Directed by Edgar G. Ulmer and produced by Robert Clarke, Beyond the Time Barrier is a low-budget but conceptually ambitious science fiction film released in September 1960 by American International Pictures. Shot in just two weeks in Dallas, Texas, it was paired on a double bill with The Angry Red Planet, and remains a cult favorite for fans of cerebral sci-fi and Cold War allegory.
Plot Summary
Major William Allison (Robert Clarke), a test pilot flying an experimental rocket-powered aircraft, breaks the sound barrier—and the time barrier—during a high-altitude flight. He lands back at his airbase, only to find it abandoned and decaying. He’s traveled forward to the year 2024, where Earth has been ravaged by a cosmic plague that sterilized most of the population and left survivors mute or deformed.
Allison is captured and taken to an underground city ruled by The Supreme (Vladimir Sokoloff), where he meets Princess Trirene (Darlene Tompkins), a telepathic woman who can still speak. As Allison uncovers the truth about the plague and the society’s desperate plans for survival, he must choose between returning to his own time or staying to help rebuild humanity.
Cast Highlights
- Robert Clarke as Maj. William Allison
- Darlene Tompkins as Princess Trirene
- Vladimir Sokoloff as The Supreme
- Stephen Bekassy as Gen. Karl Kruse
- John Van Dreelen as Dr. Borman
- Arianne Arden (Ulmer’s daughter) as Capt. Markova
- Boyd ‘Red’ Morgan and Ken Knox in supporting roles
Trivia & Behind the Scenes
- Ulmer filmed this alongside The Amazing Transparent Man in a two-week blitz, using the same crew and Dallas locations to save costs.
- The futuristic jet was actually a Convair F-102 interceptor, repurposed with stock footage and clever editing.
- Ulmer’s wife Shirley worked as script editor, and their daughter Arianne played a Russian pilot—making it a true family production.
- The film reflects fears of nuclear fallout and genetic mutation, common in post-Hiroshima sci-fi.
- Trirene’s ability to speak and read minds symbolizes the possibility of human evolution overcoming catastrophe.
- The plague’s sterilizing effect is a metaphor for the loss of future generations—a haunting theme in atomic-era narratives.
- The underground city was created using abandoned buildings and hangars, with lighting tricks to suggest futuristic decay.
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