''Between Time and Timbuktu'' is a

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

directed by Fred Barzyk and based on a number of works by

Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American writer known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels. In a career spanning over 50 years, he published fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and ...

. Produced by

National Educational Television National Educational Television (NET) was an American educational broadcast television network owned by the Ford Foundation and later co-owned by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It operated from May 16, 1954 to October 4, 1970, and ...

and

WGBH-TV WGBH-TV (channel 2), branded on-air as GBH or GBH 2 since 2020, is the primary PBS member television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship property of the WGBH Educational Foundation, which also owns Boston's se ...

in Boston, Massachusetts, it was telecast March 13, 1972 as a

NET Playhouse ''NET Playhouse'' was an American dramatic television anthology series produced by National Educational Television. NET subsequently merged with WNDT Newark to form WNET, and was superseded by the Public Broadcasting Service, though the NET titl ...

special. The television script was also published in book form in 1972, illustrated with photographs by

Jill Krementz Jill Krementz (born February 19, 1940) is an American photographer and author. She has published 31 books, mostly of photography and children's books. She was married to Kurt Vonnegut for almost 30 years. Biography Krementz grew up in Morristow ...

and stills from the production. The first draft of the script was written by

David Odell David Odell (born July 8, 1943) is an American screenwriter and film director. Odell was nominated in 1980 for an Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program for ''The Muppet Show'' alongside Jim Henson, Don Hinkley, and Jerry Ju ...

, with contributions from Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding, and the film's director. Vonnegut himself served as an "advisor and contributor to the script." The primary title refers to a collection of poetry written by one of the main characters in Vonnegut's second novel, ''

The Sirens of Titan ''The Sirens of Titan'' is a comic science fiction novel by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., first published in 1959. His second novel, it involves issues of free will, omniscience, and the overall purpose of human history. Much of the story revolves around ...

''.

Plot

Stony Stevenson, a young poet living with his mother, receives notice on nation-wide TV that he has won the grand prize in the Blast-Off Space Food jingle contest. The prize is a trip on the Prometheus-5 rocket into the Chrono-Synclastic Infundibulum. TV reporter Walter Gesundheit and ex-astronaut Bud Williams, Jr. explain that Stevenson was chosen for this mission because it is believed that only a poet could find the words to describe the Chrono-Synclastic Infundibulum, a type of time warp, which may hold the answer to all creation. Bud Williams, Jr. recalls that he had trouble describing Mars, comparing it to his driveway back home. After traveling through space for six months, Astronaut Stevenson hits the Chrono-Synclastic Infundibulum, his capsule explodes, and he is scattered through time and space. While the TV correspondents struggle to remember the immortal words spoken when man first stepped on the moon, Stevenson pops in and out of a series of strange scenes (based on Vonnegut's novels and stories): * On the island of San Lorenzo, he meets Bokonon (''Cat’s Cradle''), leader of a religious cult, who has given his followers a religion of harmless lies because the truth of their lives is so difficult. * He appears among jurors at the trial of Dr. Paul Proteus (''Player Piano''), who is accused of waging war against modern technology and the industrial system. * He finds himself with Dr. Hoenikker (''Cat’s Cradle'') and a General who discuss the military application of Ice Nine, which could freeze all water on a battlefield so soldiers would never have to fight in mud. * He lands in a society where no one is allowed to be superior to anyone else. He sees dancers hobbled with weights struggling to perform a ballet until one dancer (“Harrison Bergeron”) rebels by removing the handicaps from himself and his partner so they can dance freely. * He visits an Ethical Suicide Parlor in an overpopulated world (“Welcome to the Monkey House”) and meets Lionel J. Howard who wants to know one thing before he dies: “What are people for?” * In the final episode, he hitches a ride on a fire truck with a young girl, Wanda June, who was hit by an ice-cream truck before her birthday party (''Happy Birthday, Wanda June''), and confronts his own death.

Cast

The televised production of the play starred William Hickey as Stony Stevenson. The rest of the cast included: *

Bruce Morrow Bruce Morrow (born Bruce Meyerowitz on October 13, 1935 or October 13, 1937) (sources differ) is an American radio performer, known for professional purposes as Cousin Brucie or Cousin Bruce Morrow. In an October 2020 interview, Morrow said he ...

as Contest Announcer *Dortha Duckworth as Mrs. Stevenson (Stony's mother) * Ray Goulding as Walter Gesundheit * Bob Elliott as Bud Williams, Jr. (the ex-astronaut) * Franklin Cover as Col. Donald "Tex" Pirandello *

Russell Morash Russell Morash (born February 11, 1936) is an American television producer and director. Morash's many television programs are produced through WGBH and airing on PBS. Early life Morash is a native of Lexington, Massachusetts. Morash's father w ...

as Sandy Abernethy *John Devlin as Dr. Bobby Denton *

Kevin McCarthy Kevin Owen McCarthy (born January 26, 1965) is an American politician, serving as House Minority Leader in the United States House of Representatives since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served as House Majority Leader under spea ...

as Bokonon *Edie Lynch as Island Girl *Jerry Gershman as Soldier *

James Sloyan James Joseph Sloyan (born February 24, 1940 in Indianapolis, Indiana) is an American actor. Early years Sloyan left the United States at an early age to live abroad in Rome, Capri, Milan, Switzerland, and Ireland. His career in show busines ...

as Dr. Paul Proteus *George Serries as Prosecutor *Ashley Westcott as Deaf Juror *John Peters as Drunk *

Helen Stenborg Helen Joan Stenborg (January 24, 1925 – March 22, 2011) was an American actress of stage, screen, and television. She occasionally acted with her husband, actor Barnard Hughes (1915–2006), to whom she was married for 56 years from 1950 until ...

as Miss Martin *

Hurd Hatfield William Rukard Hurd Hatfield (December 7, 1917 – December 26, 1998) was an American actor. He is best known for having played characters of handsome, narcissism, narcissistic young men, most notably Dorian Gray in the film ''The Picture of Dori ...

as Dr. Hoenikker *

Dolph Sweet Adolphus Jean Sweet (July 18, 1920 – May 8, 1985) was an American actor, credited with nearly 60 television and film roles and more than 50 roles in stage productions, including performances on Broadway. He often played policemen throughout ...

as General *Hariet Hamilton as Lead Caroler *Sam Amato as Policeman *

Benay Venuta Benay Venuta (born Benvenuta Rose Crooke, January 27, 1910 – September 1, 1995) was an American actress, singer and dancer. Early life Born in San Francisco, Venuta was a graduate of Hollywood High School. She attended finishing school in G ...

as Diana Moon Glampers *Carlton Power as First Stagehand *Jean Sanocki as Larry *Jack Shipley as News Announcer *Alexis Hoff as Ballerina *Avind Haerum as

Harrison Bergeron "Harrison Bergeron" is a satirical dystopian science-fiction short story by American writer Kurt Vonnegut, first published in October 1961. Originally published in ''The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'', the story was republished in th ...

*Frank Dolan as Short Order Cook *

Susan Sullivan Susan Michaela Sullivan (born November 18, 1944) is an American actress. Sullivan is best known for her roles as Lenore Curtin Delaney on the NBC daytime soap opera '' Another World'' (1971–76), as Lois Adams on the ABC sitcom '' It's a Livin ...

as Nancy *Charles White as Lionel J. Howard *

Philip Bruns Philip Bruns (May 2, 1931 – February 8, 2012) was an American television and movie actor and writer. He portrayed George Shumway, the father of Mary Hartman on the 1970s comedic series '' Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,'' and Morty Seinfeld, the f ...

as Announcer *Ariane Munker as Wanda June *Page Johnson as

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

*MacIntyre Dixon as Cemetery Gardener

References

External links

*
I have seen the future – and it slurps
A two part conversation between Kurt Vonnegut and Adrian Mitchell (BBC Two, 1972) which bracketed a broadcast of ''Between Time and Timbuktu'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Between Time And Timbuktu 1972 films 1972 television films 1970s fantasy comedy-drama films Films about astronauts Films based on works by Kurt Vonnegut American films based on plays PBS original programming Works by Kurt Vonnegut American fantasy comedy-drama films 1972 comedy films 1972 drama films 1970s English-language films American drama television films Films directed by Fred Barzyk Films with screenplays by David Odell 1970s American films

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links