Dr Plonk

It seemed like a great idea at the time, to make a contemporary silent comedy based on the silent comedies of a hundred years before, which still make people laugh. And in some ways it was a great idea (the film certainly makes audiences laugh), and the making of it was a wonderful exploration in physical comedy, real, old-fashioned stuntwork, raw special effects as they might have been done by people inventing the craft and working a low budget into a long shoot with a tiny crew and coming up with something startling.

Synopsis

It is the great year 1907 and Dr Plonk, famous scientist and inventor, calculates that the world will end in 101 years unless immediate action is taken. As befalls visionaries through the ages, Plonk is ridiculed for his beliefs, by politicians, by bureaucrats, by even his faithful manservant, the deaf-mute Paulus.

Proof is required and the only acceptable proof lies in the very future that's ending. Being the lateral thinker that he is, Plonk invents a time machine. In quick succession Tiberius the dog, Plonk and Paulus all visit the future, 100 years hence; even Prime Minister Stalk and Mrs Plonk make the trip. Not everyone returns, but all find the year 2007 a somewhat different place than they expected...