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H. G. Wells' The Shape of Things to Come is a Canadian science fiction motion picture first released in May 1979.

H. G. Wells' The Shape of Things to Come'
Beyond the earth... Beyond the moon... Beyond your wildest imagination!
Directed by	George McCowan
Produced by	John Danylkiw (associate producer) William Davidson (producer) Harry Alan Towers (as Peter Welbeck) (executive producer)
Written by	(in alphabetical order) *Mike Cheda (adaptation) * Joseph Glazner (adaptation) * Martin Lager (writer) * H.G. Wells (novel)
Starring	* Jack Palance * Carol Lynley * Barry Morse * John Ireland
Music by	Paul Hoffert
Cinematography	Reginald H. Morris
Editing by	Stan Cole
Distributed by	* Film Ventures International (FVI) (1979) (USA) (theatrical)* Astral Video (Canada)* Blue Underground (2003) (USA) (DVD)*International Film Distributors (Canada)
Release date(s)	* Canada May 4, 1979 * UK May 24, 1979 * USA August 1979
Running time	98 min.
Country	Canada
Language	English

Although credited to H. G. Wells, the film takes only its title from The Shape of Things to Come, Wells' speculative novel from 1933. Instead, the film was an attempt to capitalize on the popularity of such recent successes as Star Wars, and TV series such as Space: 1999 and Battlestar Galactica, although the film had only a fraction of the production budget of any of these.

Plot

The film takes place in the far future, after the earth has been ravaged by "The Robot Wars". Most of mankind has fled the planet and resettled in giant domed cities on the moon. For reasons not explained, however, the race needs frequent doses of a rare drug in order to survive. The only place where this drug is available is the planet Delta Three.

The main plot of the film involves a scientist (played by Barry Morse, formerly of Space: 1999), his son (Nicholas Campbell, years before critical acclaim in Da Vinci's Inquest) and Kim, a senator's daughter (Anne-Marie Martin of Sledge Hammer! fame, here credited as "Eddie Benton") hijacking an experimental spacecraft in order to stop the plans of the evil Omus (Jack Palance), who has overthrown the governor of Delta Three (Carol Lynley) and is threatening to destroy the Moon colonies unless he is installed as ruler of the human race.

Along the way, the trio encounter a robot who falls in love with Kim, a group of children left behind on earth, and other hazards.

Reception

The film was released two months after Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and it appears some effort has been made to copy elements of the American production. Most notable is the presentation of Martin's character, whose clothes and hairstyle are nearly identical to those of Wilma Deering in the Buck Rogers film.

Although a box office and critical failure at the time of its release, the film became something of a cult favorite and was released on DVD in 2004.

See also

• Things to Come, a 1936 film which is a more faithful adaptation of the Wells book.

Notes

External links

• The Shape of Things to Come at the Internet Movie Database
• H. G. Wells' The Shape of Things to Come' at Allmovie