In an earlier blog post, I wrote before about how Richard Matheson’s, Somewhere in Time greatly influenced my own writing in the time travel genre. Well it’s time to meet the man who influenced Richard Matheson, and myself as well. Jack Finney’s best work was in time travel. But like Matheson, he started off writing horror stories. Finney’s most famous story was, The Body Snatchers, which was made into a number of movie versions, including, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) and (1978), Body Snatchers (1998) and most recently, The Invasion (2007) with Nicole Kidman.
Jack Finney – Time and Again
Even though Jack Finney was most famous for The Body Snatchers, he wrote many time travel stories and invented the idea of traveling in time without using a time machine, but rather concentration and self-hypnosis. This is the technique used by Matheson in Somewhere in Time and myself in Parallel Roads (Lost on Route 66) and the Time Pilgrim series. I added one element to mine and that is the use of water. Water is the one substance that has been here since the earth began, in all time periods. Not new water, the same water. Matheson was so influenced by Jack Finney that he named the college professor who describes the time travel technique, Finney in the movie version of Somewhere in Time.
Jack Finney’s most celebrated time travel story is, Time and Again. This 1970 novel is genius. His time traveler is a man named Simon Morley who lives in New York City and works for a secret government project. He ends up making his time jump from the famous Dakota apartment building because the structure would also exist in the past (1882). NOTE: Ten years after this book was published, John Lennon would live in this building and be killed in front of it.
Jack Finney’s most celebrated time travel story is, Time and Again. This 1970 novel is genius. His time traveler is a man named Simon Morley who lives in New York City and works for a secret government project. He ends up making his time jump from the famous Dakota apartment building because the structure would also exist in the past (1882). NOTE: Ten years after this book was published, John Lennon would live in this building and be killed in front of it.
What made this book even more unique was the character, Simon Morley brought a camera with him and his so-called actual photos adorned the pages as proof of his journey. He travels to many sites in 1892 New York City and describes the feelings of seeing them in their newness. Some places he visits don’t even exist anymore. Time and Again is a great book and should be read by everyone.
It was long rumored that Robert Redford was going to make a film version, but that never happened. However, in 2012 Lionsgate studios optioned the film rights to the novel, with Doug Liman set to direct and produce it. (Fingers crossed)
It was long rumored that Robert Redford was going to make a film version, but that never happened. However, in 2012 Lionsgate studios optioned the film rights to the novel, with Doug Liman set to direct and produce it. (Fingers crossed)
One of Finney’s time travel stories did make it to film. It was a short story he wrote for The Saturday Evening Post in 1959 called The Love Letter. It was made into a 1998 Hallmark Hall of Fame television film, directed by Dan Curtis and starring Campbell Scott and Jennifer Jason Leigh.
Elizabeth Whitcomb (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is living near Boston in 1863 and writes a letter addressing it to just "Dearest". She expresses her desire and hope to someday find someone to love with her whole heart and mind; or as she wrote it, "to feel a love that burns like fire in the moonlight." She places the letter in a secret compartment of her desk. In the year 1998, Scott Corrigan (Campbell Scott) buys the desk at a second-hand furniture store. While re-conditioning it, he finds the secret compartment and Elizabeth's letter. Beyond reason, he ends up, writing her back and they correspond back and forth, gaining a strong love bond between them.
 |  |
It is a great time travel romance and uses the premise of two people writing back and forth across the time barrier via the same writing desk. This premise also influenced the 2006 film, The Lake House with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock. This was a remake of the 2000 South Korean film called, Il Mare. It is also similar to the 2000 Movie, Frequency with Dennis Quaid and Jim Caviezel, where father and son talk to each other across time via a short hand radio.
Jack Finney wrote many other time travel short stories which were released in various compilation books such as, I Love Galesburg in the Springtime (1963), About Time (1986), and Three by Finney (1987).
 |  |
Shortly before he died in 1995, he finished the sequel to Time and Again, called, From Time to Time.
Jack Finney died of pneumonia and emphysema in Greenbrae, California at the age of 84. He was one of the greatest time travel authors the world will ever know.
Click the picture below!
RSS Feed
