Time Enough at Last 

A henpecked book lover finds himself blissfully alone with his books after a nuclear war.

Director:

John Brahm

Writers:

Rod Serling (teleplay by), Lynn Venable (based on a short story by)

Stars:

Burgess Meredith, Vaughn Taylor, Jacqueline deWit

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Burgess Meredith	...	Henry Bemis
Vaughn Taylor	...	Mr. Carsville
Jacqueline deWit	...	Helen Bemis (as Jaqueline deWit)
Lela Bliss	...	Mrs. Chester

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.

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Plot Keywords:

bank vault | sole survivor | post apocalypse | eyeglasses | bookworm | 

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

French title : "Question de temps".

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Goofs

At the sporting good store ruins, Bemis finds an already loaded revolver in the display case. A loaded revolver would NEVER be kept in a display case.

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Quotes

Mr. Carsville: You, Mr. Bemis, are a reader!
Henry Bemis: A reader?
Mr. Carsville: A reader! A reader of books, magazines, periodicals, newspapers! I see you constantly going downstairs into the vault during your lunch hour.
[Bemis tries to sit down, but Carsville slams on the desk]
Mr. Carsville: An ultimatum, Mr. Bemis! You will henceforth devote time to your job and forget reading or you'll find yourself outdoors on a park bench reading from morning to night for want of having a job! Do I make myself perfectly clear?
Henry Bemis: Oh, that's perfectly clear, sir, ...
[...]

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Connections

References Of Mice and Men (1939)

User Reviews

Ironic Episode

The bank clerk Henry Bemis (Burgess Meredith) loves to read but his nagging and selfish wife Helen Bemis (Jaqueline deWit) does not let him read in his leisure time. Henry tries to read at work in the bank, but his boss Mr. Carsville (Vaughn Taylor) threatens to fire him. One day, Henry sneaks in the bank vault to read and out of the blue, there is an explosion. When Henry leaves the place, he finds everything destroyed but the National Library full of books. Henry selects the book to read for the next years, but a tragic incident happens.

"Time Enough at Last" is an ironic episode of "The Twilight Zone", with a tragicomic conclusion. Henry Bemis sees his dream coming true after a nuclear holocaust where only the books of a great library and him survive. But a small incident dooms the life of Henry. My vote is ten.

Title (Brazil): "Além da Imaginação - Time Enough at Last" ("Beyond Imagination - Time Enough at Last")

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 November 1959 (USA)

Also Known As:

Time Enough at Last

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cayuga Productions, CBS Television Network

Technical Specs

Runtime:

25 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1