The Twilight Zone
(1959–1964)
A henpecked book lover finds himself blissfully alone with his books after a nuclear war.
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Title: Time Enough at Last (20 Nov 1959)
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Cast
| Episode complete credited cast: | |||
| Burgess Meredith | ... | Henry Bemis | |
| Vaughn Taylor | ... | Mr. Carsville | |
| Jacqueline deWit | ... | Helen Bemis (as Jaqueline deWit) | |
 |
Lela Bliss | ... | Mrs. Chester |
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Plot Summary
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Plot Synopsis
Storyline
Henry Bemis loves to read. The only problem is that he can find neither the time nor the place to enjoy his pastime. At work, his boss has let him know in no uncertain terms that he is not to read during working hours. At home, his shrewish wife won't even let him read a newspaper, let alone a book. One day, he sneaks down to the vault in the bank's basement to read a bit and suddenly, there is a huge explosion above. He emerges to find the world destroyed in a nuclear holocaust. He does find books from the library and he sees a great deal of reading time ahead of him. Except for one small unintended event. Written by garykmcd
Certificate:
TV-PGParents Guide:
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Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
20 November 1959 (USA) See more »Filming Locations:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USACompany Credits
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Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Mono (Westrex Recording System)Color:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1
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Henry Bemis: I remember that very well, Mr. Carsville. She never gave me a chance to tell her that I was only looking at who she was voting for.
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Did You Know?
Trivia
In 1960, John Brahm was awarded a Director's Guild award for his work on this episode. See more »Goofs
There were no human bodies laying around, after the explosion as to suggest they were all vaporized by the intense heat of atomic bomb, but yet papers, books, furniture, and so many other things survived unscathed. An atomic bomb would have burned just about everything to an unrecognizable crisp. See more »Quotes
Mr. Carsville: I remember last November you spent the better part of the days reading campaign buttons on customer's lapels. You'll recall, Mr. Bemis, the young woman who took considerable offense at this and tried to hit you with her umbrella.Henry Bemis: I remember that very well, Mr. Carsville. She never gave me a chance to tell her that I was only looking at who she was voting for.
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Bespectacled bank clerk Henry Bemis (Burgess Meredith), henpecked by his wife and harassed by his boss, simply yearns for enough time to indulge in his favourite pastime: reading. He eventually gets his wish when a nuclear war wipes out everyone but him—but this being The Twilight Zone, things don't go quite as well as they might for poor Mr. Bemis...
'Time Enough At Last' is one of the best loved Twilight Zone episodes, a solid gold classic with a corker of a twist that brilliantly illustrates creator Rod Serling's warped sense of humour. The bitter irony of Mr. Bemis's final plight deftly combines both comedy and tragedy, and as the credits roll, one can easily imagine the poor fellow, so ecstatic a few minutes before, scrabbling around blindly in the ruins desperately trying to relocate the gun he had earlier.