The Professor (Felix Aylmer) is showing Susie (Evelyn Dall) around his time machine when it accidently takes off with Tommy (Tommy Handley) and Bill (George Moon) also on board. They are transported to Elizabethan England where they come across Walter Raleigh, William Shakespeare, Queen Elizabeth 1, Captain John Smith and Pocohontas. Will our time travellers return?
Acting
Tommy Handley's rapid-fire ad-lib energy carries every scene.
Writing
Shakespeare gets roped into a pub brawl. Enough said.
Production
Gloriously cheap sets that wink at their own ridiculousness.
Director
Walter Forde
Tommy Handley
Tommy
Evelyn Dall
Susie Barton
George Moon
Bill Barton
Felix Aylmer
The Professor
Moore Marriott
A Soothsayer
Graham Moffatt
His Nephew
Leslie Bradley
Capt. Walter Raleigh
Olga Lindo
Queen Elizabeth
John Salew
William Shakespeare
Roy Emerton
Capt. John Smith
Wallace Bosco
(uncredited)
Tommy Duggan
(uncredited)
Arthur Hambling
Captain of the Guard (uncredited)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Handley was a massive radio star; this film cashed in on his 'ITMA' catchphrase fame. Audiences literally bought tickets to hear him say familiar bits.
The time machine design was recycled from a 1939 Gainsborough film—1940s Britain was not about wasting props.
US
GB
