It’s not an exaggeration to say that the 1980 Jeannot Szwarc film “Somewhere in Time” had one of the longest, weirdest journeys to popularity. It’s about a young playwright (Christopher Reeve) who falls in love with an elderly actress (Jane Seymour) at the premiere of his new production and wills himself back in time 67 years to meet her. Though her manager tries to keep them apart, their love conquers all and they have a perfect day and night together before he’s pulled back to his own time period. When it first came out in theaters, critics panned the film for being stodgy, overly-romantic and out of touch.  Today, however, the film has become a cult classic and even got a name drop in Marvel’s “Avengers: End Game.”

Today on FilmWeek, KPCC’s John Rabe, host of the new, independent podcast "Call Back Yesterday" takes us on a time travel journey of our own, back to 1979 when the film was made, to chronicle its journey to cult status.

With contributions from KPCC's John Rabe