Somewhere in Time is a 1980 time travel directed by Jeannot Szwarc, written by Richard Matheson and starring Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour, Christopher Plummer, Teresa Wright and an early cameo by William H. Macy. The movie was filmed on location at the historic, very beautiful and majestic Grand Hotel, and the former - both located on Mackinac Island, Michigan.

The film begins in May 1972, when playwright Richard Collier meets an old woman who gives him a pocket watch asking him to come back to her. Eight years later, Richard stays at the Grand Hotel and falls in love with a photograph of a beautiful woman. Richard asks Arthur Biehl, an old man who's been at the hotel since 1910, who the woman is and learns that she is Elise McKenna, a famous stage actress. Richard then researches who Elise is and learns that she was the old woman who gave him the pocket watch eight years ago.

Richard learns about time travel from an old college professor of his and that it can be achieved if one can go under hypnosis. However, to achieve this state of hypnosis, one must remove all things from sight that are related to the current time. He is also warned that such a process would leave one very weak, perhaps dangerously so. Richard heads back to his hotel room and then tries to travel back in time to the year 1912 under hypnosis with a tape recorder only to fail under stress. After a trip to the hotel's attic, Richard finds an old guest book from 1912 with his signature in it only to learn that he was there.

Richard again goes under hypnosis (this time without the tape recorder, since it was not around in 1912) and succeeds. Upon arriving in 1912, Richard looks all over the hotel for Elise, even meeting Arthur as a little boy, and has no luck finding her. Finally, Richard meets Elise standing by a tree by the lake and she asks him if he's the one. Before he can ask why, Elise's manager, William Fawcett Robinson, tells Richard to leave Ms. McKenna alone. Richard continues to seek Elise out again until finally she agrees to walk with him. Richard finally asks why Elise asked if he was the one and she replies that Robinson knows that she will meet a man that will change her life. Richard also shows Elise the same pocket watch in which she will give him 60 years later.

Upon returning to the hotel, Elise invites Richard to her play. Richard attends the play and upon visiting Elise during intermission finds her getting her picture taken. Upon spotting Richard, Elise smiles and the picture is then taken. This picture is the same one in which Richard will see 68 years later at the Grand Hotel. Later, Richard receives a letter from Robinson asking to meet him immediately, that it is a matter of life and death. Robinson tricks Richard and has him tied up and thrown into the stables. Later, Robinson tells Elise that Richard has left her and isn't the one, but she replies that she doesn't believe him and he's wrong. Elise admits to Robinson that she loves Richard and that he will make her very happy. Dispirited, Robinson leaves her dressing room and reminds her that they leave within the hour.

Richard wakes up the next morning and escapes the stables. He runs to Elise's room only to discover that her party has left. Richard then goes out to the hotel's deck to find Elise running towards him. They return to his room together and make love. Later that evening, Elise asks Richard if he's going to marry her in which he responds yes. She then tells him that the first thing she will do for him is buy him a new suit (the suit Richard has been wearing the entire time in 1912 is about ten to fifteen years out of style). Richard begins to show Elise what a wonderful suit it is because of its many pockets. He is alarmed when he reaches into one and finds a penny that has the date of 1979 on it. Snapping him out of his hypnotic-induced time travel, Richard fades from 1912 with Elise screaming his name in horror as he drifts back to 1980.

Richard wakes up in the hotel having returned back to his own time. He is very weak, physically and emotionally exhausted from his trip through time. He tries to hypnotise himself again without success. After wandering around the hotel and staring for hours at Elise's picture, Richard returns to his room where he sits in a daze for days without eating. Arthur checks on Richard in his room and finds him very sick and calls for a doctor. Richard then sees himself drifting above his body and is drawn to a light in a window. In the light is Elise, waiting for him just as he remembered her where they will remain together for all time.