Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever*19 Juli 2025

The Time Machine: HG Wells' Legacy in 1960s Sci-Fi

As always there are spoilers ahead!

You can follow the podcast on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky.

HG Wells shadow is a long one and his seminal work on time travel was published in 1895. But well over a half a century later Hollywood was still hooked on Herbert (George Wells). The Time Machine was directed by George Pal and released 1960. From the turn of the century to the beginning of a new decade my amazing guests break down the themes and influences on this mid-century steampunk precursor.

Keith Williams is a Reader in English Literature at the University of Dundee where he runs the science fiction programme. He has a special interest in the pre 1945 period and is the author of the book H.G. Wells, Modernity and the Movies.

Ian Scott is a Professor of American Film and History at The University of Manchester. He has written extensively about politics and film in Hollywood.

Chapters

00:00 Intro

02:39 HG Wells in 1985: the book and the birth of cinema

05:37 1960s USA: the cusp of a new age

10:02 The influences on Wells: Thomas Henry Huxley and William Morris

17:21 James Bond: Rod Taylor's missed opportunity

19:08 Time travel: the time machine, mannequins and the BBC

27:57 The far-flung future: evolution, class and nuclear war

35:32 Fritz Lang, Metropolis, and the death of flower power

39:24 The Legacy

47:09 Recommendations for the listener

NEXT EPISODE!

Next week I will be discussing the Eastern Block with brainy experts and discussing one of the first sci-fi films from the region Der schweigende Stern, AKA The Silent Star from 1960.

It was also re-edited and released as The First Spaceship on Venus. You may like to watch the MST3K version on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVmgb3jEimQ

If you are in the USA and have a public library card you should be able to find the film on Kanopy: https://www.kanopy.com/en/product/116646

The film is available to rent online depending on your region. Just Watch should be able to help.

If you felt very committed you could also buy this DVD collection of DEFA sci-fi which includes writing and interviews with the amazing Sonja Fritzsche, Evan Torner and Mark Bould: https://eurekavideo.co.uk/movie/strange-new-worlds-science-fiction-at-defa/

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Avsnitt(68)

Je t'aime, je t'aime (1968): Time Travel, Memory and Loss

Translation for the intro: A race against time. Office time against outside time. Who's winning? I don't know yet. Apologies as I am coming down with a heavy cough and need sleep. I am so out of it ...

16 Aug 58min

Destroy All Monsters 1968: Godzilla's Kaiju in Combat

Translation for Intro: "Fire Dragon can reduce Tokyo to ashes in just a few hours." Godzilla ROARS. "It's Godzilla!" As always there are spoilers ahead! You can follow the podcast on social media on...

2 Aug 51min

Sci-fi & Architecture: Visions of the Future

There are spoilers ahead! For many films I'm afraid. I would especially avoid the episode until you have watched Ex-Machina (which you really really should immediately it really is phenomenal) as Jes ...

19 Juli 55min

Quatermass: Nigel Kneale, Hammer and Mid-Century Britain

There is a longer version of the podcast available which includes more tangential topics on Patreon for paid subscribers or for a $3 or £3 fee! The long version is just under one hour and twenty-five ...

5 Juli 59min

The Face of Another 1966: Scars & Identity in Post War Japan

Trigger warning: This discussion includes talk about sexual assault and sexual violence. This is a theme apparent in the film and the source material. It is mentioned a few times. The topic is not spo...

21 Juni 59min

Blade Runner: Paul Franklin's Favourite Sci-Fi Film

As always there are spoilers ahead! Blade Runner was not a huge hit in 1982 but it did gain a fair few fans on its initial release. One of those fans was a teenager from Cheshire by the name of Paul F...

7 Juni 46min

Fantastic Voyage: Psychedelic Nanotech in 1966

As always there are spoilers ahead! You can follow the podcast on social media on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky. If you would like to be a patron of the podcast and help an indie podcaster out, you c...

24 Maj 57min

Fahrenheit 451: Truffaut's 1966 Suburban Dystopia

Show notes As always there are spoilers ahead! You can follow the podcast on social media on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky. If you would like to be a patron of the podcast and feel like nobility fun...

10 Maj 56min