Share

Watch It

On DVD: TBD | On Blu-ray: TBD

Where Were You When the Lights Went Out? Details

FULL SYNOPSIS

This light romantic comedy is set during the November 9th power outage of 1965 that darkened New York and much of the East Coast. Margaret (Doris Day) is a theater actress who storms out on her architect husband, Peter (Patrick O'Neal), when a pretty female reporter spends too much time interviewing him for Margaret's liking. Later, Waldo Zane (Robert Morse), an embezzling business executive, has car trouble while fleeing his company. Margaret's house is nearby, so he sneaks in, and, after taking a drink of her elixir, he falls asleep beside her by mistake. Naturally, her husband soon appears, and comedy ensues in cases of mistaken identity and scheduling mix-ups. Columnist Earl Wilson makes a cameo appearance as does director Hy Averback. Steve Allen plays the radio announcer, Jim Backus a car dealer, and Pat Paulsen deadpans his usual facade in his role as a train conductor. Though this romantic comedy came out a couple years after the infamous New York City-wide blackout, it is based on French playwright Claude Magnier's production Monsieur Masure, which was written in the '50s. The actual power failure resulted in a population explosion exactly nine months later, and over double the average number of kids started school in 1971 as a direct result of the darkness. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Cast

Doris Day
as Margaret Garrison
Robert Morse
as Waldo Zane
Terry-Thomas
as Ladislau Walichek
Patrick O'Neal
as Peter Garrison
Lola Albright
as Roberta Lane
Steve Allen
as Radio Announcer
Jim Backus
as Tru-Blue Lou
Pat Paulsen
as Subway Conductor
Dale Malone
as Otis J. Hendershot, Jr.
Ben Blue
as Man with a razor
Parley Baer
as Dr. Dudley Caldwell
Randy Whipple
as Marvin Reinholtz
Harry Hickox
as Detective Capt. Percy Watson
Earl Wilson
as Himself
Robert Emhardt
as Otis J. Hendershot, Sr.

Crew

Hy Averback
Director
Martin Melcher
Producer
Karl Tunberg
Screenwriter
Claude Magnier
Play Author
Ellsworth Fredericks
Cinematographer
Dave Grusin
Composer (Music Score)
Rita Roland
Editor
George W. Davis
Art Director
Urie McCleary
Art Director
Richard A. Pefferle
Set Designer
Henry W. Grace
Set Designer
William J. Tuttle
Makeup
Advertisement