AIR DATE: 4/3/60 AS ~IECAST SCRIPT

4 /60

"PIAYHOUSE 90" SP~IAL

II AlAS, BABYLON"
Written for
Playhouse 90 by
David Shaw

From the novel by

Pat Frank

#60-5-14

Act I - 1-22
Act II - 23-44
Act III -45-67
Act IV - 68-85
Act V - 86-97
Act VI - 98-

Producer: PETER KORTNER

Director: ROBERT STEVENS
As soc. Producers: RUSSELL STONEHAM
ETHEL WINANT
Asst. to the Producer: A • .J. CAROTHERS
Art Director: ED lANSBURY
Assoc. Director: LENNIE HORN
Prgm. Asst. : ADRI BUTLER
 · P.tJJi.YB. OUSE 90
Air: April 3 9 1960 Title g i
1
Alasv Babylon"
#60..,.5=14

DICK JOY
TELOP: SULLIVAN #S Because of the following special
broadcast 8 Tbe Ed Sullivan Show 0
presented by Eastman Kodak,
TELOP: GoEe THEATRE #6
,r::r;;:; ·r::,an::=
and The General Electric Theatre
will not be seen tonight o 'l'hey
will return next week at their
regular times on most or these
stationao

BLACK SCREEN: April 3, 19600 From Television

Cit,- 1n Hollywood 0
FILM: HOTIF WITH
ft.A'.§H TO "90"' A Special Presentation on
PLAYHOUSE 900 Starring:

MATTE m: STAR SHOTS Don MU1"l'a7 o• o

Barbara Rush Goo

Kim Hunter ooo

Everett Sloane 000

Judi~~ Evelyn _eoo

Rita Moreno 000

Robert crawrord GOO

And Guest Star, Dana Andrewso

(MOOE}
ALA...:a BAB'IL0r
FH 90 60~5=11.i.

DICK JOY (CONT'D)

PLAYHOUSE 90 0 brought to you by ooo

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FILM: ALLSTATE ID The Allstate Insurance Companies
whoa e polioie s now include ooo
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proteot1on
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You 1 l'e 1n good hands with Allatateo
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(E PS CUE)
satisfaction
--
that gives you real smoking
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you li~t up o Have a real
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MUSIC : END THimE
FILM: MATTE IN On PLAYHOUSE 90, Act One ot
~ P : ALAS
BABfLoN "Alas,, .Babylon" 1n Just one
m1nuteo

·FILMr
b'a:rri1'trc1a1 #1
GA• "~alor1o" RL~A 1t * Weat Coast Cut In: *
(One Minute Film)
-·
* AGA•
* (One
"O•Keete & Me~itt" R9B
Minute Film )
*
*
******************
BO COMMERCIAL COPY AVAILABLE
o o Then to ACT
=-
O.\TE
re=::--:::,:\
 -1-

ACT ONE
FADE IN:
WHILE STILl.i IN BIACK - (OR WHITE)
Special Effect
MARK
(NARRATING)
My name is Mark Bragg. Or it was Mark
Bragg until yesterday ... I'm dead now.
There I s no body, no ashes -- nothing left
of me but a jumble of atoms. Radioactive.
I'm not alone. But there's no comfort
in that. Ninety-two percent of the world's
population died within that first hour.
I was one of the first. I was lucky.
FADE IN:
FILM
(VARIOUS SHOTS OF A TYPICAL FLORIDA TOWN.
MORNING. THE STREETS SUNNY, ALMOST DESERTED)
MARK (CONT'D)
This was my home town just two days ago.
The beginning of an "average" day. It's
a town called Fort Repose. In Central
Florida -- or what used to be central
Florida before The Day.
CUT TO:
SUPERMARKET
 -2-

MARK
Pete Herndon, manager of the one big
supermarket in town, was opening up --
as usual. Pete Herndon would go places,
folks always said. He will. We all
will. Soon.
CUT TO:
THE MEDICAL CLINIC
MARK
Doctor Dan Gunn is giving the daily
insulin shot to Lavinia McGovern. As
of now, the doctor is still in the business
of keeping individuals alive. By this
time tomorrow that business would be
wholesale.
IAVINIA
I was rading in a magazine about a new
medicine for diabetes. A pill that I
can swallow.
DAN
Oranaise.
IAVINIA
Yes.
DAN
I'll see if Jim Bloomfield's got some
at his drug store.
 -3-

IAVINIA
Thank you, Doctor.
MARK
{NARRATING)
What we needed, Doctor, was a pill for
war. A true wonder-drug.
CUT TO:
RANDY'S BEDROOM
MARK (CONT'D)
In my family's house overlooking the
river is my brother, ladies and gentlemen.
Randolph Bragg. The definitive product
of our age. Veteran of two wars and one
marriage yet he sleeps like a baby
because, despite the army records, he
is a baby. Undisturbed. Uninterested.
Unconcerned. Not completely undisturbed,
however. My brother Randy could always
be counted on to have someone show up
and tell him it was morning. Another
day.
RANDY
Whois that?
RITA
Who do you think?
 -4-
RANDY
Oh.
RITA
You promised me a swim first thing in
the morning.
RANDY
rater.
MARK
(NARRATING)
No, Brother Randy. It's already much,
much too late.
CUT TO:
TELID-RAPH OFFICE
MARK (CONT'D)
Every day at eight-thirty this girl, my
sister-in-law, does exac.tly what she's
doing now -- opening the telegraph office
for business, unaware that the message
now coming in is from me, sent in hurried
desperation from San Juan, Puerto Rico,
a few seconds before takeoff.
~MR. FARROW ENTERS)
FARROW
Good morning.
LIZ
Good morning. No message for you yet.
 -5-

FARROW
Are you sure? I mean -- it's the fifth
already. The pension money is supposed
to come on the first. Maybe that one's
for me.
(HE POINTS TO THE MACHINE WHICH IS CLICKING)
LIZ
No. It's for Randy Bragg~
FARROW
Bragg ... Say, isn't that the fellow you're
married· to.
LIZ
No more.
FARROW
Divorced?
LIZ
Separated.
FARROW
Say, I'm sorry to hear that.
LIZ
Mr. Farrow ...
FARROW
Yes?
LIZ
... Would you know what "Alas, Babylon"
means?
FARROW
Excuse me?
 -6-

LIZ
"Alas , Babylon. 11
FARROW
"Alas, Babylon?" I'm afraid not. I'll
be in later to see if my money came.
ANNOUNCER'S VOICE
We interrupt this program to bring you a
special news bulletin ... Yesterday's report
from Moscow claiming Sputnik Number 23
was put into orbit has been confirmed
this morning. The tracking station at
Jodr~ll Banks has picked up its signal
loud and clear.
(LIZ STARIB TO DIAL TELEPHONE AS ANNOUNCER'S
VOICE CONTINlIBS SOFTIX:) .
CUT
CUT TO:
RANDY'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM
ANNOUNCER"S VOICE
(CONTINUOUS FROM .ABOVE)
According to the Smithsonian Institution
this satellite is equipped to observe
the terrain of the earth below and the
State Department has issued a strong
protest at the U.N.
CUT TO:
 -7-

ANNOUNCER'S VOICE
... Fully alerted to the tense situation.
Senator Holler, of the Armed Services
Committee, has demanded that the Air
Force shoot down Sputniks capable of
military espionage if they violate U.S.
airspace ...
(MUSIC COMES ON RADIO)
RITA
Randy, should I get the phone.
RANDY
Okay.
RITA
I'm full of orange juice.
(SHE ANSWERS PHONE)
Hello ...
(NO ANSWER)
Hello.
CUT TO:
TELEGRAPH OFFICE
LIZ
I'd like to speak to Mister Bragg, please.
RITA
What?
LIZ
I want to speak to Mister Randolph Bragg
please .•• This is the telegraph office.
RITA
Oh. He can't come to the phone now, he's
still .in bed.
 -o-

LIZ
Well, would you tell him I have an important
message for him.
RITA
What?
LIZ
I said would you tell him I have an important
message for him.
RITA
Wait a minute, hon, while l turn down the
radio.
(RANDY COMES IN)
There's some fresh squeezed orange juice.
RANDY
Tpat's how I like it. Fresh and squeezed.
RITA
Randy. She's on the phone.
RANDY
Who?
RITA
The telegraph office.
RANDY
( INTO PHONE)
Liz. Hello, Liz. That girl was ...
CUT TO:
TELEGRAPH OFFICE
LIZ
(ON PHONE)
I have a telegram for you, Mr. Bragg, sent
from San Juan, Puerto Rico, 2:15 a.m.
Eastern Standard Time ...
 -'::J-

CUT TO:
RANDY'S LIVING ROOM
RANDY
(INTO PHONE)
Liz, will you stop trying to sound so official ...
CUT TO:
TELEnRAPH OFFICR
LIZ
{INTO PHONE)
The message, Mr. Bragg. "URGENT YOU MEET
ME MC COY AIR FORCE BASE NOON TODAY. AIAS
BABYLON .•. MARK''
(SHE HANGS UP)
CUT TO:
RANDY'S LIVING ROOM
(HE HANGS UP)
RITA
I guess I shouldn't have answered the phone,
huh?
RANDY
I've got to get out of here.
(HE HEADS !NTO THE BEDROOM AND STARTS TO
DRESS. RITA FOIJ.DWS HIM IN)
 -10-

RITA
Wait a minute! Last night you told me
you and her were separated.
RANDY
We are. Beat it. I want to get dressed.
RITA
What? -,,- so modest. What are you going
to do? Crawl all the way down to the
telegraph office on your hands and knees
to apologize for me?
RANDY
I'm driving up to Orlando to meet my
brother. Satisfied?
RITA
I thought he was in the Army.
RANDY
Air Force. He's flying up.
RITA
You're lying.
RANDY
Okay, I'm lying. Seen my shoes, anywhere.
RITA
You sure know how to make a girl feel dirty.
RANDY
Mark put something in that wire that's
important. It has nothing to do with you.
 -11-

RITA
Or your ex-wife.
RANDY
Or my ex-wife.
RITA
Prove it.
RANDY
Some other time, Rita.
RITA
You can't even stand to touch me this
morning ...
RANDY
I told you. I'm in a hurry.
RITA
Then tell me what he put in that telegram.
RANDY
You wouldn't understand. It's a code word
we made up when we were kids when one of
us was in trouble.
RITA
Let me drive to Orlando with you.
RANDY
Sorry, Rita. This is family business.
RITA
Should I wait here until you get back?
 -12-

RANDY
Suit yourself, honey. Just lock the door
when you leave, will you?
(HE EXITS)
RITA
I'm not coming back. You hear me~
So don't call me and tell me you're lonely!
I'm never coming back ...
RADIO ANNOUNCER'S VOICE
.-.. There is also a new crisis in the Middle
East this morning. A report from Beirut
claims that American Task Force 67 is
sailing towards the eastern Mediterranean ...
DISSOLVE TO :
TELEGRAPH OFFICE
(THE RADIO IS ON. DAN GUNN ENTERS)

ANNOUNCER'S VOICE (CONT'D)

... And a late dispatch from Moscow says
that the Kremlin has sent a violent protest
to the United States Government in reply
to Senator Holler 1 s statement regarding the
shooting down of Soviet Sputniks.
DOC
(TURNING DOWN VOLUME OF THE RADIO)
The news making you a little nervous.
 -13-

LIZ
I'm not nervous.
DCC
I am. Jumpy as a cat ... You look nervous.
LIZ
Please, Doc. I'm busy. What can I do for
you?
DOC
I want to send a telegram to Philadelphia.
LIZ
There's the blank.
DCC
I just saw Randy a little while ago.
LIZ
Did you?
DCC
He looked nervous, too.
LIZ
No doubt.
DOC
Something's up with his brother Mark. He's
driving up to Orlando now to meet him ...
But I don't think that's what's upsetting
him, do you?
LIZ
Dan, are you really sending a telegram?
Because if you're here to try to patch things
up again between Randy and me, it's no ...
 -l.'f-

DOC
I'm ordering some Oranaise pills for
your mother.
LIZ
Sorry. I'll send it right out.
DOC
Though as long as you brought up the
subject, it wouldn't be such a bad idea
if you and Randy tried to get together
again.
LIZ
Why don't you just stick to medicine,
Doc. That's something you really know
about.
DOC
I know about you and Randy, too. I've
got eyes. Youlve been separated four
months and you're both walking around
in sheer misery.
LIZ
That will be ninety-six cents with the
tax.
DOC
I know Randy's not the easiest husband
on earth. But who knows, maybe this
separation has changed him.
LIZ
It hasn't.
 ... 15- & -16-

DOC
How do you know? You don't even take
the trouble to find out.
LIZ
Don't I? A wire from Mark came through
for him this morning. I phoned him at
8:30.
DOC
Was he drunk?
LIZ
Rita Herndon answered his phone.
DOC.
Ooops.
LIZ
Yes, ooops. So you see - he hasn't
changed too radically.
DOC
Well, after all. You ~ separated, you
know. What do you expect him to do?
LIZ
Just what he's doing. It comes as no
surprise.
DOC
Liz, it 1 s killing you and you know it.
LIZ
I 1 ll get over it. I'm saving every
penny I earn here so that Mother and
I can get out of this town as soon as
possible.
 -17-

DOC
Don't give up on him yet, Liz. This
morning's evidence to the contrary, he
needs you to give his life some kind of
direction.
LIZ
No, Doc. I've resigned from the
Rehabilitation of Randy Bragg Society.
DOC
I wish there was something I could do to
convince you, something I could tell you ..
LIZ
Doc, do you know what "Alas, Babylonn means?
DOC
What's that got to do with Randy?
LIZ
Nothing. I'm just asking.
DOC
It's from the Bible from Revelation, I
think ... "and _the kings of the earth, who
have committed fornication and lived
deliciously with her, shall bewail her,
and lament for her, when they shall see
the smoke of her burning. Standing afar
off for the fear of her torment, saying,
Alas, alas, that great city of Babylon,
that mighty city! For in one hour is thy
judgement come. 11
CUT TO:
BLACK
 -18-

( SOUND: TREMENDOUS VJ.HINE OF A .JET PI.ANE

CLOSE BY)
FADE UP:

IN A JET PIANE - DAY

RANDY

Mark.
MARK
Hello, Randy, glad you came.
RANDY
Hi Mark. What's with the telegram. What's
the trouble?

How's Liz?
RANDY
All right, I guess ... We've split up.
(MARK STARES AT HIM IN DISBELIEF)
Well, these things happen!
MARK
Leave it to you to mess up the one good
thing you ever did in your life.
RANDY
Look, I didn't drag all the way up here
for one of your lectures, Big Brother.
MARK
You' re lucky I don't have much time. We' re
just refueling here and going on to Omaha.
When I get there I want to get Helen and the
kids on a plane here before anything starts ...
 -19-

RANDY
What ' s going to start'?
MARK
The next war -- maybe.
RANDY
Have you been flying without oxygen too
long or are you really out of your mind?
MARK
I'm in a better position to know what's
going on than you are.
RANDY
When you wired "Alas, Babylon" and I thought
you were in real trouble. You fly boys
ought to stop yelling wolf every time some
Russian blows his nose.
MARK
Helen's plane will arrive at Orlando at
three in the morning.
RANDY
Don't you realize yet that Atom bombs and
H Bombs have made war impossible. And
here you go -- ready to disrupt your whole
family -- and me
MARK
I hope you're right. None of us has much
of a chance once they start pressing the
buttons. But what are we supposed to do?
Lay down with our mouths open and just wait
for them to drop their eggs.
 -20-

RANDY
They're as smart as we are -- if not
smarter. They know they'll be getting
our eggs in their mouth if they start
anything. So they won't start anything.
MARK
They might, if they think they can get
away with it. Are you so buried in Fort
Repose you don't know how they're set up?
They don't send one missile at a time
or ten -- or a hundred. They got thousands
of ICBMs-~ all nice and aimed at every
strategic point we have on the globe
all ready to fl~· at the press of a button.
RANDY
If that's true then what are we all fussing
about. We might just as well give up now
if we can't stop them.
MARK
I don't know if we can stop them, but we've
got just as many thousands of ICBMs pointing
at them.

(MOCKINGLY)
Swell.
 MARK
Is that your final word on the subject?
RANDY
Yes, because I don't believe you, Big
Brother. If a war was coming we'd all
know about it -- not only you.
MARK
Maybe that's the only thing that could
stop it. People knowing • But Washington's
always saying: "Now, let's not be hasty.
Let's not alarm the public". So everything
remains secret or cosmic. Personally,
I think everybody ought to be digging
shelters or evacuating right this minute.
Officially, I shouldn't be telling even
you any of this, but I finally made up
my mind to because it might save the lives
of my wife and kids -- and maybe even yours.
(THE PILOT ENTERS FROM COCKPIT)
PILOT
Ready for take-off, Colonel.
MARK
Right.
(MARK TAKES A CHEDK FROM HIS POCKEr AND
HANDS IT TO RANDY)
RANDY
What's this? Your last will and testament?
 MARK
It might be. It's a check. All the money
I've got. Made out to you. Cash it --
today if there's still time. Buy stuff
with it -- for Helen and the kids and you
... buy everything but liquor.
RANDY
And suppose nothing happens. Suppose
they don't start pressing buttons.
MARK
Then you have my permission to go out and
buy the best case of liquor on the market.
I'll even come back and help you drink it.
PILOT
You'll have to get off now, Sir.
RANDY
But this is five thousand bucks!
PILOT
Sorry, Sir. We're in a hurry.
MARK
So long, Randy.
RANDY
So long, Mark.
FADE OUT :..
END ACT ONE
ALAS 9 LAB.1..L:C,1~
PH 90 #60:5;;-,l.4

(E P S C U E)

END ACT ONE

,,.,,.

.m,ms AOA FLA.SH MOTIF

Conmercial {/2
AGA, "D17er" D-S
~

(One Minute TAPE)

HO COMMERCIAL COPY AVAILABLE

ooo Then to ACT TWO

="'
 · -·23-

ACT TWO
FADE IN:
SUPERMARKET

MARX

(NARRATING OVER ABOVE)

Three P.M. in Fort Repose. Siesta
time. All is still right with the
world. Normal. The men are home
napping, the kids are swimming in the
river , the women are marketing for
dinners -- and brother Randy has already
had a few too many. Still the typical
day -- although there are only seventeen
hours left.
RANDY
For the last time I'm telling you ladies.
Buy as much as you can afford.
1ST WOMAN
Why?
RANDY
Armageddon may be here.
1ST WOMAN
(SMEIJ.S HIS BREATH)
I thought so.
 -24-

(LIZ PUSHES HER HAY THROUGH Tlfil RING OF

WOMEN AND MAliliS HER WAY TO RANDY WHO HAS
BEGUN PILING MORE CANS INTO HIS CART. )
RANDY
Liz! ••• Liz, you're just in time to help
me. I need staples. Necessities. You
know better than I what to stock. Wait,
I'll get you another cart.
LIZ
I don't want another cart. Please,
Randy --
RANDY
You don't understand. You'll need food.
Your mother will need food. Don't
worry about the bill. I'm loaded with
cash.
LIZ
You're loaded, all right.
RANDY
Maybe. You'd be loaded too if you heard
·what I heard ...
(IDUDLY, TO THE ONLOOKERS.)
... You'd all be drinking like fish
right this minute!
PETE
All right, Randy. Take it easy.
RANDY
What's the matter? I'm marketing. This
is a market, isn't it?
 -25-

LIZ
Come on, Randy. I'll get you home.
PETE
~That home? Rita told me you two had
called it quits ...
RANDY
Your sister Rita's got a big mouth.
LIZ
Please let's not discuss Rita here ...
RANDY
No, I got to explain to you about this
morning.
LIZ
No, you don't.
PETE
Go on home and sleep it off, Pal. You
buy all that stuff and you'll hate

yourself in the morning.

RANDY
You keep out of this. All of you. Get
out of here. I want to talk to my wife.
LIZ
Randy, if you don't shut up I'm going
to walk out of here.
RANDY
Sure. Typical. You're always walking
out on me when I need you most.
 -26-

PETE
(TO LIZ)
You go home or I 'm going to call the
police.
RANDY
Yeah. Call the police. Everybody should
know about the war.
LIZ
Wbat are you talking about? What war?
RANDY
The last one. It's coming! Mark gave
me his last five thousand bucks. You
know Mark. He's a tightwad from way
back. So it must be coming. Prepare!
It's coming! It's here! war! Do you
hear me, everybody? War! War!
DISSOLVE TO:
THE WAR ROOM AT OFFUTI'
(THIS IS THE NERVE CENTER FOR Tlill
NATION'S DEFENSE, FIFTY FEET UNDERGROUND,
BLAZING WITH ARTIFICIAL LIGHr, LINED WITH
OPERATIONAL CHARTS, MAPS, RADAR SCREENS,
ETC. A HEAVY PI.ATE GI.ASS WINOOW
SEPARATES IT FROM THE CONTROL ROOM. THE
CLOCK ON THE WALL -- (ONE OF MANY WHICH
ARE LABELLED "NEW YORK" AND "LONDON",
"PEIPING" AND "MOSCOW" SO THAT THE TIME
AT ANY POINT ON THE GLOBE IS IMMEDIATELY
AND EASILY KNOWN -- REAffi 10: 10. DUTCH
KLEIN, A ONC-STAR GENERAL, IS ON WATCH
HERE, SEATED AT A DESK. OTHER MEN IN
THIS ROOM, AND THOSE BEHIND THE GLASS
WINDOW, ARE QUIETLY BUSY AT THEIR JOBS.
THERE IS A TENSENESS UNDERLYING
EVERYTHING. THE TICKERS OF THE WIRELESS
T.AP CONSTANTLY.
(MORE)
 ... ,
lVIARK

(NARRATING)
This is the "Hole 11 • Dug fifty
feet beneath the Nebraska plain.
This is the nerve center of the
entire American retaliatory power.
Within these confines lay the
culmination of 1/lan 's genius -- and
his folly. This is the hole -- or
how it was at ten-ten Central
Standard Time on the eve of The
Day. From this comparatively tiny
room one man can push one button
and destroy the remainder of the
world. This button.
DUTCH
(INTO PHONE)
No, sir. We have no more here than
we bad ten minutes ago .•. ,I spoke to
Algiers. They know less than we do .••
Yes, I will, Sir ....
(BE HANGS UP AND SEES MARK WHO HAS
J1JST ENTERED)
I'm really happy to see my relief
tonight, Mark.
 -28-

MARK
sorry I'm late, Dutch. I've spent all
afternoon trying to get Helen and the
kids on a Florida flight. Tickets were
hard enough but convincing Helen to go
was impossible.
DUTCH
But she went?
MARK
Reluctantly.
DUTCH
Good.
MARK
Things that bad?
DUTCH
You haven't heard the news?
MARK
I caught something on the car radio.
What happened?
DUTCH
It's fantastic. Two hours ago the Sixth
Fleet scrambled fighters to intercept a
jet snooper near Malta. So -- an ensign
from the Saratoga sighted the snooper
and chased him all the way up the
Levant.
MARK
I got the shakes already .•..
 -✓

DUTCH
The snooper was heading for Latak1a
and this guy was afraid of losing him
so he let go with a sidewinder. The
jet veered off -- but the rocket
didn't. It homed straight in on
Latakia and blew the entire place off
the map.
MARK
With one rocket?
DUTCH
It seems to have set off tbe whole
arsenal they had there -- enough of
a blast to show up on every seismograph
on earth.
MARK
Well, what do you make of it?
DUTCH
worst foul-up on record ••. I 1m just
glad it wasn't one of our air force
boys.
(AS HE LEAVES)
You're to report everything -- repeat:
everything -- to the C inc. Night.
~MARK TURNS TO THE CLOCK MARKED
EASTERN STANDARD TIME: IT READS
10:15)
DISSOLVE TO:
(THE CLOCK READS 10: 15)
(THE RADIO IS ON, BROADCASTING MUSIC.)
ANNOUNCER'S VOICE
Here is a special bulletin just received
on the latest development in the
Mediterranean crisis. The official Arab
radio -- in a broadcast from Damascus,
claims that American carrier planes are
conducting a violent bombing attack on
the harbor of I..atakia, Syria. The
Pentagon has not yet issued a statement -
stay tuned to this station. We will
broadcast all developments as soon as
they are received.
(A LOUD KNOCK ON THE BACK DOOR. )
RANDY
Come in. Hello, I..avinia. Come on in
and sit down.
LAVINIA
This is not a social call.
RANDY
Liz is all right?
LAVINIA
As long as you leave her alone she's
all right. And that's what I've come
to tell you. You leave Liz alone.
RANDY
Does she know you're here?
LAVINIA
No. She put up with your nonsense
through fourteen months of marriage,
and she came home again tonight all upset.
 -31-

RANDY
I'd better get the rest of this stuff
in the freezer.
LAVINIA
A friend of mine saw you in the market
this afternoon. Drunk and disorderly.
Mixing Elizabeth up in public spectacles.
She had her share- or that as your wife.
RAND:(
Maybe I was a little loud this
afternoon, but --
LAVINIA
You were drunk.
RANDY
Yes! I was drunk!
LAVINIA
Spouting a lot of vicious rumors about
.a war like some half-crazed fanatic.
RANDY
Instead of listening to your friend's
gossip, you ought to listen to the
radio. There is going to be a war
LAVINIA
I don't have to listen to any radio. And
I certainly don't have to listen to you.
And I don't want Elizabeth listening to
you. I tried to tell her what an
irresponsible wastrel you were. She
wouldn't listen to me. I'm only her
mother.
 -32-

RANDY
She must've listened to some of it. She
left me, didn't she?
LAVINIA
I'm a sick woman. I haven't the strength
to argue with you. I don't want to see
my daughter destroy herself over you again.
RANDY
What has this to do with the war?
LAVINIA
Stop saying war. There is no war.
There won't be any war,
RANDY
Maybe you're right but my brother is
a colonel in the air force.
LAVINIA
This is just propaganda. Concocted
in Washington by people like your
brother. All part of a grand plot to
increase taxes, make more inflation.
Do you realize my husband worked hard
all his life, killed himself with work
so that he could leave us comfortably.
But now Elizabeth has to work in a
telegraph office in order for us to
make ends meet. So don't you tell me
about your wars, Randy. Or your
brother's wars. Just leave us alone.
Let us live in peace.
 -:x;r

RANDY
Believe me, it's not up to me. I'd
like the whole world to live in peace.
I'm scared, Lavinia. And that's the
honest truth. So don't bawl me
out. Instead I should get a medal
for not drinking myself into a stupor
because I am so terrified I could
vomit.
CUT TO:
THE "HOLE"

MARK
(NARRATING)
It is two-thirty in the Hole. The
world didn't sleep that night. Urgent
dispatches poured in from all over
the shrunken globe. Ankara reported
Russian aerial reconnaissance over
the Azerbaijan frontier. The U.S.
Navy sighted an unidentified submarine
two hundred miles off Seattle. Downing
Street had authorized the RAF to arm
intermediate range missiles, including
the Thor, with nuclear warheads.
 -34-
ACE
Welcome to Bedlam.
MARK
Isn't this something?
ACE
Mister, this is everything. The whole
works. Our only hope is that this might
throw them off balance. I mean -- they
were getting all ready to jump us and
maybe now they think we're jumping them.
After all, they don't know it's a
mistake.
MARK
We might have upset their time-table ,
but that won't stop them. We might have
given them the best excuse in the world
to get started.
· ACE
What's Moscow saying?
MARK
Not a word. Not a whisper. Usually
Radio Moscow would be yelling bloody
murder. That's what worries me. As long
as people keep talking, they're not
fighting. When the Russians quit talking,
I'm afraid they're acting.
 -35-

ACE
They're not acting yet. we would have
heard something by now--· or all been
dead. Something. I'd say that chances
are they're sitting in the Kremlin
wondering what happened.
MARK
And I'd say the chances are -- about
sixty~forty -- that the Russians have
started their countdown.
GO TO BLACK
(imILE IN BLACK, A BELL RINGS WITH
SUDDEN VIOLENCE.)
FADE IN:
RANDY'S BEDROOM - 4 A • M. BY THE CLOCK

(SOUND: THE OOOR BELL)

(RANDY RISES, CROSSES TO THE LIVING
ROOM) .
HELEN
Randy.
RANDY
Helen! I was going to pick you up
at Orlando!
HELEN
(KISSING HIM)
Nonsense! Mark figured you'd be
trying to do ten things at once so
he arranged for a car to meet us and
bring us here.
 -36-

RANDY
And you kids! You've grown a mile. No.
This can't be little I.Burie.
LAURIE
Hello, Randy.
RANDY
Shows how big she's grown. She doesn't
even call me Uncle any more. You all
must be dead tired. This is your room
in here. I'll get the luggage.
RICHARD
I'll help.
(INTERIOR LAURIE'S BEDROOM)
RANDY
You look big enough to carry it all,
Ri chie. I really can't get over you
kids.
LAURIE
I'm glad we came to Florida. It's like
a holiday.
HELEN
We'll be back home with daddy before you
know it. It's a lot of luggage. Mark
made me take everything we could carry ..•
Liz asleep?
RANDY
We're not together anymore.
 -37-

HELEN
Oh, Randy. I'm sorry to hear that.
RANDY
Not half as sorry as I am. Boy, it's
great to see you all again.
HEIEN
We're going to be an awful nuisance.
I didn't want to come --
RANDY
Will you stop being silly?
BEIEN
I feel like such a fool .•••
RANDY
You won't when you hear what happened
in the Mediterranean. They probably
didn't give you any news on the plane •••
RICHARD
What happened in the Mediterranean?
RANDY
Nothing, Richie •••
HELEN
It's all right to tell them. They
know all about it anyway. Mark
believes in keeping them up to date.
 -38-

RANDY
There's been some shooting going on
in Syria.
HELEN
And?
RANDY
That's all I know. Hey, Richie. It's
4 o'clock in the morning. You may
know all about the world situation
but it's way past your bed time.
You're sleeping in the living room.
 -39-

LAURIE
Do I have to brush my teeth?
HELEN
No, we'll ski~ it tonight.
LAURIE
My prayers, too?
HELEN
No, Laurie, say your prayers. Especially
tonight.
(HELEN TURNS OFF THE LIGHT AND EXITS)

CUT TO:
THE WAR ROOM ... 5: 38 A .M . .
(MARK, AT TELETYPE. HE TEARS OFF
SHEET, AND CROSSES INTO THE OPERATIONS
CONTROL ROOM) .
MARK
(NARRATING)
5:38 A.M. News Service and diplomatic
communications between Moscow and the
United States have been inoperative
for the last hour. All attempts to
telephone Moscow bring the same reply
from the operators: "sorry, v1e are
unable to complete the call". The -world
has gone deaf and dumb.
 -40-

ATKINS HAWKER
(ON PHONE) (ON PHONE)
Check NORAD for Cancel all relief.
a situation report. Bring everybody in.
(HANGS UP - TO (HANGS UP)
HAWKER)
We've got to move
25 percent is now
them faster than that.
airborne.
(PICKS UP PHONE)
Zee 5 alert and That should give
ready. us 50% in the air.
MARK
Sir, may I suggest that we ask for the
relea~e of our weapons?
GENERAL
Only the President himself can give the
word to fire them.
MARK
If they attack we'll have no more than
fifteen minutes' warning. Fifteen minutes
at the outside. It could be suicidal to
waste any second of that time trying to
contact Washington. There might be
mechanical breakdown -- sabotage
GENERAL
What do you think, Atkins?
ATKINS
I think you should make the request.
{GENERAL P:tCKS UP PHONE)
 -'t l.-

GENERAL
(INTO PHONE)
Pentagon Control. This is Offutt. General
Hawker. I want the release of my weapons
at this time ... Yes, I will ...
(TO MARK AND ATKINS)
He's got the White House on the other phone.
VOICE (P.A. )
From the E.astern Sea Frontier. Patrol
planes on the Argentina-Bermuda axis
report three unidentified subs heading
for the Atlantic ·c oast.
GENERAL
That sounds bad.
GENERAL
Their submarines have had a whole night
to run in on the coast if that's what
they're doing. And we're in darkness.
They'll soon be in daylight. Dawn is
the bad time. What time is sun-up on
the E.ast Coast?
ATKINS
Seven-ten.
(LOOKING AT THE E.S.T. CLOCK)
It's six-forty-one there now.
 -42-

GENERAL
(INTO PHONE)
... Yes .•. You will please confirm by
teletype.
(HANGS UP)
weapons released to SAC at 11:44
Greenwich Mean Time.
MARK
I timed that call. It took 65 seconds.
They might come in handy.
CUT TO:
RANDY'S LIVING ROOM.

HELEN
I feel like such a coward. Running
away. Leaving Mark all alone.
RANDY
He's safer tban all of us. Why do you
think they call that War Room he works
in "The Hole 11 • He's fifty feet below
ground.
HELEN
But that's a primary target. Mark told
me that once. They'll aim for that
first, won't they?
 RANDY
Come on. Have some more coffee.
HELEN
Well, won't they?
RANDY
My brother Mark is a great guy --
except sometimes he talks too much.
CUT TO:-
THE HOLE - THE CONTROL ROOM
MARK
That's NORAD in Colorado Springs.
(PICKS UP PHONE.)
Bragg , SAC Operations .•• Roger. I shall
repeat. Object, may be missile, fired
from Soviet base, Anadyr Peninsular.
(HANGS UP. LOOKS AT THE GENERAL. )
It's only one. It could be a meteor.
A Sputnik. Anything.
(THE TELETYPE IS CLICKING CONSTANTLY
NOW. ATKINS READS IT AS IT COMES OVER.)
VOICE ( OVER SQUAWK BOX)
"DEw· Line high sensitivity radar now has
four objects on its screens. Speed and
trajectory indicates they are ballistic
missiles coming in from the sea. This
is an attack. I repeat the United States
is being attacked. We are skipping the
yellow. This is your red alert."
(ALL TURN THEIR ATTENTION TO THE BUTTON.)
GENERAL
Go ahead.
 -44-

GENERAL
Thanks for the sixty-five seconds,·
Mark.
(ACE PRESSES BUTTON. )

MARK
(NARRATING)
Those were the last words I ever heard.
FADE OUT

END ACT TW"O

I
ALAS O BABY.LON
HI 90 #60=5=14

( E P S CUE )

Em> ACT TWO

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ALAS., B~BYLm
PH 90 #60°5~14
DICK JOY

FILM: TURNING STAR Af'ter station identiticat1on we shall

continue with Act Two ot "Alas 9 Babylon"
on PLAYHOUSE 90 0

STATION BRFAK ( :40 seconds)

FILM: PIAYHOUSE 90- DICK JOY

- ALLSTATE MOTIF
PLAYHOUSE 90 =- Act Two ot "Alas 0
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Conmeroial Position #4
(No Commercial At This Point)

ACT THREE

•
 -45-

ACT THREE
FADE IN:
FIIM AND SPECIAL EFFEDTS TO BE TAPED
MARK E.T.
(NARRATING)
This is The Day. The sun comes up as
it has for numberless millions of years
on the last few seconds of peace ...
Peace minus 10 - 9 - 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 -
4 - 3 - 2 - 1
(EXPLOSION)
Catastrophe minus zero.

CUT TO: 11
LIVE 11 TO:
RANDY'S BEDROOM
 -46,47,

CUT TO:
RANDY'S PORCH
RANDY
Alas, Babylon.
RICHARD
Hey, you know it does look like a
- .
mushroom.
HELEN
What should we do, Randy ... RANDY!

I don't know.
HELEN

There must be something we should be

doing.
RANDY
It's too late. We should have done
something yesterday -- or ten years
ago.
RICHARD
Well, you bought all those groceries.
RANDY
My contribution to peace. Buying
groceries.
IAURIE
Shouldn't we be dead by now?
HELEN
Laurie!
 -48-

No, Laurie. We're nowhere near anything

of military importance. If we get it
it'll be slower -- by fallout. Oh, God!
Those poor people in Miami. A million
people were burned to a crisp in "5J
seconds.
HELEN
It's so quiet -- so still the whole
world seems to have stopped.
(SOUND: A JET, TOO HIGH TO BE SEEN, ·
WHIZZES BY OVERHEAD)
RICHARD
At least we got planes up :ln the sky.
LAURIE
Maybe they're not our planes.
(SOUND: A NUMBER OF JETS GO OVER)

RANDY
They must be ours. I can't see them
but they're coming from the direction
of Tampa • • • Over there ...
(EXPLOSION)
Get inside before the concussion hits.
RICHARD
That was MacDill. They got MacDill.
 -49-

RANDY
(HERDING THEM TOWARD THE DOOR)
Come on. Inside! ••• Laurie!
(LAURIE IS RUBBING HER EYE3 WITH HER
FISTS)
Laurie!
LAURIE
I'm blind! I'm blind! I can't see! Mom~y,
where are yoµ? I can't see! Mommy! Mommy!.
(RANDY LIFTS HER IN HIS ARMS AND CARRIES
KER INTO THE LIVING ROOM) ·
DISSOLVE TO:
THE CLINIC
(WITH MARK'S NARRATION OVER WE SEE
VARIOUS SHOTS OF THE WAITING ROOM AND
SOME OF THE INNER ROOMS.
IN THE WAITING ROOM PIDPLE SIT MUTEI..Y,
NERVOFSLY, ALONE AND IN PAIRS~ WAITING
TO SEE THE DOCTORS. ONE MAN IS STREI'CHED
OUT ON A BENCH, EYES CLOSED, OBVIOUSLY
IN SHOCK. HIS WIFE IS AT THE NEARBY
WATER COOLER SOAKING KER HANDKERCHIEF
AND THEN APPLYING IT TO THE MAN'S
FOREHEAD. SOME PEOPLE HUDDLE AROUND
THE OVERWORKED NURSES' DESK ASKING IF
THEY CAN'T BE TAKEN NEXT.
IN ONE OF THE INNER ROOMS TWO WOMEN LIE
ON COTS. ONE OF THEM IS IN LABOR TRYING
DESPERATEI..Y TO STIFLE HER PERIODIC
SCREAMS. THE WOMAN ON THE OTHER COT
WATCHES HER, FRIGHT CLEARLY IN HER EYES.
IN THE OTHER INNER ROOM PEOPLE LIE SILENTLY
ON COTS, ONE MAN HOLDING A HOMEMADE
TOURN&iUEI' AROUND HIS ARM, TRYING TO
STOP THE FLOW OF BLOOD FROM A BADLY
GASHED HAND. THE MAN ON THE COT NEXT
TO HIM IS DEAD. THE DOOR OPENS AND TWO
MEN COME IN BEARING A LITTER WITH ANOTHER
PATIENT ON IT. THEY SEr THE LITTER DOWN
ON THE FLOOR, PICK UP THE DEAD MAN, LAY
HIM ON THE FLOOR, THEN RAISE THE PATIENT
ONTO THE COT. THEY CARRY THE DEAD MAN
OUT ON THE LITTER. )
 -5)-

MARK
(NARRATING FROM THE DISSOLVE)
Ground zero was over 200 miles away but
seven women have already given birth to
babies in Fort Repose this morning. Four
of them prematurely. There have been
twelve heart attacks, five of them fatal.
The combined toll: Nine casualties.
Seven deaths. And no bomb had fallen
here.
( RANDY ENTERS ONE OF THE ROOMS WHERE DAN
IS TENDING MR. FARROW, GIVING HIM OXYGEN)
RANDY
I tried to phone you. The lines were
down. You've got to come out to the
house, Dan. Now!
DAN
Did you get a look at my waiting room?
RANDY
Laurie. My brother's little girl. You
remember her from last year. She's blind.
DAN
Dear God.
RANDY
I'll drive my car around back so you can
get out without fighting that mob.
DAN
This is a heart case, Randy. I
can't come right this second.
 -51-

RANDY
Why not? This is my niece. You're
supposed to be a friend of mine.
DAN
I'm trying to do the best I ---
RANDY
Don't give me a lot of your mealy-mouthed
ideals. Not now, Dan. There's no time.
Just come.
DAN
As soon as I can.
RANDY
Dan, she's nine years old - you've got
to help me.
DAN
Keep bathing Laurie's eyes with a
solution of boric acid and warm water
until I get there.
RANDY
You stinking quack.
(EXITS)
DISSOLVE TO:
THE WESTERN UNION OFFICE
 -52-
AD LIBS

I got to get through to New York!

I want service. You hear me, Miss!
Serivce.
My wife'll worry herself sick if she
don't hear from me!
EDGAR
I'd like you to send this message for me.
LIZ
My orders are not to accept anything but
official defense messages, Mr_.
Quisenberry.
EDGAR
What's more official than the Federal
Reserve Bank? They've got to tell me
what to do. They're storming my bank.
All withdrawals. Cleaning me out. I've
got to contact Washington.
LIZ
We don't have any communication with any
points north of Jacksonville, Mr.
Quisenberry.
EDGAR
Send it to Jacksonville then. There's
a Federal Reserve sub-branch there. But
hurry, please.
LIZ
If I can still contact Jacksonville.
 -53-

EIXJAR
Tell them they must accept this message .
. . . Well?
LIZ
The line's still open.
ErGAR
Of course. Everybody panics so at the
first sign of danger. They'll have
reason to panic if I have to close my
doors. I haven't don& that since 1932
when Roosevelt --
(THE CLICKING OF THE MA.CHINE STOPS
SUDDENLY) ,

What's the matter now?

LIZ
(SHE TRIES TO MAKE THE MACHINE WORK)
The line seems to be dead.
EOOAR
It can't. Keep trying. You've ---
(THE MACHINE STARTS TO CLICK RAPIDLY WITH
AN INCOMING MESSAGE} . . ..
There! You see! It's working again.
LIZ
(GLANCING AT THE INCOMING MESSAGE)
This is PK coming in.
EIXJAR
PK?
 -54-
LIZ
Palatka - south of Jacksonville -
reporting a mushroom cloud in the
direction of --
EDGAR
The Devil with Palatka! What about
Jacksonville?
LIZ
It doesn't seem to be there any more.
CUT TO:
SUPBRMARKEI'
(v\lILD PANIC. LOOTING, CHAOS, PEOPLE
GRABBING AT ANYTHING THEY CAN CARRY.
FIGHTING EACH OTHER FOR THE REMAINING
ARTICLES ON THE FAST-EMPTYING SHELVES,
PUSHING, SHOVING, SCREAMING. )
AD LIBS
"I had that flour first."
"Who do I pay? What happened to the
cashiers'?"
"Grab what you can. Anythingl"
"This is looting. Nothing but lootingl"
11
1J'Jhat's the difference?"
RANDY
Pete~ •••• Pete l
PETE
Pretty wild, huh?
RANDY
Boric acid. I need boric acid. What
section do you keep it?
 -55-

PETE
You expect me to know where anything is
in this madhouse. Look at 'em.
RANDY
I've got a kid home who's been blinded.
My niece. You got to help me, Pete.
Look, I have money. As much as you want.
PETE
That's what's- so crazy. I don't want it.
Nobody wants it anymore. This is just
paper now. I'll show you.
-{BE PULLS OUT A HANDFUL OF BILLS)
Hey, everybody! Fifty dollar bills. On

the house. Scramble! Scramble! Scramble!

(PETE FLINGS THE WAD OF BILLS INTO THE
AIR. THEY FLUTTER DOWN TO THE FLOOR.
THEY LAY THERE, NOTICED BUT UNWANTED BY
THE MILLING, FIGHTING, HYSTERICAL MOB.
RANDY IS STUNNED AS BE WATCHES)
MARK
(NARRATING)
Law and .order was already gone in Fort
Repose. And the war wasn't four ·hours
old yet.

DISSOLVE TO:
RANDY'S HALL - NIGHT
DAN
Sorry I'm so late.
 -56-

RANDY
Thanks for coming, Dan. How's that
heart patient?
DAN
That's the nicest thing that's been said
to me all day. He's got a fifty-fifty
chance if the oxygen holds out.
RANDY
I want to apologize for this morning.
HELEN
Is that the Doctor?
RANDY
Yes, Helen.
(TO DAN)
You remember my sister-in-law, Dan.
DAN
I wish we were meeting again under better
circumstances.
HELEN
You took your own sweet time getting
here.
RANDY
(TO HELEN)
I told you how mobbed the clinic was.
He's had a big day.
DAN
You seem to have had a pretty big day
yourself, Randy.
 -57-

BELEN
Will you come now please, Doctor?
RANUI
Can I fix you a drink, Dan?
DAN
Yes, please. A double.
CUT TO:
!AURIE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
(THE DOOR OPENS AND HELEN AND DAN
ENTER)
DAN
You remember me, Laurie. Dr. Gunn.
LAUF1CE
What do you look like?
DAN
Don't you remember? A couple of
sunnners ago you came to my office
with a bad case of poison ivy.
LAURIE
I was too little to remember. I
was siJL
DAN
Bring the lamp over. Take off the
shade. Now, Laurie, I'm going to
take these compresses off. Don't
you be afraid.
LAURIE
Oh, I'm not afraid with you here.
 -58-

DAN
I just want you to tell me if you
see anything.
(HE REMOVES THE COMPRESS)
Weli?
LA.URIE
I'm' waiting for you to take the rest
of the bandages off.
CUT TO:
LIVING ROOM - FRON6 DOOR
RANDY
How are we doing, Richie?
RICHIE
I got it on the short wave band. I
s~ould be getting BBC and Paris -a nd
Germany and all I get is static.
(SOUND: DOOR BELL)
RANDY
Maybe that's all that's left of the
world, Richie. Static.
RANDY
Hello, Liz.
LIZ
. I just missed Dan at the clinic. They
said they thought he was coming here.
RANDY
He is here.
 -59-

LIZ
Will you tell him. to stop by my Place?
My mother's not well. All this
excitement --
RANDY
Can't you come in - for a minute? I'll
make some coffee.
LIZ
Yes. I'd like to.
(THEY ENTER THE LIVING ROOM)
RANDY
The place is an awful mess. Richie.
Look who' s here.
RICHIE
Hi, Aunt Liz.
LIZ
Hi.

RANDY
He's trying to find out if there's a
world left for him to grow up in.
LIZ
Nice to see you, Richie.
RANDY
How does the old place look?
LIZ
The same. Though I feel a little strange
being here again.
 -60-

RANDY
As you can see, I still haven't had that
chair recovered. Still the same old
eye-sore.
LIZ
You never minded it as much as I did.
RANDY
I'm going to have it recovered anyway.
Something to match the curtains. Isn't
that what you wanted? What's that
material called?
LIZ
Chintz.
RANDY
That's right. Chintz.
LIZ
It doesn't quite matter anymore, does it?
RANDY
Who lmows? Maybe you'll come and visit
us again sometime.
LIZ
Vvhy is Dan here? Is someone sick?
RANDY
The Tampa blast burned Laurie's eyes.
Dan'll tell us how badly.
RICHIE
Do you know anything about radios, Aunt
Liz?
 -61-

LIZ
I don't know anything about anything
anymore.
( SHE EXITS QUICKLY TO ~HE KITCHEN)
RICID:E
(SURPRISED - TO RANDY)
What did I say?
RANDY
Nothing. Keep fiddling with that.
( HE GOES OUT INTO KITCHEN ••• FINDS LIZ
AT THE SINK FILLING THE COFFEE POT \/\/ITH
WATER)
RANDY
I said I'd make the coffee.
LIZ
I know my way around this kitchen.
RANDY
Sit down and let me show off. I've
become quite the little housewife.
LIZ
I'd rather do it. Really, Randy.
( COFFEE SPILLS) .
RANDY
Come on, Liz. Take it easy.
LIZ
I'm sorry ••• I'm so sorry •••
RANDY
About a little water on the floor~
 -62-

LIZ
About everything.
RANDY
Listen to me, Liz. We can't be sorry
for anything that ever happened before
today. Not you. Not me. Because we
didn't know about today.
LIZ
You did. You tried to warn me.
RANDY
I was half-crocked. Worse, I was half-
convinced myself. I still am. I can't

get over the feeling that I'm going to

wake up in the morning and find out
that this was all a nightmare.
Wouldn't that be nice?
LIZ
If we're not all dead by morning.
RANDY
That wouldn't be so nice ..•. I don't know
what miracle has spared us, but I'm
mighty glad I'm still here -- and
you're still her•e. It's as if God is
giving us a reprieve, a second chance,
to correct some past mistakes.
 -63-

RADIO ANNOUNCER 1 S VOICE

Attention. Attention. This is your
Conelrad Station.
RANDY
The radio's work~ng~
RADIO ANNOUNCER'S VOICE
.•. a part of the emergency broadcasting
system with an important Presidential
message.
RANDY
Turn it up, Richie~
ANNOUNCER
The signal str·e ngth may be erratic, do
not change stations. It is a technical
maneuver to prevent enemy aircraft or
missiles .from homing in on targets.
DAN
That means the war's still on.
 -64-
ANNOUNCER
The next voice you hear will be that of
the Acting Chief Executive of the United
States, Mrs. Josephine Vanbruuker-Brown •••
RICHIE
v\r'ho?
DAN
She's the Secretary of Health, Education
and Welfare in the President's Cabinet.
RICHIE
A lady president?
RANDY

Why? The men haven't done too

well.
MRS. BROWN'S VOICE
(RADCLIFFE-BOSTON ACCENT)
My fellow countrymen. As all of you know
by now, at dawn this morning this country
and our allies in the free world, were
attacked without warning with thermonuclear
and atomic weapons. Neither the President
nor the Vice-President, nor any other
Cabinet member, nor the leaders of the
House and Senate have survived. You will
obey orders from your local authorities.
Our reprisals were swift. I survive only
by chance, because this morning I was in
another city on an inspection tour of a
new veteran's hospital to --
 -65-

( SOMEIJHERE DURING THIS ADDRESS RANDY HAS

WALKED UPSTAIRS TO SEE HELEN. HE ENTERS
THE BEDROOM SOFTLY. LA URIE IS ASLEEP IN
THE BED, EYE3 BANDAGED, HELEN STANDS NEAR
THE FOOT OF THE BED, ANGUISHED, SILENT.
RANDY LEAVES THE OOOR AJAR SO THAT WE
HEAR THE ADDRESS IN THE DISTANCE THROUGH
THIS SCENE.)
RANDY
Helen, Richie's got something on the
radio. Why don't you come and listen?
HELEN
What for?
RANDY
It's the new president of the United
States. A woman. She'll tell us what
to do?
HELEN
Oh, I just bet she will. They're always
so quick to make speeches. Will she tell
me what to do about Laurie? Will she?
RANDY
Shhhhh--
HELEN
I don't need politicians telling me what
to do. No more. I know what to do.
There's only one thing to do. Survive.
She'll babble about Freedom and liberty
and the brotherhood of man. To hell
with man, Mrs. President~
 -66-

(A BLINDING FLASH OF LIGHT, ANOTHER BOMB

GOING OFF, CUTS THE EIBCTRICITY OFF.
THE ROOM IS PllJNGED IN DARKmSS.)
RANDY
They got Orlando.
HE1EN
Oh, dear God! What has happened to us!
RANDY
Get Laurie on the floor. Quick before
the concussion hits. Get down on the
floor everyone.
(HELEN GATHERS LAURIE UP IN HER ARMS AND
DROPS TO THE FLOOR, CLUTCHING !AURIE
TIGHTLY. LAURIE AWAKES)
LAURIE
Mommy.
HELEN
It's all right, Laurie. Mommy is right
here.
LAURIE
Is something the matter?
HELEN
No, darling. The lights went out. We
can't see.
!AURIE
I can't see an-yway.
 -67-

HELEN

Why don' t you drop one on us?.

What are you waiting for?
FADE OUT.
END ACT THREE
• LAS 9 .Bi..BY~01i
PH 90 #60=5°14.

(E P S C U E)

ERD ACT THREE

- E: PH 90 FI.ASH MOTIP
.

erc1al #S
...;;;;;;;_,_TA.TE_, "Auto ... Dunlap" V...29-AUT0-120
0 Minute Tape)

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Then to ACT FOUR

 -bt5-

ACT FOUR
INTERIOR KITCHEN
MARK
( NARRATING)
Peace. Not very long after the first
button was pressed the war was over.
But the emergency was just beginning~
BEIEN
Everything' s ·defrosted. Every last
thing.
RICHIE
( DIPPING A FINGER INTO THE OOZE AND
TASTING IT)
Ice cream still tastes good.
HELEN
It isn't even cool.
RANDY
We'll salvage what we can.
BEIEN
How? It's going bad now. All that
meat.
RANDY
We'll boil it, salt it, preserve it,
pickle it. I bought five pounds of
salt on that shopping spree.
 -69-

HELEN
That's not nearly enough.
RANDY
Then I'll drive into town and get
some more --
HELE!'{

Town and back means a hal~ a gallon

of gas. We've got to preserve all
the gas we can.
RANDY
Don't keep giving me goo~ arguments,
Helen. We can't stop to worry about
tomorrow because there may not be
any tomorrow~ •• I'll be back as soon
as I get the salt.
(HE EXITS)
RICHARD
Hey, Mom. I just thought of
something, I don't have to go to
school anymore.
HELEN
Oh, yes you do. As soon as things
settle down a bit you'll be in school
all right.
 -70-

RICHARD
Where?

HELEN
Why, right here in Fort Repose for
awhile. And then when we go back to
Omaha --
RICHARD
Mom, we're not going back to Omaha.
HELEN
Well, wherever it is your father will be
stationed.
R;ICHARD
Don!t you realize it yet? Dad is
dead.
(INSTINCTIVELY, "WITH SUDDEN FURY, HELEN
WHIPS HER ICE-CREAM-WET HAND ACROSS THE
BOY'S FACE.)
HELEN
No! He isn't dead! How dare you say
that to me! Maybe you're getting too
smart for your own good, Richie. You're
just a child. Remember tl1at! Just a
child. And you don't know! Nobody knows!
RICHARD
Dad knew, Mom. He told me at the
airport, just before we got on the plane.
 -71-

RICHARD
Come on, Mom. We better get that meat
out of the ice cream.
DISSOLVE TO:
THE SUPER-MARKET - DAY

(RANDY ENTERS}

( SOUND: NOISE OFF}

(SOUND: 2ND NOISE OFF)

( INT. REFRIGERATOR)

RANDY
Rita.
RITA
Hello, lover.-
RANDY
What do you think you're doing, Rita?
RITA
Minding some stuff until my brother
Pete gets back with the truck. Come
on in.
RANDY
Quite a little haul you've got here.
 -72-
RITA
Worth its weight in gold. And the war's
still young.
RANDY
I need salt.
RITA
Are you out already?
RANDY
we want to salt down what meat we've
got now that the freezer's cbnked out.
RITA
That's smart. I always said you were
smart, lover. Maybe a little too smart
sometimes.
RANDY
I know you don't want money, but I'll
swap something with you. Whiskey,
coffee, cigarettes, whatever you want.
RITA
I want you, lover.
RANDY
What kind of nonsense is that?
RITA
I mean it. I want you to know how it
feels to be bought and sold like a piece
of merchandise. My price isn't that steep.
Up till a couple of days ago you didn't
need any inducements.
 -73-
RANDY
A lot has happened in those couple
of days.
RITA
Yeah, but the price of salt is still
tne same'l.
RANDY
I'll see you in hell first.
(HE EXITS INTO THE MARKET PROPER)
RITA
This is Hell, lover. I thought you
were smart enough to know that!
DISSOLVE TO:
THE PORCH OF RANDY'S HOUSE
LAVINIA
It's a shame to eat all this food at
once. You'd think he could have bought
salt som3where.
LIZ
Randy said we just couldn't afford it.
cur To:.
THE LIVING ROOM
'1ST WOMAN

After what I said to him 1n the market,

it's very nice of him to invite us.
2ND WOMAN

It's not that he's so nice. All the meat

in his refrigerator is going bad. Let's
go have some more.
 -74.,75,76-

HELEN
I'd better see to it that Laurie
gets something to eat.
IAVINIA
There's plenty of food.
MR. FARROW
Now what would you like to hear,
Laurie?
LAURIE
I want to play this one myself.
FARROW
Laurie darling, these may be the
very last records on the face of
the earth. ~·.
LAURIE
Then play anything ~
FARROW
Anything coming up.
cur TO:
THE PORCH
(LIZ IS BROILING MEAT OVER AN OPEN
FIRE.)
 -77-

RANDY
How's it going, honey?
LIZ
Faster than I can cook it. You'd better
eat.
RANDY
Not hungry.
LIZ
( OFFERING HIM A SLIVER ON THE FORK)
Taste?
(RANDY BITES IT OFF THE FORK)
RANDY
Mmmmmm •... Y'know, if I could find a girl
who cooked like you, I'd marry her.
LIZ
There won't be much left to cook from
now on.
RANDY
I'd even remarry her.
LIZ
You'd better take this batch in.
RANDY
I'm serious, Liz.
LIZ
Don't be. Please.
RANDY
Still like ice, aren't you?
 -78-
LIZ
This is scarcely the time .•.

RANDY
It's never the time with you. The
hydrogen bombs must've melted the
North Pole -- but not you. How did
we ever expect our marriage to work.
LIZ
The only thing I ever expected was
that you love me. Not the bottle
or the Rita Herndons. Just me.
RANDY
I loved you when you'd let me --
LIZ
You loved me after the lights were
out. That's not my idea of a
marriage.
RANDY
Your idea of a marriage was like
something out of the Bobsy Twins.
LIZ
Why are we dredging up all of this now?
RANDY
Because there may not be much time left.
LIZ
That's no reason to start pawing each
other like animals•-
RANDY
What is the matter with you~ I love you.
You're not my Sunday School teacher.
You're my wife.
 -79-

LIZ
Randy, if we couldn't make a go of it in
normal times, what makes you think we could
make it now.
RANDY
Now's when we need each other most.
Maybe we've both changed enough to --
LIZ
Oh, we 've changed. Everything has. And
it's going to keep on changing -- for the
worse. Finally the only thing that matters
will be mere survival. We' 11 have to hate
and kill each other just to get through
another day. If I have to end up hating
you, Randy; I certainly don't think it
should be as your wife.
CUT TO:
THE KITCHEN.
(DR. GUNN ENTERS. )
HELEN
Hello, Dan. You' re late.
DAN
I had to take Jim Bloomfield over to the
hospital ·at San Marco.
HELEN
What's the matter with Jim?
 -Po-

DAU
A carload of addicts -- hopheads -- came
into his drug store at around seven this
evening, looking for a fix. But you know
Jim. He refused them. So they went to
work on him. Caved in some ribs, fractured
his skull, stole every bit of dope they
could lay their hands on and then -- just
for kicks -- they set fire to the rest.
It should have been me. I'd've given
them a fix.
HELEN
How is Jim now?
DAN
I guess that depends on your viewpoint.
He died ... Out of choice, I think. I
thought I was going to save him once
I got him to the hospital. But he
slipped away from me. He had lived a
long time and maybe after a thing like
this happened he didn't want to belong
to the human race anymore.
(LAVINIA ENTERS FROM LIVING ROOM.)
LAVINIA
They're screaming for more salad -- Oh,
Doctor, you're just the man I want to
see.
(MORE)
 -81-

I.AVINIA
You know, since the refrigeration went out
my insulin is going bad -- or whatever
insulin does. Anyway, I put it down in
the basement to keep it cool until I
could catch up with you for some of
those -- oh, what do you call those pills?
DllJ-I
Oranaise.
LAVINIA
Yes. Wasn't it clever of me to get you
to order some before all this started? I
never could stand to take an injection
myself, but at least now I can take a pill
without an attending physician. You did
order them, didn't you, Doctor?
DA,.r-q

Yes.
LAVINIA
That was clever of you, too.
RICHIE
Hey, I've got something on the radio.
Mrs. Vandercooker -- Va.nder-Something
you know the lady president.
 -82-

IAVINIA
Don't you forget the pills, Doctor.
DAN
Lavinia I'm afraid I don't have the
pills.
IAVINIA
Well, never mind. I'll drop by the
clinic in the morning and pick some up.
Just leave them with the nurse in case
you're not there. When I come.
DAN
There are no pills at the clinic either ...
IAVINIA
You just told me you ordered them.
DAN
I did. But the bombs started dropping ...
I.AVINIA
What about Jim Bloomfield's? Surely,
he has some.
 -83-

DAN
I phoned Jim the other morning. He
didn't have much of it 1n stock. I
told him to hold onto it for me, I'd
pick it up. I wired Philadelphia for
more. Only there is no Philadelphia
any more.
LAVINIA
Well? What about those Jim was holding
for you? They'll last for awhile.
DAN
The drug store was ransacked this
evening, looted, burned. They took all
the drugs they could carry and set fire
to the rest.
LAVINIA
How long will it take for the insulin
to go bad?
DAN
I don't know.
LAVINIA
I'm going to die.
DAN
I'd rather be dead than have to tell you
this.
 -84-

LAVINIA
(FLATLY)
No you wouldn't, Doctor.
cur TO:
LIVING ROOM
(THE RADIO GOING AND THE PEOPLE GROUPED
AROUND IT. SOMEWHERE DURING THIS LAVINIA
WIIL ENTER QUIETLY FROM THE KITCHEN AND
STAND BEHIND THE GROUP BRIEFLY LOOKING
DOWN AT THEM -- AS THOUGH FOR THE LAST TIME.)
MRS. VANBRUUKER-BROWN
We of the emergency American government
have been attempting to ascertain the
radioactive areas within our border. The
preliminary aerial survey of the country has
been completed. Until further notice the
following areas have been designated as
Contaminated Zones. You were warned not to
enter these zones. The New England States.
All of New York State south of the line
Ticonderoga-Sacketts Harbor. The states of
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and
Maryland. The District of Columbia. Ohio,
east of the line Sandusky-Chillicothe.
Also, in Ohio, the city of Columbus and all
of its suburbs. In Nebraska, Lincoln.
Also in Nebraska, Omaha •••
KIM
Omaha.
MRS. VANBRUUKER-BROWN
••• and all territory within a fifty mile
radius •••
(MORE)
 -85-

(HELEN'S FACE DIES AS THE TEARS WELL UP

IN HER EYES. SHE RISES QUIFJrLY, RICHIE
AND RANDY WATCHING HER, AND GOES OUT ON
THE PORCH. 'WE CAN HEAR HER WEEPING
SOFTLY FROM NOW ON. )
MRS. VANBRUUKER-BROWN (CONT'D)
In North Carolina. The cities of Raleigh
and Charlotte. South Carolina. The Port
of Charleston and all the territory
within a thirty mile radius. The entire
State of Floridal
FADE our.
END ACT FOUR
(E P S C U E)

END ACT FOUR

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FH 90 /;l6Q.,..5c,J.4.
DICK JOY

-
FILM: TURNING STAR ~\rter station identification we
sh.all return with Act Three of
"Ala&~ Babylon" on PLAYHOUSE 900

STATION BREAK (:40 seconds)

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PLAYHOUSE 90 ~o Act Three ot
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0'90 Then to ACT FIVE

 -86-

ACT FIVE
FADE IN:

COT TO:
HERNroN HOUSE

MARK

(NARRATING)
This was how it was three months after The
Day.

( PErE COMES OUT OF BEDROOM WITH CASE OF

WHISKEY .AND GIVE3 IT TO HOODS IN LIVING
ROOM)
 -87-

MARK (CONT 1 D)
(NARRATING OVER ABOVE ACTION)
Business is far from usual. The barter
system has replaced money. People from
out-of-town came to swap things -- You
didn't ask where or how they got what they
had and they didn't ask you where you got
yours. You were lucky they didn't murder
you and take what they wanted ... That
didn't come until later.
CUT TO:
SUPERMARKET
MARK (CONT'D)
The supermarket -- the bare cornucopia --
transformed now into a sullen meeting place
where men wait aimlessly for they know
not what .•. Three months.
EOO-AR
What do you hear?
FARROW
I hear the Russians are asking us to surrender.
3RD MAN
No, you got it all wrong. It's us that 1 s
asking them to surrender.
EOO-AR
Where did you hear that?
 -88 & 89-

3RD MAN
My wife got it from a woman whose
husband's battery set still works.
EDGAR
I don't understand this war at all.
Sometimes I think the Russians must
have won. Then I think, no, we won
or else the Russians would still
be bombing us, or· invading. Something.
But since The Day I haven't heard any
planes at all.
FARROW
I did. Seen 'em while I was catfishin'
at night. Well, I didn't see 'em
exactly. I heard 'em. I heard one two

nights ago.
EOOAR
Whose?
FARROW
Beats me.
CUT TO:
RANDY'S KITCHEN
(HELEN IS IRONING, HEATING IRONS ON
THE WOOD BURNING STOVE. NEAR HER IS
A RIFLE.)
 -90-

(HELEN HEARS A NOISE OFF, SHE CROSSES

TO THE DOOR WITH A RlFLE. SOUND:
DOOR KNOCK)

Who's that?
RANDY
Me, Helen.
HELEN
I didn I t hear the car drive up.
RANDY
I 1-eft the car with Liz.

You left Liz at the cemetery?

 -91-

RANDY
We didn't bury Lavinia at the cemetery.
We decided we couldn't spare the two
gallons of gasoline it would talce to
drive there and back.
(THEY CROSS INTO THE BEDROOM)
HELEN
Then I don't understand why you left the
car there.
RANDY
That's so's Liz can bring some of her
things over here. She's going to stay
with us.
HELEN
Oh •.. For how long?
RANDY
Forever. These days I can't tell you how
long that will be.
HELEN
Don't you think you might have consulted
me?
RANDY
I'm sorry! The age of social amenities is
gone. Liz watched the dirt being thrown
over her mother's face and she wanted to
jump into the grave with her. She needed
something to look forward to. Even this!
 -92-

HELEN
And what about Richie, and I.aurie, and you.
And, yes, me! We've got to live too. We
don't have the room or the food for strangers.
RANDY
Liz is no stranger to me.
HELEN
I'll say she's not. She made sure of that,
didn't she? She left you once. But ever
since The Day she's been hanging on to you
for dear life because she knows we are a
little better off than most -- thanks to
my husband's warning. She made sure to
get her hooks back into you good and deep.
And you're too big a fool not to see it ...
(THEY CROSS TO THE KIWHEN)
RANDY
We'd better stop this discussion right now,
Helen ...
HELEN
You're not kidding me, Randy. All this
high and mighty talk about trying to help
a poor girl in distress. You want Liz in
this house for a lot more down-to-earth
reasons!
 -93-

RANDY
Maybe that is part of it. I don't have
time to examine my motives. I happen to
love Liz very much. I want a marriage.
At least you and Mark had what -- thirteen
-- fourteen years together. Two children.
Liz and I will be lucky if we have a
fraction of that much time together. And
i f that puts you out, I'm sorry.
(SOUND: OOOR KNOCX)
RANDY
Who ' s there.
DAN
(OFF)
Dan.
( DAN ENTERS)
DAN
Hello Helen. Randy.
HELEN
(TO RANDY)
Is he to move in with us, too?
RANDY
Helen!
DAN
I don't know what this is all about. I've
just come by to see i f I could borrow your
car, Randy.
 -94-

HELEN
I knew it was for something. Everybody's
grabbing to get what they can. Well, I'm
sorry, Doctor, you can't have the car.
Liz has it for some stupid reason which
Randy can explain to you -- I can't.
DAN I\

Mine's out of gas and I've got to go over

to Pistolville.
HELEN
Oh, everybody's got to go someplace, do
something, always for a marvelous reason.
DAN
I hear Pete Herndon is very sick.
RANDY
I'll go get Liz and the car.
(HE :EXITS)
DAN
Helen, I'm a doctor and I've still got to
try and save lives.
HELEN
I'm sorry, Dan. I don't know. I've gone
all to pieces.
DAN
You've had a husband killed and a child
blinded. It's amazing that you can function
at all.
 -95-

I say things I don't mean. I do things

I regret. I'm frightened, suspicious,
grasping. You should have lmown me before,
I was almost human.
DAN
It's very human for a mother to fight and
scratch and claw to keep her young alive.
She'd be inhuman if she didn't.
DISSOLVE TO:
HERNDON LIVING ROOM - AFTERNOON
RITA
Yes, I've got him locked in there. M"r
"
own stinking brother. My partner.
Swapped everything we collected --
together. Then he holes up with the prize
and a shotgun and where am I? Yeah, he's
sick all right. Dying. A little too
slow but he's dying. But I can wait. I
got time. So you stay out of that
bedroom. I've been sitting and waiting
for him to kick off too long to let a
couple of smart boys like you sneak back
there and steal what's coming to me.
 -96-

DAN
Give me the key. He might have a
contagious disease.
RITA
I wouldn't go in there, ]))c. He might
think you're me and blow your head off.
RANDY
He might be dead already.
RITA
That's a thought.
(RANDY UNLOCKS THE OOOR AND HE AND DAN
ENTER THE BEDROOM WITH RITA RIGHT BEHIND)
DAN
Pete.
RITA
Peeee-youuuuuuuu!
DAN
Pete. He's cooked through and through.
RANDY
What is it?
DAN
Radiation. That jewelry is radioactive
enough to kill us all.
DAN
You want to burn up like he did? It's
got to be buried along with him. Deep.
 -97-

RITA
It's all I've got left and nobody takes
it away. Let him keep frying till
doomsday. Who cares? Let him cook.
Let him rot. Let him stink up the
whole world.
FADE OUT

END ACT FIVE

 ACT FIVB

ercial #8
:::i~ • "Evans" 1=1581~60
1"11nute Film)

BO COMMERCIAL COPY AVAIIABLE

Then to AC'!' SIX

- :a
 -98-

ACT SIX
FADE IN:
CLINIC - WAITING ROOM - NIGHT
(THREE HOODLUMS ARE ENTERING THE
BUILDING STEALTHILY. THEY ARE ARMED, .
WARY, DANGEROUS. OBVIOUSLY STRANGERS,
THEY MOVE UNCERTAINLY THROUGH THE
CORRIDORS IN SEARCH OF WHAT THEY'VE
COME FOR.)
MARK
(NARRATING)
It didn't take long - a few months -
a mere drop in the ocean of eternity,
and man had been reduced to simple
acts of preservation - of himself
and of scant vestiges of the
civilization that was already a memory.
Yet they must be preserved if life was
to go on.
(THE GANG COME TO THE LAB, OPEN THE
DOOR AND SEE DAN, WORKING LATE AND
ALONE.)
DAN
Yes?
1ST HOOD
You the doc?
DAN

What is it you want?

1ST HOOD
Junk •••
GIRL
Got any?
 -99-

DAN
No.
2ND HOOD
That's just what that druggist said to
us and you know what happened to him.
GIRL
Be nice, Doc.
FIRST HOOD
We need a fix.
GIRL
Be" nice, Doc.
DAN
I haven't got any dope.
(THE FIRST HOOD SMACKS HIM ACROSS THE
FACE.)
FIRST HOOD
Where do you keep it?
DAN
Do you people realize what you're
doing?
GIRL
What's in that cabinet?
DAN
Just some medicines -- and precious
little. Nothing you'd want .•
FIRST HOOD
Look.
 -100-

FIRST HOOD
Why don't you be nice, Doc? I can't
wait much more.
(CRASH)
DAN
I don't have any dope in there.
I keep them here. I've been saving
what little I have in case I had to
operate on --
FIRST HOOD
Keep chopping~
(DAN HAS OPENED THE DESK DRAWER AND
HAS REACHED FOR A REVOLVER. THE 1ST
HOOD BRINGS THE BASmALL BAT DOWN ON
HIS HAND WHILE IT'S STILL INSIDE THE
rRAWER. DAN DOUBLES OVER HIS BROKEN
HAND IN PAIN. THE MAN S\'1/INGS THE BAT
AGAIN, HITTING DAN IN THE RIBS, SENDING
HIM TO THE FLOOR. HE HITS HIM WITH THE
BAT A FEW MORE TIMES UNTIL DAN IS
UNCONSCIOUS. THE OTHERS HAVE AIBEADY
STARTED TO RANSACK THE PLACE LIKE A
\NRECKING CREW. ONE MAN HAS TAKEN A
FIRE AXE FROM THE WALL AND HACKS DOWN
THE STORAGE CLOSET DOOR. THE MEN PEER
INTO THE DRUG LINED SHELVE3 GREEDILY.
THEY LOOT AND THEY DESTROY IN A 'INILD
ORGY OF DESTRUCTION. V~T THEY CAN'T
USE THEY SMASH ON THE FLOOR, PILLS,
LIQUIDS, COTTON, BANDAGES. THEIR
FRUSTRATIONS Ar.E RELEASED. THEY YELL
WITH GLEE AS THEY PILLAGE. WHEN THEY
HAVE FINISHED THEY HAVE LEFT NOTHING --
NOTHING BUT COMPLETE SHAMBLES AND
CHAOS.) ·
 -l00A-

KITCHEN - NOON
( LIZ IS AT THE POT-BEIL:rnD STOVE
STIRRING A CAULDRON OF BOILING
WATER. HELEN ENTERS CARRYING A
SMAIL TRAY OF PATENT MEDICINES)
BELEN
We're going to need more bandages.
LIZ
I'm sterilizing some old sheets •••
How is Dan?
HELEN
I don't know. I tried to make him
as comfortable as possible, wash away
a little of the blood. But he may
be bleeding to death inside -- and
I don 1 t know.
LIZ
Randy went back to the clinic to
search for a medical book that might
tell us what to do.
HELEN
Only a doctor can help Dan now
and he's the only doctor left. He's
going to die by default.
LIZ
We don't know that yet
 -lOOB-

HELEN
I know. We'll all die by default.
An infected ear, flu, diphtheria,
appendicitis -- an infected finger
becomes fatal. Once Dan goes we
all go.
LIZ
Stop this, ·Helen!
HELEN
(HYSTERICALLY)
We're dead . now if we had the sense
to face it. You, Randy, me, Laurie,
Richie. My children are dead!

(SHE IS IN A STATE OF HYSTERIA. LIZ

HAS BEEN TRYING TO STOP HER,
CLUTCHING HER BY THE SHOULDERS. NOW
. LIZ SLAPS HER ACROSS THE FACE)
LIZ
Forgive me for doing that, Helen.
HELEN
(QUIETLY)
Yesterday I screamed at Randy like
a fishwife for bringing you into
this house . . . Today I thank God
you're here.
CUT TO:
BEDROOM
 -101-

DOLLY IN TO:
C. U. ON DAN'S BATTERED FACE.
BLUR AND DISSOLVE TO:
BEDROOM - EVENING
( C. U. OF DAN, BANDAGED IN THE BED,
BADLY BEATEN AND SWOLLEN. HE IS ALONE
IN THE DARKENING ROOM AS THE DOOR
OPENS HESITANTLY AND LAURIE GROPES HER
WAY IN. SHE MOVES CAUTIOUSLY UNTIL
SHE FEELS THE BED. )
LAURIE
Dr. Dan? ••• Dr. Dan, are you asleep?
DAN
No, Laurie.
LAURIE
Mommy said I shouldn't disturb you, but
I sneaked up here anyway. I can get
up tbs stairs and down the stairs by
myself now.
DAN
That's more than I could do right now,
Laurie.
LAURIE
Are you very hurt?
DAN
Yes.
LAURIE
Liz said your face was all swollen and
bloody.
DAN
Yes.
 -.1.vc:-

LAURIE
I'm glad I can't see it •.• What
I don't know is why anybody would
hit you to steal medicine. Who
likes medicine that much?
DAN
People who are very, very sick.
LAURIE
Should I go away and 1et you rest?
DAN
Stay.
LAURIE
I could play the phonograph for
you •••• Should I?
DAN
Yes.
(LAURIE FEELS HER WAY TO THE
PHONOORAPH. SHE STARTS IT. RANDY
ENTERS THE ROOM)
 -103-

RANDY
Laurie, I don't think this is the time ..•
LAURIE
Doctor O:in said he wanted it.
(RANDY WOKS DOWN AT DAN AND KNOWS
INSTANTLY THAT DAN HAS DIED. HE CLOSES
DAN'S EYELIIS WITH HIS FINGERS, THEN
COVERS HIS FACE WITH THE SHEEr. THEN
HE PICKS UP THE PHONOGRAPH ARM.
LAURIE
Why did you stop it, Randy?
DISSOLVE TO:
SUPERMARKET - EARLY MORNING
(THE MEN LOITER DESPONDENTLY, SORRY
FIGURES ALL. SOME SLEEP, SOME STARE,
SOME MAY BE DEAD BUT NO ONE IS THAT
CONCERNED TO NOTICE. THEY LOOK UP
STUPIDLY ONLY WHEN EDGAR QUISENBERRY
ENTERS PULLING A SMALL CHILD'S TRICYCLE.
EDGAR MOVES TO THE LIST OF "PUBLIC
NOTICES" TACKED TO THE WALL)
1ST MAN
Hey, Edgar. How's the bankin' business
these days?
(EDGAR IGNORES THIS AND THE CACKLING OF
THE MEN)
FARROW
Whatever you need, you won't find it
up there, Edgar.
 -104-

EIX}AR
I need a quart of milk •.•
(THE MEN STARE AT HIM MUTELY)
·~·Listen, my grandchildren need
milk. One quart and you can have
this tricycle ••. Joe, your boy could
use this tricycle.
1ST MAN
My kid died last week.
(THE MEN TURN AND STARE AT RANDY AS
HE ENTERS. HE STARES BACK.z. STUDYING
THEM, BEFORE HE BEGINS TO i::>PEl1K.)
-RANDY
Listen everybody. Dan Gunn was
murdered by a bunch of hopheads •••
( NO RESPONSE)
••• Didn't you hear me?
EIXMR
What about it?
RANDY
We've got to do something about it.
1ST MAN
Like what?
RANDY
(DESPERATELY)
I don't know. Something. Anything.
Maybe put together a police force.
A court. Some kind of law. Some
kind of order. Something .•• Mr.
Quisenberry!
 EIXJAR
Dan Gunn was your friend. Not mine.
RANDY
Is that still all we care about?
What's yours. What's mine. Can't
we ever learn that we've got to be
responsible for each other?
EroAR
You're the one who did all the
buying and all the hoarding on the
day before
RANDY
Sure. I hoarded, but what good
is a pantry full of groceries in
a graveyard? I was as selfish as
anybody else. Take care of me and
mine and let the rest of the world
go hang. Well, it did hang! Listen
to me! Please! ••. Jim Bloomfield's
dead. Dan Gunn, Lavinia McGovern,
Pete Herndon, my brother, most of
the world -- all dead.
(MORE)
 -106-

RANDY (CONT'D)
There aren't many of us left -- and
we're going fast, so if we want to
stop slaughtering each other once and
for all, we'd better start putting
together a brand new kind of community
a place where the Dan Gunns won't be
murdered by punks, where the Pete
Herndons won't be cooked by radiation.
·( THE IAST MAN LEAVES)
If we can't do that together, we
deserve to lose, to be wiped out.
(SHOUTING WIIDLY)
And we will be! Do you hear that,
everybody? We will be?
(LIZ ENTERS)
It's all over.
LIZ
No it isn't, Randy. It can't be.
 -107-

RPJIDY
How long can a man keep beating his head
against a stone wall?
LIZ
He's been doing it a long time. Over five
thousand years.
RANDY
(INDICATING THE SHAMBLES AROUND HIM)'
And look at the result ... Maybe the time
has come to quit trying.
LIZ
That's too easy. I ought to know. When
the going got rough I left you. I loved
you but I quit anyway. It turns out I was
wrong.
RANDY
It turns out it wouldn't have made too much
difference if you'd stayed.
LIZ
We could have had this past year together.
A whole year. What a luxury. Who knows?
Maybe we'll be lucky enough to have another
one -- or two -- maybe even forever.
RANDY
We'll be lucky if we get a month.
LIZ
All right. Even a month is better than
nothing --
 -l.UO-

RANDY
How will we spend it? Digging a
common grave?
LIZ
We'll get to know each other better.
Love each other better. It's only
in the past few months that I've
begun to know my own husband at
all. And to know myself. And to
know that I've never loved you more
than I do this minute.
RANDY
(EMBRACING HER)
Liz •• ~Liz ••• It could have been so
wonderful.
(THEY SIT HUDDIED TOOETHER IN THE
EMPrY, ECHOING MARKET AS: )
 -109-

MARK
(NARRATES OVER)
Long before The Day we knew how final
another war would be. Yet we let it
happen._ We were warned by Premier
Khrushchev who said:
TRANSIAT0R'S VOICE
11
It is hard to imagine the consequences
for mankind of a war in which these
monstrous means of destruction and
annihilation were used. 1 1
MARK'S VOICE
We were warned by President Eisenhower
in the words:
EISENHOWER'S VOICE
"Surely no sane member of the human race
could discover victory in such desolation."
MARK'S VOICE
Yes, we were warned. And we let it
happen. Who won the ~ar. We did. We
clobbered them.
FADE OUT:
END ACT SIX
 c:,Joo

DICK JOY
roRNmG STAR
Now8 from Washington DoCo v PIAlHOUSE 90
brings you Leo Ao Hoegh 9 the Director
or the Ottice or Civil and Detenae
Mob111zat1ono

r HOEGH LEO HOEGH

We a.re grate.tul to CBS Television tor
bringing you "Alaa, Babylono" Your
Federal& State and Local governmenta
have plans tor your protection dlll'ing
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There are tive things you and every
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your community plan for emergency
actiono Protect your tam1ly from
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Know how tc;, use Conelrada, 640 or 1240
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CAMEL FIASII i·lOTIF

ero1al #9
, "Peck 9 Rev o 2" l =lS42a60
Minut e Film)
 B." "'" •0_-;
#60=5=Ut.

PLAYHOUSE 90 i s Steven Hil l

to t e l you abou t the next PIAYHOUSE 90
"Journey To The Day" t o be
April 22ndo

TFASER HILL
:67) My name is Gutera Here are aix
Six that one migb t ind 1n any r
atat1on, . or tootba atadiwuo

DICK JO'.i
P: "JOURNEY Next on PLAYHOUSE 90, "Journey to the Day ,"
DAY"
Pg MARY ASTOR, sta:-r1ng 1n alphabetical order 9 Mary-
DUNN, JAMES
RY Astor,. James Dunn, James Gregory~ Steven Hil la
' ' '

P: STEVEN Hll,L~
MAY, MIKE Elaine May, Mike Nichols, Janice Rule 9
OLS
P: JANICE RULE, David J ~ Ste\fal"t~ and Peter Votrian o To be
JG STEWART ,,
VOTRIAN seen Friday, April 220
P: PLAYHOUSE 90
 ( P.c:- '

1.rected by ROBl:.riT ST ENS

Produoed b7 PETER KORTNER

Written by DAVID SHAW

Baaed on the noTel by PAT FRAMK

Etl.HEL wmANT
RUSSELL STONFHAM
Aaaoo!ate Procluoera
0 C RDt
oed with the cooperation ot the
Ott1ce ot Civil and Detense Hob111zat1on
MAT So LINDEN
Teobn1oal Advisor
PS a
a.rnng DOR MURRAY aa Randy Bragg
BARBARA RUSH as Liz MoGov.-n
K:C1 HUNTER as Helen Bragg .
E.VERETT SLOANE as Dro Dan Gunn
JUDI'l'H EVELYN as Lavinia McGovern
Rl'TA MORENO aa Rit Herndon t/..
,I

ROBERT CRAWFORD as Richie Bragg

And Guest Star DANA ANDRE.wS aa Mark Bragg
GEORGE CHANDLE aa Mro Fai-row
DON GORDON as Pete Herndon
BURT REYNOIDS as Ace A tk1na

ROBERT BURTON as F,dgar Q.uiaenbeJ."17

GINA. GIl,LESPIE as Laurie Bragg

T0•1PAL}1Ell as General Hawker

UST!' LANE as Dutch Klein
A'·1ZIE STHICKIAND
BARY ADAl-S
a Wamen of t he Town
Bll.L ERWIN
-oE RUSK]li
Men or the Town
• BABYLON =M=
• #60=S=l4 (REVo )

lliG CREDIT TELOPS CONT 0D :

EDGAR LANSBURY, Art Director
AoJ c. CAROTHERS, Assistant to the Producer
LENNIE HORN, Associate Director
RALPH SENENSKY, Production Supervisor
ROBERT STONE, Teclmical Director
TOM D. SCHAMP, Lighting Director
EARL CARLSON, Set Decorator

DICK JOY
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(MORE)
 DICK JOY
Because or this special brcs.dcaatD
The Ed Sullivan Show, pr aented by
.._--=:--,Ps GoEoTHFATES #6 Eastman Kodak: 9 and The General El.ect~1@
Theater 0 were not seen tonight o They
will return next week at their
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Po~,~1ons ot the preceding

program were premNCOrdedo This
is Dick Joy speakingo
PLAYHOUSE 90 1a a CBS Television

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