The Philadelphia Experiment (1984)

Director:

Stewart Raffill

Writers:

Wallace C. Bennett (story)
Charles Berlitz (book)

Release Date:

3 August 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Fantasy | Romance | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Will You Survive?

Plot:

Based on an "actual event" that took place in 1943. About a US Navy Destroyer Escort that disappeared from the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, and sent two men 40 years into the future to 1984.

Plot Keywords:

Philadelphia | US Navy | Experiment | Male Female Relationship | Redhead

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Michael Paré	...	David Herdeg
Nancy Allen	...	Allison Hayes
Eric Christmas	...	Dr. James Longstreet
Bobby Di Cicco	...	Jim Parker
Louise Latham	...	Pamela
Kene Holliday	...	Major Clark
Joe Dorsey	...	Sheriff Bates
Michael Currie	...	Magnussen
Stephen Tobolowsky	...	Barney
Gary Brockette	...	Adjutant / Andrews
Debra Troyer	...	Young Pamela
Miles McNamara	...	Young Longstreet
Ralph Manza	...	Older Jim
James Edgcomb	...	Officer Boyer
Glenn Morshower	...	Mechanic

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-12 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Charleston, South Carolina, USA

Company:

Cinema Group Ventures

Trivia:

Back in 1980, AVCO Embassay Pictures asked John Carpenter, who serves as an executive producer on this film to both write and direct this film after the success of Halloween (1978) and The Fog (1980). However, Carpenter showed them Escape from New York (1981) (which he wrote years earlier) and they did that instead.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: David and Jimmy don't know how to drive Allison's car, which has an automatic transmission, and they claim never to have heard of an "automatic" before. The first mass-produced automatic transmission was introduced by General Motors in 1939, two years before the United States entered World War II.

Quotes:

Allison Hayes: Why'd you join the Navy?
David Herdeg: You know the old saying: girl in every port.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in 100 Million BC (2008) (V)

Soundtrack:

The Runner

Major Disappointment

"The Philadelphia Experiment" takes the intriguing idea of time travel forward and turns it into a routine, often silly thriller. Michael Pare, hot off "Eddie and the Cruisers" stars as one of two WWII soldiers that are time warped to present day (1984) and try to get back. When his buddy does go back Pare seeks him out in 1984 and when he finds him the scene is so ridiculously written it kills the whole movie. Not a chance would the friend act the way he does to his supposedly long lost buddy. It's awkward and unintentionally funny - which can be said for the whole film.