Time at the Top
| Time at the Top | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Family/Science Fiction/Comedy |
| Based on | a novel by Edward Ormondroyd |
| Written by |
Linda Brookover Alain Silver |
| Directed by | Jimmy Kaufman |
| Starring |
Elisha Cuthbert Timothy Busfield Lynne Adams Michael Sinelnikoff Gabrielle Boni Matthew Harbour Jean LeClerc |
| Theme music composer | Simon Carpenter |
| Country of origin | United States/Canada |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Alain Silver Jon Turtle |
| Producer(s) |
Claudio Castravelli Jean Guy Despres |
| Cinematography | François Protat |
| Running time | 96 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network |
The Movie Channel Hallmark Movie Channel |
| Original release | January 17, 1999 |
Time at the Top, is a 1999 cable television film for Showtime that was directed by Jimmy Kaufman and written by Linda Brookover and Alain Silver based on from the award-winning young adult novel by Edward Ormondroyd. It stars Elisha Cuthbert, Timothy Busfield, and Lynne Adams.
Synopsis
14-year old high-school student Susan Shawson (Elisha Cuthbert) 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 Philadelphia of 1998 back to the exact 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
- Elisha Cuthbert... Susan Shawson
- Timothy Busfield... Frank Shawson
- Gabrielle Boni... Victoria Walker
- Matthew Harbour... Robert Walker
- Lynne Adams... Nora Walker/Nina Shawson
- Richard Jutras... Edward Ormondroyd
- Michael Sinelnikoff... Mr. Reynolds
- Charles Edwin Powell... Detective Gagin
- Jean LeClerc... Cyrus Sweeney
- Howard Rosenstein... Austin
- Michel Perron... Mrs. Clutchett
- Michel Perron... Bodoni
- Nadia Verrucci... Mrs. McLernon
- Lynne De Bel... Aunt Brisley
- Lincoln Ward... Captain
- Christian Tessier... Soldier
Notes
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's Award of Excellence. It was in competition at the Cairo International Film Festival and Falstaff International Film Festival and also screened at the Festival of Festivals, Saint Petersburg.
Showtime licensed video rights for Time at the Top to Square Dog Pictures, a marketing ploy of which was to prints hundreds of copies and fill enough shelves at Blockbuster Video locations to make it appear as if it were a major release.