In this work, a new mathematical model of modification heat conduction for an isotropic generalized thermoelasticity is derived using the methodology of fractional calculus. Some theorems of generalized thermoelasticity follow as limit cases. An ultrafast fractional thermoelasticity model utilizing the modified hyperbolic heat conduction model and the generalized fractional thermoelastic theory was formulated to describe the thermoelastic behavior of a thin metal film irradiated by a femtosecond laser pulse. The temporal profile of the ultrafast laser was regarded as being non-Gaussian. An analytical–numerical technique based on the Laplace transform was used to solve the governing equations and the time histories of the temperature, displacement and stress in a gold film were analyzed. Some comparisons have been shown in figures to estimate the effects of the relaxation time and fractional order parameter α on all the studied fields.