H.G Wells - A Visionary Writer.
by alexanderdavies-99382 | created - 21 Oct 2021 | updated - 2 months ago | PublicOne of my favourite writers from the sci fi/fantasy genre. Some of the adaptations of Wells' work manage to do him justice.
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1. Things to Come (1936)
Not Rated | 100 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, War
The story of a century: a decades-long second World War leaves plague and anarchy, then a rational state rebuilds civilization and attempts space travel.
Director: William Cameron Menzies | Stars: Raymond Massey, Edward Chapman, Ralph Richardson, Margaretta Scott
Votes: 9,069
Disturbingly relevant in today's world.
2. The Man Who Could Work Miracles (1936)
Unrated | 82 min | Comedy, Family, Fantasy
An ordinary man suddenly finds that anything he says comes true. Or at least, almost anything.
Directors: Lothar Mendes, Alexander Korda | Stars: Roland Young, Ralph Richardson, Edward Chapman, Ernest Thesiger
Votes: 1,596
A film that is by turns charming, imaginative and unnerving.
3. First Men in the Moon (1964)
Not Rated | 103 min | Adventure, Sci-Fi
When a spaceship lands on the moon, it is hailed as a new accomplishment, before it becomes clear that a Victorian party completed the journey in 1899, leading investigators to that mission's last survivor.
Director: Nathan Juran | Stars: Edward Judd, Martha Hyer, Lionel Jeffries, Miles Malleson
Votes: 6,412 | Gross: $1.65M
4. The War of the Worlds (1953)
G | 85 min | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A small town in California is attacked by Martians, beginning a worldwide invasion.
Director: Byron Haskin | Stars: Gene Barry, Ann Robinson, Les Tremayne, Robert Cornthwaite
Votes: 38,544 | Gross: $4.36M
The film contains several brilliant shock sequences.
5. The Time Machine (1960)
G | 103 min | Adventure, Romance, Sci-Fi
A man's vision for a utopian society is disillusioned when travelling forward into time reveals a dark and dangerous society.
Director: George Pal | Stars: Rod Taylor, Alan Young, Yvette Mimieux, Sebastian Cabot
Votes: 44,858
The film compliments the novel.
6. Island of Lost Souls (1932)
Passed | 70 min | Film-Noir, Horror, Sci-Fi
A mad doctor conducts ghastly genetic experiments on a remote island in the South Seas, much to the fear and disgust of the shipwrecked sailor who finds himself trapped there.
Director: Erle C. Kenton | Stars: Charles Laughton, Bela Lugosi, Richard Arlen, Leila Hyams
Votes: 10,908
Wells himself disliked the film but it's a very good take on his novel.
7. The Invisible Man (1933)
TV-PG | 71 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
A scientist finds a way of becoming invisible, but in doing so, he becomes murderously insane.
Director: James Whale | Stars: Claude Rains, Gloria Stuart, William Harrigan, Henry Travers
Votes: 39,945
In some ways, better than the novel.
8. The Infinite Worlds of H.G. Wells (2001)
265 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
H.G. Wells foresaw the future in such visionary novels as The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds. On a night in London in 1946, newspaper reporter Ellen McGillivray arrives at the home ... See full summary »
Stars: Tom Ward, Barry Stanton, Raymond Coulthard, Mark Lewis Jones
Votes: 627
9. The Nightmare Worlds of H.G. Wells (2016)
23 min | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A collection of lesser known short stories written by one of the greatest science fiction minds of modern literature.
Stars: Ray Winstone, James Wilby, Rupert Graves, Tom Goodman-Hill
Votes: 308
10. HG Wells' War with the World (2006 TV Movie)
Biography, Drama
Drawing upon H.G. Wells' An Experiment in Autobiography and framed by his 1934 visit to the Soviet Union to interview its leader Joseph Stalin, the movie follows Wells' transformation from ... See full summary »
Director: James Kent | Stars: Michael Sheen, Sally Hawkins, Sarah Winman, Dermot Crowley
Votes: 110
12. H. G. Wells' the Crystal Egg
Horror, Sci-Fi | Announced
After being taken in by his Uncle Cave, a young boy attempts to uncover the hidden secret of a strange crystal egg in his possession
13. The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977)
PG | 99 min | Adventure, Fantasy, Horror
A shipwrecked survivor discovers a remote island owned by a crazed scientist who is carrying out sinister experiments on the island's inhabitants.
Director: Don Taylor | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Michael York, Nigel Davenport, Barbara Carrera
Votes: 7,158 | Gross: $8.72M
14. The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996)
PG-13 | 96 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
After being rescued and brought to an island, a man discovers that its inhabitants are experimental animals being turned into strange-looking humans, all of it the work of a visionary doctor.
Directors: John Frankenheimer, Richard Stanley | Stars: David Thewlis, Marlon Brando, Val Kilmer, Fairuza Balk
Votes: 35,489 | Gross: $27.66M
15. The Time Machine (2002)
PG-13 | 96 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Hoping to alter the events of the past, a 19th century inventor instead travels 800,000 years into the future, where he finds humankind divided into two warring races.
Director: Simon Wells | Stars: Guy Pearce, Yancey Arias, Mark Addy, Phyllida Law
Votes: 130,422 | Gross: $56.68M
16. The Time Machine (1978 TV Movie)
99 min | Adventure, Sci-Fi
A scientist builds a machine that will enable him to travel back and forth in time, but when he puts it in motion, he gets more than he bargained for.
Director: Henning Schellerup | Stars: John Beck, Priscilla Barnes, Andrew Duggan, Rosemary DeCamp
Votes: 454
17. The Shape of Things to Come (1979)
PG | 98 min | Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Some time in the future, man has set up colonies on the Moon, when Earth becomes uninhabitable. A madman decides to destroy the Moon colonies with his robots and automated ships, and only three people and their robot can stop him.
Director: George McCowan | Stars: Jack Palance, Carol Lynley, Barry Morse, John Ireland
Votes: 1,325
18. The Remarkable Mr. Kipps (1941)
Approved | 82 min | Comedy, Drama
Kipps, the draper's apprentice, falls in love with a girl above his station. After he unexpectedly inherits a fortune, he thinks his dream has come true. But money can't make him a gentleman, or bring him the girl he really wants.
Director: Carol Reed | Stars: Michael Redgrave, Phyllis Calvert, Philip Frost, Diana Wynyard
Votes: 519
19. The History of Mr. Polly (1949)
Approved | 95 min | Drama
With an inheritance after his father's death, Alfred Polly finds love in the arms of a schoolgirl but marries an unattractive cousin and opens a shop, leading him to unhappiness, arson, suicide attempts and escape.
Director: Anthony Pelissier | Stars: John Mills, Sally Ann Howes, Betty Ann Davies, Megs Jenkins
Votes: 652
Quite good but not very memorable.
20. The Passionate Friends (1949)
Approved | 95 min | Drama, Romance
A woman meets a man whose love she rejected years ago.
Director: David Lean | Stars: Ann Todd, Trevor Howard, Claude Rains, Betty Ann Davies
Votes: 3,035
21. War of the Worlds (2019– )
TV-MA | 49 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Set in contemporary France, this Anglo-French reimagining of H. G. Wells' classic in the style of Walking Dead follows pockets of survivors forced to team up after an apocalyptic extra-terrestrial strike.
Stars: Léa Drucker, Gabriel Byrne, Bayo Gbadamosi, Ty Tennant
Votes: 17,973
22. War of the Worlds (2005)
PG-13 | 116 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
An alien invasion threatens the future of humanity. The catastrophic nightmare is depicted through the eyes of one American family fighting for survival.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Tim Robbins, Miranda Otto
Votes: 475,340 | Gross: $234.28M
23. The War of the Worlds (2019)
TV-14 | 48 min | Drama, History, Sci-Fi
In London during the Edwardian era, George and Amy's attempt to start a life together is interrupted by a Martian invasion of Earth.
Stars: Eleanor Tomlinson, Rafe Spall, Robert Carlyle, Rupert Graves
Votes: 10,038
24. The First Men in the Moon (2010 TV Movie)
88 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
In 1969, the Apollo moon landing is to be televised internationally but at a country fair in England a small boy named Jim meets the 90-year-old Julius Bedford who tells him that, in 1909, ... See full summary »
Director: Damon Thomas | Stars: Rory Kinnear, Mark Gatiss, Alex Riddell, Peter Forbes
Votes: 1,106
25. Armchair Theatre (1956–1974)
60 min | Drama
This show was a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by Associated British Corporation, and from mid-1968 by Thames Television.
Stars: Harry H. Corbett, Paul Whitsun-Jones, Billie Whitelaw, Neil McCallum
Votes: 246
26. BBC Play of the Month (1965–1983)
120 min | Drama
Monthly anthology series featuring televised versions of plays.
Stars: Charles Gray, Eric Porter, Jeremy Brett, Lally Bowers
Votes: 178
27. Tales of Tomorrow (1951–1953)
TV-G | 25 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
"Tales of Tomorrow" was a hosted science fiction anthology series running from 1951 until 1953.
Stars: Leslie Nielsen, Cameron Prud'Homme, Edgar Stehli, Theo Goetz
Votes: 457
28. The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1962–1965)
TV-14 | 50 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
"The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" was a continuation of the dramatic anthology series Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) hosted by the Master of Suspense and Mystery.
Stars: Alfred Hitchcock, Hinton Pope, Jimmy Joyce, Lew Brown
Votes: 5,156
29. The Invisible Man (I) (2020)
R | 124 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
When Cecilia's abusive ex takes his own life and leaves her his fortune, she suspects his death was a hoax. As a series of coincidences turn lethal, Cecilia works to prove that she is being hunted by someone nobody can see.
Director: Leigh Whannell | Stars: Elisabeth Moss, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Harriet Dyer, Aldis Hodge
Votes: 255,551 | Gross: $70.41M
30. The Invisible Man (2000–2002)
120 min | Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi
A thief and conman is given the means to become invisible, and ends up working for a government agency.
Stars: Vincent Ventresca, Paul Ben-Victor, Shannon Kenny, Eddie Jones
Votes: 3,430
31. Empire of the Ants (1977)
PG | 89 min | Adventure, Horror, Sci-Fi
Con artist Marilyn Fryser tries to sell bogus real estate deals in an area overrun by giant ants.
Director: Bert I. Gordon | Stars: Joan Collins, Robert Lansing, John David Carson, Albert Salmi
Votes: 5,546
32. Time Machine: Rise of the Morlocks (2011 TV Movie)
84 min | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
An experimental time machine opens a window into the future and mutated monsters (the Morlocks) use it to come back to the present and go on a murderous rampage.
Director: Matt Codd | Stars: David Hewlett, Daniel Caltagirone, Christina Cole, Jim Fyfe
Votes: 776
33. The Time Machine (1949 TV Movie)
60 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
A man invents a machine to travel through time, and visits the future.
Stars: Mary Donn, Christopher Gill, Dilys Laye, Eugene Leahy
Votes: 48
34. The First Men in the Moon (1919)
50 min | Fantasy
The inventor of a space sphere flies to the moon and is marooned by a crooked financier.
Directors: Bruce Gordon, J.L.V. Leigh | Stars: Bruce Gordon, Heather Thatcher, Hector Abbas, Lionel d'Aragon
Votes: 56
35. The Invisible Man (1984)
165 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
A scientist named Griffin invents a way to change his body's refractive index and thus becomes invisible. He uses the opportunity to carry out random acts of violence.
Stars: Pip Donaghy, Lila Kaye, David Gwillim, Ron Pember
Votes: 224
36. War of the Worlds the True Story (2012)
102 min | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
WAR OF THE WORLDS THE TRUE STORY is based on the most beloved alien invasion story of all time by Father of Science Fiction, H.G. Wells. Like Wells' classic book that was presented as a ... See full summary »
Director: Timothy Hines | Stars: Jack Clay, Jim Cissell, Susan Goforth, Erik Barzdukas
Votes: 2,797
37. Time Machine: The Journey Back (1993 Video)
48 min | Documentary
In this follow up to The Time Machine (1960), Filby is still the caretaker of his friend George's house seventeen years following George's trip to the future. Filby is then surprised to see... See full summary »
Director: Clyde Lucas | Stars: Rod Taylor, Alan Young, Whit Bissell, Wah Chang
Votes: 278
38. Time After Time (1979)
PG | 112 min | Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
H.G. Wells pursues Jack the Ripper to the 20th Century when the serial murderer uses the future writer's time machine to escape his time period.
Director: Nicholas Meyer | Stars: Malcolm McDowell, Mary Steenburgen, David Warner, Charles Cioffi
Votes: 20,644
39. Love and Mr Lewisham (1972– )
45 min | Drama
Stars: Brian Deacon, Carolyn Courage, Hilary Mason, Jane Lapotaire
40. Love and Mr Lewisham (1959)
30 min | Drama
A BBC adaptation of the novel by H.G. Wells about a very young couple in 19th century Britain.
Stars: Alec McCowen, Sheila Shand Gibbs, Annette Carell, Willoughby Goddard
41. Spine Chillers (1980– )
10 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
Readings of classic ghost and horror stories aimed at older children.
Stars: Jonathan Pryce, Freddie Jones, John Woodvine, Michael Bryant
Votes: 17
42. Kipps (1960– )
30 min | Drama
A boy is stock clerk until a young man. After being fired, he learns of an inheritance. Uncomfortable with his wealth he makes poor decisions. He later meets his childhood sweetheart. In ... See full summary »
Stars: Robin Wentworth, Philip Locke, Diana Fairfax, John Stratton
43. The History of Mr Polly (2007 TV Movie)
120 min | Drama
In the early 1900s Alfred Polly, still hankering after his dream girl Christabel, marries Miriam Larkins and they open a shop, but, as the years go by, the marriage becomes stale and Polly ... See full summary »
Director: Gillies MacKinnon | Stars: Lee Evans, Anne-Marie Duff, Julie Graham, Richard Coyle
Votes: 213
44. The History of Mr. Polly (1980– )
30 min | Comedy, Drama
Having lost his job as a shop assistant, Alfred Polly buys a bicycle and travels around meeting people. After an unsuccessful marriage to his cousin and a failed suicide attempt, he resumes his cycling adventures.
Stars: Andrew Sachs, Anita Carey, John Clive, Ann Beach
Votes: 104
45. The History of Mr. Polly (1959– )
30 min | Drama
Stars: Emrys Jones, Mary Mackenzie, Daphne Anderson, Richard Caldicot
46. Ann Veronica (1964– )
45 min | Drama
Stars: Rosemary Nicols, Gay Cameron, Laurence Hardy, Gillian Lind
47. BBC Sunday-Night Theatre (1950–1959)
Drama
Series of television plays performed live.
Stars: Richard Caldicot, George Woodbridge, Robert Brown, Michael Brennan
Votes: 179
48. A Trip to the Moon (1902)
TV-G | 13 min | Short, Action, Adventure
A group of astronomers go on an expedition to the Moon.
Director: Georges Méliès | Stars: Georges Méliès, Victor André, Bleuette Bernon, Brunnet
Votes: 55,797
49. La merveilleuse visite (1974)
100 min | Drama, Fantasy
In a small French village, an angel appears disguised as a beautiful young blond.
Director: Marcel Carné | Stars: Gilles Kohler, Roland Lesaffre, Debra Berger, Lucien Barjon
Votes: 129
50. Half a Sixpence (1967)
Not Rated | 143 min | Musical
Arthur Kipps, an orphan apprenticed to a tyrannical owner of a mercantile, has a sudden abrupt change of life when his wealthy grandfather dies and leaves him a pile of money.
Director: George Sidney | Stars: Tommy Steele, Julia Foster, Cyril Ritchard, Penelope Horner
Votes: 896
51. Village of the Giants (1965)
Not Rated | 81 min | Comedy, Sci-Fi
Delinquent teen-agers ingest a substance and grow thirty feet tall, then proceed to take over a small town.
Director: Bert I. Gordon | Stars: Tommy Kirk, Johnny Crawford, Beau Bridges, Ron Howard
Votes: 2,688
52. Suspense (1962–1963)
Thriller
Anthology series telling suspenseful tales.
Stars: Bill Meilen, Ray Handy, John Carson, Alex Scott
Votes: 22
53. First Person (1960–1961)
Drama
A Canadian dramatic television series featuring astonishing observations and subjective stories.
Stars: Don Bryn, Geoffrey Alexander, Aileen Seaton, Norman Ettlinger
54. Terror Is a Man (1959)
Approved | 90 min | Horror, Romance, Sci-Fi
A mad scientist transforms a panther into a man-like creature that escapes and goes on a murderous rampage.
Directors: Gerardo de Leon, Eddie Romero | Stars: Francis Lederer, Greta Thyssen, Richard Derr, Oscar Keesee
Votes: 836
55. The Unforeseen (1958–1960)
30 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
An anthology series that appeared twice a week initially. Each episode was a short play covering the inexplicable, the supernatural, the occult or science fiction. Each episode had it's own writer, director, and actors.
Stars: Barry Morse, Ron Hartmann, Eric Clavering, Chris Wiggins
Votes: 28
56. The Truth About Pyecraft (1959 TV Movie)
30 min | Comedy, Drama
Stars: Hugh Burden, John Sharp, Ruth Holden
57. Television Theater (1953– )
Drama
Series of television plays.
Stars: Jerzy Trela, Krzysztof Globisz, Krystyna Janda, Jan Englert
Votes: 91
58. Matinee Theatre (1955–1958)
60 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A daily anthology show, featuring original material, as well as adaptations of literary classics.
Stars: John Conte, Peter Hansen, Sarah Churchill, Johnny Crawford
Votes: 132
59. Your Favorite Story (1953–1955)
30 min | Comedy, Drama
TV comedy anthology series
Stars: Adolphe Menjou, John Hamilton, Dan White, Gertrude Michael
Votes: 31
60. Actor's Studio (1948–1950)
30 min | Drama
Produced by the ABC as its television network was just getting off the ground, this program was one of the first dramatic series television to attract top-name actors and actresses. ... See full summary »
Stars: Marc Connelly, George Keane, Don Hanmer, Nancy Franklin
Votes: 94
61. Dead of Night (1945)
Approved | 77 min | Drama, Horror
Guests invited to a weekend in the country share their supernatural stories, beginning with Walter Craig, who senses impending doom as his half-remembered recurring dream turns into reality.
Directors: Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden, Robert Hamer | Stars: Mervyn Johns, Michael Redgrave, Roland Culver, Mary Merrall
Votes: 14,219
63. Marriage (1927)
56 min | Drama
Marjorie Pope, who is engaged to Magnet, a wealthy suitor whom she does not love, elopes with Trafford, an inventor, after his airplane crashes on the grounds of her parents' rural home. ... See full summary »
Director: Roy William Neill | Stars: Virginia Valli, Allan Durant, Gladys McConnell, Lawford Davidson
64. The Wheels of Chance (1922)
Comedy, Drama
A clerk on a bicycle tour saves a girl from eloping with a bully.
Director: Harold M. Shaw | Stars: George K. Arthur, Olwen Roose, Gordon Parker, Bertie Wright
Votes: 17
65. The Passionate Friends (1922)
70 min | Drama, Romance
An armament king's wife kills herself to save her MP lover from a divorce scandal.
Director: Maurice Elvey | Stars: Milton Rosmer, Valia, Fred Raynham, Madge Stuart
66. The Island of the Lost (1921)
78 min | Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi
A loose and unofficial silent adaptation of H. G. Wells' The Island Of Dr. Moreau.
Director: Urban Gad | Stars: Fritz Beckmann, Hans Behrendt, Loo Bell, Alf Blütecher
Votes: 65
67. Kipps (1921)
Comedy
A sacked clerk inherits £3,000 a year, tries society, and returns to his working-class sweetheart.
Director: Harold M. Shaw | Stars: George K. Arthur, Edna Flugrath, Christine Rayner, Teddy Arundell
68. The First Men in the Moon (1919)
50 min | Fantasy
The inventor of a space sphere flies to the moon and is marooned by a crooked financier.
Directors: Bruce Gordon, J.L.V. Leigh | Stars: Bruce Gordon, Heather Thatcher, Hector Abbas, Lionel d'Aragon
Votes: 56
69. Theatre Fantastique (2014– )
Drama, Fantasy, Horror
"Theatre Fantastique" by Hollinsworth Productions, is a non-hosted US horror anthology series that ran in 2014 and 2017 on YouTube, with a total of 10 episodes.
Stars: Christopher Pennock, Kelsey Hewlett, Elyse Ashton, Nathan Wilson
Votes: 23
70. Wishbone (1995–1998)
TV-Y | 30 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
An intelligent and witty dog imagines himself in the role of characters from classic books and gets involved in similar real-life adventures.
Stars: Larry Brantley, Jordan Wall, Christie Abbott, Adam Springfield
Votes: 4,383
71. The Twilight People (1972)
PG | 81 min | Adventure, Horror, Sci-Fi
A kidnapped diver is taken to an island inhabited by a mad scientist and his half-animal, half-human creations.
Director: Eddie Romero | Stars: John Ashley, Pat Woodell, Jan Merlin, Charles Macaulay
Votes: 708
72. H.G. Wells: The Father of Science Fiction (2005 Video)
11 min | Documentary, Short, Sci-Fi
Stars: Nicholas Meyer, John S. Partington, Forrest J. Ackerman, H.G. Wells
Votes: 43
73. The DuPont Show of the Week (1961–1964)
60 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
An anthology weekly drama series.
Stars: Walter Matthau, Frank McGee, Art Carney, Gene Wilder
Votes: 185
74. The Magic Shop by H.G. Wells (2022 Podcast Series)
Drama
A father is speechless when his son's favorite magic shop turns out to be real magic.
Star: James Hare
75. The Beautiful Suit by H.G. Wells (2022 Podcast Series)
Drama
A young man's delight in his new suit ends in ruin.
Star: James Hare
77. Future Tense - The Story of H.G. Wells (2016 TV Movie)
29 min | Documentary
Martians, Morlocks and Mermaids. To mark Wells's 150th birthday Dominic Sandbrook discovers how a sleepy corner of the country inspired some of the most fantastic ideas in science fiction.
Director: Samuel Supple | Stars: Dominic Sandbrook, David Verrey
Informative documentary but far too brief.
78. Biography (1987– )
TV-14 | 60 min | Documentary, Biography, History
The life stories of various historical figures and celebrities are told.
Stars: Jack Perkins, Peter Graves, Harry Smith, Robert J. Thompson
Votes: 2,088
79. H.G. Wells and the War of the Worlds (2005 Video)
Not Rated | 87 min | Documentary, Sci-Fi
An insight into the life and work of H.G. Wells. Experience "The War of the Worlds" and explore the impact this exceptional piece of writing has made on every new generation.
Director: Liam Dale | Star: Liam Dale
Votes: 12
80. The Food of the Gods (1976)
PG | 88 min | Adventure, Horror, Sci-Fi
A group of friends travel to a remote Canadian island to hunt, only to be attacked by giant killer animals which have populated the place.
Director: Bert I. Gordon | Stars: Marjoe Gortner, Pamela Franklin, Ralph Meeker, Jon Cypher
Votes: 4,595
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