One of the earliest time travel films, it concerns two men named Peter Standish, both of whom are played by Leslie Howard. One lives in 1784 and the other, his distant relative, lives in 1933. The elder Peter longs to see the technological advances which will come after his death while the younger Peter seeks to escape the hustle and bustle of 1933 and experience the joys of a supposedly simpler time. The two men switch places and, while in 1784, the younger Peter falls in law with Helen Pettigrew, played by Heather Angel, who is destined to be the elder Peter's sister-in-law. Having had access to the elder Peter's diary in 1933, the younger Peter knows many little details of the Pettigrews' lives that the elder Peter did not yet know in 1784 and, on several occasions, makes the mistake of the mentioning them. He does the same when it comes to revealing his knowledge of more general events that have not happened yet and uses expressions like "cockeyed" and "see you later" that did not exist in the 18th Century. This leads people to fear him and the elder Peter's would-be wife Kate to break off the engagement as he believes that he has been possessed by a demon.
Based on a 1929 Broadway play of the same name, Howard reprised his roles as the two Peters and gave a wonderful performance as a temporal fish out of water whose experiences of the 18th Century lead him to view it as a "filthy little pigsty of a world" rather than romanticise it as he had done before his sojourn into the past. The elder Peter's experiences of the 20th Century are left unseen but the descriptions would seem to indicate that they were equally unpleasant, not least because he was considered insane for claiming to be from 1784. Howard, whom I had never seen in a film before, and Heather Angel have wonderful chemistry and the younger Peter and Helen's gentle romance is certainly the highlight of the film. It has a very good cast overall, including Valerie Taylor as Kate (who likewise appeared in the Broadway play), Irene Browne as her mother Lady Ann Pettigrew, Colin Keith-Johnston as her layabout brother Tom, Ferdinand Gottschalk as Helen's far older suitor Mr. Throstle and Betty Lawford (Peter's cousin) as the younger Peter's fiancée Marjorie Frant. The film is very well directed by Frank Lloyd, probably best known for directing the 1935 version of "The Mutiny on the Bounty".
As the younger Peter scuppered his ancestor's chances of marrying Kate in 1784, it may be the first film in which time travel is used to alter the past - it was never stated outright that the younger Peter was a direct descendant of the elder one - but this is not made clear. The film was believed lost for many years until it was rediscovered in the 1970s, which I am very happy about as I would obviously not have been able to see it otherwise. Incidentally, I recently watched the excellent 1971 film "Quest for Love" which concerns a man who falls in love with a woman whom he meets in a parallel universe. One of the differences in that universe is that Leslie Howard is still alive and still acting. It may be only a coincidence but, given the subject matter, it could very well have been an oblique reference to this film.
Overall, this is a hugely enjoyable romantic fantasy film which reminds me of my tenth favourite film of all time "Somewhere in Time" due to its similar premise and bittersweet ending.
Based on a 1929 Broadway play of the same name, Howard reprised his roles as the two Peters and gave a wonderful performance as a temporal fish out of water whose experiences of the 18th Century lead him to view it as a "filthy little pigsty of a world" rather than romanticise it as he had done before his sojourn into the past. The elder Peter's experiences of the 20th Century are left unseen but the descriptions would seem to indicate that they were equally unpleasant, not least because he was considered insane for claiming to be from 1784. Howard, whom I had never seen in a film before, and Heather Angel have wonderful chemistry and the younger Peter and Helen's gentle romance is certainly the highlight of the film. It has a very good cast overall, including Valerie Taylor as Kate (who likewise appeared in the Broadway play), Irene Browne as her mother Lady Ann Pettigrew, Colin Keith-Johnston as her layabout brother Tom, Ferdinand Gottschalk as Helen's far older suitor Mr. Throstle and Betty Lawford (Peter's cousin) as the younger Peter's fiancée Marjorie Frant. The film is very well directed by Frank Lloyd, probably best known for directing the 1935 version of "The Mutiny on the Bounty".
As the younger Peter scuppered his ancestor's chances of marrying Kate in 1784, it may be the first film in which time travel is used to alter the past - it was never stated outright that the younger Peter was a direct descendant of the elder one - but this is not made clear. The film was believed lost for many years until it was rediscovered in the 1970s, which I am very happy about as I would obviously not have been able to see it otherwise. Incidentally, I recently watched the excellent 1971 film "Quest for Love" which concerns a man who falls in love with a woman whom he meets in a parallel universe. One of the differences in that universe is that Leslie Howard is still alive and still acting. It may be only a coincidence but, given the subject matter, it could very well have been an oblique reference to this film.
Overall, this is a hugely enjoyable romantic fantasy film which reminds me of my tenth favourite film of all time "Somewhere in Time" due to its similar premise and bittersweet ending.