Starring: Robert Clarke, Darlene Tompkins, Arianne Ulmer, Vladimir Sokoloff, Stephen Bekassy, John Van Dreelen, Boyd 'Red' Morgan, Ken Knox
Review: In 1960, a military test pilot (Robert Clarke) crashes through the time barrier into the strange world of 2024, which is inhabited by the last remnants of Earth's civilization that has escaped the cosmic plague of 1971 which is responsible for sterilizing the planet, rendering our kind speechless and deaf, and creating bloodthirsty mutants.
From it's pre-Star Wars opening credits scroll to its unique sci-fi sets, which were leftovers from an exhibition at the 1959 Texas State Fair, not to mention Darlene Tompkins, Beyond the Time Barrier has quite a bit going for it visually. It's a shame that the characters aren't very interesting. That's not to say that it's not entertaining.
Beyond the Time Barrier plays like a rejected "Twilight Zone" or "Outer Limits" episode. Our protagonist Maj. William Allison (Robert Clarke) is rather bland, but does what he can to try and convince both the people of 2024, and the audience, that he must return to the past to save the future - that old chestnut. Darlene Tompkins is a vision as Princess Trirene, the only woman that could repopulate humanity if the Major is willing to help her out in a major way. "Wink wink. Nudge nudge". It's just a shame that she doesn't get to speak a line of dialogue.
What this B-Movie from beyond has going for it is the visually remarkable set. The inverted triangular sets give a unique futuristic look to "The Citadel" and even the triangular wipes used for scene transitions are a nice touch. The bald-headed mutants are very effective and surprisingly scary. Ialso really dug the matte paintings of the futuristic city. It's a lost art these days. And did I mention just how beautiful Darlene Tompkins was in this?
So if time travel, mutants, and marvelous matte paintings are some of your favorite things then strap yourself in and prepare to blast off and travel Beyond the Time Barrier.