Life of Vernon Hathaway
- Episode aired Nov 9, 1955
- 26m
IMDb RATING
5.9/10
63
YOUR RATING
A daydreaming man discovers that his imagined adventures are happening in real life.A daydreaming man discovers that his imagined adventures are happening in real life.A daydreaming man discovers that his imagined adventures are happening in real life.
Photos
Douglass Dumbrille
- Red Beecham
- (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Tristram Coffin
- General Cummings
- (uncredited)
Russell Custer
- Train Passenger
- (uncredited)
Richard Deacon
- Hotel Clerk
- (uncredited)
Roy Engel
- Train Conductor
- (uncredited)
Bill Erwin
- Third Conductor
- (uncredited)
Jester Hairston
- Train Cook
- (uncredited)
Carl Sklover
- Train Passenger
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe U.S. stopped issuing $1000 bills in 1969; the bills remain legal tender, but most are in the hands of collectors.
- Quotes
Ernest Stockhoeffer: The Florida Flyer - right on time...
Vernon Hathaway: Just like you - only you're not going anywhere. Every night, the same thing, the same time, the same place. You come down here, watch the trains go by, then you go on home, wind your watch, set the alarm, and crawl into bed. You know, you're really nothing but an alarm clock.
- ConnectionsReferences Pennies from Heaven (1936)
Featured review
Disappointing Entry
Screen Directors Playhouse: The Life of Vernon Hathaway (1955)
* 1/2 (out of 4)
Ernest Stockhoeffer (Alan Young) is a timid clock repairman who dreams of a more exciting life. One day a man walks into his store saying that seven years earlier he had stolen a watch so he wants to give Ernest a thousand dollar bill. This bill allows his imagination run wild and soon he starts to live what he had always fantasized about. THE LIFE OF VERNON HATHAWAY is yet another disappointing episode in this early series. I started watching episodes from later in the series and the majority of them were very good so going through these from the start onwards I must admit that I'm a little surprised to see how weak the majority of these early episodes are. There are a couple very big problems here but we can start with the screenplay that really doesn't seem to know what it wants to do. Throughout the film I kept waiting to figure out if this was meant to be a comedy, a drama or some sort of weird fantasy but no matter what they wanted it to be it pretty much falls flat on all levels. There are some attempts at humor but they're never funny. I'm going to guess we get a few bits of drama but the lead character is so bland that you really don't get caught up in anything. The fantasy aspect is probably the strongest thing that the filmmakers were going for but it too fails because you just simply don't know where they're going or what they're trying to do. It also doesn't help that Young isn't all that memorable in the lead role and even supporting players like Cloris Leachman and Raymond Bailey don't have much to do. Director Norman Z. McLeod really doesn't bring any life to the project and to date this is the worst the series has offered.
* 1/2 (out of 4)
Ernest Stockhoeffer (Alan Young) is a timid clock repairman who dreams of a more exciting life. One day a man walks into his store saying that seven years earlier he had stolen a watch so he wants to give Ernest a thousand dollar bill. This bill allows his imagination run wild and soon he starts to live what he had always fantasized about. THE LIFE OF VERNON HATHAWAY is yet another disappointing episode in this early series. I started watching episodes from later in the series and the majority of them were very good so going through these from the start onwards I must admit that I'm a little surprised to see how weak the majority of these early episodes are. There are a couple very big problems here but we can start with the screenplay that really doesn't seem to know what it wants to do. Throughout the film I kept waiting to figure out if this was meant to be a comedy, a drama or some sort of weird fantasy but no matter what they wanted it to be it pretty much falls flat on all levels. There are some attempts at humor but they're never funny. I'm going to guess we get a few bits of drama but the lead character is so bland that you really don't get caught up in anything. The fantasy aspect is probably the strongest thing that the filmmakers were going for but it too fails because you just simply don't know where they're going or what they're trying to do. It also doesn't help that Young isn't all that memorable in the lead role and even supporting players like Cloris Leachman and Raymond Bailey don't have much to do. Director Norman Z. McLeod really doesn't bring any life to the project and to date this is the worst the series has offered.
helpful•41
- Michael_Elliott
- Nov 8, 2011
Details
- Runtime26 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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