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''The Philadelphia Experiment'' is a 1984 American
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, interste ...
. It is directed by
Stewart Raffill Stewart Raffill is a British writer and director. Biography Raffill was born in England and grew up near Stratford before immigrating to the US and working in the motion picture industry. His writing and directing work in film and TV spans ...
and stars
Michael Paré Michael Kevin Paré (born October 9, 1958) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in the films '' Eddie and the Cruisers'' (1983), ''Streets of Fire'' (1984), and '' The Philadelphia Experiment'' (1984), and on the series '' Starhu ...
,
Bobby Di Cicco Bobby Di Cicco is an American actor best known for his early roles in the films '' I Wanna Hold Your Hand'' (1978) by Robert Zemeckis, ''1941'' (1979) by Steven Spielberg, Samuel Fuller's '' The Big Red One'' (1980), and the John Carpenter J ...
, Kene Holliday and Nancy Allen and based on the
urban legend An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...
of the Philadelphia Experiment. In 1943,
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...
sailors David Herdeg (Paré) and Jim Parker (Di Cicco) are thrown forward in time to the year 1984 when a scientific experiment being performed aboard the USS ''Eldridge'' suffers a catastrophe. The film follows the two men as they attempt to survive the future and race against time to put an end to the experiment that now threatens the fate of the entire world.


Plot

In 1943,
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...
sailors David Herdeg and Jim Parker serve aboard destroyer escort USS ''Eldridge'', docked in Philadelphia. Doctor James Longstreet and his team conduct an experiment to render the ship invisible to radar, but a malfunction causes the ship to disappear. David and Jim's attempts to stop the experiment fail and they jump overboard to escape. They land during the night in a small town, which also disappears, leaving them marooned in a desert. Startled by the appearance of an unfamiliar aircraft (a helicopter), they flee and Jim is nearly electrocuted by an electric fence. Eventually, they find their way to a roadside diner. An energy discharge from Jim destroys two
arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade ...
s, forcing an altercation with the owner. Fleeing to the parking lot, they take a woman named Allison hostage and force her to drive them away. Confused by their surroundings, they are shocked when Allison tells them that the year is 1984. They are tracked and apprehended by the police. Jim, who is suffering increasingly severe seizures, is hospitalized before disappearing from his hospital bed in a flash of light. David and Allison then evade
military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear re ...
, who have arrived to take David into custody. Learning that they are near Jim's birthplace, Santa Paula California, David decides to try to find his family. Jim's wife Pamela, who is now a senior citizen, immediately recognizes David from 1943. She says that the ''Eldridge'' had reappeared minutes after disappearing. Jim had also returned and had been chastised and hospitalized after telling the truth about temporarily visiting 1984. David finds that he himself never returned. David sees an elderly Jim outside a window but Jim refuses to speak with him. As David and Allison leave, they see military police approaching and a high speed chase through Jim's ranch ensues. The two manage to elude them when the pursuing vehicle crashes and burns. From the burning wreck, David salvages documents mentioning Longstreet. Recognizing that Longstreet had been involved with the Philadelphia experiment in 1943, David decides to find him. As they spend time together, David and Allison fall in love. In 1984, Longstreet has attempted to use the same technologies that were used in the ''Eldridge'' experiment to create a shield as protection from an
ICBM An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more thermonuclear warheads). Conventional, chemical, and biological weapons c ...
attack. When the equipment was tested, the shielded town disappeared into "hyperspace". The scientists are unable to shut down the experiment, which has created a vortex that is drawing matter into it and causes extremely unstable and severe weather. Longstreet predicts that the vortex will continue to expand until the entire world is consumed. The scientists send a probe into the vortex and discover the ''Eldridge'' inside. They theorize that the two experiments have linked together with the generators on the ''Eldridge'' powering the vortex. David captures an assistant at Longstreet's home and forces the man to take them onto the base. Longstreet explains the situation to David and tells him that, according to surviving sailors from the ''Eldridge'', the ship returned to Philadelphia in 1943 after David shut down the generator. Longstreet says that David must go through the vortex to the ''Eldridge'' and terminate the experiment or the vortex will destroy the Earth. David is outfitted with an electrically insulated suit and catapulted into the vortex. He lands on the deck of the ''Eldridge'', where he finds crew members badly injured. He hurries to the generator room and smashes arrays of
vacuum tube A vacuum tube, electron tube, valve (British usage), or tube (North America), is a device that controls electric current flow in a high vacuum between electrodes to which an electric potential difference has been applied. The type known as a ...
s using a firefighting
axe An axe ( sometimes ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has man ...
. The generator shuts down and David looks for Jim. Assured that Jim is fine, David jumps over the side of the ship and disappears. Back in 1943, Longstreet and others watch the ''Eldridge'' reappear in Philadelphia, revealing crew members with severe burns, while others have been fused alive into the ship's hull. In 1984, the missing town reappears as Allison and David are reunited.


Cast

*
Michael Paré Michael Kevin Paré (born October 9, 1958) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in the films '' Eddie and the Cruisers'' (1983), ''Streets of Fire'' (1984), and '' The Philadelphia Experiment'' (1984), and on the series '' Starhu ...
as David Herdeg * Nancy Allen as Allison Hayes * Eric Christmas as Dr. Jim Longstreet **Miles McNamara as Young Jim Longstreet *
Bobby Di Cicco Bobby Di Cicco is an American actor best known for his early roles in the films '' I Wanna Hold Your Hand'' (1978) by Robert Zemeckis, ''1941'' (1979) by Steven Spielberg, Samuel Fuller's '' The Big Red One'' (1980), and the John Carpenter J ...
as Jim Parker **
Ralph Manza Ralph Manza (December 1, 1921 – January 31, 2000) was an American character actor who made over 160 appearances in American film and television shows. Career A pre-med student at UC-Berkeley in the early 1940s, Manza was drafted into the Unit ...
as Older Jim Parker *
Louise Latham Louise Latham (September 23, 1922 – February 12, 2018) was an American actress, perhaps best known for her portrayal of Bernice Edgar in Alfred Hitchcock's 1964 film '' Marnie''. Early years Latham came from Hamilton, Texas. She was from a fa ...
as Pamela **Debra Troyer as Young Pamela *
Stephen Tobolowsky Stephen Harold Tobolowsky (born May 30, 1951) is an American character actor. He is known for film roles such as insurance agent Ned Ryerson in ''Groundhog Day'' and amnesiac Sammy Jankis in '' Memento'', as well as such television characters as ...
as Barney * Kene Holliday as Major Clark * Joe Dorsey as Sheriff Bates * Michael Currie as Magnussen * Gary Brockette as Adjutant / Andrews * James Edgcomb as Officer Boyer *
Glenn Morshower Glenn Morshower is an American character actor. He is best known for playing Secret Service Agent Aaron Pierce in '' 24'' and Colonel (later General) Sharp Morshower in the ''Transformers'' film series. He has also appeared in many feature fil ...
as Mechanic * Vaughn Armstrong as Cowboy


Production


Development and writing

John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, actor, and composer. Although he worked in various film genres, he is most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. He ...
wrote an original draft. He called it a "great shaggy dog story. Absolute crap, but what a great story. While I was writing it, I couldn’t figure out the third act. A friend suggested the revenge of the crew against the people who put them there, but I thought it was too much like ''
The Fog ''The Fog'' is a 1980 American supernatural horror film directed by John Carpenter, who also co-wrote the screenplay and created the music for the film. It stars Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Atkins, Janet Leigh and Hal Holbrook. I ...
''". Stewart Raffill says by the time he became involved with the film, the script had been rewritten nine times. He agreed to do the film, subject to the next rewrite which he thought was "terrible". The head of the studio agreed with Raffill's additions to the script, even though it was only three weeks before filming: "So, he asked if I had ever dictated a screenplay before. I told him I had not. Then he said, "Well, I’m gonna send someone to your house, a girl, every afternoon, and just dictate the story you told me and fill in the dialogue and we’ll make that". And I said, "Okay". So that's what I did". Principal photography began on November 28, 1983. Parts of the film were shot in
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, t ...
and
Wendover, Utah Wendover is a city on the western edge of Tooele County, Utah, United States. The population was 1,115 at the 2020 census. Description Wendover is on the western border of Utah and is contiguous with West Wendover, Nevada. Interstate 80 runs ...
,
Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...
,
Santa Paula, California Santa Paula ( Spanish for " St. Paula") is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. Situated amid the orchards of the Santa Clara River Valley, the city advertises itself to tourists as the "Citrus Capital of the World". Santa Pa ...
, and
Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint ...
. The destroyer USS ''Laffey'' (DD-724), then on display at
Patriots Point Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum is located in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, at the mouth of the Cooper River on the Charleston Harbor, across from Charleston. Museum ships and exhibits Patriots Point is home to two museum ships: * , ...
, represented USS ''Eldridge'' in the film. Other shooting locations included Cooper River Bridge,
Charleston Harbor The Charleston Harbor is an inlet (8 sq mi/20.7 km²) of the Atlantic Ocean at Charleston, South Carolina. The inlet is formed by the junction of Ashley and Cooper rivers at . Morris and Sullivan's Islands shelter the entrance. Charleston H ...
, the William Enston Home,
Wendover Air Force Base Wendover Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base in Utah now known as Wendover Airport. During World War II, it was a training base for B-17 and B-24 bomber crews. It was the training site of the 509th Composite Group, the B-2 ...
, and the
Bonneville Salt Flats The Bonneville Salt Flats are a densely packed salt pan in Tooele County in northwestern Utah. A remnant of the Pleistocene Lake Bonneville, it is the largest of many salt flats west of the Great Salt Lake. It is public land managed by the Bure ...
.


Reception


Critical response

On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
the film has an approval rating of 50% based on reviews from 10 critics.


Accolades

* 1985, Nancy Allen was nominated by the
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films is an American non-profit organization established in 1972 dedicated to the advancement of science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, television, and home video. The Academy is headquarter ...
for the
Saturn Award for Best Actress The Saturn Award for Best Actress is one of the annual Saturn Awards given by the American professional organization, the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films. The Saturn Awards are the oldest film-specialized reward of achievements ...
. * 1985, Stewart Raffill won the Best Film Award at
Fantafestival The Mostra internazionale del film di fantascienza e del fantastico (English: ''International Science Fiction and Fantasy Film Show''), commonly known as Fantafestival, is a film festival devoted to science fiction, fantasy and horror film tha ...
.


Sequel and remake

* A sequel called '' Philadelphia Experiment II'', featuring a different cast and crew, was released in 1993. * A
made-for-television 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 ...
reconception of the original film was released in 2012 on
SyFy Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...
. Michael Paré also appears in this version, but in a different role.


See also

* '' Axis of Time'', an alternative history trilogy novel series written by Australian journalist and author John Birmingham beginning in 2004. * ''Forever Young'' – a 1992 time travel through cryostasis film. * ''
Late for Dinner ''Late for Dinner'' is a 1991 American science fiction drama film directed by W. D. Richter and starring Peter Berg, Brian Wimmer and Marcia Gay Harden. The supporting cast features Peter Gallagher and Richard Steinmetz, along with Janeane Ga ...
'' – a 1991 time travel through cryostasis film. * Project Rainbow * ''The Final Countdown'' – a 1980 film with a warship traveling back in time.


References


External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Philadelphia Experiment, The 1984 films Films about conspiracy theories Films about time travel American romantic fantasy films 1980s romantic fantasy films 1980s science fiction action films Films shot in South Carolina 1980s action films Films set in 1943 Films set in 1984 American science fiction action films Films directed by Stewart Raffill Films shot in Salt Lake City Films shot in Colorado Films shot in California New World Pictures films Films shot in Ventura County, California Films shot in Utah 1980s English-language films 1980s American films