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Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?

  • 1968
  • Approved
  • 1h 29m
IMDb RATING
5.8/10
1K
YOUR RATING
Doris Day, Lola Albright, Robert Morse, Patrick O'Neal, and Terry-Thomas in Where Were You When the Lights Went Out? (1968)
Comedy

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

  • Director
    • Hy Averback
  • Writers
    • Everett Freeman
    • Karl Tunberg
    • Claude Magnier
  • Stars
    • Doris Day
    • Robert Morse
    • Terry-Thomas
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.8/10
    1K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Hy Averback
    • Writers
      • Everett Freeman
      • Karl Tunberg
      • Claude Magnier
    • Stars
      • Doris Day
      • Robert Morse
      • Terry-Thomas
    • 17User reviews
    • 3Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination total

    Photos30

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    Top cast62

    Edit
    Doris Day
    Doris Day
    • Margaret Garrison
    Robert Morse
    Robert Morse
    • Waldo Zane
    Terry-Thomas
    Terry-Thomas
    • Ladislaus Walichek
    Patrick O'Neal
    Patrick O'Neal
    • Peter Garrison
    Lola Albright
    Lola Albright
    • Roberta Lane
    Steve Allen
    Steve Allen
    • Morgan Klein
    Jim Backus
    Jim Backus
    • Tru-Blue Lou
    Ben Blue
    Ben Blue
    • Man with a Razor
    Pat Paulsen
    Pat Paulsen
    • Conductor
    Dale Malone
    • Otis J. Hendershot, Jr.
    Robert Emhardt
    Robert Emhardt
    • Otis J. Hendershot, Sr.
    Harry Hickox
    Harry Hickox
    • Detective Captain Percy Watson
    Parley Baer
    Parley Baer
    • Dr. Dudley Caldwell
    Randy Whipple
    • Marvin Reinholtz
    Earl Wilson
    Earl Wilson
    • Earl Wilson
    Murray Alper
    Murray Alper
    • Passenger
    • (uncredited)
    Hy Averback
    Hy Averback
    • Newscaster
    • (uncredited)
    Larry Barton
    • Minor Role
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Hy Averback
    • Writers
      • Everett Freeman
      • Karl Tunberg
      • Claude Magnier
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews17

    5.81K
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    Featured reviews

    atdtsaudtcom

    always a great day with doris day!

    this movie was next to the very last movie that miss day made....it has been criticized as being a terrible movie....i disagree....this movie has some very funny moments, mostly because of miss day but the cast is not bad.....most of miss day`s movies around this time were being laughed off with doris being wrongfully accused of trying to hold on to her virginity which was groundless because really if they were to examine miss day`s films, she actually was married in most of her films including this movie " where were you when the lights went out?" so really all those tired jokes about her playing a virgin all the time were and are, erroneous...while this movie is not the best movie she ever made, she still gives it her all and it is indeed worth watching and so interesting to see miss day take a movie such as this and milk it into a pleasing comedy, which, is a tribute to her talent and professionalism...have a great day with doris day!!
    5bkoganbing

    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.
    7dsewizzrd-1

    Pants down farce

    Doris Day and Patrick O'Neal are husband and wife in this permissive comedy based on a stage play with Terry-Thomas as a stinker, playing a Hungarian but apparently with received pronunciation.

    A young man is passed over for promotion by the bosses stupid son so he hatches a plan to steal the companies dividends. When there is a black out in New York, he has difficulty escaping and ends up sleeping with Doris Day.

    Its a jolly and pretty well made film and I'm don't really understand all the negative comments. Perhaps because it's a foreign script, or because it's not dripping in gee-schucks All-American schmaltz like the other Doris Day films ?

    Product placements - Kodak, The New York Times and Pan- Am. The Kaiser Group (Checker) provided the vehicles, an S series Valiant breaking down.
    edluvsday

    Well hello Peter.... so your here

    The story of this movie seems to be a set up for Doris Day's last film ( she actually had one after it ). Doris plays Margaret Garrison a stage actress who constantly gets type cast as a virgin ( hmmmm any similarity to what happened to Doris in real life??). While giving an interview for playboy magazine Margaret spills the beans that she would like to have a baby.... Well her hubby does something naughty and Doris goes running for the home in the country. Doris Day's performance is engaging.. especially when she is medicated !! Although Doris was forced into this movie by her manager husband ( her husband had lost all of her money in bad investments ) it is a delightful 60's film. So set a Sunday afternoon aside and hope that the lights wont go out when you put in the video!!
    4TheLittleSongbird

    Where were Doris Day's senses when she agreed to be in this film?

    Okay, 'Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?' is not as awful as the review summary implies but it is not a good representation of Doris Day's (nor the rest of the talented cast's) talents. Seriously the amount of talent here is enormous but sadly it is not used well.

    Saw 'Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?' as somebody who loves Day and as part of my completest quest seeing the rest of her not yet seen. While there are a couple more to go, 'Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?' to me is definitely one of Day's worst films (apparently even Day herself thought so) in a career that did see some wonderful films and near-classics, 'Calamity Jane' and 'Pillow Talk' are my two favourites of hers. It is really a film only to be seen if like me you like Day and want to see all her films.

    While she has given better performances Day is the best thing about the film, even though she spent most of its production in traction following a back injury (what the film is most notable for). There is the sense that she knew that the script was not good and that the film, writing and character she plays were beneath her (also think that she did this against her will, then again that's probably just me), but Day was always an effervescent and conscientious performer who always gave her all regardless of the quality of the material or the genre, and she does show charm and decent comic timing here.

    The film is hardly cheap-looking, not lavish but there is a simple elegance. 'Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?' does boast a few very funny moments, though these moments are too far and between.

    However, Hy Averback directs unimaginatively and, despite being talented performers, the supporting cast are not worthy of Day and struggle with very poorly written characters and an insipid script with a bad mix of overplaying and blandness. Patrick O'Neal is a vacuous and wooden leading man, sharing very little genuine chemistry with Day. Robert Morse goes through the motions and looks truly uninterested, on the other side of the spectrum Terry-Thomas tries to play it for laughs but this is one painfully hammy performance from him.

    Despite a few moments, the script as said is insipid and borderline dumb. Nothing is hilarious here and hardly any of it is sophisticated or insightful. The story is horribly contrived and muddled and also suffers from a turgid pace and a staginess. The ending feels tacked on and doesn't feel right with the rest of the film.

    Overall, a disappointment as a Doris Day vehicle and as an overall film. 4/10 Bethany Cox

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    Related interests

    Will Ferrell in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
    Comedy

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      There appears to be a rights issue tied up with the issuing of this film. While it was a television staple for many years and was released on videocassette several decades ago, it has not been televised or released in digital format since that time. As of 2018, the film has been out of circulation for nearly 25 years.
    • Goofs
      When Margaret is sitting on the couch during her interview, the yellow cushions beside her keep moving.
    • Quotes

      Margaret Garrison: [repeated line]

      Margaret Garrison: Hello, Peter, so you're here!

    • Connections
      Featured in Lionpower from MGM (1967)
    • Soundtracks
      Where Were You When The Lights Went Out?
      Words by Kelly Gordon

      Music by Dave Grusin

      Performed by The Lettermen

      [Title song played over the opening titles and credits, with a reprise played over the end credits]

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    FAQ16

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    Details

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    • Release date
      • June 19, 1968 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Spanish
    • Also known as
      • Grad u mraku
    • Filming locations
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA(Studio)
    • Production company
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $7,988,000
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 29m(89 min)
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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