1964 unsold Star Trek pilot is also a story of a science-fiction sperm donor.

Many reviewers like to discuss ne'er-do-well director Edgar Ulmer's style in this film. Certainly there are some elements of 1920's German expressionism that help this film be a little more creepy and moody than it would otherwise.

In summary, this is a fun and interesting excursion into the land of Schlock, and it is better and more interesting than most Schlock...yet it was created as Schlock, and Schlock it will always be. View it in this context, and you will be happy.

From Edgar G. Ulmer (director of `The Man from Planet X' and `The Amazing Transparent Man') comes this likable little sc-fi tale. A test pilot (Robert Clark) is catapulted into the future by a freak phenomenon, where a post World War III society lives in futuristic cities that protect them from the lingering radiation. However, the populace is having fertility problems, and the head of the government (Vladimir Sokoloff) hopes that his daughter (gorgeous Darlene Thompkins) and Clark will get together.

The costumes will meet with male approval; the women all wear short dresses and high heels (if you like it, guys, check out `World Without End').

Okay, back to the plot: a group of dissidents conspire to take over the government by releasing a horde of imprisoned mutants. They do, and the first thing the mutants do is attack all the women. Girls, be forewarned: if you dress provocatively, you'll suffer the consequences, especially if imprisoned mutants get loose.

Hats off to Ulmer for efficiency: he filmed this enjoyable effort in a matter of weeks, and he saved money on sets by using an exhibit of futuristic art-and-design at the 1959 Texas State Fair in Dallas. The interior architecture is appealing, despite being relatively simple. The doors, walls, and pillars are all based on triangles and pyramids. Don't' expect any elaborate special effects, but the film does manage to invoke a pleasant Buck Rogers feeling.

Unfortunately, I've never seen this movie shown on local or cable TV, and it doesn't seem to be avail on VHS or DVD. Dedicated sci-fi fans will have to work to get a peek at this lost gem. But it's worth the effort if you're a 1950s sci-fi fan.