12:01 PM is a 1990 short film directed by Jonathan Heap and starring Kurtwood Smith. It follows Myron Castleman, an everyman who keeps repeating the same hour of his life, from 12:01 PM to 1:00 PM. The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film.
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Reviews
Touches You
Such a frustrating disappointment
It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny
Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.
I first caught this film in the same way as many of the reviewers here, by catching it as a featured film in the ":30 Minute Movie" segments on Showtime, hosted by Rob Reiner, back in the early 90's. My wife and I were both instantly captivated by the story, which was later remade into a terrible feature-length film, and later modified to become "Groundhog Day." Kurtwood Smith was an inspired choice to play the main character, and the limitations of the 59-minute time frame made his frenzied efforts to escape his inescapable fate all the more terrifying. The ending, while old hat now (since it's been remade again and again), was fresh and shocking for it's time. You ached for Smith's character. The ending haunted me for a long time.This needs to be released as a special feature on an upcoming release of "Groundhog Day," or needs to be released in it's own right. What a fabulous piece of storytelling.T
This is a thirty minute film I saw years ago on Showtime. It was part of some kind of short film series hosted by Rob Reiner. This was the best of the three. It involved a man who is doomed to inhabit the same hour over and over. When we first see Myron Castleman he's standing in an intersection. He goes to the park to eat his lunch. He goes back to the office. Then Bam! He's standing in the intersection again. He tries to change things within the hour. But an hour isn't enough time; so he always ends up at that intersection. At some point he realizes that he may be able to do something. At this point everything takes on a frenzied urgency. Myron must race against the clock to find a way out. Kurtwood Smith plays Myron with so much depth and emotion. I can't imagine any one doing a better job. I'm glad I taped this; I've seen it several times. It is a haunting film; a minor classic.
This was a corker of a short SF film - highly intelligent writing, and loads better than Heap's full length remake a few years later - which had an unnecessary happy ending - and tons better than the (undeservedly) better known Groundhog Day.Last seen on Channel 4 in the UK about 12 years ago, and never commercially released, as far as I can tell ... if anyone's got this on video please get in touch - maybe we can trade. Cheers
I remember watching this film when it was first broadcast on Showtime. I really liked it then, and still do now. Good writing and performances all around, especially by Kurtwood Smith who rarely gets a chance to play the lead in any project.