THE TIME MACHINE IS A TRIP

I spent a few minutes a couple of afternoons ago watching George Pal's 1960 adaptation of H.G. Wells' THE TIME MACHINE. In that short time I remember what a wonderful film it was and I think a good reason for it is a result of the visuals and effects that were produced to make it so realistic.

The man behind the camera was Oscar-winning cinematographer Paul Vogel who was tasked with making the film look believable. Considering this was done before the days of CGI, he certainly succeeded. For example, he used large circular shutters divided into four sections of gels and when turned gave the impression of the passage of time during the scenes Rod Taylor was traveling back and forth in time.

This article from AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER (August, 1960) discusses the methods and techniques for achieving the various effects for the film, which had been released the same month.