The Twilight Zone 1x08 -Time Enough at Last

7/27/2019 The Twilight Zone 1x08 -Time Enough at Last

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TEE NTTLIGET ZONESeason One

"Tittre Enough at Lagt"Beleplay byROD SERLTNG

Ai r Date: Novenber 20, 1959


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1. standard opening shot of the sky. . . the var ious nebulaeand planet boci ies stand out in sharp, spark l ing rel- ief . TheCAMERA as begun to PAN DowN unt i l - i t passes the hor izon andiS f}ush on the OPENINGSHOT OF THE PLAY.2 . INT. S!{AIJL BtrlrK [DAy] LONG Ar.rcLE SEOT LOOKTNG ltpThrough high windows fol lowing the beams of sunr ight unt i lwe're looking eye lever across the bank f rom the f ront door.Three tel-rers ' windows on the lef t , bank of f icers ' desks onthe r ight , safe deposi t vaul ts at the far end opposi te thefront door, f lanking the president 's of f ice. CAI4ERA ANSlef t unt i l we're shoot ing toward the f i rs t telLer 's wj-ndowwith the l i t t re s ign underneath the barred part j - t ion whichreads: "Henry Bemis, Te1ler. " DOLLY IN CLOSERunt i t we'reshoot ing over the part i t ion down on him. He's a rotund, squat ,plain-faced l i t t re man in his f i f t ies with enormouslv thiCkglasses which are obvlouslv en ' intcor: l oart of his 1 'At this momente's makinsvcf,:";:l ' ;3i":fi:;ofi: ' : ' ;"i 'XinHi"lap is a big heavy book open about hal fway. As he counts outthe change he looks down at the book, chuckles, wets hisf ingers to separate bi l ls , then wets them again to turn thepage of the book. He f in ishes count ing out the monev.BEMISMrs. Chesters, have you ever readDavid Copperf ie ld?

t{oldAN(grumpity)How's that?BEMTSWonderful bookl Here's this poorTl t tTe-TeI Iah whose father his passed

on and his mother has marr ied amiserable man named Murdstone. AndMurdstone has this s ister Jane-wordAlr(Iooks up from thechange he's givenher to glare at him)Mr. Bemisl You short -changed me again.You own me one more dol lar . See?There's twenty-four here. I shouldhave twentv-f ive.

Bemis peers myopicai ly over toward the money, sorts i t , thenreal izes his mistake.BEMIS

Tt m .l -crr i l^ l l r , t q.rrr\/ T f l ' rnrrrrhl - J- l raravrrJ . r u^r'vqYrrL Lrts r=were five ones there and there areonly four. (MORE


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Bn{IS (CONT'D)(he hands her anotherbi l l )I 'm real ly sorry, Mrs. Chesters.( then smil ing)There's another character in thestory named Macawber. Mr. Macawber.He's always being taken to debtors 'pr ison-The woman grunts again, turns her back and starts to waLkaway.

BEMrS (CO!{T'D)(cal l -s af ter her)There's a wonderful woman in i t toonamed Peggoty. She's David's nurse-3. l ' !ed. close shot Benis He sighs deeply, cl-oses the cagedrawer, goes back to por ing over the book.4. !!ed. cloee shot pagle of bookAs seen f rom over his shoulder. A shadow crosses i t . Bemisswitches the book so that i t 's back in the l ight . Again theshaCow crosses i t . This t ime Bemis looks up.5. Angle shot looking up torard !{r. Carsville's face This isthe president of the bank, a l i t t le mart inet of a man with aperpetual ly suspic ious gl int in his eye. Fast ic i ious,insuf ferably correct , anci about as warm as an ice t ray.5. Ttro shot Carsville and Benis

CARSVTI.I.EI wonder i f I might see you in myof f ice, Mr. Bemis?

BEMIS(gulps )Why. . .why certainly , Mr. Carsvi l le.(he r ises, smi lesdi f f ident ly , gulpsagarn )I don't suppose you ever read DavidCopperf ie ld, did you, Mr. CarsVIf le?CARSVILIJE

( c i ly)No, Mr. Bemis, I have not l Now i fyou'11 be good enougf iE-accompanyme?Bemis, with t repidat ion, puts down the book and starts tofol low the bank president past the other two tel- lers, whoimmediately busy themseLves at their jobs.


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7. Angle shot looking dorn at Benis As he walks toward theof f ice.NARRATOR'S VOTCEThe t ime is the day af ter tomorrow;the place is anywhere so long as i tcan accommodate a bank, a main street ,and a l ibrary - along with a myopicl i t t l -e man named Henry Bemis who hasonly one passion in l i fe and that is

! a -^ ^ , .1\J I YC1\:(a pause)Mr. Henry Bemis conspired againstby brow-beaters and hen-peckers andby c locks whose hands waggledisapprovingly at h im and alwaysdisal low the moments he'd love touse to read what he would.(a pause)In a moment from now, however, Mr.Bemis wi l l - have his chance to readin a world much dif ferent than theone he knows a world without c locksor bank presidents; a world for thatmatter, wi thout anyone !8. !ded. cloee shot door to president's office As the two menarr ive. Carsvi l le opens the door, mot ions Bemis in, thensquares his sma1l shoulders, goes in behind him, and s l-amsthe door.CUT TO BLACK: OPENING BILLBOARD--FIRST COMMERCIAI--FADEON:9 . rN:r. ceRs\[Lr.E ' s oFFrcE IDAY]The bank president s i ts behind a giant , extravagant ly neatdesk where everything is in careful ly placed pi les. In f rontof him stands l i t t le Henry Bemis, his hands folded in f rontof him.

CARSVILI.ENow, Mr. Bemis, I shal l come to thepoint of our interv iew. f shal l arr ivevia the fol lowing route which isnamely: what const i tutes an ef f ic ientmember of this organizat ion. Y:-z - abank tel ler who knows his job andperforms it , i .e. , an organizat ionman who funct ions within anorganizat ionl You, Mr. Bemis, do notfunct ion within the organizat ion.You are nei ther an ef f ic ient banktel ler nor a prof ic ient employee.You are a reader, Mr. Bemis.

BEMISA reader, s i r?


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CERS\,IIII.EA reader. A reader of books. Ofmagazines. Per iodicals. Newspapers.Pamphlets. Brochures. Catalogues.Advert isements. Tracts. Ad inf in i tum!When you're wait ing on customers youhave a book in your Iap. When you'remaking the dai ly ta1ly sheets, oneeye is on a pr inted page. I see youconstant ly going down into the vaultdownstairs dur ing your lunch hour.Do you know how I became presidentof this bank, Mr. Bemis? I was atef ler once myself , you know. Thir teenyears a tel Ier , f 'm proud to say.Became a bank president because Iwould spend my lunch hour in thefol lowing manner. F ive minutessandwich. Two minutes miIk. One minutecookie. Fi f ty- two minutes spentlearning of banking and f inance.Pract ic ing adding up f igures.Subtract ing. Div iding. Compoundinginterest . And af ter twenty-one yearspassing through the ranks you knowhow I wound up?

Bemis shakes his head miserably.CARS\r1IIJLE CONT'D)I wound up as president of the bank.(he drums his f ingerson the desk)Ult imatum, Mr. Bemis. You wi l l -henceforth devote your t ime to your

job and forget reading - or you'I lf ind yoursel f outdoors on a parkbench reading f rom morning to nightfor want of having a jobl Do I makemrzqol f norfoni - 'l rz el oarl

BEMIS(nods humbly)Yes, sir , you do. I t 's just that-CARSI\'IILIJE( mpat ient ly)Just that what , Bemj-s? Make it quick

and then get back to your cage.BEMIS(for lornl-y, sof t l -y)T! f ^ - : . .^r -L- i - mrz wifa r ioesnttL > JUJL LIrdL...rr ty w1ls u\al low me to read at home. When Icome home at night and pick up thepaper, she yanks i t out of my hand.Af ter dinner when I t ry to look at a(MORE


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BBdrs (coNT'D)magazine/ she hides them. It 's gottenso that . . . I f j -nd myself t ry ing toread the labels on condiment bot t leson the dinner tabl-e. Now she won'teven let me use catsup.eARWILLEUnasked I give you my react ion tothis. Your wife is an amazingly br ightwoman. I remember last November youspent the bet ter part of the daysreading campaign but tons on customer 'slapels. You'11 recal I , Mr. Bemis,the young woman who took considerableof fense at this and t r ied to hi t vouwith the umbrel la.BEMIS(unhappi ly)I remember that very welI , Mr.Carsvi l le. She never gave me a chance

to tei l her that I was only lookingat who she was vot i -nq for.cARSr\rl[tLE(r ises and turns hisback, folds his handsbehi-nd him)Good day, Mr. Bemis.BEI{IS(s ighs )Good day, Mr. Carsvi l le.

10. Track shot As he turns and starts toward the door. Hepauses momentar i ly by a tabl-e near the door that has somemagazines on it . He t i l ts his head so that he can read thecover of one of the magazines.11. Dif ferent angle I ' lr . Carsvi l le Who looks over his shoulder,c lears his throat warningly. Bemis hurr iedly takes his eyesa +ha mrn=oinos. sm' i Ies a I iJ- f le s i r :k . an d t.hen hUff ieSJ! l . L l l t j IL IO,Va4rlrsJ , Jrrrrree q !rsLrv trv^ tout of the of f ice.

DISSOLVE TO:L2. nrr. BEMIS l.rvrNc ROOM IDAYISLOWPAN SHOTACROSSTHE ROOM,which is smal l , t idy ' andant isept ical iy unat t ract ive, as i f furnished by a woman yogawhose basic tenant of l iv ing is sel f -denial- . The CAI4ERAWINDSUP ITS PAN on a shot of Mr. Bemj-s s i t t ing in the corner ofthe room with a newspaper. His wife 'S voice pierces the quiet .

EELTN'S \IOICEHenrv? HEN-RY?


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BE[fiS( looks up at hert i redly, takes offhi s rr l rq


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BEI{IS(forces a smi le)Yes, my dear?EEI.ENWhat have you got , Henry?BEITESGot ?

tl 'a f\r\-/ L . EErtEItBEMISWhy nothing, dear-

He1en reaches in almost greeful ly to take out the smart pocketbook hidden in his coat .EEI.ENWhat 's this , Henry?BEMISThat ?EEI,EN(nods )This.BE![ISThat 's odd. How did that qet there?EEI.EL{I could only hazard a guess.(she looks at the

cover and reads)"A Book of Modern poetry. "(a pauseiYours, Henrv?Bemis nods miserabl-v.

EEI.EN (CONT'D)Would you l- ike to read me some, Henry?BEI{IS(his eyes go bright)Read you some? A]oud? From the book?EEI.ENDo you want to?

Bemis takes the book from her prof fered hand.BEMISWhy.. .why, He1en, I 'd be del ightedto. This has love1y thlngs in i t ,(MORE)


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BB{rS (CONT'D)real ly . There's one or two fromLongfeI low. Edna St. Vincent MiI l_ay.Robert Frost . Car l Sandburq-22- lded. elose shot the book in his hand As with shaking,exci ted f ingers he starts to open it .23. Extrenely tight close shot first pageAnd then al l the others as he turns them. Each one has beencr iss-crossed with a black pencir so that none of the wri t ingcan be seen. He turns page af ter page. CAMERAPULLS BACK fora MEDTUM Hor of Bemis with his str icken white face underthe thick glasses.

BEMIS (CONT'D)Helen? Who did that?AELENWho do you think did i t , Henry? youshould thank me, real ly l A grown manwho reads si l ly , r id iculous,nonsensical doqqerel IBE'{ISf t isn' t doggerel l There were somebeaut i fu l thinqs here-EEI.ENI say i t 's doggeret . I also say i t 'sa waste of t ime.

she grabs the book from him, r ips at i t wi th her hanos,iO:r i nn rrrr t na^^a f I-- | ' l ,..s,ages EnaE. r lut ter out . Bemis goes down on hisknees, grappl ing for the pages.BBdrSHel_en, please. please, don't -

she cont inues to r ip at the book and the pages cont inue tofrut ter down. His glasses sl ip off and once again he's lef tgroping in a world without s ight .24. Angle shot looking up at Eelen Her face distorted withdis l ike. PAN sHor down to her foot which is very close rothe grasses. we can see his hand nearby groping over thef loor looking' for them.25 . Close shot her foot againAs i t moves over to step on the glasses.26. Angle shot looking up at her face Witt frr ' t - nrrrnr-,ssfsf ,ev i l . - - - - ------


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rv.27. cLoee shot ttre foot As it 's about to come down on the^' l ^^^^^ T.-^ .g-Lasses. . , rust at this moment Henry 's hand f inds them,roi r i e\zoq J-ha m28. Ang1e ghot looking down on hi_m As he nr:fs fhe atasses onand tooks up at her. Y+(29 - RE\'ERSE AlrcLE LooKrNG Dog{N AT ErM TreET oN Ers FACEEEI.ENIS P.O.V.He r ises very s1owly, stares at the woman.

BEMrS (CONT'D)( in a low voice)Why, Helen? Why do you do thesethinqs ?EELENBecause I 'm marr ied to a fool .BEDTTSThere'11 come a t ime, Helen. There'11come a moment when-

He leaves the rest unsaid.EEI.EN(chal lengingIy, ugly)When what, Henrv?BS{ISWhen f '11 be forced to pay you backfor twenty years of indigni t ies, andcruel t ies, and miserv-

Helen throws back her head and laughs, a shr i r l - , p ierc ing,grat ing laugh which goes on for a moment then sudbenly seemsto die in her throat as she stares at the intense face ofthe r i t t le man in f ront of her and for the f i rs t t ime a lookof concern crosses her face which boarders on fear. Bemisgoes down and picks up the rest of the pages, crumples themup in h is hand, carr ies them over to a waite baskel , putsthem in. Then he starts out the room.EEI,ENHenrv- I

He stops but keeps his back to her.EEI.EN (CONT'D)Are you going to change your shir tnow? We've only got a few minutes.

Bemis slowly turns toward her.


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BB{rSI 'm going to bed, He1en. I learnedthose poems by heart . I 'm going tobed and say them to myself . And youcan't vandal ize what 's ins ide rnymind. You can't c l imb in there andpenci l out some beaut i fu l language.He turns and goes out of the room.

DISSO],VETO:30 . INT. BET.IK TDAYI C&OSE SEOT CI,OCK ON WAI,Lwhich is just st r ik ing noon. PAI. IsHor down the walr to aLONGANGLE sHor of Bemis at his cage as he rooks up at thecl-ock, pul ls down the cage window, puts out a s ign whichreads: "Next window please, " takes a smal- I lunch b"g, pul lsa book out f rom the back of a drawer, walks slowly past thecages over to the vaul t entrance.31. Med. close shot vault entrance A large, heawy sealeddoor that is part ly opened. Bemis sl ips in behind.32. Angle shot looking down stairway leading to vault As hevery slowly walks down.

CUT TO:33. INr. \tattLT Root'{F lanked and crowded by safe deposi t boxes, t al- . Bemj-s s i tson the f loor, adjusts his glasses, opens up the bag, startsto gnaw on a sandwich whi le he reads, voraciously,del ightedly, al l -consumingly.3{.-3?. Dif ferent angles Benis As he eats and reads. First asmal l book, then a newspapr, then a pamphlet .38. l'!ed. close shot neyspaperThat he's laid asi-de neat ly as his feet . The headl ine staresup. I t reads, " 'H Bomb would mean total destruct ion, ' saysscient is t . "39. Angle shot J.ooking ovur Benisfs shoulder Toward newspaper.t10. Close shot Benis As he takes out a pocket watch, l -ooksat i t , put .s i t a longside in view.{1. Different angle Benis Looking toward him from thenewspaper so that both the headl ine and Bemis 's face arevis ible.42 . Pan shot across the floorOver the newspaper toward the watch. At this moment there'sa loud rumble that grows and grows and grows unt i l suddenly


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j - t 's an earspl i t t ing, detonat ing, dI l -consuming, giant momentof thunder.43. Extrenel-y tight cl,oser l \ro l i rq frno nr.ani rc

shot pocket ratch As the glass

44. Extrenely tight close shot nerspaper As suddenly dustand plaster start to dr ip on i t .I ts . Close shot Benis As his eyes beneath the t .hick glassessuddenly look up start red. The wa11s and f loor start to shake.cracks appear. Bemis slowly inches to his feet very ararmednow. He goes to the door and starts to open i t . He wrenchesi t to get i t open.45. }!ed. long shot over his shoulderToward the open door and the foot of the stairway as a hugef lash of l ight and noise blasts him back.47. Angle shot looking down oa floor As Bemis lands headf i rs t back into the room, dust and plaster fal l ing on him.It8. Angle shot looking down at hi-u As he lies motionless onthe f loor.FADE TO BLACK: END ACT ONE--ACT TWO--FADE ON:49. IT{T. \'AI'IT EIGB EAT SEOT TOOKING ACROSS ETOORAt Bemis who awakens f rom unconsciousness, struggles to hishands and knees, touches his glasses, which hang askew of fone ear, then r ises bl indly, groping, not completely with i t

50. Moving shot with him As he gets up on his feet, stumblesover to the now smashed open door, which hangs on hal f ahinge, walks up the debr is-and-dust covered stairway.CUT TO:

51. Different angle as he reaches ttre top Stands there lookingout toward what should be the inter ior of the bank.CUT TO:

52. RSVERSEA}IGIJ BB{IS'S P.O.V.Thls is the inter j -or of the bank as seen through his myopiceyes, dis torted, hazy, and completely out of focus.53. CLOSE SEOT BS{ISAs with nervous trembl ing f ingers he aci justs ihe glasses andputs them on.

CUT TO:


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54. REVERSEAI{GIE AGAIN BEMIS'S P.O.V.As seen just at the moment he puts his grasses on. This isthe inter ior of the room/ smasheci beyond recognit ion. A gapinghole in the waII , te l lers ' cages, desk, money, beams,everything ly ing around in smashed heaps.55. Moving shot Benis As he picks his way over the rubbleover toward the f ront door.55. Different angle looking at hin As he comes out the frontdoor and looks slowly from side to s ide.57.-60. Ser ies of sbots Destroyed bui ldiogs, smashed beyondrann^n' i l - ian!vvvvtl+ Lrvl l .61. ! ted. close shot Benis As he takes a few steps across aconcrete sidewalk and si ts on what is tef t of a curb. HeIooks to one side.62 . Pan shot acrolrs the sidewalk To what is 1eft of anewspaper stand. A torn and bat tered newspaper l- ies face upon the sidewalk, just a remnant of i ts headl ine remaining.f t reads: "H Bomb"63.-55. Different angles flash shote of ttre headline 67 .Extrenery close Ehot Benis As he buries his face in his hands.CAI4ERA ULLS BACK unt i l i t 's shoot ing rong on Bemis, a t iny,sol i tary f igure of a man si t t ing in f ront of rubble.

DISSOLVE TO:58. EjEf . SIREET BEr'IrSHe comes out f rom behind a corner rooking around and overh is shoulder up to the sky, past rubbish and debris , as hewalks toward the camera. He suddenly stops dead, Iookingacross at something.69. Pan shot over the rr:bble To the remnants of a glassoutdoor phone booth. About one pane of glass remainsunscathed.70. Dif ferent angle Benie As he walks over to j_t. En routehe sees i ts door ry ing of f to one side. He s low1y enters thebooth and almost as i f in a t rance l i f ts up the receiver,dials a number. Therers absolutely no sound in the receiver.He puts the receiver back on the hook, turns and stands framedin the entrance to the booth, looking out at the nothingnessthat surrounds him.71. f . !ed. c lose shot As he touches a bruise on his head, l -ooksdown at his f ingers.72. Shot over his shouLder toward phone boottr As suddenlythe phone fal ls to the ground with a crat ter of broken glass.An odd sound of a bel I which is t ike a death knel l .


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73. Med. shot BenisBB{IS(very sof t ly)Thevr re a I I cla:r i Thorz mrr


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There's a pause as Bemis takes a f r ightened, al-mostnightmarish, compel led walk over to the desk.77. Angle shot looking over the desk rhere's a rifeless hand1' 'n '1A' i n^ anf a the mi cronhnne of : l rertcr r r onor :f or l r l i r -J- nhnnorv+vrrr9 \rIr L-\_/ urr9 lLL4u!\J!/l r \-rrr_?8. Pan shot ove! to ttre dictaphone It stil1 runs.

\IOICEThat 's my speech for the Thursdaynight banquet , Miss Jackson. Wou1dyou type that up in t r ip l icate forme?

i i -hon i -ha r ra ir -osuddenly takes on akind of deadrepet i t ious tone)Wou1d you type that up in t r ip l icatefor me? Would you type that up intr ip l icate for me? Would you typethat up in t r ip l icate for me?79 . Different angle the dictaphone As it suddenly burstsapor L.80. Angle shot J.ooking from behind tbe desk up toward Bemis'sface as he closes his eyes at the horror of what he's lookingdt, stumbles backwards across the room and then out the door.

DISSOLVE TO:81. E:T3. STREET SEADOWOF BEMISAs he walks. CAI4ERAPULLS BACK for shot of him as he stepsup a row of concrete steps that lead to nothing except ayard ful l of debr is .

CUT TO:82. Angle shot looking down at his feet As he bends over andextr icates a mai lbox torn in hal f . The name "Bemis" is oni t . He stares at i t very thought ful ly for a Iong moment,then looks up and around and i l - l -ogical ly , wi ld ly , cal ls out .

BEMISHelen? He1en, where are vou?He walks back down the steps, sk ir ts them and waLks over toa large hole.

CUT TO:83. Reverse angle looking from the hole up loward hin Asonce again he shudders at what he sees, then backs awav.

DISSOLVE TO:


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8{.-87. series of walking shots dif,f,ereat angles Benis'sfeet rhey pass signs on the ground which read, "post of f ice, ""Dj-me a Dance, " "Bi iou Theatre. "DISSOLVE TO:

88. E:[T. STREET IDAY] LONG SEOT L@KING TEROUGE TEE FACADEOF T{EAT ?{AS A GROCERY StrOREHarf of the sign remains on the remnant of the window. onthe other s ider oo the high shelves raden with canned. food,s i ts Henry Bemisr do open, hal f -eaten can of soup l ies toone side, a can of beer to the other. He si ts there, leaningagainst one of the counters, star i_ng of f at nothing. Hereaches down to pul l out his watch, pats for i t , then rea] izeshe doesn't have i t . Then he smiles sadly.

BEMISMaybe I can pick up a new watch.Maybe f can f ind a jewelry store.( then he looks up atthe canneci food)I won't s tarve to death anyway. Lotsof food. I t '11 l_ast for years. Foryears and years. Al1 the food I caneat . Atl the food and then some.He takes a deep breath, puts his head back, c loses his eyes,takes of f his glasses, and then very slowly drops off tosIeeo.

DISSOLVE TO:89. EET. DESTROY:EDSTREET TNIGET] PA}T SEOT DOWNSIDET{ATKunt i r we're once again shoot ing in toward the grocery store.candles have been ri t and Bemis sits on a packing crate,reading the rorn fragment of a newspaper. i {e rays i t as ide,' r l \ae nrzar +- a shel f , takes out a carton of r: io:rcf f ovso vvs! Lv d Jt rer l r LdKes ouL


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BEMIS(ref lect ively, wi thl i t t1e emot ion)The worst thing. . . the worst thinq.Is being alone(a pause)Is this the way i t 's going to be? Imean.. . I mean wiI I i t be iust s i t t inohere on a box and eatrng. ind smokingcigaret tes and reading ine sane halfof a newspaper over and over aqain?Ho rarnhoc r lD ancJ r r rhq hi S faee- fec l ino f ho f ramanrt,rr v !uuD lrrJ !qes, !Esrfjrr _-_..._.._CUS SenSeof depression that suddenly weighs over him. He retraces hissteps back into what was lef t oi tne store, blows out thecandles, then turns and wal-ks out the skeleton door f rameand out onto the street .

DISSOLVE TO:91.-94. series_of .moving shots Benis ralking night and, ttrenday SUPERfMPOSEics of destroyed bui ldingsl

DISSOLVE TO:95 . EX3. STREET BBdISHe l ies on what was once a couch that has becn f I r rnrr ontothe sidewalk by rhe explosion. He op"nu- i i ! "Jv"; ; ; i inks upat the sun' r ises, . dust ing himselr brr , s t rai lhtens his t ie,succumbing to a habit of a l i fet ime, and t .hen sort of smi l_esat himserf , real iz ing what he's done. He pauses, looking of facross the street .96- Pan shot over to a convert ible That ries pract ical lyunscathed at the curb.97- Reverge angle Beu,is As he smiles a li t t le excitedl_v.98. A}IGI.E SEOT LOOKING Dol{NAs he runs over to the car.99- l4ed. c lose shot car As he gets in , honks the horn, turnsthe key. For a moment the engi ie seems to start and take,then dies down. He tr ies to start i t over and over again.Nothing happens. He leans against the horn, his eyes closeror a moment ' then gets out of the car and starts back towardthe other s ide of the street . Again he stops.100. c lose shot h is foot As i t k icks away some debris torevear a sign which reads, "sport ing Goods." His eyes go up,looking toward a display case that ' i been turned over on i tss ide- He goes over to i t , wrest les with i t , f inalry- iu. . " i tover. I t lands with a crash of broken glass.101- l'!ed. close shot open display case rn it are guns andammunit ion.


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LO2. Cloge shot Benis 's handAs he reaches in for a revolver,takes i t out .103. Med. close shot Benis As he sits on the remnant of acurb and starts to examine the gun. He lays i t down at hiss ide, s tares for lornly out in f ront of him.104. Different angle Benis's f,ace As gradually we see aresolut ion taking form. Once again his hand reaches for the.nrn TJo ni nlaq i I rrr ' \ :nd ql-rrr l i aq i | :a= i nYg.:.g l /uuvlvugYgrl r .

BEMISIf i t just weren't for thelonel iness. . . for the sameness. I ft .here was just something to do. . lustsomething to do.(another s i l -ence)I 'm sure I could be forgiven forthis . The way things are. . . I know Icould be forqiverr . . .The CAI'4ERA ANS OVER to a shadow on the road. We see the gunin his hand. Slowly r is ing in an arc Loward his head thensuddenly stop. The hand goes down. The gun fai ls to theground.105. Flash shot t tre grun As it lands on the ground.105. Pan shot across the ground To a set of concrete stepscovered by the remnants of a large s ign.107. Eigh hat shot Looking toward Bemis as he runs towardthe canera.

CUT TO:108. Extrenely tiEht close shot sigrn As Bemis suddenly hoversover i t . The s iqn reads: "Publ ic Librarv."109. Long angle shot looking down From a high stack of booksat Bemis as he stares up in s i lent amazed, fascinatedwonderment.110.-Lt2. Dif ferent angles Benis Walking through thebookshel-ves.

Bmdrs (coNT'D)(as he walks)Col-Lected Works of Shakespeare.Complete Works of Dickens. Col lectedPlays of G.B. Shaw. Poems ofBrowning. . .Shel iy , Keats. Great Dramasof the World.

113. CI,OSE SEOT BEMISAs he stands at the bot tom of one of the high racks andsuddenly in exui tat ion pounds at i t , screaming.


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BEtr|TISCONT'D)Books. Books. A11 the books I need.A11 the books I want.several books topple over to land near him and he continuesto pound and shake, laughing, crying.

BE.{IS (CONT'D)Keats. Shet ly . Shakespeare. Shaw.Books.DISSOLVE TO:

11tt . E:xI. TIBRARY [DAY] LONG SBOT BEtfrSAs he comes out f rom the center of a corr idor carry ing anarmload of books. The CAI,IERA ULLS BACK to take in a shot ofrow upon row of books spread out in a l ine put there by Bemisin neat stacks.115. Moving shot Benis As he walks from stack to stack. Hesings songs as he goes past each stack hi t t ing the top book.

BEMISJanuary. February. March. Apr i1.May. This year. Next year. Year af ter.Year af ter that .He stops at the last stack of books, turns to survey thelong I ine of stacks and then hesi tant ly , almost fearful ly ,he reaches for the f i rs t book, hol-ds i t in his hand for amoment, feels i t , fondles i t , then he tucks i t under his armand walks over to the steps and si ts down. His eyes scan therows of books that we see behind him, then down to thepavement a few feet below him where there is a hal f -crackedclock ly ing face up. He puts the book down, r isesr gos overto stand over the c lock, smi l -es down at i t .

BEMIS (CONT'D)And the best part . . . the very bestpart . . . there's t ime now. There's a l lthe t ime I need. A11 the t ime f want.There's t ime enough at last .He retraces his footsteps back over to the steps, s i ts down,leans against a pi l Iar , looks down at the book, which l iesopen to i ts f i rs t page. He bends over to pick i t up.116. Extrenely tight close shot hi s glasses As they faIl onfhc sfcns :nri bfeak.117. Extrenely t ight close shot Looking up toward Bemis fromthe ground. The look on his face coul-d only be descr ibed asthat of a man suddenly beset by a demon. First horror, thenfear, then a s ick, aI l -pervading sadness and real izat ion.


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118. RE!'ERSEAI{GI.EBEMIS'S P.O.V.The book and broken g' lasses, distorted, fuzzy out of focusas his hand comes out f rom behind the camera, groping, touchesthe glasses, feels of them, and then lets them drop. Thenthe hand gropes over to the book, picks i t up, holds i t outin f ront of him. The pag'e is blurred.119. Different angre Benig Tears rol-r down his face. He slowlyr ises, the book clutched in his hands. The CAI, IERA TARTSAs],ow DoLr,Y away from him as he stands there all bv himsel-famid the books, cry ing.

BB{IS (CONT'D)I t isn' t fa i r . I t isn' t fa i r at al1.There was t ime now. There was aL1the t ime I needed. It isn' t fa i r . . . i tisn' t fa i r . . .The CAMERACONTTNUESts dol ]y back unt i l we're on a tabreauof the t iny f igure of a man and rhe echo of his voice cry ingin the si lence, the rubble, the lonel iness. Over this tabteauwe hear the NARRATOR'SVOICE.

NARRLTORIS VOICEThe best laid plans of mice andmen.. .and Henry Bemis. The smal l manin the glasses who wanted nothingbut t ime. Nothing but a moment outof an eon of moments. Nothing but aninstant out of an eterni ty . HenryBemisr rrow just a part of a smashedlandscape. Jusr a piece of the rubble.Just a fragment of what man has deededto himself . Mr. Henrv Bemis. . . in theTwi l iqht Zone.

FADE TO BLACK.

The Twilight Zone 1x08 -Time Enough at Last

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Transcript of The Twilight Zone 1x08 -Time Enough at Last