Having fallen in love with Elise, Richard becomes obsessed with traveling back to 1912 and meeting her. Among Elise's personal effects is a book on time travel written by his old college professor, Dr. While there, he discovers a music box that plays the 18th variation of Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini by Rachmaninoff, his favorite musical piece. Richard visits Laura Roberts, Elise's former housekeeper and companion. She turns out to be the same woman who gave him the pocket watch. While exploring the hotel's hall of history, he becomes enthralled with a vintage photograph of Elise McKenna, a beautiful early-20th century stage actress.

While struggling with writer's block, he decides to take a break and travel to a resort, the Grand Hotel. After returning to her home, she dies in her sleep.Įight years later, Richard is a successful playwright living in Chicago. An elderly woman approaches Richard, places a pocket watch in his hand, and pleads, 'Come back to me'. In 1972, college theater student Richard Collier celebrates the debut of his new play. The 18th variation of Sergei Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini is also used several times. The film is known for its musical score composed by John Barry, featuring pianist Roger Williams. Through self- hypnosis, he wishes himself back in time to the year 1912 to find love with actress Elise McKenna (portrayed by Seymour), but comes into conflict with Elise's manager, William Fawcett Robinson (portrayed by Plummer), who fears that romance will derail her career, and resolves to stop him. Reeve plays Richard Collier, a playwright who becomes obsessed with a photograph of a young woman at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, Michigan.

It is a film adaptation of the 1975 novel Bid Time Return by Richard Matheson, who also wrote the screenplay. Somewhere in Time is a 1980 American romantic fantasy drama film from Universal Pictures, directed by Jeannot Szwarc, and starring Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour, and Christopher Plummer.

Bid time return