''Time at the Top'', is a 1999

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television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

for

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

that was directed by

Jimmy Kaufman James Kaufman (born April 1, 1949), known as Jimmy Kaufman or Jim Kaufman, is a film director, a photographer and an artist from Montreal, best known for directing the movies ''Time at the Top'' and ''Whiskers'', and episodes of TV series like ' ...

and written by Linda Brookover and

Alain Silver Alain Silver is a US film producer, director, and screenwriter; music producer; film critic, film historian, DVD commentator, author and editor of books and essays on film topics, especially film noir, the samurai film, and horror films. Filmmak ...

based on the book by

Edward Ormondroyd Edward Ormondroyd (born 8 October 1925) is an American writer of children's books. He is best known for ''David and the Phoenix'', a fantasy novel. His time travel in fiction, time travel novel ''Time at the Top'' was Time at the Top, filmed for ...

. It stars

Elisha Cuthbert Elisha Ann Cuthbert Phaneuf (; born 30 November 1982) is a Canadian actress and model. As a Child actor, child actress, she made her first televised appearance as an extra in the Canadian horror-themed series for children ''Are You Afraid of the ...

Timothy Busfield Timothy Busfield (born June 12, 1957) is an American actor and director. He has played Elliot Weston on the television series ''thirtysomething''; Mark, the brother-in-law of Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) in ''Field of Dreams''; and Danny Concann ...

, and Lynne Adams.

Synopsis

Susan Shawson (Elisha Cuthbert), a 13-year old high-school, inadvertently travels back in time in her apartment building's elevator. As altered by Dr. Reynolds (Michael Sinelnikoff), a retired physicist living upstairs, this secret time machine transports Susan from New York of 1998 back to exactly the same spot in 1881. There she meets Victoria Walker (Gabrielle Boni), a girl her age in need of assistance with her own family problems, most notably a schemer named Cyrus Sweeney (Jean LeClerc) trying to take advantage of her widowed mother Nora (Lynne Adams). When she returns to the present, Susan discovers that her widower father Frank (Timothy Busfield) has been frantically searching for her, assisted by neighbor Edward Ormondroyd (Richard Jutras) and local police detective Gagin (Charles Edwin Powell). Gradually discovering the power of time travel, Susan, Victoria, and her young brother Robert (Matthew Harbour), travel back and forth in time and succeed in changing both the past and the future.

Cast

as Frank Shawson *

as Susan Shawson * Gabrielle Boni as Victoria Walker * Lynne Adams as Nora Walker/Nina Shawson * Matthew Harbour as Robert Walker * Jean LeClerc as Cyrus Sweeney * Richard Jutras as Edward Ormondroyd *

Michael Sinelnikoff Michael Sinelnikoff (born 1 August 1928) is a British actor. He is known for his role as Professor Arthur Summerlee on the television series ''Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World'', and has been seen in a variety of film roles such as ''300 ...

as Dr. Reynolds * Charles Edwin Powell as Detective Gagin * Howard Rosenstein as Austin * Michel Perron as Mr. Bodoni * Nadia Verrucci as Mrs. McLernon

Production

''Time at the Top'' was part of Showtime's reported commitment to "producing original family-oriented films" in 1998–99, as part of their "Original Pictures for All Ages" franchise. The script, written by Linda Brookover and Alain Silver, was based on a novel by Edward Ormondroyd.

Reception

''Los Angeles Times'' critic Don Heckman reviewed the film as "predictable" and a "bit heavy-handed at times", with a "slogging sort of pace", though Heckman praised Cuthbert's performance as Susan as "skillfully portrayed".

Accolades

''Time at the Top'' was awarded the Certificate of Merit as a Finalist in the Houston World Film Festival and also The

Film Advisory Board The Film Advisory Board (FAB) is a member-supported organization founded in 1975 by Elayne Blythe (1919–2005). The FAB's "Award of Excellence" was developed to award quality family-oriented and children's entertainment in both print and elec ...

's Award of Excellence. It was in competition at the

Cairo International Film Festival The Cairo International Film Festival ( ar, مهرجان القاهرة السينمائي الدولي) is an annual internationally accredited film festival held in Cairo Opera House. It was established in 1976 and has taken place every year sin ...

and Falstaff International Film Festival and also screened at the

Festival of Festivals, Saint Petersburg The Festival of Festivals in Saint Petersburg is Russia’s largest non-competitive festival of recent outstanding works of international and Russian cinema. It is held annually in June, during Saint Petersburg's White Nights Festival. History ...

Home media

Showtime licensed video rights for ''Time at the Top'' to Square Dog Pictures, a subsidiary of

Blockbuster Video Blockbuster or Block Buster may refer to: * Blockbuster (entertainment) a term coined for an extremely successful movie, from which most other uses are derived. Corporations * Blockbuster (retailer), a defunct video and game rental chain ** Blo ...

, which printed hundreds of VHS copies in order to fill enough shelves at

locations to make a given title as if it were a major release.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0160986 1999 television films 1999 films American television films American science fiction comedy films Films about time travel Films set in 1998 Films set in 1881 1990s American films