Running Against Time

Last updated
Running Against Time
Running Against Time Film Poster-VHS cover.jpg
VHS artwork
Genre Science fiction
Based on A Time to Remember
by Stanley Shapiro
Teleplay by
  • Stanley Shapiro
  • Robert Glass
Directed by Bruce Seth Green
Starring
Music by Don Davis
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producers
  • Pat Finnegan
  • Sheldon Pinchuk
ProducerDavid Roessell
CinematographyBrian R. R. Hebb
EditorHeather Jo MacDougall
Running time92 minutes
Production companies
Original release
Network USA Network
ReleaseNovember 21, 1990 (1990-11-21)

Running Against Time is a 1990 American science fiction television film directed by Bruce Seth Green, written by Stanley Shapiro and Robert Glass, and starring Robert Hays, Catherine Hicks, and Sam Wanamaker. Based on Shapiro's 1986 novel A Time to Remember , the film is about a college professor who travels back in time in an attempt to prevent the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The film was Shapiro's final work; it aired on the USA Network on November 21, 1990, four months after his death, and was dedicated to his memory.

Contents

Plot

A college professor, who has not recovered after the death of his brother in Vietnam, hears rumors about a famous professor working on a time machine. He meets him and persuades the professor to send him back in time in order to stop the assassination of John F. Kennedy and the Vietnam War, but things don't go according to plan. [1] [2]

Alternative VHS artwork Running Against Time Alternative Cover.jpg
Alternative VHS artwork

Cast

Reception

Ken Tucker, writing for Entertainment Weekly called the movie "simultaneously solemn and wacky" but "not without charm". [3] The LA Times compared it unfavorably to the Back to the Future films. [4]

Years later, the similarities and differences with Stephen King's novel 11/22/63 and its TV adaptation , were referenced by critics. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Ruby</span> Murderer of Lee Harvey Oswald (1911–1967)

Jack Leon Ruby was an American nightclub owner who murdered Lee Harvey Oswald on November 24, 1963, two days after Oswald was accused of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Ruby shot and mortally wounded Oswald on live television in the basement of Dallas Police Headquarters and was immediately arrested. In a trial, Ruby was found guilty and sentenced to death. The conviction was appealed, and he was to be granted a new trial, but Ruby became ill, was diagnosed with cancer, and died of a pulmonary embolism on January 3, 1967.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Harvey Oswald</span> Assassin of John F. Kennedy (1939–1963)

Lee Harvey Oswald was a U.S. Marine veteran who assassinated John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, on November 22, 1963.

<i>JFK</i> (film) 1991 American thriller film directed by Oliver Stone

JFK is a 1991 American epic political thriller film written and directed by Oliver Stone. The film examines the investigation into the assassination of John F. Kennedy by New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison, who came to believe there was a conspiracy to assassinate Kennedy and that Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warren Commission</span> U.S. commission established by President Lyndon B. Johnson to investigate the Kennedy assassination

The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, known unofficially as the Warren Commission, was established by President Lyndon B. Johnson through Executive Order 11130 on November 29, 1963, to investigate the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy that had taken place on November 22, 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assassination of John F. Kennedy</span> 1963 murder of the 35th U.S. President

On November 22, 1963, John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas. Kennedy was in the vehicle with his wife, Jacqueline, Texas Governor John Connally, and Connally's wife, Nellie, when he was fatally shot from the nearby Texas School Book Depository by former U.S. Marine Lee Harvey Oswald. The motorcade rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital, where Kennedy was pronounced dead about 30 minutes after the shooting; Connally was also wounded in the attack but recovered. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was hastily sworn in as president two hours and eight minutes later aboard Air Force One at Dallas Love Field.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. D. Tippit</span> American police officer (1924–1963)

J. D. Tippit was an American World War II U.S. Army veteran and police officer who served as an 11-year veteran with the Dallas Police Department. About 45 minutes after the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, Tippit was shot and killed in a residential neighborhood in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas, Texas, by Lee Harvey Oswald. Oswald was initially arrested for the murder of Tippit and was subsequently charged for killing Kennedy. Oswald was murdered by Jack Ruby, a Dallas nightclub owner, two days later.

<i>American Tabloid</i> 1995 novel by James Ellroy

American Tabloid is a 1995 novel by James Ellroy that chronicles the events surrounding three rogue American law enforcement officers from November 22, 1958, through November 22, 1963. Each becomes entangled in a web of interconnecting associations between the FBI, the CIA, and the Mafia, which eventually leads to their collective involvement in the John F. Kennedy assassination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marina Oswald Porter</span> Wife of Lee Harvey Oswald

Marina Nikolayevna Oswald Porter is a Russian-American woman who was the wife of Lee Harvey Oswald. She married Oswald during his temporary defection to the Soviet Union and emigrated to the United States with him. After the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy and Oswald's murder, she testified against Oswald for the Warren Commission and remarried. She ultimately came to believe Oswald was innocent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the John F. Kennedy assassination</span>

This article outlines the timeline of events before, during, and after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States.

<i>Rush to Judgment</i> 1966 book by American lawyer Mark Lane

Rush to Judgment: A Critique of the Warren Commission's Inquiry into the Murders of President John F. Kennedy, Officer J.D. Tippit and Lee Harvey Oswald is a 1966 book by American lawyer Mark Lane. It is about the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy and takes issue with the investigatory methods and conclusions of the Warren Commission. The book's introduction is by Hugh Trevor-Roper, Regius Professor of History at the University of Oxford. Although it was preceded by a few self-published or small press books, Rush to Judgment was the first mass market hardcover book to confront the findings of the Warren Commission.

<i>Attack on Terror: The FBI vs. the Ku Klux Klan</i> 1975 American TV film

Attack on Terror: The FBI vs. the Ku Klux Klan is a 1975 American two-part made-for-television drama film which dramatizes the events following the 1964 abduction and murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner in Mississippi. In this, it is similar in theme to the 1988 movie Mississippi Burning, though some names and details were changed, and both productions pick up the approximate storyline of the 1990 TV-movie Murder in Mississippi.

The John F. Kennedy assassination rifle is the long-barrelled firearm that was used to assassinate John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howard Brennan</span> American writer and witness to assassination of John F. Kennedy (1919-1983)

Howard Leslie Brennan was an American memoirist and steamfitter who was witness to the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963. According to the Warren Commission, Brennan's description of a sniper he saw was probative in reaching the conclusion that the shots came from the sixth floor, southeast corner window of the Texas School Book Depository Building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Leavelle</span> American police detective (1920–2019)

James Robert Leavelle was a Dallas Police Department homicide detective who, on November 24, 1963, was escorting Lee Harvey Oswald through the basement of Dallas Police headquarters when Oswald was shot by Jack Ruby. Leavelle prominently was noted in films and photographs—including one that won a Pulitzer Prize—taken just as Ruby shot Oswald.

The John F. Kennedy assassination and the subsequent conspiracy theories surrounding it have been discussed, referenced, or recreated in popular culture numerous times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories</span> Conspiracy theories regarding the assassination of JFK

The assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963 has spawned numerous conspiracy theories. These theories allege the involvement of the CIA, the Mafia, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro, the KGB, or some combination of these individuals and entities. Some conspiracy theories have alleged a coverup by parts of the federal government, such as the original FBI investigators, the Warren Commission, or the CIA. Former Los Angeles District Attorney Vincent Bugliosi estimated that a total of 42 groups, 82 assassins, and 214 people had been accused at one time or another in various conspiracy scenarios.

<i>A Time to Remember</i> (novel) 1986 Novel by Stanley Shapiro

A Time to Remember is the last novel by Stanley Shapiro, a time travel thriller about the assassination of John F. Kennedy, published on August 12, 1986, by Random House.

John William Fritz was the captain of Homicide and Robbery Bureau of the Dallas Police Department. In November 1963, he received nationwide attention as the head of the police investigation of the murder of president John F. Kennedy and the primary interrogator of Lee Harvey Oswald.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Gordon Shanklin</span> FBI agent who had a major influence in the investigation of the Kennedy assassination

James Gordon Shanklin was an American FBI agent and lawyer best known for his role in the investigation of the Kennedy assassination and facilitating the online network of the Federal Bureau of Investigation communications known as the National Crime Information Center.

References

  1. "Running against Time (1990)". BFI. Archived from the original on January 30, 2021. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
  2. Green, Bruce Seth (1990-11-21), Running Against Time (Sci-Fi), Robert Hays, Catherine Hicks, Sam Wanamaker, Wayne Tippit, Coastline Partners, Finnegan/Pinchuk Productions, MCA Television Entertainment (MTE), retrieved 2021-01-25
  3. "Running Against Time". EW.com. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
  4. "TV Review : 'Against Time' on USA". Los Angeles Times. 1990-11-21. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
  5. "11.22.63 Bonus Episode 3: A Time To Remember Running Against Time – 11.22.63". barrenspace.com. Retrieved 2021-01-25.