Timeslip (1956)

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Ken Hughes directed five feature films and two short films in 1955, and this is one of the features. It is a superior B picture with the female B star, Faith Domergue, she of the big soulful brown eyes. The story and screenplay are by Charles Eric Maine, and he has written a good yarn. Some of the ideas for the technical background are mentioned in passing, and they concern a scientist named Stephen Rayner who works for the Atomic Energy authorities. He has learned how to achieve the alchemical transmutation of elements in order to produce tungsten in the laboratory from cheap materials. This threatens the interests of the United Tungsten Corporation of Argentina, which controls two thirds of the world's tungsten supply, so they have another scientist's face transformed by plastic surgery to replace Rayner, and the film starts with Rayner being shot one night and falling into the Thames. He miraculously survives but is in a coma for some time while everyone is trying to figure out what happened. After he is identified, the police are puzzled because his employers say he is at work in his lab. Something strange has also happened to him because he has undergone a slight forward time-shift of 7.5 seconds due to exposure to radiation, so he answers questions put to him before they are asked. When the police and others finally figure out why his interviews don't make any sense, because the answer to each question is really to one that will be asked next, they then begin to piece together his story. The film is very intriguing and entertaining, despite being low budget. The hints of escaped corrupt Nazis in Argentina who will kill anyone who gets in their way were well understood in 1955, only ten years after the War. The film's original release title was TIMESLIP, and it is under that title that the DVD is now once again available. As another reviewer says, this is not really a sci fi film but is an industrial espionage thriller with some intriguing sci fi background elements which are significantly under-developed. Both the timeslip angle and the tungsten angle could have been much better developed and turned into a much stronger film. As it is, the film is rather mediocre.

A man is shot and thrown into a river. Rescued, he is rushed to the hospital and during surgery his heart stops for a few seconds. A pushy American reporter who is the science writer for a magazine had taken a photo of him; in the photo the man appears to have a halo. The reporter, Delaney, thinks he recognizes the injured man as a famous nuclear scientist named Rayner. But when Delaney and the cops go to the nuclear lab where Rayner works they find that evidently the injured man is not Rayner as he is still at work. Or is he? The time slip gimmick is really an interesting one but nothing interesting is done with this concept. Delaney and his girlfriend, a photographer for the magazine unravel the rather convoluted plot of evil corporate greed. The ending is a bit of a surprise and quite good. A sufficiently entertaining movie but nothing special.

This 2nd string low budget British work is interesting in the way it tries to work in a science fiction plot element while having no special effects whatsoever.The idea of a man who has "slipped" in time is an interesting one, but it's wasted on an underwhelming mystery/espionage plot (It seems that certain economic interests are attempting to control the world's tungsten supply - my heart is in my throat!) What saves this one are the performances. It's a British production, and the Brits treat it as if it were Shakespeare - the actors take the wonky and turgid lines they are given and go after them with energy and enthusiasm and class.There are some problems with the casting - I didn't believe the actor who played Delaney was a reporter for a second, and I didn't believe there could be any chemistry between his character and a babe who looks like Faith Domergue either. And the main "heavy" is little more than a Rent-A-Center Sidney Greenstreet (he has the worst delivery of a line in the movie: "Call me a Dago again and I'll...") But it pushes right buttons and a bunch of people run around like maniacs for the last few minutes and the girl gets rescued from the bad guys...so I call it a decent effort.But it is for rabid 50's Sci Fi fans (and fans of Faith Domergue) and people interested in the history of science fiction who want to see every last damn film ever made.

What a concept...he slipped in time!!While The Atomic Man is not purely 50's sci-fi, as mentioned in other reviews, it does provide enough interesting plot twists and thrills to keep you guessing until the end. Definitely worth a watch for fans of the genre. I am proud to have this little seen gem in my collection. Nice story, creepy atmosphere, good acting and a great score make this one worthwhile!!Also recommended for fans of little seen 50's type sci-fi are Mutiny in Outer Space, Satellite in the Sky, On the Threshold of Space, The Magnetic Monster and Riders to the Stars.