Thwarted Romance

Grand Hotel and Golf Course, Mackinac Island, circa 1915

Somewhere in Time

I love thwarted romance movies. Growing up in Detroit, I watched movies hosted by Bill Kennedy. Bill liked war movies more than romances; nevertheless, he showed metro Detroiters their share of classic thwarted couples. Among my favorites: Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca, Paul Henreid and Bette Davis in Now, Voyager, and Rex Harrison and Gene Tierney in The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour in Somewhere in Time? Not even on my radar. Yet this movie is celebrating its thirtieth anniversary on October 3, and is appreciated by many as a time travel, romantic classic. The critical assessment of Somewhere in Time in 1980: attractive cast, beautiful scenery, weak script. This resulted in low box office sales. The slow “word of mouth” recommendations of this “small film” did not materialize. The stars, Reeve and Seymour, were not allowed to publicize it due to an actors’ labor strike. Television and, later, VCR sales resurrected this movie – set at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island – to cult flick status.

Round Island Lighthouse, Circa 1975 (About five years before it was filmed in Somewhere in Time)

Finding a Hotel

The movie is based on the 1975 book, Bid Time Return, written by Richard Matheson. (Matheson also wrote the movie screenplay.) The writer originally set his novel at the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego, California. For movie buffs, “The Del” is recognizable as the “Florida Hotel” populated by Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and assorted gangsters in Some Like It Hot. Although “The Del” has the pedigree of a late nineteenth century resort hotel, the producers of Somewhere in Time had to search for another locale because of modern additions. (Modern tennis courts and utility poles would make shooting difficult.) The producers discovered the Grand Hotel in a book on resorts. The hotel, which opened in 1887, kept more of its early twentieth century élan, and was a believable locale for a film set in 1912. Jeannot Szwarc, the director, used the Grand Hotel, its porch, and the rest of the island including great shots of the Round Island lighthouse. With the modern period set in Chicago, this film is a Midwestern delight for its sense of time and place.

The Plot

The film begins in 1972 when an elderly woman hands our playwright hero, Richard Collier (Christopher Reeve), a gold pocket watch and bids him, “Come back to me.” Collier professes not to know her. Eight years later, our hero is successful but suffering from writer’s block and a failed love affair. He takes off to clear his head. Ending up at the Grand Hotel, he becomes obsessed with the 1912 portrait of our heroine, the actress Elise McKenna (Jane Seymour). Collier does research on Elise, and discovers that she is the woman who gave him the watch. More research ensues, and Collier uncovers that he was at the Grand Hotel in 1912. Using time travel hypnosis (no flashy time travel vehicle), Collier goes back in time and the lovely Miss McKenna. You will have to watch the rest to find out what happens.

Summation

The porch of the Grand Hotel looks wonderful; the island shots are beautiful; the musical score by John Barry and the use of the eighteenth variation of Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini are atmospheric; Jane and Christopher are attractive. But, alas, the script is weak. Sorry. No one does thwarted love like Bette Davis.

Links:

International Network of Somewhere in Time Enthusiasts

The Grand Hotel: Historic Landmark Designation