The Five-Forty-Eight
“The Five-Forty-Eight” is a 1954 short story by John Cheever originally published in The New Yorker and collected in The Stories of John Cheever. The story is about a businessman called Blake, who is accosted on a train at gunpoint by his former secretary, named Miss Dent. The woman is mentally ill, and is particularly upset with how Blake left her after a one-night stand and then fired her. The story is noteworthy because its focus is primarily on Blake’s perception of those around him, from which stems an anti-social history. Though the woman’s mental state is somewhat deteriorated, Cheever communicates that her perception of reality is more advanced than Blake’s.
Film, TV and theatrical adaptations
The story has been adapted for the theatre and has appeared in this form on the radio. It was also adapted into a 1960 episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, starring Zachary Scott and Phyllis Thaxter.
A 1979 television adaptation aired on PBS as 3 by Cheever: The 5:48,[1] with Laurence Luckinbill and Mary Beth Hurt in the lead roles.
Awards and nominations
- Winner - Benjamin Franklin magazine award