Where Were You When the Lights Went Out? (1968)

During a blackout, a New York executive crosses paths with a Broadway actress and her husband.

Director:

Hy Averback

Writers:

Everett Freeman (screenplay), Karl Tunberg (screenplay)

Stars:

Doris Day, Robert Morse, Terry-Thomas

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Doris Day	...	Margaret Garrison
Robert Morse	...	Waldo Zane
Terry-Thomas	...	Ladislaus Walichek
Patrick O'Neal	...	Peter Garrison
Lola Albright	...	Roberta Lane
Steve Allen	...	Morgan Klein
Jim Backus	...	Tru-Blue Lou
Ben Blue	...	Man with a Razor
Pat Paulsen	...	Conductor
Dale Malone	...	Otis J. Hendershot, Jr.
Robert Emhardt	...	Otis J. Hendershot, Sr.
Harry Hickox	...	Detective Captain Percy Watson
Parley Baer	...	Dr. Dudley Caldwell
Randy Whipple	...	Marvin Reinholtz
Earl Wilson	...	Earl Wilson

Storyline

When the Great Northeast Blackout of 1965 hit, millions of people were left in the dark, including Waldo Zane, a New York executive in the process of stealing a fortune from his company, and two people whose paths he's destined to cross, Broadway actress Margaret Garrison and her husband, Peter.

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Plot Keywords:

actress | fortune | blackout | panavision | year 1965 | 

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Taglines:

Oh, the liberties that were taken the night New York flipped its fuse... and became "Fun City"!

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

19 June 1968 (USA)

Also Known As:

Wo warst Du als das Licht ausging

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$7,988,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In her autobiography, Doris Day wrote that this was one of her least favorite films, also citing The Ballad of Josie (1967), Caprice (1967), and Do Not Disturb (1965) - all films, to which her husband, Martin Melcher, signed her, without her consent.

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Goofs

When Margaret is sitting on the couch during her interview, the yellow cushions beside her keep on moving.

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Quotes

Ladislaus Walichek: If I could only break up that revolting marriage. Oh, how I hate men!
Dr. Dudley Caldwell: I thought you hated women?
Ladislaus Walichek: Oh, men too.
Ladislaus Walichek: [thinking about what he just said] Doctor, does hate for both sexes make me... bisexual?

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Connections

Referenced in Life Itself (2014)

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Soundtracks

Row Row Row Your Boat
(uncredited)
Traditional
Sung by the people at the railway station

User Reviews

Doris betrayed

Although Where Were You When The Lights Went Out is based on a French sex farce I doubt the original play was anything like this film. Especially since there is no French equivalent for Doris Day, no such thing as a virgin, an all French version on their big screen.

I well remember the 1965 blackout on the East Coast, just settling down to dinner with my parents and everything electric went out. But we didn't have half the adventures this cast had.

Doris plays herself essentially, an actress with an All American virgin image locked into a long running play with neurotic director Terry-Thomas at the helm and married to Patrick O'Neal an architect. When the blackout strikes there's no evening performance and Doris returns home to find O'Neal with magazine writer Lola Albright who had been doing a feature interview with them before she left for the theater.

In the meantime a jealous Robert Morse being passed over for promotion by his boss Robert Emhardt's idiot son steals two million in cash, something he had been planning for a while. The blackout puts a real crimp into his getaway plan.

All the principle players manage to wind up at Doris and Pat's Connecticut home and the bedroom comedy begins.

It wasn't the Code that put a damper on this film, it was rather Doris Day and the studio's attempt to remain true to the virginal image that her public expected. This was one of those films toward the end of her career that her husband Marty Melcher put her in to recoup monies he had made bad investments with, her money.

Where Were You When The Lights Went Out has not worn well over the years. Doris was carrying a heavy load here.