Idaho Transfer
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| Idaho Transfer | |
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 Karen at the transfer station; Cover of the Dutch VHS release |
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| Directed by | Peter Fonda |
| Produced by | William Hayward Anthony Mazzola |
| Written by | Thomas Matthiesen |
| Starring | Kelley Bohanon Kevin Hearst Dale Hopkins Keith Carradine |
| Music by | Bruce Langhorne |
| Cinematography | Bruce Logan |
| Editing by | Chuck McClelland |
| Distributed by | Cinemation Industries |
| Release date(s) | 15 June 1973 |
| Running time | 86 mins |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Idaho Transfer is a 1973 science fiction film directed by Peter Fonda. It stars Kelley Bohanon,[1] Kevin Hearst, Dale Hopkins and Keith Carradine.
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[edit] Plot summary
Karen Braden (Kelley Bohanon) is a troubled teen — an outpatient at mental health clinics — who is suddenly brought by her father George and her sister Isa into a government project stationed near the Craters of the Moon lava fields in Idaho. The project has been commissioned to develop matter transference, but has made a greater leap: the scientists have developed a pair of time machines, and have discovered that a mysterious impending ecological catastrophe will wipe out civilization. Other government entities seek to shut down the project as the idealistic scientists attempt to keep the nature of their discovery a secret.
The use of the transfer devices has deleterious effects upon the health of the travelers. Adults "not much older than 20" are unable to survive the journey for long, as apparently their kidneys will begin to hemorrhage. Thus, the scientists have decided to send young people 56 years into the future in order to build a new civilization.
On the return trip from her orientation transfer, Karen accidentally kills her sister. Unable to find immediate help, she flees to the future again, where she becomes withdrawn despite the sympathies of the arriving young researchers.
After the time machines are taken offline by the government, the young researchers hike toward Portland, Oregon, but certain revelations do not bode well for the project's goals. Increasingly disheartened, Karen hikes back to the transfer station, where she is attacked by another researcher who has been driven mad by what she has discovered. Karen uses the time machine to escape and returns to a point farther in the future, where she encounters the residents of that time.
[edit] Cast
Most of the cast were unknowns who did not not go further in the motion picture industry. The exceptions are noted.
- Kelley Bohanon as Karen Braden
- Bohanon's only other screen role was a bit part in the 1971 film The Christian Licorice Store.
- Kevin Hearst as Ronald
- Caroline Hildebrand as Isa Braden
- Keith Carradine as Arthur
- Carradine had already appeared in three films, McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), A Gunfight (1971), and Emperor of the North Pole (1973). He has gone on to appear in dozens of other films and television productions.
- Ted D'Arms as George Braden
- D'Arms would go on to appear in a dozen other films over the next thirty years, perform voice work for video games, and work as a photographer.
- Judy Motulsky as Judy (as Judy Motolsky)
- Motulsky would go on to appear in The Big Bus (1976), Spawn of the Slithis (1978) and an episode of the The Waltons.
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[edit] Production
The film was produced by Peter Fonda's Pando Company,[2] in association with Marrianne Santas; it was copyrighted to Kathleen Film Production Company in 1973. Principal shooting took place in Arco, Idaho, Craters of the Moon National Park, and Bruneau Sand Dunes State Park.[3] Castmember Earl Crabb also cites Bellevue, Washington as a location.[4]
The end credits conclude with the Latin phrase "Esto Perpetua". Translated, it means "Let it be perpetual" or "It is forever"; appropriate for a time travel film, it is also the motto of the state of Idaho.[5]
[edit] Production Crew
- Director … Peter Fonda
- Producer … William Hayward
- Original story and screenplay … Thomas Matthiesen
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[edit] Reception
Reception of Idaho Transfer has been widely mixed. Time described it as a "very deliberate and closely controlled film graced with a slow, severe beauty that makes its quiet edge of panic all the more chilling",[6] whereas Jay Robert Nash in The Motion Picture Guide declares it a "useless piece of drivel about an obnoxious group of teens".[3]
While the performances by non-professional talent have been received negatively by nearly all critics, the film's overall naturalist technique was better understood by the critics of its day.
[edit] Sources of confusion
The Isa Braden character mentions they travel "56 years" into the future, thus if they are leaving 1973, the year of their arrival would be 2029. The 2003 DVD cover declares that the young scientists enter the year 2044;[7] this would mean they were leaving from 1988, even though the picture makes no suggestion of imagining a near-future 1988, and mentions no specific dates at all.
The title of Idaho Transfer in its video release in the UK is Deranged, which is easily confused with the 1974 film Deranged, about a necrophiliac serial killer.
The title Deranged likely refers to the lead character's state of mental health, but the degree to which Karen is troubled is very unclear. Her sister Isa is delighted at Karen's arrival, and asks only casually after her condition ("How's her head?") while her father evinces little fear that Karen will be able to adapt to time travel. Karen first appears on screen having her braces removed for time transfer, and happy to see her sister, none of which suggest a history of mental illness. Then in a voice over, Isa asks if Karen is still a virgin, and Karen responds, conversationally, that she was raped while at the clinic; Isa never acknowledges this surprising statement, and this has startled recent reviewers.[citation needed] Isa's death is accidental, due to an oversight of Karen's while she is hurrying to save Isa after a fall. Karen's subsequent erratic behavior is presented as understandable grief and depression rather than a "deranged" psychosis.
[edit] Cultural context
Idaho Transfer's confrontational social message both departed from 1960s idealism,[6] and echoed the issues raised by H.G. Wells in The Time Machine, where the gentler half of humanity lets itself be devoured by the harsher half.
The film refers to a disastrous "eco-crisis", presumably an ecological collapse of the environment precipitated by mankind. Ecology was of popular interest at the time the film was made, notably the first Earth Day in 1970 and the 1972 Stockholm Conference. American anti-pollution activism focused a great deal on simple litter following Keep America Beautiful's 1971 "Crying Indian" ad campaign; hence, brief images of discarded bottles, toilet paper and plastic wrappers in Idaho Transfer are meant to evoke a wider ecological breakdown, even as most outdoor shots dwell on the untouched natural beauty of the region.
[edit] Prescience of the energy crisis
Idaho Transfer was first run in theaters on June 15, 1973, and had a perhaps wider release that September. It was in release at the time of the OPEC oil embargo which began on October 17, precipitating the 1973 oil crisis. The 1973 embargo left the United States facing a winter with waiting lines for gasoline, rationing not seen since the end of World War II, and ultimately high inflation. While the film's "eco-crisis" is never defined, the conclusion directly indicates a connection to oil scarcity and the need for alternative fuels. The film's timeliness was so precise, it prompted Time magazine reviewer Jay Cocks to write, "They bring about a horrifying but crazily logical ending that turns the future into a forbidding present tense."[6]
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ Kelly Bohanon. IMDb. Retrieved on 2008-02-29. The IMDb lists her first name with the spelling "Kelly". It is spelled "Kelley" in the credits of the film.
- ^ Idaho Transfer. Variety.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
- ^ a b Tom Trusky, Director (11 January 2008). Howard Anderson Idaho Film Archive. Hemingway Western Studies Center, Boise State University. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
- ^ Earl Crabb. The Great Humbead - odds and ends. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
- ^ Idaho State Motto. Netstate.com (June 10, 2007). Retrieved on 2008-03-03.
- ^ a b c Jay Cocks (December 3, 1973). "Terminal Station". Time: 75-76.
- ^ Jason Ankeny. Idaho Transfer. All Movie Guide. Retrieved on 2008-02-28. This error was repeated by Jason Ankeny at the All Movie Guide, and so it has spread since the DVD's release.
[edit] External links
- Idaho Transfer at the Internet Movie Database
- "Terminal Station" Time review by Jay Cocks (December 3, 1973)
- Idaho Transfer in-depth review at Million Monkey Theater
- Unknownmovies.com review
