Time at the Top (1999) — AI Story Visualization

Plot Analysis Summary

A girl discovers a time-traveling elevator and joins a girl from 1881 to change the past and future.

Story Structure — 4 Plot Phases

The Elevator Beyond Time

Susan lives in New York in 1998 and inadvertently enters an altered elevator. The elevator transports her to the same location in 1881.

Key Events

• Susan's 1998 Apartment Building — Susan lives in New York in 1998 and encounters the building's unusual elevator. Characters: Susan Shawson Location: New York apartment building
• The Elevator Is Altered — The elevator has been altered into a secret time machine. Characters: Susan Shawson Location: Apartment building elevator
• Susan Travels Through Time — Susan inadvertently travels backward from 1998 through the apartment building elevator. Characters: Susan Shawson Location: Apartment building elevator
• The 1881 Arrival Point — The machine transports Susan to exactly the same location in 1881. Characters: Susan Shawson Location: The same spot in 1881
• Susan Meets Victoria — Susan meets Victoria Walker, a girl her own age. Characters: Susan Shawson, Victoria Walker Location: 1881 arrival area
• Victoria Reveals Family Trouble — Victoria explains that she needs help with serious problems affecting her family. Characters: Susan Shawson, Victoria Walker Location: 1881

Victoria's Historical Trouble

Susan meets Victoria, a girl her age who needs help with family problems. Cyrus Sweeney's scheme creates the central threat in Victoria's era.

Key Events

• Victoria Reveals Family Trouble — Victoria explains that she needs help with serious problems affecting her family. Characters: Susan Shawson, Victoria Walker Location: 1881
• Cyrus Threatens Victoria's Family — Cyrus Sweeney schemes to take advantage of Victoria's widowed mother. Characters: Victoria Walker, Cyrus Sweeney Location: 1881
• Susan Chooses To Help — Susan becomes involved in helping Victoria resist the threat posed by Cyrus's scheme. Characters: Susan Shawson, Victoria Walker, Cyrus Sweeney Location: 1881
• Susan Returns To 1998 — Susan returns from 1881 to her own time through the elevator. Characters: Susan Shawson Location: Apartment building elevator
• The Search For Susan — Susan discovers that her disappearance triggered an urgent search in the present. Characters: Susan Shawson, Edward Ormondroyd Location: New York
• Edward Joins The Search — Edward Ormondroyd assists with the search for Susan after she returns. Characters: Susan Shawson, Edward Ormondroyd Location: Susan's neighborhood

Searching Across Eras

Susan returns to the present and discovers that a search followed her disappearance. She and Victoria gradually learn that the elevator's time-travel power can connect their lives.

Key Events

• Edward Joins The Search — Edward Ormondroyd assists with the search for Susan after she returns. Characters: Susan Shawson, Edward Ormondroyd Location: Susan's neighborhood
• The Time Machine's Power Emerges — Susan and Victoria gradually discover the extent of the elevator's time-travel power. Characters: Susan Shawson, Victoria Walker Location: Apartment building elevator
• A Return To 1881 — Susan and Victoria use the time-travel connection to move between their eras. Characters: Susan Shawson, Victoria Walker Location: The same spot in 1881
• The Family Scheme Continues — Cyrus's attempt to exploit Victoria's family remains the central obstacle in 1881. Characters: Susan Shawson, Victoria Walker, Cyrus Sweeney Location: 1881
• Susan And Victoria Cooperate — The girls work together as Susan continues assisting Victoria with her family problems. Characters: Susan Shawson, Victoria Walker Location: 1881

Changing Past And Future

Susan and Victoria use their connection across time to oppose the family threat. Their actions ultimately change both the past and the future.

Key Events

• Susan And Victoria Cooperate — The girls work together as Susan continues assisting Victoria with her family problems. Characters: Susan Shawson, Victoria Walker Location: 1881
• The Eras Become Connected — Repeated travel links Susan's present with Victoria's past in an increasingly consequential way. Characters: Susan Shawson, Victoria Walker Location: The apartment building and 1881
• The Past Can Be Changed — Susan and Victoria realize that their actions can change events in the past. Characters: Susan Shawson, Victoria Walker, Cyrus Sweeney Location: 1881
• Cyrus's Scheme Is Countered — Susan and Victoria succeed in opposing the circumstances created by Cyrus's scheme. Characters: Susan Shawson, Victoria Walker, Cyrus Sweeney Location: 1881
• The Future Is Changed — Their actions alter not only the past but also the future. Characters: Susan Shawson, Victoria Walker Location: New York and 1881
• A Changed Future — Susan and Victoria complete their effort to change both historical periods. Characters: Susan Shawson, Victoria Walker Location: New York and 1881

Story Breakdown

• Life in 1998 — Susan's present-day life establishes the setting for the unexpected time-travel event.
  • New York Setting — Susan is a thirteen-year-old living in New York in 1998.
  • Unusual Elevator — An altered elevator exists inside Susan's apartment building.
• The Time Crossing — The elevator unexpectedly transports Susan from her own era to the same location in 1881.
  • Accidental Journey — Susan inadvertently travels backward through the elevator.
  • 1881 Arrival — She arrives at the same spot more than a century earlier.
• Meeting Victoria — Susan's arrival leads to a relationship with Victoria, whose family needs assistance.
  • A Girl in 1881 — Susan meets Victoria, a girl her own age.
  • Family Problems — Victoria explains that her family is facing serious difficulties.
• Cyrus's Scheme — Cyrus Sweeney creates the main threat by trying to take advantage of Victoria's family.
  • A Calculated Threat — Cyrus is presented as a schemer pursuing his own advantage.
  • Susan Takes Action — Susan becomes involved in helping Victoria confront the situation.
• Searching Present — Susan's disappearance has consequences in 1998, where Edward assists in the search for her.
  • Return to 1998 — Susan comes back to the present through the elevator.
  • Edward Helps Search — Edward Ormondroyd assists with efforts to find Susan.
• Changing Two Eras — Susan and Victoria gradually learn to use time travel and succeed in changing both historical periods.
  • Travel Between Times — The girls travel back and forth between 1998 and 1881.
  • Altered Future — Their actions change the past and produce a different future.

Directed by

Jimmy Kaufman

Key Cast

• Timothy Busfield — Frank Shawson
• Elisha Cuthbert — Susan Shawson
• Gabrielle Boni — Victoria Walker
• Matthew Harbour — Robert Walker
• Lynne Adams — Nora Walker / Nina Shawson