''Idaho Transfer'' is a 1973

science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial lifeforms, spacecraft, robots, cyborgs, interstellar ...

directed by

Peter Fonda Peter Henry Fonda (February 23, 1940 – August 16, 2019) was an American actor. He was the son of Henry Fonda, younger brother of Jane Fonda, and father of Bridget Fonda. He was a prominent figure in the counterculture of the 1960s. Fond ...

. It stars Kelley Bohanon, The IMDb lists her first name with the spelling "Kelly". It is spelled "Kelley" in the credits of the film. Kevin Hearst, Dale Hopkins, and

Keith Carradine Keith Ian Carradine ( ; born August 8, 1949) is an American actor who has had success on stage, film, and television. He is known for his roles as Tom Frank in Robert Altman's film ''Nashville'', Wild Bill Hickok in the HBO series '' Deadwood ...

. It is the only film Fonda directed in which he did not appear.

Plot summary

Teenager Karen Braden (Kelley Bohanon) is a troubled mental hospital outpatient who is taken by her father George and sister Isa to a government facility near the Craters of the Moon lava fields in

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

. The project there was commissioned to develop matter transference, but made a different discovery: time travel. They also discovered that a mysterious ecological catastrophe will soon wipe out civilization. The time travel process has negative health effects, though. Adults "not much older than 20" are unable to survive for long, as their kidneys hemorrhage shortly after the experience. So the scientists decide to only send young people 56 years into the future so they can build a new civilization. After the government takes over the project, the transfer machines are turned off, trapping a large number of project members in the future. Now trapped, they begin exploring the future world. The last survivor from the project is picked up by a family dressed in futuristic clothing. She is placed alive in the trunk of their car, to be used as fuel. The small girl in the back seat asks what will happen when they run out of them (people from the past), "Will we have to use each other, then?"

Cast

*Kelley Bohanon as Karen Braden *Kevin Hearst as Ronald *Caroline Hildebrand as Isa Braden *

as Arthur * Ted D'Arms as George Braden * Judy Motulsky as Judy (as Judy Motolsky) *Dale Hopkins as Leslie *Fred Seagraves as Dr. Lewis *Joe Newman as Cleve *Susan Kelly as Nurse Nora *Meridith Hull as Jennifer *Roy B. Ayers as Elgin (as Roy Ayers) *Kim Casper as Anne *Debbie Scott as Joanna *Devin Burke as Michael *Earl Crabb as Evans

Production

The film was produced by Peter Fonda's Pando Company, in association with Marrianne Santas; it was copyrighted to Kathleen Film Production Company in 1973. The $500,000 film was self-financed by Fonda and starred mostly non-professional actors. Principal shooting took place in

Arco, Idaho Arco is a city in Butte County, Idaho, United States. The population was 879 as of the 2020 United States census, down from 995 at the 2010 census. Arco is the county seat and largest city in Butte County. History Originally known as Root Ho ...

Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve is a U.S. national monument and national preserve in the Snake River Plain in central Idaho. It is along US 20 ( concurrent with US 93 and US 26), between the small towns of Arco and Carey, a ...

, and Bruneau Sand Dunes State Park. Castmember Earl Crabb also cites

Bellevue, Washington Bellevue ( ) is a city in the Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States, located across Lake Washington from Seattle. It is the third-largest city in the Seattle metropolitan area and has variously been characterized as a s ...

as a location. The film was shot after Fonda had finished directing ''

The Hired Hand ''The Hired Hand'' is a 1971 American western film directed by Peter Fonda, with a screenplay by Alan Sharp. The film stars Fonda, Warren Oates, and Verna Bloom. The cinematography was by Vilmos Zsigmond. Bruce Langhorne provided the moody f ...

'' (1971) and August 1971. The end credits conclude with the Latin phrase "

Esto Perpetua ''Esto perpetua'' is a Latin phrase meaning "let it be perpetual". It is the motto of Idaho. The motto appears on the back of the 2007 Idaho quarter dollar coin. The words are traced back to the Venetian theologian and mathematician Paolo Sar ...

". Translated, it means "Let it be perpetual" or "It is forever"; appropriate for a time travel film, it is also the

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...

of the state of Idaho. Fonda either neglected, or did not wish to renew his rights on this film, and according to several sources, the movie passed into the Public Domain. Fonda also produced a documentary about the making of the film.

Reception

Fonda said "The film was in release for only three weeks when the distributor (Cinemation) went bankrupt. The banks had the film for years. Luckily, I was able to retain the rights." Reception of ''Idaho Transfer'' has been mixed. ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' described it as a "very deliberate and closely controlled film graced with a slow, severe beauty that makes its quiet edge of panic all the more chilling", whereas

Jay Robert Nash Jay Robert Nash (born November 26, 1937, in Indianapolis, Indiana) is an American author of more than 70 books on myriad aspects of true crime. Among Nash's crime anthologies are ''Encyclopedia of Western Lawmen and Outlaws'', ''Look For the Woma ...

in ''The Motion Picture Guide'' declares it a "useless piece of drivel about an obnoxious group of teens". While the film's unprofessional acting is pointed out by nearly all critics, its overall naturalist technique was praised at the time.

Notes and references

External links

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Terminal Station
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'' review by