12:01 PM (1990)

"12:01 PM" is an American short film from over 25 years ago that runs for slightly under an hour. It was written by Jonathan Heap and is probably still his best-known work today because of the Oscar nomination it scored. And even if it did not win, then the topic similar to "Groundhog Day" stays in people's minds, especially as this one came out 3 years earlier and is thus even more original. We follow a man who has to live through the exact same hour of the day again and again and, unsurprisingly, quickly descends into insanity, even if a beautiful woman makes things look good for a while. It's certainly much darker than "Groundhog Day", but if you loved the Billy Murray film, this one here is certainly worth checking out. i thought it was a pretty solid watch, especially the first half if the film. Thumbs up.

Saw this years ago on Showtime and have waned to see ever since. I love time travel/time bounce movies and books, especially Groundhogs Day (just watched again with my son, his first time). Anyway, great news, at least for now the short is on Google Video, so grab it if you can before the copyright police remove it.Plot is simple, Myron Castleman - g-d - is trapped in a time bounce from 12:01 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Only his conscience doesn't reset, even his body reverts (if he eats at 12:59 he is hungry again at the bounce. He learns that a professor at the Tempus Institute (time in Latin)predicted that (i) matter and antimatter will collide causing the time bounce and that (ii) conscience is independent of the time bounce (but apparently for only some, or one person).Seems to me that this may be a form of punishment, i.e. hell. Also, anyone who experienced this would likely go insane from lack of sleep. Kurtwood Smith gives a stellar performance as the "victim" and by the end you feel frantic and sorry for him wondering how anyone could survive.

This short picture stars Kurtwood Smith as Myron Castleman, a drone in an engineering firm, who is so insignificant that even the office manager treats him like dirt. At the start of each repeated hour, Castleman finds himself standing on an island in the middle of a heavily traveled city street. He's carrying a briefcase. Apparently, he's out to lunch. A series of set pieces ensue: a man holds a wet bag of groceries that weakens and dumps its load, a man tells a lame joke while waiting for his "lunch" order at a hot dog stand in a park, a man sitting on a bench gets a fecal gift from a bird, and a pleasant woman sitting on another bench strikes up an acquaintanceship. There is an impressive audio and visual effect that signifies the moment that the hour is about to repeat. As in "Groundhog Day," it is entertaining to watch Castleman play with the unusual situation by putting himself in grave danger, knowing full well that any damage done will be erased when the hour repeats. The rude physicist at the Tempus Institute finally believes Myron Castleman because Myron describes the transition event, that only he can experience, which exactly corresponds to the physicist's predictions. Castleman is in quite a fix. Only he is able to perceive that time is repeating like a stuck record.

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.