Where Were You When The Lights Went Out? (1968)
Director:
Hy Averback
Writers:
Claude Magnier (play), Everett Freeman
Stars:
Doris Day, Robert Morse, Terry-Thomas
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 Wilsonmakes a cameo appearance as does director Hy Averback. Steve Allen plays the radio announcer, Jim Backus a car dealer, and Pat Paulsendeadpans 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.